EXCURSUS. On the Jewish Synagogue. The Synagogue was the connecting link between the _Temple_ of Jerusalem and the _Church_ of the Christians. It was the _synagogue_ and its services which prepared the mind of those Jews who, obeying the command of the Master, laid the foundation of the Christian... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:1. THE CHURCH THAT WAS AT ANTIOCH. It was a grand work the church of Antioch was about to inaugurate, but a work which to the fathers of the Church who dwelt under the shadow of the proud Jerusalem Temple would seem very strange and contrary to the spirit which had so long dwelt in the Hebre... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:2. AS THEY MINISTERED TO THE LORD, AND FASTED. That is, while the solemn service of the Church was going on, came the word of the Lord to one, doubtless, of the prophets then present. The word translated ‘as they ministered' was the general word used in the Old Testament for ‘priestly servic... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:3. AND WHEN THEY HAD FASTED AND PRAYED, AND LAID THEIR HANDS ON THEM. This their final consecration took place on another occasion. Ewald suggests it was performed at one of the usual public assemblies held always on the first day of the week. This simple ceremony of ordination was well know... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:4. DEPARTED. It was the first attempt of the two missionary apostles, and no doubt it was an anxious question with them _whither_ they should first bend their steps, into which of the isles of the Gentiles they should first bear the message of the Redeemer. Cyprus was chosen, for it was the... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:5. AT SALAMIS. At this time Salamis was the chief mercantile city of the island; very many of the inhabitants here were Jews. In the reign of the Emperor Trajan it was desolated in a terrible revolt of the Cyprian Jews; the revolt ended in the expulsion of the Jews from the island. THEY HA... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:6. UNTO PAPHOS. Salamis was at the eastern extremity of Cyprus, Paphos at the western. The apostles had thus passed through the whole length of the island. New Paphos was then the capital and the residence of the governor; it was only a few miles distant from Old Paphos, where the famous tem... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:7. THE DEPUTY OF THE COUNTRY. The word rendered ‘deputy' is the Greek term for the Latin ‘proconsul.' In the Roman empire there were two classes of provincial governments. The one class was under the direction of the senate and people. In these senatorial provinces the presence of an armed f... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:8. BUT ELYMAS THE SORCERER (FOR SO IS HIS NAME BY INTERPRETATION). Elymas is an Arabic word which means the ‘wise,' the ‘Magian,' or ‘magician.' It was evidently self-interest which induced the vagrant Jew to depreciate the stranger missionaries in the eyes of the proconsul. They, he saw, we... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:9. THEN SAUL (WHO ALSO IS CALLED PAUL). This abrupt statement of the writer of the ‘Acts' is the only explanation given of a change in the great apostle's name. _Before_ the visit to the coast of the governor of Cyprus he is always called Saul; _after_ the visit to Cyprus he is ever spoken o... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:11. THOU SHALT BE BLIND. Miracles of punishment are very rare in the New Testament. Peter and Paul each once at least worked a miracle of wrath in the name of their Master, Peter, in the case of Ananias and his guilty wife in the presence of a great Jewish assembly; Paul, before the Roman go... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:12. BELIEVED. That Sergius Paulus was baptized is the natural inference. ‘Believed' is the ordinary expression used in the early Christian records for turning to the Lord and joining the Church (so Acts 4:4; Acts 11:21; Acts 19:18). The proconsul of Cyprus is another instance of men of high... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:13. PAUL AND HIS COMPANY. Paul now was evidently the leading person of the mission; he and Barnabas had exchanged places; the disputation before Sergius Paulus, and the miracle of punishment worked on the Magian, placed Paul in a new position. The ungrudging spirit of Barnabas seems at once... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:14. THEY CAME TO ANTIOCH IN PISIDIA. Antioch in Pisidia was one of the many Antiochs (see note on Acts 13:4) built by Seleucus Nicator, about 350 years before the visit of Paul and Barnabas. It was a city of considerable importance, and a Roman colony (on the meaning of ‘colony,' see note on... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:16. MEN OF ISRAEL, AND YE THAT FEAR GOD. ‘Men of Israel,' that is, the Jews and proselytes worshipping in the congregation. ‘Those that fear God' included those Gentile natives of Pisidia and strangers who had given up idol- worship, and who worshipped the God of Israel, without, however, be... [ Continue Reading ]
_First Division of the Sermon Sketch of the Story of Israel till the Days of David._ Acts 13:17. THE GOD OF THIS PEOPLE OF ISRAEL CHOSE OUR FATHERS. The Eternal _chose_ Israel out of the various peoples of the world for ‘His own,' to keep burning, in the midst of the varied populations given up to i... [ Continue Reading ]
