Acts 13:16-41

Paul’s synagogue sermon in Antioch of Pisidia 13:16-41

Luke recorded three of Paul’s evangelistic messages to unbelievers: here in Pisidian Antioch, in Lystra (Acts 14:15-17), and in Athens (Acts 17:22-31). This is the longest of the three, though Luke quite certainly condensed all of them. This one takes most people less than a minute to read.

"He [Paul] may have written out notes of this sermon afterwards for Luke. The keynotes of Paul’s theology as found in his Epistles appear in this sermon." [Note: Robertson, 3:187.]

This sermon is very similar to Peter’s sermon in Acts 2:14-40 and Stephen’s in Acts 7:2-53. [Note: For comparison with two other important initiation speeches, namely, Jesus’ in Luke 4:18-21 and Peter’s in Acts 2, see Tannehill, 2:160-62; or Witherington, p. 408. For comparison of this address with Stephen’s, see Rackham, pp. 208-9.] It contains three parts marked off by three occurrences of direct address: preparation for the coming of Messiah (Acts 13:16-25), the rejection, crucifixion, and resurrection of Messiah (Acts 13:26-37), and the application and appeal (Acts 13:38-41). [Note: Toussiant, "Acts," p. 389.]

"The variety in these missionary sermons and the speeches of Christians on trial before Jewish and Roman bodies is no doubt meant to illustrate the different ways in which the gospel was presented to different groups of people, Jews and Greeks, cultured and uncultured, and it is hard to resist the impression that the sermons are presented as models for Luke’s readers to use in their own evangelism." [Note: Marshall, The Acts . . ., p. 33.]

Luke probably recorded this address to help us see how Paul preached to people who knew the Hebrew Scriptures. [Note: See also David A. deSilva, "Paul’s Sermon in Antioch of Pisidia," Bibliotheca Sacra 151:601 (January-March 1994):32-49.]

"Speeches in Acts are differentiated less with reference to the speakers than with reference to the audience." [Note: Barrett, p. 623.]

Since this speech is carefully crafted to be persuasive to a Diaspora Jewish audience, it not only has the form of deliberative rhetoric but it reflects the patterns of early Jewish augumentation." [Note: Witherington, p. 408.]