Last week we studied the Scripture passage from the Book of Acts where Paul, a former enemy of the Lord Jesus, was converted and came to faith in Him as his Savior. A couple chapters later, Paul left for his first missionary journey to Cyprus, along with his companions Barnabas and John Mark. After a short, but rather dramatic time of ministry there, they left the island and headed to southern Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), to bring the Gospel message to the people there. That is where we find them in our Scripture passage today.
Paul and Barnabas didn’t waste any time, and on the first Sabbath they headed to the local synagogue, and when given the opportunity to speak he brought them the Gospel of Jesus (vs. 15-16). Paul didn’t water down his message to make it more “listener friendly”, appealing to what he felt they might want to hear, something that might make them “feel good”. Nor was Paul afraid of what their reaction to his message might be. He had just come from a rather dramatic few weeks in Cyprus, where he and his companions had dealt with opposition from a demonic sorcerer (Acts 13:6-12). Some might have expected Paul to become a little less controversial, and perhaps tone down his messages so as not to disturb anyone. However, that was something Paul never did, no matter what type or level of opposition he faced. He had the salvation message of Jesus to bring to people, and that is what he did.
Most, if not all, of these people in the area of Pamphylia, would have heard very little, if anything, about Jesus. Also, at this time there was no New Testament, as none of it had been written, so Paul preached from the Old Testament. Paul was an extremely well-educated man, having studied under one of the greatest Biblical scholars of his day. Knowing the Scriptures as well as he did, he knew all of the prophecies that pertained to the coming Messiah, and saw how they were all fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
After giving a brief introduction in his sermon (vs. 16-25). Paul focused right in on Jesus, His crucifixion and resurrection. He tied all that happened to Jesus with predictions from the Old Testament, and how they were fulfilled in Him (vs. 27-29). The Old Testament predicted that Jesus would be crucified (Psalm 22:16; Zechariah 13:6). Many people were crucified by the Romans at this time, but prophecies of Jesus being crucified were made many hundreds of years prior. These prophecies were made at a time when crucifixion as a form of execution was not used in Israel. The burial of Jesus in a tomb (an above ground burial) was also prophesied (Isaiah 53:9). However, victims of crucifixion in Roman times were generally tossed in mass graves. They weren’t always given to the family of the deceased. A wealthy believer in Jesus had given Him the grave he had planned for himself.
Paul continues on with showing how the prophecies of the resurrection were fulfilled in Jesus (vs. 30-37). David prophesied in Psalm 16:10 that the Holy One would not see corruption when He died. As we all know, when someone dies, their body eventually starts to corrupt and decay, especially if they have not been embalmed. Some people claimed that David was referring to himself. However Paul refuted that by pointing out that David died and that he was buried and his body decayed over the years, just like everyone. However, Jesus died, was buried, but rose again without His body seeing one bit of corruption.
As Paul concluded his message, he pointed out that the Law of Moses cannot justify, or take away the sins of anyone (vs. 38-39). In contrast, though, the atoning death of Jesus completely satisfies the demands of God’s Law, making forgiveness of all sins available to all who believe. That was the message that Paul desired to bring to everyone on each of his numerous missionary trips, and at each place that he stopped on these journeys (I Corinthians 2:2). He didn’t waste time preaching about social issues, the state of the world at the time, or any other topics. People were dying without the Savior, and being eternally lost, just as they are today. They needed to hear about salvation through Jesus, just as they do today. He knew, as God’s messenger, where his priorities lay and what was important - telling others about Jesus. Let’s follow in Paul’s footsteps and be sharing the Gospel with those who cross our path, as well.
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