Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem, but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. 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.” So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said:
“Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen. 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. And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. All this took about 450 years. And after that he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. 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. 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.’ Of this man's offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised.
Perga in Pamphylia - "It lay N.N.W. of Cyprus, and was the national district to make for, in furtherance of their missionary work. Perga was the chief city of Pamphylia, and seems to have been founded in the third century B.C. It lay five miles west of the river Cestrus and about seven miles from the coast. Possibly, however, an out-lying port-town may have been situated on the Cestrus, to which vessels could sail direct up the river. While Attalia (Acts 14:25) was a Greek colony, Perga was a centre of Asiatic influence. Its goddess Artemis and her worship were famous. It was an important city." (Walker)
Antioch in Pisidia - "Actually it was in Phrygia, but near the border of Pisidia. This Antioch was so called to distinguish it from the large Antioch in Syria." (Ryrie)
"Better, 'Pisidian Antioch'. Pisidia was a country in southern Asia Minor, forming, at the period in question, part of the Roman province of Galatia. It was bounded on the south by Pamphylia, on the north by Phrygia, and on the west by Lycia. St. Paul crossed it on his way to Antioch on this occasion, and again on his return to Perga (Acts 14:24). The city of Antioch was not really in the country of Pisidia, but in that of Phrygia. It is called by Strabo (A.D. 19), 'Antioch toward Pisidia', or 'Pisidian Antioch', to distinguish it from other Antiochs; and, since that part of Phrygia which was included in the Galatian province was gradually merged into Pisidia, the town came to be called, later, 'Antioch of Pisidia'. Like Antioch in Syria, it was founded by Seleucus Nicator in the third century B.C. and named after his father. The emperor Augustus made it a 'colony' and constituted it the military and administrative centre of the southern portion of the province of Galatia. It was, therefore, the most important city in that part of Asia Minor. It lay about a hundred miles inland, and was situated on a lofty plain about 3600 feet above sea-level. It had a Latin organization, a Greek civilization, a Phrygian population, and contained a large settlement of Jews. Ramsay, who thinks that St. Paul's constitutional malady was severe malarial fever, holds that the apostle was driven, after a sharp attack of such fever, from the low-lying country round Perga to the elevated plateau on which Antioch was built. This will not appeal, however, to those who are of opinion that his affliction was rather ophthalmic (Gal 4:15; 6:11) or epileptic (Gal 4:14). Whatever may have been its nature, the immediate cause of his preaching the Gospel in S. Galatia was due in some way to an attack of it (Gal 4:13), whether that attack occurred in Perga, Antioch, or en route between the two. The road from Perga to Antioch lay across the Pisidian highlands which were infected by brigands. To his journey thither and back again to Perga may be referred some of those 'perils of rivers', and 'perils of robbers', of which we read in 2 Cor. 11:26. As he crossed from Pamphylia into Pisidia, he entered the Roman province of Galatia." (Walker)
the synagogue - "The word 'synagogue' is found 26 times in the Acts but not once in the epistles of Paul, even though six of his epistles were written during the Acts period. This is confirmation of the fact that Acts is primarily the story of Israel's apostasy, while Paul's epistles contain the doctrine and practice of the Body of Christ." (Stam)
Men of Israel and you who fear God - "The apostle addresses his hearers simply as 'Men of Israel, and ye that fear God.' But the latter part of this salutation is even more significant of Paul's ministry than the former, for the phrase 'ye that fear God,' used as it is along with the phrase 'men of Israel,' does not refer to Jews but to Gentiles who, like Cornelius, had not become proselytes to Judaism by circumcision, but did join with the Jews in recognizing Israel's God as the true God (See Acts 10:1-2). Outside the Scriptures these are frequently called 'proselytes of the gate,' but that they were Gentiles, not Jews, is amply confirmed not only by a comparison with the case of Cornelius but also by the usage of the term and related statements here in Acts 13 (See Vers. 16, 26 and cf. Vers 42,44,45). Peter at Pentecost did not thus preach to Gentiles (See Acts 10:28)." (Stam)
