Introduction
I am preaching through the Book of Acts in a series titled “Turning the World Upside Down.”
Imagining the gospel's astonishing impact in the first century isn't easy.
There were a little more than 500 Christians worldwide at the time of Jesus' resurrection (see 1 Corinthians 15:6).
Within one generation, thousands of people professed faith in Jesus Christ.
The gospel was spreading so fast that when Paul and Silas were in Thessalonica, they were dragged before the city authorities by Jewish people who said, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also” (Acts 17:6).
The Apostle Paul was the first genuinely great preacher and teacher of the gospel.
His understanding of the gospel and his communication of the gospel was profound.
He left an indelible mark not only on his generation but on every generation since his time.
Today, I want to examine Paul’s gospel preaching in Acts 13:13-52 when he was in Antioch in Pisidia.
This is a long narrative, but I want to read the entire passage to get a flavor of Paul’s preaching of the gospel.
This is the first extended account of Paul’s preaching of the gospel.
Scripture
Let’s read Acts 13:13-52:
13 Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem, 14 but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.” 16 So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said:
“Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen. 17 The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. 18 And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. 19 And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years. And after that he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. 21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’ 23 Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised. 24 Before his coming, John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’
26 “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. 27 For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. 28 And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. 29 And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead, 31 and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. 32 And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, 33 this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm,
“ ‘You are my Son,
today I have begotten you.’
34 And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,
“ ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’
35 Therefore he says also in another psalm,
“ ‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’
36 For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, 37 but he whom God raised up did not see corruption. 38 Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. 40 Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about:
41 “ ‘Look, you scoffers,
be astounded and perish;
for I am doing a work in your days,
a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’ ”
42 As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. 43 And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.
44 The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. 46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,
“ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. 51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Lesson
The Scripture we just read contains so much rich content. Today, I want to focus on a few key features of Paul’s gospel preaching in Pisidian Antioch.
Acts 13:13-52 shows us that the unchanging gospel is rooted in God’s faithfulness and must be boldly proclaimed to all, no matter the opposition we face.
Let’s use the following outline:
1. The Gospel Proclaims God’s Faithfulness (13:13-25)
2. The Gospel Declares Jesus’ Resurrection (13:26-37)
3. The Gospel Offers Sinners Forgiveness (13:38-43)
4. The Gospel Spreads Despite Opposition (13:44-52)
I. The Gospel Proclaims God’s Faithfulness (13:13-25)
First, the gospel proclaims God’s faithfulness.
Last time, we learned that the Holy Spirit set Paul and Barnabas aside to proclaim the gospel in the places he would send them.
So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and sailed to Cyprus from there (see Acts 13:4).
They landed at Salamis on the east coast of Cypress and proclaimed the word of God in the synagogue of the Jews there.
They traveled westward through the island of Cypress, eventually reaching Paphos on the west coast of Cypress.
That is where the proconsul Sergius Paulus asked to hear about the word of God. It is also where they encountered the magician Elymas.
After Paul's rebuke, Elymas was struck by blindness. The proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, for he was astonished at the Lord's teaching (see Acts 13:12).
After this, “Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia” (v. 13), northwest of Paphos. Pamphylia is now in modern-day Turkey.
Paul and his companions traveled north about 100 miles until they “came to Antioch in Pisidia” (v. 14), also known as Pisidian Antioch.
On the Sabbath day, they worshiped in the local synagogue in Pisidian Antioch.
Verse 15 tells us, “After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, ‘Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.’ ”
The synagogue rulers learned that Paul had been a Pharisee and had the equivalent of two doctorates in biblical studies, so they invited him to speak to the people.
Without hesitation, Paul stood up and addressed the congregation.
Paul connected with the congregation about their shared history.
He told them how God chose Israel and led them through difficult times in Egypt and then to the Promised Land in Canaan, which God gave them as an inheritance (see vv. 16-19).
Then, when the people of God were in the Promised Land, they asked God for a king so that they could be like the nations around them.
God gave them Saul. But Saul proved to be a disastrous king.
So Paul told the congregation in verse 22, “And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’ ”
But even David did not fully obey God.
So God promised that he would raise a descendant of David, who would reign forever and ever.
In verse 23, Paul proclaims God’s faithfulness to the congregation: “Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised.”
Paul’s preaching was grounded in God’s faithfulness.
God promised a Savior centuries before Jesus was born.
There were over 300 hundred prophecies about the first advent of Jesus, and every single prophecy came true.
God was—and is—faithful to his word.
Friends, it has been two millennia since Paul proclaimed God’s faithfulness to the congregation at Pisidian Antioch.
The same God who was faithful then is still faithful today.
When you share the gospel with family, friends, or strangers, don’t hesitate to proclaim God’s continued faithfulness today.
There is not a single promise in the entire word of God that God has broken—ever!
II. The Gospel Declares Jesus’ Resurrection (13:26-37)
Second, the gospel declares Jesus’ resurrection.
