Acts 13:26-41 Lesson 250

Acts 13:26-41
Lesson 250

Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

In this lesson:

The First Missionary Journey continues.

Paul finishes his sermon at Antioch.

Forgiveness comes through Jesus Christ.

Paul, the apostle.
By American artist Kenneth Wyatt (1930-2021).

What does it mean to be justified (13:39)?

To be justified is to be made right, forgiven, redeemed, declared righteous, innocent, and to be set free from the bondage of sin. We are justified, not by obeying the Mosaic Law (Philippians 3:9), but by faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 1:17; 3:23-29; Galatians 2:16) who took the punishment for our sins (Isaiah 53:11; Ephesians 1:7). Being justified means, we are spared our punishment and "have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). Once justified, we are entitled to all the heavenly honors and afterlife rewards that come with being in total obedience to the Mosaic Law (Romans 5:1-10). Our good deeds do not justify us but are the results of our justification.

Study Tip:

It takes the whole Bible to make a whole Christian; read the Old Testament, too.

The Acts of the Apostles

The King James Bible

Acts 13:26-41
Paul's discourse at Antioch concludes

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

27 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.

28 And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain.

29 And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.

30 But God raised him from the dead:

31 And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.

32 And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,

33 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.

34 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.

35 Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

36 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:

37 But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.

38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:

39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

40 Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets;

41 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.

Margin notes:

"Children of the stock of Abraham." (13:26) - "Children of Abraham." Jews are the children of Abraham.

"And whosoever among you feareth God." (13:26) - A reference to non-Jews (Gentiles) who honor the Jewish God.

"They that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers." (13:27) - "The people of Jerusalem and their religious
leaders."

"Because they knew him not." (13:27) - Because the people and their religious leaders didn't recognize the Messiah, they condemned Him. Still, Jesus forgave them (Luke 23:34).

"They found no cause of death in him." (13:28) - "They found to reason to execute Him (Jesus)." All the accusations against Jesus were false (Matthew 27:22-23; Luke 23:22).

"They took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre." (13:29) - "They took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a grave."

"He was seen many days." (13:31) - After the resurrection, Jesus remained on earth for forty days (Acts 1:3) and was seen by over five hundred people (1 Corinthians 15:5-8).

"The promise which was made unto the fathers." (13:32) - The Old Testament promised that a savior would come to save humanity.

"Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee." (13:33) - Paul is quoting God (Psalm 2:7).

"He said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David." (13:34) - "He said, in this way I will give you the blessings of David." (Isaiah 55:3)

"Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." (13:35) - From Psalm 16:10. Many early Jews thought this meant that King David's body would not decay he died. But by Jesus' time, it was understood that it referred to the promised Messiah.

"Fell on sleep...and saw corruption" (13:36) - Means King David died (1 Kings 2:10; Acts 2:29) and his body decayed.

"By him all that believe are justified." (13:39) - "By Him (Jesus) all believers are forgiven." Believers are forgiven because Jesus took the punishment for their sins (Isaiah 53:11).

"Ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." (13:39) - "You can not be forgiven by the Mosaic Law." No one could be in total obedience to the Mosaic Law.

"Ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you." (13:41) - "You will in no way believe, even though you were told about it." Paraphrased from the prophet Habakkuk in Habakkuk 1:5.

New Living Translation

Acts 13:26-41

26 "Brothers-you sons of Abraham, and also you God-fearing Gentiles-this message of salvation has been sent to us!

27 The people in Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize Jesus as the one the prophets had spoken about. Instead, they condemned him, and in doing this they fulfilled the prophets' words that are read every Sabbath.

28 They found no legal reason to execute him, but they asked Pilate to have him killed anyway.

29 "When they had done all that the prophecies said about him, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb.

30 But God raised him from the dead!

31 And over a period of many days he appeared to those who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to the people of Israel.

32 "And now we are here to bring you this Good News. The promise was made to our ancestors,

33 and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. This is what the second psalm says about Jesus:

  'You are my Son.
      Today I have become your Father.'

34 For God had promised to raise him from the dead, not leaving him to rot in the grave. He said, 'I will give you the sacred blessings I promised to David.'

35 Another psalm explains it more fully: 'You will not allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.'

36 This is not a reference to David, for after David had done the will of God in his own generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors, and his body decayed.

37 No, it was a reference to someone else-someone whom God raised and whose body did not decay.

38 "Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins.

39 Everyone who believes in him is declared right with God-something the law of Moses could never do.

40 Be careful! Don't let the prophets' words apply to you. For they said,

41 'Look, you mockers, be amazed and die!
For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn't believe even if someone told you about it.'

This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word for word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."

Today's Question:

1. Why did Paul deliver a sermon to his fellow Jews?

"Jesus died because of our utter inability to save ourselves."

Harold Ihlefeldt (1920-1971)

Answer: (Do you agree?)

1. The purpose of Paul's sermon at Antioch was to introduce his Jewish audience to Jesus.  By reminding them of
their history, their covenant (agreement) with God, and the many prophecies foretelling the coming of the Messiah,
Paul showed them that Jesus was the long-awaited Savior. Devout Jews knew the Scriptures and should have recognized from Paul's sermon that Jesus fulfilled them.

Verses 13:38-39 sums up everything we need to know.  Through faith in Jesus Christ, sins are forgiven. Something the Mosaic Law of Moses couldn't and didn't promise.

Application thought for the day:

In Jesus' day, there were few written copies of the Scriptures, so people learned them by heart.  But memorization of Bible verses and prayers isn't enough without faith.  We must take God's words into our hearts, work to understand their true meaning, and then apply them to our lives.

Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; the "Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies;" "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Everyday Bible" published by World Wide Publications, Minneapolis, Minnesota; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House; "The New Testament" translated from the Latin Vulgate, published by Guild Press, New York, New York; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
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