Bible Study series: Acts 13:23-37. Jesus is the Messiah, and God raised him from the dead.
Friendly greetings and a warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn. Let’s learn together and apply these truths to our lives.
I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click on this link:
At the link to the original post, next, I write more commentary and dig a little deeper into the Greek. I also offer a section titled Observations for Discipleship at the end. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided in the commentary section for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Acts 13:23-37
23 From the descendants of this man, in accordance to a promise, God brought Israel a Savior, Jesus, 24 after John was proclaiming beforehand a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel before the appearance of his coming. 25 As John was completing his race, he said, ‘What do you think me to be? I am not he. But look! He is coming after me, whose sandal of his feet I am not worthy to loosen!’
26 Men, women, brothers and sisters, descendants of the family of Abraham and all those among you who fear God! The word of this salvation has been sent out to us. 27 And so those living in Jerusalem and their leaders were ignorant of this one and of the voices of the prophets that are read every Sabbath day, so they fulfilled the prophecies by condemning him. 28 And though they did not find one cause for death, they demanded Pilate to do away with him. 29 When they accomplished everything that had been written about him, they took him down from the wood and placed him in a tomb.
30 But God raised him from the dead. 31 He appeared for many days to those who went up with him from Galilee into Jerusalem. Now they are his witnesses to the people. 32 And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to our ancestors, 33 which God had fulfilled to us their children, resurrecting Jesus, as it is also written in the second psalm,
‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you’; [Ps. 2:7]
34 that God raised him from the dead, no longer destined to return to decay, it is spoken in this way, ‘I shall give you the holy and trustworthy decrees of David.’ [Is. 55:3] 35 And therefore it is said in another place, ‘I shall not grant your holy one to experience decay.’ [Ps. 16:10] 36 David after serving his own generation and the purpose of God, fell asleep, and was laid with his fathers and experienced corruption. 37 However, the one whom God raised up did not experience corruption. (Acts 13:23-37)
Comments:
Keener provides this table on the parallels between Peter’s inaugural sermon in Acts 2 and Paul’s inaugural sermon in Acts 13:
| Subject | Peter’s Sermon
Acts 2 |
Paul’s Sermon
Acts 13 |
| You killed Jesus | 2:22-23 | 13:27-28 |
| God raised him up | 2:24 | 13:30 |
| What David says in Ps. 16 | 2:25-28 | 13:35 |
| David remains dead | 2:29 | 13:36 |
| God raised up Christ from David’s seed | 2:30 | 13:23 |
| Jesus did not see corruption | 2:31 | 13:37 |
| Keener, p. 338, slightly edited | ||
I see many differences as well, but the core is the same.
23:
After his brief preamble, Paul drives home his main point: Jesus the Messiah. From David’s descendants or literally “seed.” It is placed at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis. Rom. 1:3 and 15:12 shows Paul totally believed that Christ descended from David. In this sermon-speech, Luke is accurately agreeing with Paul’s beliefs.
Paul writes that Jesus is the seed or offspring that blesses the nation:
The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ. (Gal. 3:16, NIV)
Paul is claiming that the singular “seed” refers to Christ (in Greek “seed” is singular), but it is a collective singular. Everyone in Christ spreads the blessing around through preaching the gospel of Christ. Yet, make no mistake: Jesus himself, the singular seed or offspring, is the fullest blessing to the nation of Israel because the gospel is about him and people get saved through him.
“promise”: Let’s study this word more closely.
It primarily means that promises made to the patriarchs recorded in the OT are now fulfilled in Yeshua ha-Meshiach or Jesus the Messiah (here and Acts 7:17). Abraham would have many descendants (Gal. 3:14-29). David received the promise of a special descendant fulfilled in Jesus (Acts 13:22-23). Paul goes on to say the Jesus’s resurrection is proof of the good news that he preaches (Acts 13:32-33). John proclaims that the promise is connected to eternal life—which is begun to be lived down here and then never ending in heaven (1 John 2:25). All the promises in the OT are ‘yes’ and ‘amen’ in Jesus (2 Cor. 1:20).
Another use of promise is the gift of the Holy Spirit. In Luke 24:49, Jesus tells the disciples that he is sending the “promise of the Father” to them (Acts 1:4). And it is fulfilled in Acts 2:1-4, where the Holy Spirit descends on the 120 in the upper room. Peter tells his audience that this is the promise of the Father (Acts 2:33). Paul links the promise of the Holy Spirit to the blessing of Abraham (Gal. 3:14). And believers are sealed by the Holy Spirit of the promise (Eph. 1:13).
