Preaching in Acts: Paul in Antioch of Pisidia I. Base Text: Acts 13:16-41 II. Context A. Antioch of Pisidia, ca. 44-47 CE B. Paul and Barnabas on the "First Missionary Journey" 1. Church had grown significantly; Saul converted; he and Barnabas are called by the Holy Spirit to go out to preach the Word (Acts 9:1-13:3) 2. They first went to Cyprus, and from there across to Perga and from there Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:4-13) C. The Synagogue, Antioch of Pisidia 1. According to Paul's custom (cf. Acts 17:1-2), he first visits the synagogue on the Sabbath (Acts 13:14) 2. Apparently it was customary to have time allotted for a Jewish male to provide exhortation to the group, and Paul takes advantage of this time to preach the Gospel (Acts 13:15) 3. Luke provides the substance of Paul's message which is likely similar to what he would have preached in other synagogues throughout Asia and Greece (Acts 13:16-41) D. Thus Paul has an audience of Jews and Gentile God-fearers to whom to preach Jesus! III. Paul's Preaching: Substance and Structure A. Summons (Acts 13:16): Paul beckons with his hand, asking those of Israel and those who fear God to hearken to his words 1. Attempts to get their attention 2. God-fearers: like Cornelius, a Gentile who would believe in the God of Israel, observe many of the commandments of the Torah, but for whatever reason resisted full proselytization (cf. Acts 10:1-3) B. Historical Context (Acts 13:17-22): Paul rehearses aspects of Israelite history from the sojourn in Egypt until David 1. Begins with God who chose Israel (Exodus 19-20) 2. Specific historical events/personages: exalting people as he led them out of Egypt with a powerful hand (Exodus 1-14), Wilderness sojourn (Exodus 15-Deuteronomy 36), the conquest, judges to Samuel (Joshua 1-1 Samuel 7), Israel asking for a king (1 Samuel 8), Saul given for forty years (1 Samuel 9-31), and then David (1 Samuel 16-1 Kings 2) 3. Paul emphasizes God's deliverance and care: God as choosing Israel, exalting them, leading them out of Egypt with a strong hand; God as a "nursing father" to Israel in the Wilderness; God destroying seven nations; God giving judges and Samuel; God giving Saul; God giving David 4. He expands on David and God's testimony concerning him: David as a man after God's own heart, who will do His will, conflating 1 Samuel 13:14 with Psalm 89:20 and 1 Samuel 16:1, 12 5. As exegesis of the Old Testament, Paul provides some interesting details: considering the time in Egypt, Exodus, Wilderness and such around 450 years, Saul's reign as 40 years, the conflation noted above 6. Yet Paul's concern is not in exegeting various aspects of Old Testament history: none of this is news to his audience! 7. Paul begins by rehearsing the common history of Israel, a point of agreement among all who are present, providing the opportunity to show how God's work in Christ is consistent with that history C. Jesus' Connection with Israel (Acts 13:23-25): Jesus as Seed of David, the witness of John the Baptist 1. Paul identifies Jesus as the Seed of David, the promised Savior 2. He had not directly quoted the prophecies regarding the Messiah as the son of David, but had no need to: his audience was well-aware of that expectation (cf. 2 Samuel 7:11-16, Isaiah 11:1-9)! 3. God as Savior (Isaiah 43:3, 11, 45:15) 4. Paul then appeals to the witness of John the Baptist 5. Acts 19:1-9: John still had disciples about proclaiming his message, even in Ephesus, so it would not be surprising for Jews in Antioch of Pisidia to have heard of John and to believe that he was a prophet 6. Paul demonstrates that John spoke of the One to come but was not Him himself (cf. Luke 3:1-22) 7. Paul therefore locates Jesus firmly within the hope of Israel as the promised Savior descended from David, the One concerning whom John testified D. Second Summons, Description of Jesus' Death (Acts 13:26-29): Paul appeals to the stock of Abraham, those who fear God, of how the word of salvation is sent forth to "us"; describes the death of Jesus 1. Follows similar theme as Peter in Acts 3:13-18: Jesus killed at the hands of the Jews of Jerusalem and their rulers unjustly; did not deserve death; death fulfilled the message of the prophets (cf. Luke 23:1-49) 2. Yet Paul places double emphasis on fulfillment, and he also speaks of His burial (cf. Luke 23:50-56) 3. Cross as tree, evocation of Deuteronomy 21:22-23, consistent with Peter in Acts 5:30, 10:39, and which Paul will develop himself in Galatians 3:13-14 4. Paul focuses on Jesus' death, associates it directly with the message of the prophets just read (cf. Acts 13:15), balancing the injustice of the act with its fulfillment of God's purposes E. The Resurrection (Acts 13:30-37): Paul declares the resurrection of Jesus 1. Again follows similar theme of Peter, this time from Acts 2:22-34: God raised Jesus from the dead; witnessed by the Apostles who had come with Him from Galilee; appeal to Psalm 16:10 and demonstration that David