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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Acts 13:26 - 13:29
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Prophecy fulfilled in the death of Jesus:
v. 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.
v. 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.
v. 28. And though they found no cause of death in Him, yet desired they Pilate that He should be slain.
v. 29. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of Him, they took Him down from the tree, and laid Him in a sepulcher.
Very abruptly Paul changes from the simple historical exposition to a direct appeal that his hearers feel a personal interest in the matters which he is presenting to them. He includes them all in the address of brethren, both the children of the family of Abraham, the Jews by descent and birth, and the other devout men present, assuming that they all were filled with fear and relevance toward God. The Word of this salvation is sent forth to them, concerns every one of them vitally. Unless a person realizes that the work of Christ, the entire redemption, is of the most extreme importance to himself, the preaching of the Gospel is without value to him. It was necessary for Paul to make this urgent appeal, for his next statements might seem an attack upon the leaders of the Jews at Jerusalem. The inhabitants of the capital and their rulers did not know Christ, they did not recognize Him for what He was in truth, and they did not understand the voices of prophecy, the references in all the books of the prophets, though they were read in the synagogues every Sabbath. If they had had a proper understanding, they surely would not have become guilty of the wrong which they finally committed, chap. 3:17. But in their very misunderstanding of the prophecies and the resultant condemnation of Christ they fulfilled the prophecies; for although they found no cause of death in Him, they yet demanded that Pilate must slay Him by Crucifixion. And when they had carried out all that had been written of Him, then they, speaking generally, some of the Jews, took Him down from the cross and laid Him into a tomb Very likely Luke's report of Paul's sermon is a brief summary. But the point which Paul wants to make stands out very plainly; for the crucifixion of Jesus, which in itself would be regarded as evidence that He was not the Messiah, was turned into an unanswerable argument in His favor. And incidentally the peculiar, carnal conception which the Jews held in regard to the Messiahship was properly corrected. The same argument may well be employed in our days, since the facts of Gospel history, compared with the clearness of the Old Testament prophecies, carry conviction with overwhelming force.