16 And Paul having risen, and having beckoned with the hand, said, 'Men, Israelites, and those fearing God, hearken: 17 the God of this people Israel did choose our fathers, and the people He did exalt in their sojourning in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm did He bring them out of it; 18 and about a period of forty years He did suffer their manners in the wilderness, 19 and having destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He did divide by lot to them their land. 20 'And after these things, about four hundred and fifty years, He gave judges—till Samuel the prophet; 21 and thereafter they asked for a king, and God did give to them Saul, son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years; 22 and having removed him, He did raise up to them David for king, to whom also having testified, he said, I found David, the 'son' of Jesse, a man according to My heart, who shall do all My will. 23 'Of this one's seed God, according to promise, did raise to Israel a Saviour—Jesus, 24 John having first preached, before his coming, a baptism of reformation to all the people of Israel; 25 and as John was fulfilling the course, he said, Whom me do ye suppose to be? I am not 'he', but, lo, he doth come after me, of whom I am not worthy to loose the sandal of 'his' feet. 26 'Men, brethren, sons of the race of Abraham, and those among you fearing God, to you was the word of this salvation sent, 27 for those dwelling in Jerusalem, and their chiefs, this one not having known, also the voices of the prophets, which every sabbath are being read—having judged 'him'—did fulfill, 28 and no cause of death having found, they did ask of Pilate that he should be slain, 29 and when they did complete all the things written about him, having taken 'him' down from the tree, they laid him in a tomb; 30 and God did raise him out of the dead, 31 and he was seen for many days of those who did come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. 32 'And we to you do proclaim good news—that the promise made unto the fathers, 33 God hath in full completed this to us their children, having raised up Jesus, as also in the second Psalm it hath been written, My Son thou art—I to-day have begotten thee. 34 'And that He did raise him up out of the dead, no more to return to corruption, he hath said thus—I will give to you the faithful kindnesses of David; 35 wherefore also in another 'place' he saith, Thou shalt not give Thy kind One to see corruption, 36 for David, indeed, his own generation having served by the will of God, did fall asleep, and was added unto his fathers, and saw corruption, 37 but he whom God did raise up, did not see corruption. 38 'Let it therefore be known to you, men, brethren, that through this one to you is the forgiveness of sins declared, 39 and from all things from which ye were not able in the law of Moses to be declared righteous, in this one every one who is believing is declared righteous; 40 see, therefore, it may not come upon you that hath been spoken in the prophets: 41 See, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish, because a work I—I do work in your days, a work in which ye may not believe, though any one may declare 'it' to you.'
42 And having gone forth out of the synagogue of the Jews, the nations were calling upon 'them' that on the next sabbath these sayings may be spoken to them, 43 and the synagogue having been dismissed, many of the Jews and of the devout proselytes did follow Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were persuading them to remain in the grace of God. 44 And on the coming sabbath, almost all the city was gathered together to hear the word of God, 45 and the Jews having seen the multitudes, were filled with zeal, and did contradict the things spoken by Paul—contradicting and speaking evil. 46 And speaking boldly, Paul and Barnabas said, 'To you it was necessary that first the word of God be spoken, and seeing ye do thrust it away, and do not judge yourselves worthy of the life age-during, lo, we do turn to the nations; 47 for so hath the Lord commanded us: I have set thee for a light of nations—for thy being for salvation unto the end of the earth.' 48 And the nations hearing were glad, and were glorifying the word of the Lord, and did believe—as many as were appointed to life age-during; 49 and the word of the Lord was spread abroad through all the region. 50 And the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the first men of the city, and did raise persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and did put them out from their borders; 51 and they having shaken off the dust of their feet against them, came to Iconium,
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Acts 13:16-51
Commentary on Acts 13:14-31
(Read Acts 13:14-31)
When we come together to worship God, we must do it, not only by prayer and praise, but by the reading and hearing of the word of God. The bare reading of the Scriptures in public assemblies is not enough; they should be expounded, and the people exhorted out of them. This is helping people in doing that which is necessary to make the word profitable, to apply it to themselves. Every thing is touched upon in this sermon, which might best prevail with Jews to receive and embrace Christ as the promised Messiah. And every view, however short or faint, of the Lord's dealings with his church, reminds us of his mercy and long-suffering, and of man's ingratitude and perverseness. Paul passes from David to the Son of David, and shows that this Jesus is his promised Seed; a Saviour to do that for them, which the judges of old could not do, to save them from their sins, their worst enemies. When the apostles preached Christ as the Saviour, they were so far from concealing his death, that they always preached Christ crucified. Our complete separation from sin, is represented by our being buried with Christ. But he rose again from the dead, and saw no corruption: this was the great truth to be preached.
Commentary on Acts 13:32-37
(Read Acts 13:32-37)
The resurrection of Christ was the great proof of his being the Son of God. It was not possible he should be held by death, because he was the Son of God, and therefore had life in himself, which he could not lay down but with a design to take it again. The sure mercies of David are that everlasting life, of which the resurrection was a sure pledge; and the blessings of redemption in Christ are a certain earnest, even in this world. David was a great blessing to the age wherein he lived. We were not born for ourselves, but there are those living around us, to whom we must study to be serviceable. Yet here is the difference; Christ was to serve all generations. May we look to Him who is declared to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead, that by faith in him we may walk with God, and serve our generation according to his will; and when death comes, may we fall asleep in him, with a joyful hope of a blessed resurrection.
Commentary on Acts 13:38-41
(Read Acts 13:38-41)
Let all that hear the gospel of Christ, know these two things: 1. That through this Man, who died and rose again, is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. Your sins, though many and great, may be forgiven, and they may be so without any injury to God's honour. 2. It is by Christ only that those who believe in him, and none else, are justified from all things; from all the guilt and stain of sin, from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses. The great concern of convinced sinners is, to be justified, to be acquitted from all their guilt, and accepted as righteous in God's sight, for if any is left charged upon the sinner, he is undone. By Jesus Christ we obtain a complete justification; for by him a complete atonement was made for sin. We are justified, not only by him as our Judge but by him as the Lord our Righteousness. What the law could not do for us, in that it was weak, the gospel of Christ does. This is the most needful blessing, bringing in every other. The threatenings are warnings; what we are told will come upon impenitent sinners, is designed to awaken us to beware lest it come upon us. It ruins many, that they despise religion. Those that will not wonder and be saved, shall wonder and perish.
Commentary on Acts 13:42-52
(Read Acts 13:42-52)
The Jews opposed the doctrine the apostles preached; and when they could find no objection, they blasphemed Christ and his gospel. Commonly those who begin with contradicting, end with blaspheming. But when adversaries of Christ's cause are daring, its advocates should be the bolder. And while many judge themselves unworthy of eternal life, others, who appear less likely, desire to hear more of the glad tidings of salvation. This is according to what was foretold in the Old Testament. What light, what power, what a treasure does this gospel bring with it! How excellent are its truths, its precepts, its promises! Those came to Christ whom the Father drew, and to whom the Spirit made the gospel call effectual, Romans 8:30. As many as were disposed to eternal life, as many as had concern about their eternal state, and aimed to make sure of eternal life, believed in Christ, in whom God has treasured up that life, and who is the only Way to it; and it was the grace of God that wrought it in them. It is good to see honourable women devout; the less they have to do in the world, the more they should do for their own souls, and the souls of others: but it is sad, when, under colour of devotion to God, they try to show hatred to Christ. And the more we relish the comforts and encouragements we meet with in the power of godliness, and the fuller our hearts are of them, the better prepared we are to face difficulties in the profession of godliness.