he put up with them - "The verb so rendered is found only here. It has the support of the majority of ancient manuscripts. As the margin shews, however, the change of a single letter in the Greek verb gives us a different and beautiful rendering favoured by some old authorities, 'Bare them as a nursing father'. This accords with the LXX of Deut. 1:31, to which allusion is here made. Both readings give excellent sense." (Walker)
450 years - "...includes 400 years in Egypt, plus 40 years in the wilderness wanderings and 10 years to conquer Canaan." (Ryrie)
So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said - "We have before us an intensely interesting record. Whether this is a full report or a condensed report of the address of the Apostle we do not know for certain. We incline to the belief that it is a report in full of what Paul spoke. It corresponds in different ways to Peter's preaching to the Jews, yet it differs from Peter's message in regard to the Gospel. As we have seen Peter's preaching was addressed to the Jews and he offered forgiveness of sins to them who repent and are baptized. But Paul utters a truth for the first time, which Peter did not declare. He said: 'By Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.' It is justification by faith he now preaches. We have in his first recorded utterance the Keynote of the two great Epistles, dictated by the Holy Spirit to the Apostle Paul; the great doctrinal Epistle to the Romans and the controversial Epistle to the Galatians, the defence of his Gospel." (Gaebelein)
a Savior, Jesus, as he promised - "But did Israel accept this Savior-King? No. The monarchy had begun with the cry: 'Make us a king!' (1 Sam 8:5) and had ended with the cry: 'We have no king but Caesar!' (John 19:15). The demand for a king had ended in the betrayal and crucifixion of the king, the long-promised Messiah. This, the greatest of all Israel's sins, the apostle now begins to drive home to the hearts of his hearers, together with the fact that God had not failed them, that Christ was still ready to be their Savior if they would but accept Him." (Stam)
“Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen. 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. And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. All this took about 450 years. And after that he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. 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. 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.’ Of this man's offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised.
Perga in Pamphylia - "It lay N.N.W. of Cyprus, and was the national district to make for, in furtherance of their missionary work. Perga was the chief city of Pamphylia, and seems to have been founded in the third century B.C. It lay five miles west of the river Cestrus and about seven miles from the coast. Possibly, however, an out-lying port-town may have been situated on the Cestrus, to which vessels could sail direct up the river. While Attalia (Acts 14:25) was a Greek colony, Perga was a centre of Asiatic influence. Its goddess Artemis and her worship were famous. It was an important city." (Walker)
Antioch in Pisidia - "Actually it was in Phrygia, but near the border of Pisidia. This Antioch was so called to distinguish it from the large Antioch in Syria." (Ryrie)
"Better, 'Pisidian Antioch'. Pisidia was a country in southern Asia Minor, forming, at the period in question, part of the Roman province of Galatia. It was bounded on the south by Pamphylia, on the north by Phrygia, and on the west by Lycia. St. Paul crossed it on his way to Antioch on this occasion, and again on his return to Perga (Acts 14:24). The city of Antioch was not really in the country of Pisidia, but in that of Phrygia. It is called by Strabo (A.D. 19), 'Antioch toward Pisidia', or 'Pisidian Antioch', to distinguish it from other Antiochs; and, since that part of Phrygia which was included in the Galatian province was gradually merged into Pisidia, the town came to be called, later, 'Antioch of Pisidia'. Like Antioch in Syria, it was founded by Seleucus Nicator in the third century B.C. and named after his father. The emperor Augustus made it a 'colony' and constituted it the military and administrative centre of the southern portion of the province of Galatia. It was, therefore, the