“The Whole Point of Scripture”
(Acts 13:13-52)
Series: The Church On Fire
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
First Baptist Church Henderson, KY
(12-9-07) (AM)
- Take God’s word and open to Acts, chapter 13.
Some weeks ago we began a series of messages through the book of Acts. We’re making our way, verse-by-verse through a book of the Bible that teaches us about how the Christian faith really got going; how the church was born and how it grew in the early years.
We have noted on several occasions that the key verse of the book of Acts is Acts 1:8, where Jesus says, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you shall be My witnesses in three main areas: Jerusalem, Judea & Samaria, and the utter ends of the earth. We have noted that chapters 1-8 tell about how the church spread through Jerusalem, chapters 9-12 tell about how the church spread through Judea & Samaria, and now chapters 13 and following tell about how the church began to spread to the utter ends of the earth. So chapter 13 takes us down this final path of carrying the Gospel far and wide to the ends of the earth. So we’re reading this morning about Paul and Barnabas’ first missionary trip.
- Stand in honor of the reading of the word.
13 Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.
14 But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down.
15 And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, “Men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.”
- Pray.
Introduction:
If you’ve every had the opportunity to work with preschoolers and children then you know that a common response to nearly every question is “Jesus.” You can ask, “What are we learning about today?” Children cry, “Jesus!” Or, “What’s the main point here?” Jesus! Who built the ark? Jesus! Who made your breakfast this morning? Jesus! Don’t you think Jesus likes to hear children shout-out His name like that?
While their enthusiasm takes a bit of reigning-in, children remind us that Jesus is the answer to nearly every question in life. Like the bumper sticker that reads, “Whatever the problem, Jesus is the answer.” When I was studying the text this week I kept coming back to this: that everything in the Bible points to Jesus. Jesus is the whole point of Scripture. Let’s see this together. First, see:
I. He’s the Point of History [13-25]
Now that’s going to be Paul’s first main point in what is his first recorded sermon in the Scriptures. Verses 13-15 set us up for Paul’s sermon, telling us how Paul and Barnabas get to this place called Antioch in Pisidia where they enter into the synagogue and Paul’s getting ready to preach.
Verse 13 tells us that they depart from the island of Cyprus and go further west to this Antioch in Pisidia (By the way, remember to use your maps in the back! Most Bibles have a map showing Paul’s missionary journeys. This is the first one. Find the island of Cyprus and follow the arrow).
The Bible says in verse 13 that “Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.” Paul had left with Barnabas and John, also known as John Mark, and the Bible says that John departed from them. We don’t know why. Some speculate that John got homesick or he couldn’t handle the rugged missionary life and so he left. Either of those scenarios is possible. Other scholars note that from this point in the Scriptures it is pretty clear that Paul takes center stage. He’s in charge. Before, we would read Barnabas’ name first. Now we read Paul’s name first. It’s “Paul and his party.” John was a cousin to Barnabas and so some scholars feel that John didn’t like the fact that he and his cousin were taking second place. John wasn’t pleased with Paul’s leadership. Leaders are familiar with this kind of challenge. Someone’s like, “Well, you’re not doing it my way” and, “You need to do this” and, “If I were in charge” and so forth, and so he leaves in a huff. We don’t know why John left, but we do know that it really ticked-off Paul. We’ll note that later in chapter 15.
So John abandons them and Paul and Barnabas get to this city called Antioch in Pisidia and they go into the synagogue on the Sabbath, on the Lord’s day, when everyone was gathered there for worship and the Bible says in verse 15, “and after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogues sent to them, saying, “Men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.’”
So the rulers of the synagogue note Paul and Barnabas’ presence there in the synagogue. Maybe they had heard something about them. Maybe another had told them these guys here are learned men. Let’s see if they want to share a word. Verse 15 says the rulers ask, “If you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.” You think Paul’s like, “Well gee, I’m new here and I don’t want to offend anyone. Maybe I’ll just pray about it this morning and we’ll have a go at it next week?!” No! Verse 16 says he stood up. He wasted no time. He stood up, and motioning with his hand (sounds like a preacher doesn’t he?!”) he said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen!” You’ve got to love that word, don’t you?! Listen! How many of you are listening right now? Let me see your hands? Alright. Here comes Paul’s first recorded sermon in the Scriptures. His title might be, “Jesus is the whole point of Scripture.” His first main point is that Jesus is the point of History. Let’s just read it here.
