Acts 13:30-33 30But God raised him from the dead, 31who appeared for many days to those who went up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. 32And we ourselves proclaim the good news to you that which he gave as a promise to the fathers, 33because God has fulfilled this 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.’
The story of Jesus makes a major shift in verse 30. God once again enters as the main cause of action. So much Christian theology rests on the claim of this verse. It is the good news in a brief statement. The basic two-part outline follows the pattern of other sermons recorded in Acts: people killed Jesus, but God raised him up (2:24; 3:15; 4:10; 5:30; 10:39). Even though people did this, it was part of God’s plan for the redemption of humanity. The proof of Jesus’ resurrection was in his appearances to many people. Paul wrote a similar defense in 1 Corinthians 15:5-9, where he included himself as the least witness of Jesus’ resurrection, implying his Damascus Road experience.
Verse 31 especially includes the apostles, who were Galileans, but also many other witnesses. Jesus spent a significant amount of time in Galilee. The inclusion of the word now (there are some textual variants about the position of this word in the sentence, but it appears to be original to Luke) indicates that the eyewitnesses were still alive when Paul preached his sermon, which would add authenticity to his claim. His listeners could do their own research, if they wanted to, to verify the truth of his words.
Jesus’ resurrection was also promised to the ancestors of the listeners. By stating this, Paul included his listeners as part of the family that received the good news. The story of Jesus was not isolated to Jerusalem or Galilee but is for all people. The emphatic we ourselves in verse 32 shows that Paul and Barnabas were witnesses of this good news. They were serving as the link between the events of Jerusalem to the listeners in Antioch. According to Scripture and ancient tradition, having two witnesses verified the truth of a matter.
The link between Jesus’ resurrection and the quote from Psalm 2 is difficult to determine, but Paul may have in mind or even cited more of this psalm, which was popular among early Christians as a clear messianic psalm predicting Jesus. The psalm refers to the enthronement of the king, who is declared to be the son of God. Paul’s intended connection could be that God was the actor in all of this. Jesus was God’s special Son, who died, rose, and is highly exalted as king. Paul’s sermon contains the essential points of Christian theology. His points are simple and brief, enough for his listeners to understand God’s plan of salvation.
For older posts, click here.