God’s Extraordinary Promise!
Acts 13:13-41
Intro: As we look at this speech or sermon that Paul gave to the people of Antioch in Pisidia, we find that a theme becomes quite clear. Paul relates to his Jewish and Gentile listeners that God has fulfilled His promise. One might ask, “Which promise are you talking about?” There are a lot of promises given in the OT, but by and large, they all point to the same person to bring about their fulfillment.
Prop: God fulfilled His promise in Jesus and He is ours for the asking.
Interrogative: What is this promise all about, and what does it mean to us today?
TS: Let’s look at several clues that will deepen our understanding of God’s greatest promise. First, I’d like to provide the setting for our text by reading the 1st 4 verses.
Setting of Text: Acts 13:13-16 13 From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. 14 From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak." 16 Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: "Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me!
-Now, as we begin with Paul’s message of encouragement, we take a little trip down Israel’s memory lane.
I. God’s Promise Is Seen in Israel’s History (Acts 13:17-25)
Acts 13:17-25 17 The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt, with mighty power he led them out of that country, 18 he endured their conduct for about forty years in the desert, 19 he overthrew seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to his people as their inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years. "After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21 Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. 22 After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ’I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ 23 "From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. 24 Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. 25 As John was completing his work, he said: ’Who do you think I am? I am not that one. No, but he is coming after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’
-Look at the activity of God in this recap of some of Israel’s history:
chose our fathers (Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob)
made the people prosper in Egypt (Joseph)
he led them out of Egypt (Moses & Aaron)
he endured their conduct in the desert
he overthrew nations (Joshual)
gave their land to his people
gave them judges (Othniel - Samuel)
he gave them Saul for a king
he made David their king
brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised
-All of God’s activity as seen here was aimed at bringing the Messiah to Israel and the world, just as He had promised. Where in the OT did God promise to send the Messiah? Let’s just look at a few places where this promise is found.
Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."
Genesis 26:4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed,
Deuteronomy 18:15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.
Acts 3:24-26 24"Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days. 25 And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ’Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’ 26 When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways."
-These verses all point to the coming Messiah, Jesus, whom God had promised to Israel a few thousand years earlier. Now, we saw from the promise to Abraham that all nations on earth would be blessed through his offspring. I find it interesting that Jesus told His disciples to take the gospel to every nation. God does indeed love the whole world, and that is why He wants to bless the whole world through the seed of Abraham – Jesus, the promised One.
II. God’s Promise Is for All Who Believe (Acts 13:26)
26 "Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent.
-Paul was able to stand up in this Jewish synagogue, surrounded by Jews and devout Gentiles, and say that the message of God’s promise had been sent to them. He included himself and his companions, but he also included the Jews and Gentiles in Antioch who were sitting there that day.
-In Romans 1:16, Paul writes, 16“I am not ashamed of the gospel [good news about Jesus], because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”
-God’s promise is not affected by our nationality or family history. It is, however, affected by our response. If we respond in faith, then it becomes ours. If we respond with unbelief in God’s intention or ability to keep His promise, then we miss out on the greatest gift ever offered.
-John 1:12 “Yet to all who received him [Jesus], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” What a wonderful thing! God’s promise is yours if you receive what Jesus has to offer.
-TS: However, as we will see in this next point, not everybody wants to receive God’s free gift.
III. God’s Promise Is Often Overlooked (Acts 13:27-29)
27 The people of Jerusalem and their rulers
did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him
they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.
28 Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence,
they asked Pilate to have him executed.
29 When they had carried out all that was written about him,
they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.
-People often see only what they are looking for. Those in Israel who were looking for the promised Messiah found Him when they found Jesus. However, those who were only looking out for #1 and protecting their own interests found someone who was a threat to them. They did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah. They overlooked His grace and compassion and saw somebody who challenged their self-centered lifestyle. That is why they thought they had to get Him out of the way. He hit them where it hurt – in their pride and to some extent, in their pocketbook.
-Some of the Sanhedrin were involved with extortion schemes and other abuses of power within the high priesthood. When Jesus cleansed the temple, they did not like it one bit! House of prayer, nothing! The temple was making them rich – and they really liked it!
-What would cause you to overlook God’s promise? Are there personal issues and desires that are getting in your way so that you overlook the one thing that is a sure thing? Or maybe you have received Jesus as your forgiver and so you haven’t overlooked God’s promise for yourself- everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. However, is something causing you to overlook God’s promise for someone else? You’ve received forgiveness, but has your neighbor?
-TS: Let’s not overlook the greatest promise ever given – getting right with God. That leads us to the next point.
