Acts 13:23 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised.

NIV: From this man's descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised.

NASB: From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus,

CSB: "From this man's descendants, as he promised, God brought to Israel the Savior, Jesus.

NLT: And it is one of King David’s descendants, Jesus, who is God’s promised Savior of Israel!

KJV: Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:

NKJV: From this man’s seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior—Jesus—

Barnabas is with Paul, in a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch in modern-day Asia Minor. It is custom for the synagogue leader to ask educated newcomers to speak at an assembly to give the regular attenders a new insight or news to discuss. This is a perfect opportunity for Paul to tell Jews about Jesus, and he uses this strategy throughout his church-planting ministry.

Paul is nearing the end of the first of five sections in his message: God's saving work in Israel's history (Acts 13:16–25). He has covered how God saved the Israelites from slavery, homelessness, and enemy armies. Now he reminds his audience how God promised that David, the greatest saving king, would have a descendent that would be the ultimate Savior. As a hint, Paul identifies this Savior as Jesus.

Up to this point, Paul probably held the attention of his audience. They know how God used Moses, Joshua, the judges, and Kings Saul and David to save Israel as a nation. John the Baptist's ministry is well known, even far from Judea (Acts 10:37–38; 18:24–25; 19:1–3). They know that John promised the Savior was coming.

But to this point, God's saving work in Israel has always been corporate: for the nation as a whole. And what the Jews in the synagogue know even better than John's message is that Israel is still under the control of Rome. There is no Jewish king of the line of David sitting on the throne (2 Samuel 7:16). Although Jesus had the triumphal entry of a king (Matthew 21:9), the Romans killed Him. The Jews in Pisidian Antioch don't know that Jesus rose or that before He can save the Jews as a nation, He will first save individuals from their sins.

In the next sections of Paul's message, he will have to show how Jesus the Savior did die but was resurrected, how that resurrection was prophesied in Hebrew Scripture, how He presently offers a different type of salvation, and how the members of the synagogue need to accept that salvation (Acts 13:26–41). Just like in Jerusalem, many of the people accept this salvation, but the whole thing proves to be more than the Jewish leaders can handle (Acts 13:44–52).

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.