The God of Promise
The God of Promise
Acts 13:13-52
On April 9th, 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged. As he was being led to the gallows, Bonhoeffer turned to his fellow prisoner Payne Best and said, “This is the end—for me the beginning of life.” Bonhoeffer was a German pastor who was arrested and imprisoned and eventually hanged for his participation in a failed assasination attempt of Adolf Hitler. He had the choice to flee Germany and come to America but believed if he was going to pastor his people after the war, he needed to be with them during the war. He was resolute in his determination to serve Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. In a letter to his friend, Eberhard Bethge, on August 14, 1944, he wrote,
God does not give us everything we want, but he does fulfill all his promises, i.e, He remains the Lord of the earth, he preserves his church, constantly renewing our faith and not laying on us more than we can bear, gladdening us with his nearness and help, hearing our prayers and leading us along the best and straightest paths to Himself.”
He believed God always was leading him to a deeper appreciation of the gospel of the cross and the crown.
The night before he took that final walk to the gallows he led a worship service for his fellow prisoners focusing on two Scriptures, Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 1:3. Isaiah 53:5,
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
And 1 Peter 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Bonhoeffer’s final sermon focused on the promise of the cross and the resurrection.
Bonhoeffer’s final sermon was similar to the Apostle Paul’s first sermon. In Acts 13, Paul gives his first sermon highlighting the promise of the cross and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ as seen throughout the Scriptures. If you want to have peace as you face any trial, whether in a relationship or your finances or even as you approach your own final earthly day, you must hold firmly to the promise of God in Jesus Christ.
The Servants of the Promise
At the beginning of Acts 13, the Apostle Paul and Barnabas were set aside by the Holy Spirit to take the promise of God to the world. After first going to Cyprus and Paphos, they continued their missionary journey to Perga and Antioch in Pisidia. Acts 13:13–14a,
[13] Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem, [14] but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia.
As we walk through the book of Acts, do not miss that the gospel advances through people. It takes the servants of God to share the word of God. Romans 10:14–17
[14] How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? [15] And how are they to preach unless they are sent?...[17] So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Christians are a sent people. We must continue to take the gospel to our neighbors and to the ends of the earth.
The journey from Paphos to Perga would have been about 112 miles. We do not know the details but John Mark decides to return to Jerusalemn. We do not know why? He may have been homesick, he may not have liked how the Apostle Paul took the lead over his uncle, or he felt the missionary task was too hard. We do not know the final reason for his leaving, but we do know his leaving will cause a conflict between Barnabas and Paul in the near future. Mission work is hard, but servants of the promise must take that promise to those who need to hear it.
The Survey of the Promise
Paul and Barnabas continue as servants of the promise and land in Antioch in Pisidia. This is a different Antioch mentioned at the beginning of the chapter. And following their custom, they went to the synagogue on the Sabbath. Acts 13:14b–15,
And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. [15] After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.”
It was customary to have Scripture read from the Law and the Prophets and then to have visiting Rabbi’s to make comments and apply those Scriptures to encourage those gathered. Paul and Barnabas were asked if they wanted to give a word of encouragement to the people.
Remember the Scriptures at this point are only the Old Testament. The Law is the first five books of the Bible also known as the Torah and the Prophets represent the rest of the book. More formally the Prophets are the four major and the twelve minor prophets but the “Law and the Prophets” covered the whole Old Testament. And it is important to remember that Jesus Christ provided himself as the interpretative key that unlocks the Scriptures. Luke 24:44–49
[44] Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” [45] Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, [46] and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, [47] and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. [48] You are witnesses of these things. [49] And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Paul is going to interpret the Law and the Prophets with an eye on the promise and the fulfillment of that promise. As one pastor notes, the Old Testament is Promises Made and the New Testament is Promises Kept. The Great Promise is that the Christ will come and suffer for his people and be raised from the dead to offer the forgiveness of sins.
Paul is helping those in the Synagogue to see Christ in the Scriptures so that they too may receive the forgiveness of sins. He begins with a survey of the Old Testament. Acts 13:16–22
[16] So 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 made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. [18] And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. [19] And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. [20] All this took about 450 years. And after that he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. [21] Then they asked for a king, and 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 David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’
He addresses the audience with respect and pleads for them to listen. He begins in Egypt and the Exodus, before moving to the wilderness and how God has to “put up” with the Israelites in the wilderness. They were wandering because of their unbelief. No one in Israel wanted to be like those in the wilderness and Paul knew that. Paul then moved quickly to the conquest of Canaan and the judges on to Samuel one of the great prophets in Israel’s history. And desiring to be like the nations, they asked for a king, and in so doing, they rejected God as their King. God then removed Saul and raised up David to be their king.
