16 And Paul, rising up and making a sign with the hand, said, Israelites, and ye that fear God, hearken.
And having made a sign to them with his hand to be silent, he related [to them] how the Lord had brought him out of prison; and he said, Report these things to James and to the brethren. And he went out and went to another place.
Brethren, sons of Abraham's race, and those who among you fear God, to you has the word of this salvation been sent:
And Peter, seeing it, answered the people, Men of Israel, why are ye astonished at this? or why do ye gaze on us as if we had by our own power or piety made him to walk?
He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.
He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him that overcomes, to him will I give of the hidden manna; and I will give to him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows but he that receives [it].
He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. He that overcomes shall in no wise be injured of the second death.
He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him that overcomes, I will give to him to eat of the tree of life which is in the paradise of God.
But from among the crowd they put forward Alexander, the Jews pushing him forward. And Alexander, beckoning with his hand, would have made a defence to the people.
And Paul and Barnabas spoke boldly and said, It was necessary that the word of God should be first spoken to you; but, since ye thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn to the nations;
And as they went out they begged that these words might be spoken to them the ensuing sabbath. And the congregation of the synagogue having broken up, many of the Jews and of the worshipping proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
but in every nation he that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.
he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words that I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to take heed to do, all the words of this law. For it is no vain word for you, but it is your life, and through this word ye shall prolong your days on the land whereunto ye pass over the Jordan to possess it.
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and spoke forth to them, Men of Judaea, and all ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give heed to my words:
But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost *thou* too not fear God, thou that art under the same judgment?
But truly I am filled with power by the Spirit of Jehovah, and with judgment and with might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin. Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity,
Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him, that glory may dwell in our land.
{An instruction. Of Asaph.} Give ear, O my people, to my law; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter riddles from of old,
{To the chief Musician. Of the sons of Korah. A Psalm.} Hear this, all ye peoples; give ear, all inhabitants of the world: Both men of low and men of high degree, rich and poor alike. My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding:
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Acts 13
Commentary on Acts 13 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 13
We have not yet met with any things concerning the spreading of the gospel to the Gentiles which bears any proportion to the largeness of that commission, "Go, and disciple all nations.' The door was opened in the baptizing of Cornelius and his friends; but since then we had the gospel preached to the Jews only, ch. 11:19. It should seem as if the light which began to shine upon the Gentile world had withdrawn itself. But here in this chapter that work, that great good work, is revived in the midst of the years; and though the Jews shall still have the first offer of the gospel made to them, yet, upon their refusal, the Gentiles shall have their share of the offer of it. Here is,
Act 13:1-3
We have here a divine warrant and commission to Barnabas and Saul to go and preach the gospel among the Gentiles, and their ordination to that service by the imposition of hands, with fasting and prayer.
Act 13:4-13
In these verses we have,
Act 13:14-41
Perga in Pamphylia was a noted place, especially for a temple there erected to the goddess Diana, yet nothing at all is related of what Paul and Barnabas did there, only that thither they came (v. 13), and thence they departed, v. 14. But the history of the apostles' travels, as that of Christ's, passes by many things worthy to have been recorded, because, if all had been written, the world could not have contained the books. But the next place we find them in is another Antioch, said to be in Pisidia, to distinguish it from that Antioch in Syria from which they were sent out. Pisidia was a province of the Lesser Asia, bordering upon Pamphylia; this Antioch, it is likely, was the metropolis of it. Abundance of Jews lived there, and to them the gospel was to be first preached; and Paul's sermon to them is what we have in these verses, which, it is likely, is the substance of what was preached by the apostles generally to the Jews in all places; for in dealing with them the proper way was to show them how the New Testament, which they would have them to receive, exactly agreed with the Old Testament, which they not only received, but were zealous for. We have here,
Act 13:42-52
The design of this story being to vindicate the apostles, especially Paul (as he doth himself at large, Rom. 11), from the reflections of the Jews upon him for preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, it is here observed that he proceeded therein with all the caution imaginable, and upon due consideration, of which we have here an instance.