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Dark Days (Part 3 of 3)

2 Samuel 15:23–37
Program

King David faced dark days after his son Absalom betrayed him. Study along with us on Truth For Life as Alistair Begg takes a look at David’s exile experience. We’ll learn how it points forward to Jesus’ story—but with a significant difference.

From the Sermon

Dark Days — Part Two

2 Samuel 15:23–37 Sermon Includes Transcript 26:46 ID: 3520

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The Oldest Christian Confession

At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

From very early on, while the church has stood on the firm foundation of God’s word, she has also looked to the support structure, as it were, of her creeds and confessions to faithfully summarize the core tenets of the Christian faith. Perhaps you have recited the Apostle’s Creed or the Nicene Creed, or maybe you have made use of the Westminster Confession of Faith to aid your understanding of a particular point of doctrine.

The historical nature of such creeds and confessions demonstrates how the Christian faith has held its ground over time. For example, the Nicene Creed reaches all the way back to AD 325, when the earliest version was adopted at the Council of Nicaea. Seventeen hundred years is quite a shelf life! But it is not the oldest confession, for there is one that reaches back even earlier, to the earliest days of the church. It’s only three simple words: Jesus is Lord.

This earliest confession can be found throughout the New Testament, in places such as Romans 10:9, 1 Corinthians 12:3, and Philippians 2:11. In making such a statement, the early Christians said a great deal about the identity of Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, God identifies Himself with four Hebrew letters, equivalent to YHWH in English, which some pronounce “Yahweh.” This divine name is rendered in our English Bibles most often as LORD, with small caps. When the Hebrew version of the Old Testament was translated into Greek, nearly all the occurrences of Yahweh—over 6,000 of them—were rendered with the Greek term for “Lord,” kurios. So to say “Jesus is Lord” is not just to call Christ Master but to affirm that He is fully and completely God.

While some try to argue that the New Testament never really identifies Jesus as God, nothing could be further from the truth. To confess Him as Lord is really to call Him Yahweh. He is not just a teacher or healer or miracle-worker but God in the flesh.

This earliest confession demands some reflection from us: Do I really confess, with my life as well as my lips, that Jesus is Lord? Do I really believe that He has total claim over my life and every right to command my allegiance and obedience? Do I really accept that He knows better than me and that I may hold nothing back from Him?

“Jesus is Lord,” then, is no trite statement. But it is not a terrifying one, either. For this Lord is kind and good, “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6). His love means that before He sat on His heavenly throne, He hung on a wooden cross. Since He is Lord, He can always ask for your all—and since He loves you, you can give it joyfully.

So what will you confess today?

Questions for Thought

How is God calling me to think differently?

How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?

What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

Further Reading

Moses Makes New Tablets

1The Lord said to Moses, w“Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, xand I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, ywhich you broke. 2Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me zon the top of the mountain. 3No aone shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze opposite that mountain.” 4So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. 5The Lord bdescended in the cloud and stood with him there, and cproclaimed the name of the Lord. 6The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, d“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and egracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast flove and faithfulness, 7gkeeping steadfast love for thousands,1 hforgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but iwho will by no means clear the guilty, jvisiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” 8And Moses quickly kbowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. 9And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please llet the Lord go in the midst of us, for mit is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for nyour inheritance.”

The Covenant Renewed

10And he said, “Behold, oI am making a covenant. Before all your people pI will do marvels, such as have not been created in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord, for it is an qawesome thing that I will do with you.

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Footnotes
1 34:7 Or to the thousandth generation

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotionals by Alistair Begg, published by The Good Book Company, thegoodbook.com. Used by Truth For Life with permission. Copyright © 2021, 2022, The Good Book Company.

Lessons in Defeat

Lessons in Defeat

Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were wrecked at Ezion-Geber.

Solomon's ships had returned in safety, but Jehoshaphat's vessels never reached the land of gold. Providence prospers one and frustrates the desires of another, in the same business and at the same spot; yet the Great Ruler is as good and wise at one time as another. May we have grace today, in the remembrance of this text, to bless the Lord for ships broken at Ezion-geber as well as for vessels filled with temporal blessings; let us not envy the more successful, nor murmur at our losses as though we were singularly and specially tried. Like Jehoshaphat, we may be precious in the Lord's sight, although our schemes end in disappointment.