16 Then Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen:
17 “The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He brought them out of it.
18 “Now for a time of about forty years He put up with their ways in the wilderness.
By the way, I love that there. God “put up with their ways in the wilderness.” I’m so glad God “puts up with our ways.” He doesn’t have to. When you find it hard to “put up with the ways” of someone else, just remember how long God has “put up with you.”
19 “And when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land to them by allotment.
20 “After that He gave them judges for about four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.
21 “And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.
22 “And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’
Now every Jew in that synagogue knew that the Messiah would come from the family line of David, okay? So look at verse 23:
23 “From this man’s seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior — Jesus —
Every Jew in that synagogue knew that the Messiah would come from the family line of David and Paul says the Messiah is here; His name is Jesus. Furthermore, every Jew knew that a prophet would prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah. So what do we read?
24 “after John had first preached, before His coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
25 “And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not He. But behold, there comes One after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to loose.’
So Paul’s first sermon point is that Jesus is the point of history. God had a plan from the beginning of the world to send forth His Son, Jesus Christ. God works through history to bring Jesus to us. So He’s the point of history. Secondly:
II. He’s the Point of Prophecy [26-37]
Paul takes a breath and then he begins his second sermon point. Jesus is the point of prophecy.
26 “Men and brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent.
27 “For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him.
Paul is explaining that though the Prophets of the Old Testament foretold Christ’s coming, the rulers in Jerusalem were clueless to this and condemned Christ to death.
28 “And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death.
29 “Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.
30 “But God raised Him from the dead.
When I read verse 30 this week, I wrote, “I just love that!” I wish I could somehow communicate all the power and purpose of verse 30. No matter that Jesus was killed and buried, “But God raised Him from the dead.” The power of God! The purpose of God! The God who raised up Jesus from physical death raises us up from spiritual death!
31 “He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people.
32 “And we declare to you glad tidings — that promise which was made to the fathers.
33 “God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.’
Paul is saying that Jesus is the point of prophecy. Psalm 2 prophesies the resurrection of Jesus. Also Isaiah 55:3 prophesies about Jesus. That’s in verse 34:
34 “And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus: ‘I will give you the sure mercies of David.’
35 “Therefore He also says in another Psalm (that’s Psalm 16): ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.’
36 “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption (that is, David’s body decomposed);
37 “but He whom God raised up saw no corruption.
So these are prophecies about the resurrection of Jesus. It is Scriptures like these Paul must have been thinking about in 1 Corinthians 15 where he says Christ rose again, “according to the Scriptures.”
And there are countless other prophecies about Jesus. Someone has noted there are roughly 300 Old Testament prophecies about Jesus’ first coming and some 500 Old Testament prophecies about His second coming. A wise skeptic would consider the several hundred prophecies, things written down in Scripture hundreds of years before the event, foretelling specifics about the Lord Jesus Christ. A favorite of mine is one we are reflecting on this Christmas season. The book of Micah, written some 700 years before Christ, prophesies the very place of Christ’s birth. Micah 5:2, “But you, Bethlehem, out of you will come forth the One who is to be ruler to Me; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
Jesus is the point of history. Jesus is the point of prophecy. Paul’s a typical Baptist preacher: he’s got three points. Here’s his third sermon point about Jesus:
III. He’s the Point of Humanity [38-52]
That is to say that Jesus is the reason for our existence and we find our life in Him. He’s the point of humanity. I’ve added two sub-points here. First:
1) We Must Receive Forgiveness (38-41)
38 “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins;
Note the exclusivity of salvation here: “through THIS MAN” is preached the forgiveness of sins. How many ways of salvation? One! How can we be forgiven of sin? Through Christ alone. Circle the letter “s” at the end of verse 38. Through Christ we have forgiveness of sins; every single sin—past present and future. Verse 39 amplifies this forgiveness:
39 “and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
“Everyone who believes.” Who’s the Gospel for? Everyone. Who’s forgiveness for? Everyone. Everyone who believes is “justified” from all things. That word “justified” is a legal term, a judicial term. It means “to be declared ‘not guilty.’” It’s an incredible thing if you think about it. It means that though we have all of this sin that we stand before God and He says “Not guilty.” We’re not “made righteous.” We’re “declared righteous.” Because of Christ, we can stand before God and hear Him say, “Not guilty” or, “Free!” as some translations have it. You are free from the penalty of sin!