Still another use of the word promise is that it forms the foundation of righteous living. Paul appeals for purity on God’s promises (2 Cor. 7:1). Children are told to honor their parents because the Fifth Commandment has a promise in it (Eph. 6:2; Exod. 20:12). Paul writes to Timothy that godliness is profitable both in this life and the next because of the promise of life (1 Tim. 4:8). The author of Hebrews encourages believers to persevere (hang in there) because of God’s promises (Heb. 4:1; 10:36). Don’t doubt, Peter says, that God will keep his promise of the Second Coming, even though some mock (2 Pet. 3:4, 9) (Mounce, pp. 541-42).
24:
“proclaiming beforehand” comes from one Greek word prokērussō (pronounced proh-kay-roos-oh) or “pre” (pro) “proclaimed” and is used only here in the NT. The verb kērussō means “proclaim” or “announce.” We get our word kerygma from the noun.
“coming”: It no doubt surprised Paul’s Jewish hearers who heard the term because the second book of the Hebrew Bible is named Exodus in Greek. Yeshua ha–Meshiach / Jesus the Messiah was about to make his big entrance into Jewish and human history. But I translated it conservatively as “coming.”
That link has a long table of quoted verses in the OT and NT. However, Jesus fulfills more than quoted verses. He also fulfills the concepts and patterns and shadows in the OT, including the entire sacrificial system and all the old covenants.
25:
John the Baptist used to say (verb is in the imperfect or uncompleted past tense) that Jesus outranked him (John 1:15, 30), and Jesus must increase, and he must decrease (John 3:30).
Are we willing to let someone else take the lead, even though we have had an effective ministry? Sometimes we have to let go and let the new guy take over.
26:
“The word”: See v. 5 for more comments. Here Paul presented orderly and logical argumentation and history of the Bible. People have the deepest need to receive solid teaching. Never become so outlandishly supernatural and entertaining that you neglect the reasonable and rational side of preaching the gospel and teaching the Bible. Yes, the book of Acts is very charismatic, but it is also very orderly and rational and logical.
“salvation”: it is the noun sōtēria. Since the theology of salvation (soteriology) is so critical for our lives, let’s look more closely at the noun salvation, which is sōtēria (pronounced soh-tay-ree-ah and used 46 times) and at the verb sōzō (pronounced soh-zoh and used 106 times).
Greek is the language of the NT. BDAG, which many consider to be the authoritative lexicon of the NT, defines the noun sōtēria as follows, depending on the context: (1) “deliverance, preservation” … (2) “salvation.”
As noted throughout this commentary on Luke-Acts, the noun salvation and the verb save go a lot farther than just preparing the soul to go on to heaven. Together, they have additional benefits: keeping and preserving and rescuing from harm and dangers; saving or freeing from diseases and demonic oppression; and saving or rescuing from sin dominating us; ushering into heaven and rescuing us from final judgment. What is our response to the gift of salvation? You are grateful and then you are moved to act. When you help or rescue one man from homelessness or an orphan from his oppression, you have moved one giant step towards salvation of his soul. Sometimes feeding a hungry man and giving clothes to the naked or taking him to a medical clinic come before saving his soul.
All of it is a package called salvation and being saved.
Acts is about salvation of entire households and meeting in those saved households (2:2, 46; 5:42; 8:3, but be careful of persecution in 8:3! 10:2; 11:14; 16:15, 31, 34; 20:20; 21:8).
What Is the Work of Salvation?
How Do We Respond to God’s Salvation?
In this verse, it means a new era has been ushered in, and Paul (and Barnabas) received it and are now presenting it to this synagogue.
27:
The leaders over in Jerusalem, far from Pisidian Antioch, acted ignorantly when they pushed for Jesus’s execution. Saul may have learned this bit from Peter’s sermon in Jerusalem, since it was spoken out in public (Acts 3:14-18). At that time Peter said the people disowned their Messiah, and they and their leaders acted in ignorance. But God was not taken by surprise, as biblical prophecies prove. The trial and condemnation and crucifixion of Jesus, though on the surface so disappointing and hurtful, were ordained of God. The Jerusalem establishment were victims of their own conceit. They thought they knew more than they actually knew. This gap between “fake knowledge,” which is actually ignorance, and true knowledge, is called irony. The Jewish establishment thought they were obeying the law when they pushed for Jesus’s crucifixion, but they were ignorant of what the prophets foretold of the Suffering Servant.
In fact, Peter’s sermons (though shorter and less elaborate), Stephen’s sermon (Acts 7), and Paul’s sermon here are remarkably parallel but with small differences, of course.
28:
“Pilate”: this is a very important element in the speech. Other religions claim that their revered religious figure visited the planet or died some time, but in the misty, murky past. Here Paul locates the trial and death of Jesus during the governorship of Pilate.
29:
“written” means that the death-dealing authorities accomplished and fulfilled biblical prophecies, even when they did not realize it. God was behind the scenes ensuring that everything was fulfilled.
See this table of Messianic prophecies:
As noted, at that link, there is a long table of quoted verses from the OT and NT, but Jesus fulfills more than just quoted verses. He also fulfills the types and shadows and patterns and concepts in the OT, like the entire sacrificial system or salvation.