The secret cause of Jehoshaphat's loss is well worthy of notice, for it is the root of very much of the suffering of the Lord's people; it was his alliance with a sinful family, his fellowship with sinners. In 2 Chronicles 20:37 we are told that the Lord sent a prophet to declare, "Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the LORD will destroy what you have made." This was a fatherly chastisement, which appears to have been considered blessed to him; for in the verse which succeeds our morning's text we find him refusing to allow his servants to sail in the same vessels with those of the wicked king.

Would to God that Jehoshaphat's experience might be a warning to the rest of the Lord's people, to avoid being unequally yoked together with unbelievers! A life of misery is usually the lot of those who are united in marriage, or in any other way of their own choosing, with the men of the world. O for such love to Jesus that, like Him, we may be holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners; for if that is not the case with us, we may expect to hear it often said, "The Lord will destroy what you have made."

Devotional material is taken from Morning and Evening, written by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg. Copyright © 2003, Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org. Used by Truth For Life with written permission.

Daily Bible Reading for January 13

Genesis 14, Matthew 13, Nehemiah 3, Acts 13

Abram Rescues Lot

1In the days of Amraphel king of vShinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of wElam, and Tidal king of Goiim, 2these kings made war with xBera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of yAdmah, Shemeber king of yZeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (zthat is, the Salt Sea). 4Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the aRephaim in bAshteroth-karnaim, the cZuzim in Ham, the dEmim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6and the eHorites in their hill country of Seir as far as fEl-paran on the border of the wilderness. 7Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, gKadesh) and defeated all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were dwelling hin Hazazon-tamar.

8Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim 9with Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five. 10Now the Valley of Siddim was full of ibitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled jto the hill country. 11So the enemy took kall the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12They also took Lot, lthe son of Abram's brother, mwho was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.

13Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, nwho was living by the ooaks1 of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram. 14When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, pborn in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as qDan. 15And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. 16Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot rwith his possessions, and the women and the people.

Abram Blessed by Melchizedek

17After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the sKing's Valley). 18And tMelchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was upriest of vGod Most High.) 19And he blessed him and said,

w“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,

xPossessor2 of heaven and earth;

20and blessed be God Most High,

who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”

And Abram gave him ya tenth of everything. 21And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” 22But Abram said to the king of Sodom, z“I have lifted my hand3 to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, 23that aI would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ 24I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let bAner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.”

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Footnotes
1 14:13 Or terebinths
2 14:19 Or Creator; also verse 22
3 14:22 Or I have taken a solemn oath

The Parable of the Sower

1That same day Jesus went out of the house oand sat beside the sea. 2And great crowds gathered about him, pso that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3And qhe told them many things in parables, saying: r“A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6but swhen the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, tthey withered away. 7Other seeds fell among uthorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some va hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9wHe who has ears,1 let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

10Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11And he answered them, x“To you it has been given to know ythe secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12zFor to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, aeven what he has will be taken away. 13This is why I speak to them in parables, because bseeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, cnor do they understand. 14Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

d“‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,

and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

15For this people's heart has grown dull,

and with their ears ethey can barely hear,

and ftheir eyes they have closed,

lest they should see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and gunderstand with their heart

and hturn, and I would heal them.’

16But iblessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17iFor truly, I say to you, jmany prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

18k“Hear then the parable of the sower: 19When anyone hears the word of lthe kingdom and mdoes not understand it, nthe evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately oreceives it with joy, 21yet he has no root in himself, but pendures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately qhe falls away.2 22As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but rthe cares of sthe world and tthe deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and munderstands it. He indeed ubears fruit and yields, in one case va hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

The Parable of the Weeds

24He put another parable before them, saying, w“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds3 among the wheat and went away. 26So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27And the servants4 of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29But he said, x‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, y“Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

31He put another parable before them, saying, z“The kingdom of heaven is like aa grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

33He told them another parable. b“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in cthree measures of flour, till it was dall leavened.”

Prophecy and Parables

34eAll these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:5

f“I will open my mouth in parables;

gI will utter what has been hidden hsince the foundation of the world.”