Everyone who believes is justified from ALL THINGS. Note the scope of that forgiveness! EVERYONE who believes is justified from ALL THINGS. It’s like we stand before God and say, “Yeah, but what about THIS sin?!” God says: Not guilty. “But what about THIS sin and THIS sin…?” Not guilty. Free!
This freedom comes only through Christ. Paul says, “Everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.” Freedom comes by way of a relationship with Christ, not by rules, not by religion. Note that well: we cannot be declared “Not guilty” through keeping a set of rules. You know, “Go to church, give your money, be a good person, do good things.” That’s not the way in. The way in is by turning to Jesus Christ, believing in Him, receiving Him as Lord and Savior. So Paul is like, “Look, we must receive forgiveness in Christ or we’re going to be in the same trouble as those who didn’t listen to the prophets, verses 40-41:
40 “Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you:
41 “Behold, you despisers, Marvel and perish! For I work a work in your days, A work which you will by no means believe, Though one were to declare it to you.’ ”
So Paul is like, “Don’t leave here without receiving Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. It’s only through Christ that you can receive forgiveness. If you refuse to follow Christ, you will remain guilty before God. You will die and go to hell as just punishment for sin. Receive Christ, however, and be declared “Not guilty” of your sins. Receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and be freed from sin.
Jesus is the point of humanity. We must receive forgiveness and secondly:
2) We Must Remain Faithful (42-52)
42 So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.
Well, of course! They’re like, “We’ve never heard this stuff about freedom and forgiveness, and being declared not guilty. We love it! This is a lot better than the preaching we’ve been getting here at the synagogue! Can you guys come back next week?!”
43 Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
You see that? Paul and Barnabas are talking to these guys who are becoming followers of Christ and they’re like, “Look guys, stay faithful to the Lord. Grow! Continue in the grace of God.” That’s why we come here for public worship. That’s why we’re involved in Sunday school. It’s a matter of discipleship. We must grow in the grace of God. That’s why we have Sunday evening worship and Wednesday worship. We continue in the grace of God.
44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.
45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul.
You can always expect opposition to the gospel. The unbelieving Jews are like, “Hey, we like our rules and our tradition. And you’re getting our slaves! They were following us! Stop it!” They opposed the things spoken by Paul. So what do Paul and Barnabas do? Hang their heads and pout? No, a little persecution doesn’t stop them. They remain faithful to the Lord. Verse 46:
46 Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.
What a slam that statement is! We took the saving message of the Gospel to you first, but you reject it, you “judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life,” so we’re turning to the Gentiles. See again that everlasting life is found only in trusting Christ. By refusing Christ, the Jews “judged themselves unworthy of everlasting life.” So Paul’s like, “Okay, you Jews refuse Christ, we’re turning to the Gentiles. After all, the Gospel is for them, too.”
47 “For so the Lord has commanded us (In Isaiah 49:6): ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”
48 Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
That verse should give us pause. Here again we see the mystery of God’s sovereign choice running parallel with our freedom. The Bible says, “As many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.” That’s a strong statement reminding us that God initiates this matter of salvation. He elects people to salvation. The Bible says in Ephesians 1:4 that God chooses people for salvation before the foundation of the world. Does that mean we have no choice in our salvation? No. We must make a decision to receive Christ as our Lord and Savior. John 3:16 says, “Whosoever believes in Him shall not die, but have eternal life.” So I must choose to believe in and follow Christ. The mystery of it all is that, while it appears I chose to follow Jesus, God actually chose me first and He chose me not on the basis of my goodness but on the basis of His grace.
49 And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region.
50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.
Uh oh, more persecution! What will Paul and Barnabas do? Give it up? No, they remain faithful.
51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and came to Iconium.
52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
They didn’t take rejection personally. They remained faithful to Jesus Christ. They were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Listen: The whole point of Scripture is Jesus. Whatever the question, Jesus is the answer.
- Stand for prayer.
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