“wood”: The cross was made of wood. The Greek word echoes Deut. 21:22-23, which talks about someone being guilty of a capital offense and his body being exposed on a pole. In the LXX (third-to-second century B.C. Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible) of that text, the word for pole is xulon. In Jesus’s case he was accused of blasphemy (Mark 14:61-64), and ignorantly found guilty of it, which carried the death penalty (Lev. 24:16).
30-37:
These verses parallel Peter’s sermon in Acts 2, as seen in these verses
[H]e [David] spoke about the resurrection of the Christ that he would not be abandoned in Hades, and neither would his flesh experience corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, of whom we are all witnesses. 33 So then after he was exalted to the right hand of God and after received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he poured out this which you see and hear. (Acts 2:31-33)
The resurrection is the best subject for preaching. There is something beneficial and streamlined and simple about preaching the death and resurrection and exaltation of Jesus. Peter and the eleven apostles saw the resurrection and exaltation with their own eyes. Jesus spoke to Saul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3-9). Renewalists believe that the resurrected Jesus still appears to them today. But if that has not happened to you, then preach the historical resurrection. Go online to various websites that lay out the evidence. Or you can tell your story of what the living Lord has done in your heart.
Here are the basics about resurrection in the New Testament:
1.. It was prophesied in the OT (Ps. 16:3-11; Is. 55:3; Jnh. 1:17)
2.. Jesus predicted it before his death (Mark 8:31; 9:9, 31; 10:33-34; John 2:19-22)
3.. It happened in history (Matt. 28:1-7; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-8; John 20:1-8)
4.. Power used to resurrect Jesus:
a.. Power of God (Acts 2:24; Eph. 1:19-20; Col. 2:12)
b.. Christ’s own power (John 10:18)
c.. Jesus is the resurrection (John 11:25-26)
d.. Power of the Spirit (Rom. 8:11; 1 Pet. 3:18)
5.. Nature of Christ’s resurrection
a.. The same body that died was raised (Luke 24:39-40; John 20:27)
b.. It was a physical body
(1)) He ate (Luke 24:41-43; John 21:12-13; Acts 10:40-41)
(2)) He could be touched (John 20:27; 1 John 1:1)
(3)) It was a gloried body (1 Cor. 15:42-44; Phil. 3:21)
(4)) He passed through locked door (John 20:19, 26)
(5)) He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9)
c.. It was also a transformed and glorified body
12. Do I Really Know Jesus? What Was His Resurrected Body Like?
And for a review of the basics, please click on this post:
11. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Was Resurrected from the Dead
You can also go to youtube to find out the evidence for it. Look for Gary Habermas or Mike Licona.
For a table of his appearances and other facts, please see:
14. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Appeared to His Disciples
In v. 32 the noun “promise” is used. See v. 23 for a closer look.
In v. 33, “begotten” does not mean the Father produced Jesus, as if Jesus had a beginning. Rather, Psalm 2 is a coronation psalm about King David and looks ahead to Jesus’s coronation at his resurrection.
6. Titles of Jesus: The Son of God
In v. 34, the noun “decay” also appears in Peter’s long sermon before the people of Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:27-31), referencing the same verses and ideas that David’s tomb still holds David, and his body is decaying, while Jesus’s tomb is empty, and his body is not suffering decay. The reasoning and logic here is unassailable, from a biblical-prophetic point of view.
David served his own purpose in his generation. This should inspire us to serve our generation and fulfill God’s purpose for our lives before he calls us home.
In vv. 36-37, Paul rhetorically used that expresses a strong contrast between David and Jesus. In v. 37, I wrote “however” to express the strong contrast.
“experience corruption”: in those verses the Greek is literally “see corruption,” but since seeing is related to experiencing, I used the broader term. NAS uses the verb “undergo.”
Paul quotes Scriptures concerning Messianic prophecies. Please click on a table of them:
As noted two times before, at that link there is a table of quotations from the OT and NT, but Jesus goes beyond fulfilling quoted verses; he also fulfills types and patterns and shadows in the OT, like the entire sacrificial system or the source and goal of salvation. Jesus is the source and goal of salvation.
“we preach to you the good news”: Jesus’s resurrection is good news. Salvation is here.
GrowApp for Acts 13:23-37
1. Jesus appeared to his disciples and now they are witnesses of his resurrection. Jesus may not have appeared to you personally, but he has changed you. Do you have your conversion story ready to tell? What is it?
2. David served his generation and then died. You live in your generation, and then you too will die. How do you benefit your generation in small ways? Or are you a burden on your generation?
RELATED
The Historical Reliability of the Book of Acts
Book of Acts and Paul’s Epistles: Match Made in Heaven?
SOURCES
For the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the very bottom:
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 