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

36Then he left the crowds and went into ithe house. And his disciples came to him, saying, j“Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38The field is the world, and the good seed is kthe sons of the kingdom. The weeds are lthe sons of the evil one, 39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. mThe harvest is nthe end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40Just as the weeds oare gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at nthe end of the age. 41pThe Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all qcauses of sin and rall law-breakers, 42sand throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place tthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then uthe righteous will shine like the sun vin the kingdom of their Father. wHe who has ears, let him hear.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

44“The kingdom of heaven xis like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy yhe goes and sells all that he has and zbuys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

45“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46who, on finding aone pearl of great value, ywent and sold all that he had and zbought it.

The Parable of the Net

47“Again, the kingdom of heaven is blike a net that was thrown into the sea and cgathered fish of every kind. 48When it was full, dmen drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49So it will be at ethe end of the age. The angels will come out and fseparate the evil from the righteous 50gand throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place gthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

New and Old Treasures

51h“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52And he said to them, “Therefore every iscribe jwho has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who kbrings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

53And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54land coming to mhis hometown nhe taught them in their synagogue, so that othey were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55pIs not this qthe carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not rhis brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57And sthey took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, t“A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58And he did not do many mighty works there, ubecause of their unbelief.

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Footnotes
1 13:9 Some manuscripts add here and in verse 43 to hear
2 13:21 Or stumbles
3 13:25 Probably darnel, a wheat-like weed
4 13:27 Or bondservants; also verse 28
5 13:35 Some manuscripts Isaiah the prophet

Rebuilding the Wall

1Then bEliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built cthe Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and dset its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the eTower of Hananel. 2And next to him fthe men of Jericho built. And next to them1 Zaccur the son of Imri built.

3The sons of Hassenaah built gthe Fish Gate. hThey laid its beams and dset its doors, its bolts, and its bars. 4And next to them iMeremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired. And next to them jMeshullam the son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel repaired. And next to them Zadok the son of Baana repaired. 5And next to them kthe Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.2

6Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah lrepaired the Gate of Yeshanah.3 hThey laid its beams and dset its doors, its bolts, and its bars. 7And next to them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, the seat of mthe governor of the province Beyond the River. 8Next to them Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, goldsmiths, repaired. Next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, repaired, and they restored Jerusalem as far as nthe Broad Wall. 9Next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, oruler of half the district of4 Jerusalem, repaired. 10Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph repaired opposite his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah repaired. 11Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and pthe Tower of the Ovens. 12Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, qruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired, he and his daughters.

13Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired rthe Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and sset its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and repaired a thousand cubits5 of the wall, as far as tthe Dung Gate.

14Malchijah the son of Rechab, ruler of the district of uBeth-haccherem, repaired tthe Dung Gate. He rebuilt it and sset its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

15And Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired vthe Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and covered it and sset its doors, its bolts, and its bars. And he built the wall of wthe Pool of Shelah of xthe king's garden, as far as ythe stairs that go down from the city of David. 16After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, repaired to a point opposite zthe tombs of David, as far as athe artificial pool, and as far as the house of the mighty men. 17After him the Levites repaired: Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, repaired for his district. 18After him their brothers repaired: Bavvai the son of Henadad, ruler of half the district of Keilah. 19Next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory at bthe buttress.6 20After him Baruch the son of Zabbai repaired7 another section from the buttress to the door of the house of cEliashib the high priest. 21After him dMeremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired another section from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib. 22After him the priests, the men of ethe surrounding area, repaired. 23After them Benjamin and Hasshub repaired opposite their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah repaired beside his own house. 24After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to the buttress and to fthe corner. 25Palal the son of Uzai repaired opposite the buttress and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king at gthe court of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh 26hand the temple servants living on iOphel repaired to a point opposite jthe Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower. 27After him kthe Tekoites repaired another section opposite the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel.

28Above lthe Horse Gate the priests repaired, each one opposite his own house. 29After them Zadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his own house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, repaired. 30After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph repaired another section. After him mMeshullam the son of Berechiah repaired opposite nhis chamber. 31After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, opposite the Muster Gate,8 and to the upper chamber of the corner. 32And between the upper chamber of the corner and othe Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants repaired.

