Paul and his companions leave Cyprus and sail to modern day Turkey minus John (v.13, cf. 15.36-41). Travelling inland they reach Antioch in Pisidia and join a local synagogue service on the Sabbath day (vv.14-16). As was customary, an educated person like Paul would have been given the opportunity to make comment or share insight, and Paul wastes no opportunity to share the Gospel starting with a panorama of Old Covenant history.
He paints a wonderful picture of how Jesus is the promised Messiah of Scripture (vv.16-23) and then lays out before the people that He was both received and rejected (vv.24-29). Then Paul goes from old to new, from death to life, and says
“But God raised him from the dead…”
(Acts 13.30, NET)
Speaking on the resurrection, Paul is focusing on facts and not philosophy. A man trained and educated beyond many of his contemporaries (Acts 22.3, Galatians 1.14), there is no doubt that Paul could debate and discuss with the best of the best but his focus here is on the facts: Christianity, following Jesus, is about facts. I would encourage you today to focus on the facts of our faith;
Jesus is the promised Messiah that all of Scripture points to (v.23, cf. John 5.39).
Jesus was crucified and buried (v.29).
Jesus was raised to newness of life, resurrected and not simply resuscitated (v.30, 34-37).
Jesus then appeared to many, in many places (vv.31-33).
It is through Jesus and His sacrifice that we are made right with God (vv.38-39).
James Travis 