Acts 13: 13-41

(Acts 13: 13-41)

Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.  But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.  And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.  Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.  The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it.  And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness. And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot.  And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.  And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.  And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:  When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.  And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose. Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.  For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.  And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain.  And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. But God raised him from the dead:  And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,  God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.  And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.  Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.  For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:  But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.  Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:  And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.  Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets;  Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.

 

It can be divided into two parts. The first is verses 13-14, and the second is verses 15-41. First, verses 13-14 explain the background of Paul's first evangelistic journey. 『And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. The background was an outreach trip that lasted about 2 years, with a journey of about 2,240 km to the Galatia region by boat from Bab, located on Gurbo Island, through Asia Minor.

Upon reaching Perga, John (where John means Mark John) left the men with Paul and returned to Jerusalem. As soon as Paul and his party arrived in Perga, Paul's body had a problem due to the unique climate of the coastal city. Because of this, he decided to go to Visidia Antioch, but to do this he had to cross a rugged mountain range. In the eyes of young Magaohan, from the fool to Perga, he took a difficult boat and crossed the sea to see Paul, who was sick. And he decided that Paul and his companions would go over the wild mountain range to Pisidian Antioch.

To Magyohan, the mountain range did not mean simply a rough hike. It was a mountain range called suffering that came to the life of the evangelist. Eventually, Magaohan refused to be with Paul anymore and returned to Jerusalem. This incident stigmatized Paul as someone who could no longer partner with him. As a result, on the second evangelistic trip, Paul quarreled and separated from Barnabas, who wanted to accompany Mark Gao-han.

Paul and his companions led the sick body across the mountain range. The mountain range they must cross represents the tremendous fear and hardship that caused Magahah to escape. He had to overcome his illness while crossing the mountain range, so he had no choice but to risk his life. Paul and his companions crossed the mountain range of fear and suffering.

When Paul arrives at Antioch in Pisidia, he enters the synagogue on the Sabbath to preach the Word. Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. 』Those who feared God were those who worshiped God in the synagogue after Gentiles converted to Judaism. In other words, even at that time, if the Gentiles went through the process of obeying some of the requirements of Judaism, circumcision, and food laws, they could become Jewish members. The apostle Paul divided into two groups and shared words that the Jews could understand and accept according to their circumstances.

The message can be divided into four sections of text, “And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 』He said that Jesus would come as the descendant of David.

Second, 『For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. In other words, the Jews memorized the word of God day and night and were confident that they knew well, but they did not realize that He had come, and rather condemned Jesus. Third, even though the Jews did not realize that Jesus, the Messiah, came to this earth, they crucified Jesus to death, but as promised, God raised him from the dead.

Fourth, 『Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you. In other words, those who believe in the fact that He came to this earth as promised will receive forgiveness of their sins, and through this person, everyone who believes will be justified.