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Footnotes
1 3:2 Hebrew him
2 3:5 Or lords
3 3:6 Or of the old city
4 3:9 Or foreman of half the portion assigned to; also verses 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18
5 3:13 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
6 3:19 Or corner; also verses 20, 24, 25
7 3:20 Some manuscripts vigorously repaired
8 3:31 Or Hammiphkad Gate

Barnabas and Saul Sent Off

1Now there were in the church at Antioch nprophets and nteachers, oBarnabas, Simeon who was called Niger,1 Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of pHerod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, qthe Holy Spirit said, r“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul sfor the work to which I have called them.” 3Then after fasting and tpraying they laid their hands on them and usent them off.

Barnabas and Saul on Cyprus

4So, being sent out vby the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God win the synagogues of the Jews. And they had xJohn to yassist them. 6When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain zmagician, aa Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7He was with bthe proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8But Elymas the zmagician (for that is the meaning of his name) copposed them, seeking to turn dthe proconsul away from the faith. 9But Saul, who was also called Paul, efilled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10and said, “You fson of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and gvillainy, will you not stop hmaking crooked ithe straight paths of the Lord? 11And now, behold, jthe hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking kpeople to lead him by the hand. 12Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at lthe teaching of the Lord.

Paul and Barnabas at Antioch in Pisidia

13Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And mJohn left them and returned nto Jerusalem, 14but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And oon the Sabbath day pthey went into the synagogue and sat down. 15After qthe reading from rthe Law and the Prophets, sthe rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any tword of encouragement for the people, say it.” 16So Paul stood up, and umotioning with his hand said:

“Men of Israel and vyou who fear God, listen. 17wThe God of this people Israel xchose our fathers and ymade the people great zduring their stay in the land of Egypt, and awith uplifted arm he led them out of it. 18And for about bforty years che put up with2 them in the wilderness. 19And dafter destroying eseven nations in the land of Canaan, fhe gave them their land as an inheritance. 20All this took about 450 years. And after that ghe gave them judges until hSamuel the prophet. 21Then ithey asked for a king, and God gave them Saul jthe son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22And kwhen he had removed him, lhe raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, m‘I have found in David the son of Jesse na man after my heart, owho will do all my will.’ 23pOf this man's offspring God has brought to Israel qa Savior, Jesus, ras he promised. 24Before his coming, sJohn had proclaimed ta baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25And as John was finishing his course, uhe said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

26“Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you vwho fear God, to us has been sent wthe message of xthis salvation. 27For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because ythey did not recognize him nor understand zthe utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, afulfilled them by condemning him. 28And bthough they found in him no guilt worthy of death, cthey asked Pilate to have him executed. 29And when dthey had carried out all that was written of him, ethey took him down from fthe tree and laid him in a tomb. 30But gGod raised him from the dead, 31and for many days hhe appeared to those iwho had come up with him jfrom Galilee to Jerusalem, kwho are now lhis witnesses to the people. 32And we bring you the good news mthat what God promised to the fathers, 33nthis he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm,

o“‘You are my Son,

today I have begotten you.’

34And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, pqno more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,

“‘I will give you rthe holy and sure blessings of David.’

35Therefore he says also in another psalm,

s“‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’

36For David, after he had tserved the purpose of God in his own generation, ufell asleep and vwas laid with his fathers and saw corruption, 37but he whom wGod raised up did not see corruption. 38Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, xthat through this man yforgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39and by him zeveryone who believes is freed3 from everything afrom which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. 40Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about:

41b“‘Look, you scoffers,

be astounded and perish;

for I am doing a work in your days,

a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’”

42As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. 43And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and cdevout dconverts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them eto continue in fthe grace of God.

44The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45gBut hwhen the Jews4 saw the crowds, they were filled with ijealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, jreviling him. 46And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God kbe spoken first to you. lSince you thrust it aside and judge yourselves munworthy of eternal life, behold, we nare turning to the Gentiles. 47oFor so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

p“‘I have made you qa light for the Gentiles,

that you may rbring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

48And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and sglorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. 49And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. 50tBut the Jews incited the devout uwomen of high standing and the leading men of the city, vstirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and wdrove them out of their district. 51But they xshook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. 52And the disciples were filled ywith joy and zwith the Holy Spirit.

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Footnotes
1 13:1 Niger is a Latin word meaning black, or dark
2 13:18 Some manuscripts he carried (compare Deuteronomy 1:31)
3 13:39 Greek justified; twice in this verse
4 13:45 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time; also verse 50
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.

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