IV. God’s Promise Is Meant to Be Shared (Acts 13:30-32a)
30 But God raised him from the dead, 31 and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people. 32 "We tell you the good news:
-Jesus did not stay in the grave! He got up! God raised Him from the dead! This was validated by several witnesses, as Luke writes in Acts 1:3: “After his suffering, he showed himself to these men [His disciples] and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.”
-Paul shows with more detail in another place how well-attested the appearances of Christ were: 1 Corinthians 15:4-8 [Jesus] “was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and… he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also.”
-Paul mentions that those who followed Jesus during His earthly ministry saw Him after His resurrection and became His witnesses to the Jewish people. However, in v.32 he says, “We tell you the good news.” Now, Paul had seen Jesus on the road to Damascus, but we don’t know that Barnabas or any of Paul’s other companions actually saw Jesus. I mention this because I know how our minds can work sometimes. We might actually get it in our minds that only those who saw Jesus after He was resurrected were called to be His witnesses. We aren’t able to say that we’ve seen Jesus alive after His resurrection, but we can say what Paul said: “We tell you the good news!”
-Good news is meant to be shared! Let’s make sure we are connected with God’s purpose to take His good news to all people everywhere. Let’s keep on reading, living it, and sharing it with others. Let’s keep on being filled with His Spirit so we have the boldness and the ability to share the good news.
-TS: This next point really states the obvious, but we can never take the person of Jesus out of the promise.
V. God’s Promise Is Fulfilled in the Person of Jesus (Acts 13:32b-39)
What God promised our fathers 33 he has fulfilled for us, their children,
by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: "’You are my Son; today I have become your Father.’ 34 The fact that God raised him from the dead, never to decay, is stated in these words: "’I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’
35 So it is stated elsewhere: "’You will not let your Holy One see decay.’ 36 "For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. 37 But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay. 38 "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that
through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.
39 Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.
-It’s all about Jesus! Paul shows these Jews and God-fearing Gentiles that Jesus fulfills the criteria for being the Messiah. He shows that God’s promise to send a Messiah who would crush the enemy’s head, bless all nations, and bring forgiveness of sins has been fulfilled. Jesus fulfilled the prophecy about not seeing decay. Jesus didn’t decay in the grave. No, He got up! And now He helps us get up out of a life of sin and death and gives us hope and strength and joy for another day!
-God’s promise is awesome!
-TS: Finally, we see a stern warning from Paul.
VI. God’s Promise Is Unbelievable to Those Who Reject Him (Acts 13:40-41)
40 Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you: 41 "’Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.’"
-Paul wouldn’t be Paul without giving a warning like this. However, he knew enough to expect ridicule from some of his listeners. So, he quotes from Habakkuk, where the warning was given that God would punish Israel if they did not turn from their sinful ways. Paul applies the same judgment message to his listeners. Paul is basically telling them, “If you reject the promise of God, you’ve rejected God Himself and your only hope of forgiveness.”
-Israel didn’t believe that God would send them into captivity. There are some today who don’t think God would ever bring judgment against them. Someone might think, “I’m not so bad! Surely God won’t be too hard on me.” Let me say that God is generous and merciful, but He does not lie and He does not cheat! Justice must be carried out! God would be just to punish us all for eternity because of our sin and failure. Instead, He chose to send His Son Jesus to take our place, so we would not have to face eternal separation from Him in everlasting torment. That payment, however, is not yours until you receive it. God’s promise is not yours until you believe it and act on it.
-If we turn away from Jesus, we are turning away from our only hope of forgiveness and life.
Conclusion: As we close, I hope you have a fresh appreciation for God’s Extraordinary Promise. Jesus, the very Son of God came to this earth as one of us. He lived a perfect life, died an unjust death, and rose as a conquering King! He is the promise you’ve been seeking fulfillment for.
I. God’s Promise Is Seen in Israel’s History (Acts 13:17-25)
II. God’s Promise Is for All Who Believe (Acts 13:26)
III. God’s Promise Is Often Overlooked (Acts 13:27-29)
IV. God’s Promise Is Meant to Be Shared (Acts 13:30-32a)
V. God’s Promise Is Fulfilled in the Person of Jesus (Acts 13:32b-39)
VI. God’s Promise Is Unbelievable to Those Who Reject Him (Acts 13:40-41)
-If you need to make things right with God today, you are in a safe place where you can take care of that. Those around you love you and want the best for you. Nobody sits in judgment of you. God is the Judge, and He is offering you His mercy right now. Will you believe His promise? Will you receive Jesus as your forgiver and leader? If so, I would really like to talk with you and pray with you after we close in prayer.
-Jesus is God’s promise to you. Your life is your promise back to Him. Let’s ask God to help us keep our end of the bargain. Our lives belong to you, Lord!