_Paul's Sermon in the Synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia_, _17-41._ This discourse falls naturally into three divisions: _(a)_ Acts 13:17-22. A sketch of the grand old story of the chosen people till the days of David. (_b_) Acts 13:23-37 Paul speaks of David's great descendant foreseen by the proph... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:18. SUFFERED HE THEIR MANNERS. Another word is found in the most ancient Greek MSS., which signifies, ‘He (God) bare them (in the wilderness) as a nursing father,' as in Deuteronomy 1:31.... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:19. SEVEN NATIONS IN THE LAND OF CHANAAN. Compare Deuteronomy 7:1. These ‘seven' were the principal and most powerful tribes of Canaan.... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:20. AND AFTER THAT HE GAVE UNTO THEM JUDGES ABOUT THE SPACE OF FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS. According to the received text, it would seem that the period during which the judges ruled in Israel was four hundred and fifty years; and this seems to agree with the chronology of the Book of Judg... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:21. BY THE SPACE OF FORTY YEARS. The Old Testament does not mention the length of Saul's reign. The statement here, however, agrees with Josephus, who speaks of Saul reigning eighteen years before Samuel's death and twenty-two after it.... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:22. AND WHEN HE HAD REMOVED HIM. That is, by death. It was not until Saul had perished that David became king, although he had been anointed during the lifetime of Saul. DAVID THE SON OF JESSE, A MAN AFTER MINE OWN HEART. This expression is not found in this form in the Old Testament, but... [ Continue Reading ]
_Second Division of the Sermon._ _Of the Promised Messiah_, _Jesus, the Son of David,_ 23 - 37. Acts 13:23. OF THIS MAN'S SEED. This was the first requisite, for unless He were descended from David, Jesus could not be the Messiah foretold by the prophets. GOD, ACCORDING TO HIS PROMISE, RAISED UNT... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:24. WHEN JOHN HAD FIRST PREACHED BEFORE HIS COMING. The literal translation of the Greek gives a clearer meaning: ‘John having preached before His coming.' Paul mentions this preaching and testimony of the Baptist to Jesus as a thing well known. A vast number of the Jews seem to have acknowl... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:25. AND AS JOHN FULFILLED HIS COURSE. Better rendered, ‘And as John was fulfilling his course.' This was an expression peculiar to Paul; see 2 Timothy 4:7: ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course.' Compare also Paul's words in Acts 20:24; Galatians 2:2. The words signify, _‘_... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:26. MEN AND BRETHREN, CHILDREN OF THE STOCK OF ABRAHAM, AND WHOSOEVER AMONG YOU FEARETH GOD, TO YOU IS THE WORD OF THIS SALVATION SENT. Before speaking at length of the Crucified as Messiah, Paul excites the attention of the congregation by pointing out that _to them_ who were then listening... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:27. FOR THEY THAT DWELL AT JERUSALEM. _For._ Paul went on to say, in that proud home of our common faith, in the holy city, our rulers and priests have rejected Him. They have ignored those voices of the prophets which are ever ringing in their ears; therefore to you now, Jews of the dispers... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:28. AND THOUGH THEY FOUND NO CAUSE OF DEATH IN HIM. They accused Jesus of blasphemy and sedition, but were utterly unable to prove either charge.... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:29. ALL THAT WAS WRITTEN OF HIM. That is, the various indignities predicted in those prophecies which speak of the sufferings of Messiah. Compare, for instance, Psalms 22; Isaiah 53; Zechariah 11:12-13; Zechariah 12:10 to Zechariah 13:7. THEY TOOK HIM DOWN FROM THE TREE, AND LAID HIM IN A S... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Argument of the following ten verses_, 28 - 37, _is as follows_ : I. Acts 13:28-29. The Jews put the innocent Jesus to death, and then laid Him in the grave. II. Acts 13:30-31. But God raised Him from the dead; and of the resurrection we possess many eye-witnesses. III. Acts 13:32-33. In th... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:30. BUT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD. Paul with great force and power here contrasts the work of God with the work of men. _Men_ rejected, scorned, and then crucified Jesus; _God_ raised Him from the dead.... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:31. AND HE WAS SEEN MANY DAYS OF THEM. This was the most convincing proof of the Messiah- ship of Jesus. It was a proof which the apostles in their preaching ever used with great power. With these first teachers of Christianity the resurrection of their crucified Master rested on no traditio... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:32. AND WE DECLARE UNTO YOU. And thus, Paul went on to say, while the apostles and eyewitnesses are at this moment carrying out _their_ mission in the Holy Land to the Jews, _we_ (Paul and Barnabas) are preaching to you in these distant lands the same glad truths.... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:33. GOD HATH FULFILLED. The Greek word here may be rendered ‘hath completely fulfilled,' _completely_, because in the resurrection which is here about to be mentioned, the ascension and exaltation of Messiah are both involved. IN THE SECOND PSALM. Some of the fathers and one ancient MS. re... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:34. NO MORE TO RETURN TO CORRUPTION. That is to say, Christ will never again endure death death which is invariably followed by corruption. His sacred body, however, underwent no change or corruption while it lay in the grave; so that here ‘to return to corruption' is simply ‘to die.' The do... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:35. WHEREFORE HE SAITH ALSO IN ANOTHER PSALM, THOU SHALT NOT SUFFER THINE HOLY ONE TO SEE CORRUPTION. He, that is, God; as in the preceding verse, ‘He (God) said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.' Although in the psalm quoted (Psalms 16) David is speaking, he is only s... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:36. FOR DAVID, AFTER HE HAD SERVED HIS OWN GENERATION BY THE WILL OF GOD, FELL ON SLEEP. The words of the psalm just quoted were spoken certainly by King David, but they cannot possibly find their fulfilment in him, for an everlasting salvation was promised through a Messiah who should reign... [ Continue Reading ]