Paul masterfully connected his congregation with their covenantal relationship with God. In verse 26, he said, “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation.”
The good news of the gospel came first to the Jews.
Jesus was himself a Jew.
I saw a bumper sticker last week on the back of someone’s car that said, “Jesus was a Palestinian.”
No, he was not. The name “Palestine” does not appear in the Bible, and it was not until much later that the land of Israel was referred to as Palestine.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a town in the land of Judah.
He was raised in Nazareth, so he was sometimes called “the Nazarene.”
Paul went on to tell the congregation that the Jewish people did not recognize Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, the Savior sent by God to be their deliverer.
Sadly, the Jewish authorities eventually had Jesus crucified. All this was done in fulfillment of prophecy.
Then, Paul said, “But God raised him [that is, Jesus] from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people” (vv. 30-31).
Paul referred to Psalm 2, Isaiah 55, and Psalm 16, which show that David had died but that Jesus had died and risen again, proving that he was the promised Savior.
That is why Paul said to the congregation in verses 32-33, “And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus.”
The resurrection of Jesus is essential in every gospel presentation.
When I was a university student at the University of Cape Town, a fellow student had become a Christian.
Over the spring break, she went on a hiking trip with many brilliant fellow students who were not Christians.
They bombarded her with questions about Christianity. They asked, “Why is Christianity true?”
She said that it was true because of the Bible.
They continued to bombard her with questions about the Bible.
Being a new Christian, she could not answer her questions.
However, she said they should invite a Christian to one of their meetings, where they would like to discuss things.
They agreed to that.
When she returned from spring break, she rushed over to tell me what had happened and asked me to meet with them.
As a relatively new Christian and knowing how bright these young students were, I suggested another friend of ours, Martin Morrison, a committed Christian and gifted apologist.
We met a few weeks later with her non-Christian friends.
They posed the question to Martin, “Why is Christianity true?”
Martin said that Christianity is true because of the resurrection of Jesus.
For about two hours, Martin answered every question they had.
Finally, they had to agree that God had raised Jesus back to life again.
Martin said, “So, given Jesus’ resurrection, what will you do? Either surrender your life to him, or you continue your rebellion.”
They changed the subject.
Friends, the resurrection is the central and most important feature of the gospel's good news.
When someone asks you, “Why is Christianity true?” tell them it is because Jesus is alive.
Insist on the truth that Jesus has been raised from the dead.
III. The Gospel Offers Sinners Forgiveness (13:38-43)
Third, the gospel offers sinners forgiveness.
Paul then offered sinners forgiveness in verses 38-39, “Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.”
Paul contrasted forgiveness through Jesus with forgiveness through the law of Moses.
Paul knew that the Jewish people depended on their ethnicity to keep them right with God.
He knew that they believed their attempts to obey the law of Moses would help them gain right standing before God.
The people believed they could maintain their good standing with God by obeying the law of Moses.
But it was not working.
The point of the law was to show them their sins.
The law was designed to show that they were not perfect.
Only Jesus obeyed the law of Moses perfectly.
Only Jesus’ obedience could be applied to sinners if they asked God to forgive them for their sins.
Even today, people try to earn or merit or achieve their right standing with God by obeying what they think is right.
They hope that their obedience will outweigh their disobedience.
The problem is that unless we are in Jesus, everything we do is tainted by sin and unacceptable to God.
So, we must receive his forgiveness by believing that Jesus paid the penalty for all our sins.
John Stott rightly said, “The proper Christian attitude to sin is not to deny it but to admit it, and then to receive the forgiveness which God has made possible and promises to us.”
IV. The Gospel Spreads Despite Opposition (13:44-52)
Finally, the gospel spreads despite opposition.
A week later, on the Sabbath day, “almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord” (v. 44).
But the Jews were jealous and spoke in opposition to Paul.
In verses 46-47, Paul and Barnabas told the Jews, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”
Then we read these marvelous words in verse 48, “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.”
Persecution was stirred up against Paul and Barnabas, and they were driven out of the district of Pisidian Antioch.
Whenever the gospel is preached, some believe, and some do not.
Nevertheless, the gospel spreads despite opposition.
I am reading the remarkable biography of John Geddie, a missionary to the island of Aneiteum in the South Pacific.
He went to a cannibalistic island. It is horrific to read what the islanders did to one another.
After a few years of challenging work, John Geddie wrote in his diary on August 22, 1851: “The tide of feeling seems to turn in favour of Christianity.”
However, a few days later, on August 25, 1851, Geddie noted, “On Aneiteum, there are but two classes—those who favour Christianity and those who oppose it.”
Friends, that is always the case.
Don’t be discouraged when people oppose your presentation of the gospel.
Keep proclaiming the good news.
Though some may oppose it, there will be some who receive it.
Conclusion
The gospel that Paul preached is still the same one we must proclaim today.
If you are not yet a believer, let me urge you to believe in Jesus and turn from your sins.
If you are a believer, share the good news with those who are not believers in Jesus. Amen.
