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Acts 13:26–31
“God raised [Jesus] from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people” (vv. 30–31).
Having described the ministry of John the Baptist to the synagogue attendees in Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:23–25), Paul next summarized the key events in the ministry of Jesus that accomplished the salvation of God’s people—the death and resurrection of Jesus, as we see in today’s passage. That our Lord’s crucifixion and return to life after three days are essential components of the gospel message and are the means through which Jesus purchased our redemption is evident in Acts 13:26. There Paul introduces his summary of the death and resurrection of Jesus as “the message of this salvation.” We have not proclaimed the true gospel if we leave out either the death or the resurrection of Christ.
“Those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers”—the Jewish religious authorities in concert with the Roman government—crucified Jesus for two reasons, Paul says. First, “they did not recognize him” (v. 27a)—that is, they failed to grasp the meaning of His teaching and miracles. Second, “they did not . . . understand the utterances of the prophets” even though they heard them read every Sabbath day in gathered worship (v. 27b). Those who were supposed to know the Scriptures best—the Jewish religious leaders—did not actually comprehend their true significance. If they had, they would have believed Jesus (John 5:39–47). Not understanding God’s Word and not receiving their Messiah, they fulfilled the Scriptures by condemning Jesus, just as the prophets had foreseen that they would (Acts 13:27; see Isa. 52:13–53:12; Zech. 11:7–14).
These religious leaders convinced the Roman governor Pontius Pilate to have Jesus executed, and after He died “they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb” (Acts 13:28–29). The mention of the tree in Acts 13:29 alludes to Deuteronomy 21:22–23, where God says that the man who hangs on a tree is cursed. Jesus bore the punishment and curse that we deserve for our sin as He hung on the cross, the “tree” (Gal. 3:13). “They” who took Jesus down from the cross (Acts 13:29) are the Roman authorities who released the body to Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus for burial. Joseph and Nicodemus laid the body of Jesus in the tomb (see John 19:31–42).
The darkest day in human history occurred when Jesus, the only perfectly innocent man, was unjustly crucified. That was not the end of the story, for God raised Him from the dead (Acts 13:30–31).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Sometimes in our day, Jesus is preached as One who might be a nice addition to our lives or who is the means by which we can find success in our relationships, our vocations, and elsewhere. Jesus certainly blesses His people with many good things in addition to salvation, but He came to redeem us through His life, His crucifixion and resurrection. We must believe in Him for that reason and not as a means to some other end.
For further study
- Psalm 41:9
- Jeremiah 23:1–8
- Mark 14:53–65
- 1 Corinthians 2:8
The bible in a year
- 2 Chronicles 34–36
- John 19:1–16a