Paul only offered a survey in order to get to the promise. The promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 and the promise to David in 2 Samuel 7:12-14 are both the same promise of the same Savior. Paul chose to focus on the promised Son of David. 2 Samuel 7:12–14,
[12] When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. [13] He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. [14] I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.
Notice the language Paul uses in referring to David, God “raised up David to be their king.” And in the promised God will “raise up” his offspring. The promise to David is one of the key promises of the entire Old Testament which everyone in the synagogue would have known. Paul knows his Bible and his history.
The Savior of the Promise
So after the survey of the promise of God, Paul moves to show how Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise. Acts 13:23–25,
[23] Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised. [24] Before his coming, John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. [25] And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’
Paul, then does what all Christians preachers are called to do, he preaches the cross and the resurrection. This is the hope of the promise. Listen to the opening of his appeal, Acts 13:26, “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation.” Paul references the sons of the family of Abraham and those who fear God, putting himself in that camp saying, “to us has been sent the message of salvation.” He brings up Abraham, the father of faith, to incite faith in his hearers.
To those of you who are not followers of Jesus Christ, please listen carefully over the next few moments. Paul is going to summarize the most important aspects of Jesus’ life and clearly explain the message of salvation. I do not know what is going on in your life and what has happened in your past, but I do that God has promised salvation and has kept his word. The message of salvation revolves around the cross and the resurrection. I want you to focus on two things. First, there is judgment coming. And if there is salvation, there must be judgment. We can’t experience salvation if there is no judgment. The judgment of God is punishment for our sins. The Bible says, “there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Every human being is a sinner and deserves judgment for their sin. This used to not be debated in our society, but now it is not assumed. Because we have elevated ‘self’ to be the ultimate judge of what is right ‘for us’ we do not understand our need for salvation. But hear me, we know deep down, we have done wrong. We may try to justify our actions, but if we are honest with ourselves, we know we have done wrong. And if we have done wrong, we know it's logical we should experience judgment. For we all know if someone does wrong, there should be judgment.
Second, there is salvation. In order for you and I to experience salvation, we must first understand that judgment is coming. Once we understand judgment, then we can understand salvation. Paul is about to lay out the message of salvation for us. So, I would humbly ask that you listen to this message. He is going to share how God sent Jesus to die for sinners and to be raised from the dead. Jesus is the Savior of promise. He came to die and to be raised just as God promised. Acts 13:26–37,
[26] “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. [27] For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. [28] And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. [29] And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. [30] But God raised him from the dead, [31] 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. [32] And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, [33] this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm,
“‘You are my Son,
today I have begotten you.’
[34] And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,
“‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’
[35] Therefore he says also in another psalm,
“‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’
[36] For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, [37] but he whom God raised up did not see corruption.
Jesus died for sinners and God raised him from the dead. The cross AND the resurrection is the fulfillment of the promise. Paul quotes Psalm 2:7, Isaiah 55:3, and Psalm 16:10 all to show the promise and the fulfillment is in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The resurrection proclaims to the world that Jesus is the firstborn over all Creation as he is raised up to be the Savior. His resurrection is his begotteness. Paul says in Romans 1:4, that Jesus, “was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead.” The resurrection is the fulfillment of the promise.
David wasn’t the son because he is still in the grave. His body experienced corruption as all bodies do when they are buried. But not Jesus. Jesus, the Holy One, saw no corruption, because God raised him up. The message of salvation hinges on the cross and the resurrection. If there is no cross, ie, no payment for sin. There is no salvation. If there is no resurrection, i.e., no declaration of acceptance of payment. There is no salvation. But praise be to God, Jesus died and Jesus was raised up from the dead.
The Summons to the Promise
A summons is an urgent call to someone to do something. Based on the promise and fulfillment of Jesus Christ, Paul issues a summons to believe. An urgent call to respond to the gospel. Friend, hear Paul’s summons. It is an invitation and a warning, Acts 13:38–41
[38] Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, [39] and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. [40] Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about:
[41] “‘Look, you scoffers,
be astounded and perish;
for I am doing a work in your days,
a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’” (ESV)
Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. By Jesus Christ, everyone who believes in him is freed from death and the requirements of the law of Moses. By believing, Jesus fulfills the law of Moses on your behalf, and you are forgiven and therefore freed from the penalty of breaking God’s law. In biblical terms, you are justified, declared not guilty.
You have a choice: Believe or Perish. This is the choice offered in every Christian sermon. Believe in Christ or perish. Believe in the cross and the resurrection. Believe in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the Promise. Or Perish.