is not talking about himself (cf. Luke 24:1-53) 2. Paul also appeals to Psalm 2:7, understanding Jesus as the only-begotten in terms of His resurrection, the "firstborn of the dead" (cf. Romans 8:29, Colossians 1:15, 18) 3. He also appeals to Isaiah 55:3 LXX to demonstrate how the Christ would no longer see corruption, implicitly the new, permanent covenant in Him (cf. Hebrews 9:1-27) 4. Paul considers the news of the resurrection of Jesus as the good news of the fulfillment of the promises made to the fathers, the ultimate reality to which all of Israel's history points F. Appeal (Acts 13:38-39): Jesus as means of remission of sin, justification 1. Paul's appeal is a concise statement of his theology which will be worked out in greater depth in Romans 1-8 and Galatians 2. "Be it known to you, brethren," again focusing the audience's attention (cf. Acts 2:36) 3. Through Jesus remission of sin is proclaimed (cf. Matthew 26:28, Acts 2:38) 4. Through faith in Jesus they could be justified from all things of which they could not receive justification under the Law of Moses (cf. Romans 1:17-5:11) 5. Through obedient faith, therefore, one can be reckoned as righteous on account of the superior sacrifice of Jesus (cf. Hebrews 7:12-9:27 as well)! G. Final warning (Acts 13:40-41): perishing if they do not heed the Word, as predicted by the prophets 1. Paul provides warning through the words of Habakkuk 1:5, although adds emphasis ("ye despisers...perish") 2. An appropriate warning: Habakkuk warns Israel about the coming Chaldeans; the Israelites in Jerusalem will soon meet the coming Romans 3. Nevertheless, Paul's true concern the spiritual condition of the audience: the judgment day is coming, first for Israel's national identity, and then ultimately for all before the Lord 4. A well-chosen warning also based on the unexpected nature of what God is accomplishing: just as Israel did not expect judgment by the Chaldeans, so they did not expect the Christ to come, suffer, die, be raised, and then glorified with power! 5. An excellent warning based in the prophets, understood by the audience H. Result: desire to hear more, some of the Jews and proselytes converted (Acts 13:42-43) IV. Analysis and Conclusion A. This is our first real introduction to Paul's preaching, and we can perceive both continuity with Peter and those before him as well as Paul's distinctive voice 1. The core message is consistent with what Peter declared: Jesus as the fulfillment of the promises to the fathers, the hope of Israel; His death as both unjust yet the fulfillment of what the prophets foretold; His resurrection witnessed by the Apostles, according to what was spoken of by David 2. Yet we can also see Paul's theological emphases: justification by faith in Jesus which could not be obtained under the Law; Jesus as the firstborn of the creation and of the dead B. Jesus and History 1. We may think it strange that Paul begins with a rehearsing of Israelite history, but it is quite important in context 2. The Jews liked to be reminded of their history and how God worked among His people 3. In so doing, Paul firmly anchors his preaching of Jesus in the context of Israel's history, and begins with a point of shared agreement: the history of God's work with Israel as pointing to the Messiah 4. His departure point is of great importance: the promise made to David a. The ground of the hope of the future King of Israel b. Everyone present is expecting God to fulfill that promise; Paul just has to convince them that He did so through Jesus! 5. Paul's preaching is saturated with quotations of the Old Testament and evocations of Old Testament themes 6. He expects his audience to be of Israel or to at least share in the hope and promise given to Israel and to be well-informed as to what God had spoken to and through their fathers C. Death, Resurrection, and Justification 1. We can also see that Paul's theological themes in his letters are also his themes in his preaching 2. Much is made of Jesus' death and resurrection in the letters; they are the core of his preaching of the Gospel here 3. He speaks of the need for justification and the inability to be justified by the law in the letters; the ability to obtain justification in Christ is the promise extended in his preaching 4. Such doctrinal considerations are not separate and alien from the preaching of the Gospel, but quite intertwined with it: Paul preaches the Gospel through such doctrinal emphases! D. The message of Jesus as the promised Savior in the line of David resonated with the audience: they converted and/or wished to hear more! E. We may not be Israelites, but we can obtain the same promises and the justification through Jesus which cannot be found anywhere else F. Let us be assured of God's fulfillment of His promises to the fathers in Jesus, and let us consider the warning of the prophets, and trust in Jesus as the Christ, obtaining justification and remission of sin, and avoid perishing! G. Invitation/songbook