most important city in that part of Asia Minor. It lay about a hundred miles inland, and was situated on a lofty plain about 3600 feet above sea-level. It had a Latin organization, a Greek civilization, a Phrygian population, and contained a large settlement of Jews. Ramsay, who thinks that St. Paul's constitutional malady was severe malarial fever, holds that the apostle was driven, after a sharp attack of such fever, from the low-lying country round Perga to the elevated plateau on which Antioch was built. This will not appeal, however, to those who are of opinion that his affliction was rather ophthalmic (Gal 4:15; 6:11) or epileptic (Gal 4:14). Whatever may have been its nature, the immediate cause of his preaching the Gospel in S. Galatia was due in some way to an attack of it (Gal 4:13), whether that attack occurred in Perga, Antioch, or en route between the two. The road from Perga to Antioch lay across the Pisidian highlands which were infected by brigands. To his journey thither and back again to Perga may be referred some of those 'perils of rivers', and 'perils of robbers', of which we read in 2 Cor. 11:26. As he crossed from Pamphylia into Pisidia, he entered the Roman province of Galatia." (Walker)
the synagogue - "The word 'synagogue' is found 26 times in the Acts but not once in the epistles of Paul, even though six of his epistles were written during the Acts period. This is confirmation of the fact that Acts is primarily the story of Israel's apostasy, while Paul's epistles contain the doctrine and practice of the Body of Christ." (Stam)
Men of Israel and you who fear God - "The apostle addresses his hearers simply as 'Men of Israel, and ye that fear God.' But the latter part of this salutation is even more significant of Paul's ministry than the former, for the phrase 'ye that fear God,' used as it is along with the phrase 'men of Israel,' does not refer to Jews but to Gentiles who, like Cornelius, had not become proselytes to Judaism by circumcision, but did join with the Jews in recognizing Israel's God as the true God (See Acts 10:1-2). Outside the Scriptures these are frequently called 'proselytes of the gate,' but that they were Gentiles, not Jews, is amply confirmed not only by a comparison with the case of Cornelius but also by the usage of the term and related statements here in Acts 13 (See Vers. 16, 26 and cf. Vers 42,44,45). Peter at Pentecost did not thus preach to Gentiles (See Acts 10:28)." (Stam)
he put up with them - "The verb so rendered is found only here. It has the support of the majority of ancient manuscripts. As the margin shews, however, the change of a single letter in the Greek verb gives us a different and beautiful rendering favoured by some old authorities, 'Bare them as a nursing father'. This accords with the LXX of Deut. 1:31, to which allusion is here made. Both readings give excellent sense." (Walker)
450 years - "...includes 400 years in Egypt, plus 40 years in the wilderness wanderings and 10 years to conquer Canaan." (Ryrie)
So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said - "We have before us an intensely interesting record. Whether this is a full report or a condensed report of the address of the Apostle we do not know for certain. We incline to the belief that it is a report in full of what Paul spoke. It corresponds in different ways to Peter's preaching to the Jews, yet it differs from Peter's message in regard to the Gospel. As we have seen Peter's preaching was addressed to the Jews and he offered forgiveness of sins to them who repent and are baptized. But Paul utters a truth for the first time, which Peter did not declare. He said: 'By Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.' It is justification by faith he now preaches. We have in his first recorded utterance the Keynote of the two great Epistles, dictated by the Holy Spirit to the Apostle Paul; the great doctrinal Epistle to the Romans and the controversial Epistle to the Galatians, the defence of his Gospel." (Gaebelein)
a Savior, Jesus, as he promised - "But did Israel accept this Savior-King? No. The monarchy had begun with the cry: 'Make us a king!' (1 Sam 8:5) and had ended with the cry: 'We have no king but Caesar!' (John 19:15). The demand for a king had ended in the betrayal and crucifixion of the king, the long-promised Messiah. This, the greatest of all Israel's sins, the apostle now begins to drive home to the hearts of his hearers, together with the fact that God had not failed them, that Christ was still ready to be their Savior if they would but accept Him." (Stam)
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