Again, it is hard to fully understand the urgency of Paul’s words. We do not live with this sense of urgency. We think there will be time to believe in the future. And there may be, but there may not be. Paul references Habakkuk in verse 41. Habakkuk cries out to God for mercy for the people of Israel as they have been surrounded by injustice and wickedness and God replies, he is going to send judgment through raising up the Chaldeans, a wicked people, to punish Israel. Habakkuk can’t believe it. How could God do this? God replies, “Be patient God’s justice will come but the righteous shall live by faith.” Habakkuk had a hard time believing God would punish Israel, but God was very clear. God always fulfills his promise. He must punish sin and will fulfill his word.
What God said to Habakkuk, and what Paul said to the Israelites, is the same. Believe or perish. The righteous shall live by faith. For the gospel is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes. It does not matter what you have done. Your good deeds can never erase your sin. You need a Savior. Believe in the Promised Savior, Jesus Christ or perish.
Beloved, if God has fulfilled his promise to his people in salvation and forgiveness offered in Jesus Christ, let us not doubt that will fulfill his promise in lesser things. “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” If you can trust him in salvation, you can trust him with your finances or with your children or with anything. The greatest promise of the world was fulfilled in Christ so believe. Whatever it is, God’s got this. He is trustworthy. He is faithful.
The Selection of the Promise
As Paul spoke, people made their choice. Some chose to believe, some chose to deny, while others wanted to hear more before they decided, but they all made a choice. Acts 13:42–46,
[42] As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. [43] And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.
[44] The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. [45] But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. [46] And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.
Some believed and continued in the grace of God while others thrust the promise side proving they were unworthy of eternal life.
Paul and Barnabas came to their own people, the ones who had heard the promise from the Law and the Prophets, Sabbath after Sabbath, year after year, decade after decade, and chose not to see Jesus as the promised Savior. They denied him so Paul and Barnabas turned toward the Gentiles. The Israelites had always been commanded to go to Gentiles. Notice the difference in the response to God’s Word, Acts 13:47–52
[47] For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,
“‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
[48] And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. [49] And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. [50] But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. [51] But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. [52] And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Notice the ones who had apparently the most to lose, chose not to believe. The Jews were concerned people would stop following them, the women of high standing and the leading men of the city, who were probably concerned how this salvation offered to all would affect them. And the Gentiles began rejoicing and glorifying the Word or the promise of the Lord and were appointed to eternal life through faith.
I do not want to shy away from the word appoint in verse 48. Luke is highlighting how salvation belongs to God from beginning to end. Paul just spent an entire sermon unpacking how God fulfills his promise in salvation by sending Jesus Christ to the cross and raising up for eternal life. God has been orchestrating history to bring about his purposes since the foundation of the world. God only saves. People are called to believe and those who God has appointed believe and receive eternal life by the sending of the Holy Spirit.
Paul was not concerned with preaching to only those who were appointed. Paul preached the gospel to all who were there. Every single person had to make a choice and every single person was offered a choice. Believe or perish. Some believed and inherited eternal life. Some did not believe, thrusting Jesus and the gospel aside, judging themselves unworthy of eternal life. Believe and you will be saved. Thrust aside Jesus and the gospel and you will perish.
God’s message of salvation should give us tremendous confidence whatever trial we face in this life. The camp doctor of the prison at Buchenwald, Dr. H. Fischer-Hüllstrung, reflected on how the confidence that Dietrich Bonhoeffer had as he approached death,
Through the half door in one room of the huts I saw Pastor Bonhoeffer, before taking off his prison garb, kneeling on the floor praying fervently to his God. I was most deeply moved by the way this lovable man prayed, so devout and so certain that God heard his prayer. At the place of execution, he again said a short prayer and then climbed the steps of the gallows, brave and composed. His death ensued in a few seconds. In almost 50 years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God.”
Bonhoeffer was resolute in his faith that God keeps his promise. He was facing an execution, but he knew that God would raise him from the dead. Because there was one who came before him, who faced execution, but God raised up from the dead. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the great promise of God. God keeps his word.
Bonhoeffer lived what he preached. In his last letter to his dear friend Eberhard Bethge, he left no doubt in his trust in God’s hand of providence and his faithful to fulfill his promises, writing,
I am so sure of God’s guiding hand that I hope I shall always be kept in that certainty. You must never doubt that I’m traveling with gratitude and cheerfulness along the road where I’m being led. My past life is brim-full of God’s goodness, and my sins are covered by the forgiving love of Christ crucified.
“God does not give us everything we want, but he does fulfill all his promises… leading us along the best and straightest paths to Himself.” The Lord does not promise us everything we want, but he does promise us himself. And he has proven that in Christ.
Beloved, believe in the God of promise and as Hebrews 10:23 encourages us, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”