_Third Division of the Sermon_ _Paul declares to the Congregation of the Synagogue at Antioch the Doctrine of Justification by Faith in Jesus,_ 38, 39 _Solemn Warning against Rejection of Messiah_, 40, 41. Acts 13:38. THROUGH THIS MAN IS PREACHED UNTO YOU THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. Paul having now sho... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:39. BY HIM ALL THAT BELIEVE ARE JUSTIFIED FROM ALL THINGS, FROM WHICH YE COULD NOT BE JUSTIFIED BY THE LAW OF MOSES. In other words, Paul said to them, ‘Jesus Christ, if ye believe on Him as Messiah, will do for you what the Law could not do. In Him shall you be justified from all your sins... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:40. IN THE PROPHETS. The general warnings contained in that volume of the Old Testament Scriptures so named by the Jews. They are to beware lest the terrible denunciations of the old prophets find their fulfilment in them.... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:41. BEHOLD, YOU DESPISERS, AND WONDER AND PERISH. The quotation is from the LXX. Version of Zechariah 1:5. The prophet in the first instance refers to an invasion of the land by the Chaldeans. But the words of Habakkuk reached far beyond the temporary punishment inflicted by the Chaldean inv... [ Continue Reading ]
_Further Preaching of Paul and Barnabas in Antioch_, 42 - 49. Acts 13:42. AND WHEN THE JEWS WERE GONE OUT OF THE SYNAGOGUE, THE GENTILES BESOUGHT THAT THESE WORDS MIGHT BE PREACHED TO THEM THE NEXT SABBATH. The reading of the more ancient MSS. here is as follows, ‘And as they were going out they bes... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:43. TO CONTINUE IN THE GRACE OF GOD. No doubt the very words of Paul used to these Jews and proselytes who followed the missionaries to their temporary home in the city. It was a very favourite expression of his (see Acts 20:24; 1 Corinthians 15:10; 2 Corinthians 6:1; Galatians 2:21).... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:44. AND THE NEXT SABBATH DAY CAME ALMOST THE WHOLE CITY TOGETHER. During the week which had passed since the first preaching of Paul, the apostles had doubtless been earnestly engaged in teaching and spreading their doctrines in private assemblies and meetings; and the result was a very grea... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:45. WHEN THE JEWS SAW THE MULTITUDES, THEY WERE FILLED WITH ENVY. It is the Jews only, not the proselytes, who were enraged at the sight of the crowds who flocked to hear the stranger missionaries. The old exclusive pride of the race of Abraham was stirred up at the thought of these masses o... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:46. IT WAS NECESSARY THAT THE WORD OF GOD SHOULD FIRST HAVE BEEN SPOKEN TO YOU. Necessary because the Master had so commanded it (Acts 1:8; Romans 1:16); necessary because this was part of the Divine plan. This was, however, merely a command in reference to priority. Gentiles would have been... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:47. I HAVE S et THEE TO BE A LIGHT OF THE GENTILES, THAT THOU SHOULDEST BE FOR SALVATION UNTO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. The apostles now show the assembled crowds that it was no momentary impulse of anger which had moved them to that solemn declaration of their intention to speak directly to th... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:48. AND WHEN THE GENTILES HEARD THIS, THEY WERE GLAD, AND GLORIFIED THE WORD OF THE LORD. These Heathens openly expressed their joy and gratitude when they found from Paul that even in the sacred and jealously guarded oracles of the Hebrew race, _they_ too, who had no connection with the Lan... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:49. AND THE WORD OF THE LORD WAS PUBLISHED THROUGHOUT ALL THAT REGION. Antioch in Pisidia now evidently became a, centre whence Christianity was diffused through all the neighbouring country.... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:50. THE DEVOUT AND HONOURABLE WOMEN. Strabo, quoted by Howson (_St. Paul_, chap. vi), makes special mention of the position of the female sex in the towns of Western Asia, and speaks in strong terms of the power which they possessed and exercised in controlling and modifying the religious op... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:51. THEY SHOOK OFF THE DUST OF THEIR FEET AGAINST THEM, acting thus in accordance with the Master's command (Luke 9:5). The scribes taught that the dust of a heathen land defiled by the touch. Hence the shaking of the dust off the feet implied that the city was regarded as profane. CAME UNT... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:52. AND THE DISCIPLES WERE FILLED WITH JOY, AND WITH THE HOLY GHOST. The members of the Antioch Church, instead of being depressed and disheartened by the enforced departure of their teachers, Paul and Barnabas, conscious of the intense happiness which had now become their inheritance as Chr... [ Continue Reading ]