Devotion:
In Acts 9 we read about Saul’s conversion to Christ. Some time after that, he began to use the name Paul. We’re told of him teaching and preaching in various places, but this passage is part of the first sermon we have recorded by him in Acts. While in Antioch (the first place the disciples were called “Christians” - Acts 11:26), the Holy Spirit directed the leaders there to “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (13:2). After traveling to other places, they came to Pisidian Antioch. The leaders there asked them to speak to the people, and Paul did so. His message begins at verse 16, so we have picked up in the middle of it with today’s passage.
After starting with some of Israel’s story from Old Testament days, he tells of the recent experience of God’s people with Jesus. The leaders did not recognize that he was the Messiah, so they asked Pilate to execute him. “But God raised him from the dead….” He then builds on that: “We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus.”
The resurrection of Jesus was the ultimate proof for those first disciples that Jesus was who he said he was: the Messiah, the Son of God. It still is. By raising Jesus from the dead, God affirmed all that Jesus did and taught during his time on earth. Hallelujah! Christ is alive! Believe in him; listen to him; follow him.
Personal Worship Option:
Who do you know who is experiencing struggles with life right now? How might you be a life-giving presence for them, so that you can lead them to Jesus?
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