Acts 13:20-43

Nation building takes time, even for God. Any creation involving the participation of humanity is constrained by a general principle: you can build it quick or you can build it right. The Israelite’s lack of cooperation slowed God’s creation of the nation of Israel. From the time that God chose Abraham, until the time He had established the Nation of Israel, was 450 years.

We have no way of knowing what might have happened, but history tells us what did happen. God gave Israel judges to lead them, but they wanted a king like other nations. Through Samuel, the prophet, God anointed Saul, son of Kish, as king and he ruled for 40 years. Power corrupted Saul and God replaced him with David. Both God and the Jews loved David, and the Jewish people believed their messiah would be a descendant of David.

Paul makes the case that Jesus is the promised messiah. Jesus is a descendant of David. John the Baptist was a prophet who preached repentance and baptism. John predicted that Jesus was coming. Jesus came to offer salvation, but the Jewish leadership rejected him. At this point, Paul laid out a four part Christian confession: (1) They crucified Jesus; (2) they laid his body in a tomb; (3) God raised him from the dead and (4) for many days Jesus walked and talked with his disciples and they are now his witnesses.

Paul then explained how these events fulfilled old scriptures with new meaning for anyone willing to understand and believe. David died and his body decayed, Christ died and God raised him from the dead and his body did not see decay. The blessings, promised to David, God fulfilled with the resurrection of Jesus.  God pardons, sets free from sin, and restores to right relationship with Himself everyone who believes.

Old Testament prophets wrote that even when told what God had done, some scoffers would never believe, but would perish. All who hear the gospel choose to be scoffers or believers.