Acts 13:39 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.

NIV: Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.

NASB: and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.

CSB: Everyone who believes is justified through him from everything that you could not be justified from through the law of Moses.

NLT: Everyone who believes in him is made right in God’s sight — something the law of Moses could never do.

KJV: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

NKJV: and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Paul is speaking in a synagogue near the middle of present-day Asia Minor. His audience consists of expatriate Jews as well as Gentiles who have dedicated themselves to the Jewish religion. The basis of their culture is acknowledgement of the one true God and the following of His laws. Now, Paul is saying that law cannot save them.

Paul's entire message is about God's salvation of Israel, from slavery, hardships, homelessness, and enemies. In each case, God used men who followed Him: Moses, Joshua, the judges, and Kings Saul and David (Acts 13:16–22). The entire book of Deuteronomy speaks about how God's earthly salvation of the Jewish nation is provisional on their adherence to the Mosaic law.

Their understanding of the Savior, or Messiah, God promised fits right into this—the Messiah was to lead them in following the Law and winning independence from their enemies. John the Baptist announced that this Savior had come (Acts 13:23–25). Paul argued that the Savior was Jesus of Nazareth and showed how even His death and resurrection bore witness to His identity (Acts 13:26–37).

Paul is asking these good people to turn their assumptions about Messiah backwards: to believe the Messiah died. Israel is not independent from Rome. The Mosaic law would have been essential to maintain the cultural cohesion of a people that is regularly exiled, up to and including the diaspora that led to a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch. Now, Paul wants them to believe that the Messiah rose again, that political independence is still in their future, but right now He offers forgiveness of sins.

What they don't quite understand is that sacrifices never saved apart from faith (Romans 3:27–28). Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob may have periodically performed sacrifices, but they were saved because they had faith in God's promises to them (Hebrews 11:1–22). As Paul speaks, the ark of the covenant has been lost for centuries. The veil was torn decades ago (Matthew 27:51). And in a few more decades, Rome will sack Jerusalem, burn the temple, and exile the Jews. It will not be possible for the Jews to fulfill the law, and it still isn't today. We all—Jew and Gentiles—need the Savior.

Acts 13:16–41 gives the transcript of Paul's message in Pisidian Antioch. It is the only recording of Paul's many synagogue sermons. Paul's message can be broken into five parts, each identified with a call to heed Paul's words: 1. God's saving work in Israel's history and promise of a future Savior (Acts 13:16–25); 2. The Savior's story (Acts 13:26–31); 3. The prophecies of the Savior (Acts 13:32–37); 4. The nature of ''salvation'' (Acts 13:38–39); 5. A warning to accept the Savior (Acts 13:40–41). Some Jews and many Gentiles do accept the message, but the synagogue leaders drive Paul and Barnabas out of town (Acts 13:42–51).

Acts 13 transitions Luke's account (Acts 1:1) fully into a record of Paul's ministry to spread the news about Jesus. The Holy Spirit calls Paul and Barnabas for their first missionary journey. They teach about Jesus' offer of forgiveness of sins on the island of Cyprus and in the district of Pisidia in modern-day south-central Asia Minor. Along the way, they face opposition, desertion, and persecution: themes that will follow Paul throughout his life. But they also experience the joy of watching the people they'd least expect come to a saving faith in Jesus.

The first chapters of Acts, save for a quick account of Paul's conversion (Acts 9:1–31), cover the ministry of the apostles, particularly Peter. Those passages also detail the spread of the news about Jesus from His followers. That message goes to the Jews of Jerusalem (Acts 2—7) and Judea (Acts 8:26–40; 9:32–43), the Samaritans (Acts 8:4–25), and God-fearing Gentiles (Acts 10—11). Now, Paul's contribution to the ''end of the earth'' portion of Jesus' commission in Acts 1:8 begins, as he and Barnabas start their first missionary journey. Luke will record two more of Paul's journeys (Acts 15:36—18:22 and 18:23—20:38) before settling in on his return to Jerusalem, arrest, and sea voyage to Rome (Acts 21—28).

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.