Now Paul and his company set sail from Paphos, and came to
Perga in Pamphyl'ia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem; but they
passed on from Perga and came to Antioch of Pisid'ia. And on the sabbath day
they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading of the law and the
prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, "Brethren, if
you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it." So Paul stood
up, and motioning with his hand said: "Men of Israel, and you that fear God,
listen. The God of this people Israel chose our fathers … [and] … he raised up
David to be their king; of whom he testified and said, 'I have found in David
the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.' Of this man's
posterity God has brought to Israel a Saviour, Jesus, as he promised. … Though
they could charge him with nothing deserving death, yet they asked Pilate to
have him killed. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they
took him down from the tree, and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from
the dead; and for many days he appeared to those who came up with him from
Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. And we bring you
the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to
us their children by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm,
'Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee.' And as for the fact that he
raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he spoke in this
way, 'I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.' Therefore he says
also in another psalm, 'Thou wilt not let thy Holy One see corruption.' … Let
it be known to you therefore, brethren, that through this man forgiveness of
sins is proclaimed to you, and by him every one that believes is freed from
everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. Beware,
therefore, lest there come upon you
what is said in the prophets: 'Behold, you scoffers, and wonder, and perish;
for I do a deed in your days, a deed you will never believe, if one declares it
to you.'" As they went out, the people begged that these things might be
told them the next sabbath. And when the meeting of the synagogue broke up,
many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke
to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. FULL UNABRIDGED TEXT
.
In a Nutshell
Paul now delivers an address in the synagogue which is very similar to the addresses given by Stephen before the Sanhedrin and Peter on the day of Pentecost.
Questions
Why would a young Jewish Cypriot who believed in Jesus return to Jerusalem at this time rather than continue with Paul and Barnabas in this work?
Luke tells us about Mark's departure. There is no conflict mentioned here between Paul and Barnabas. That was to come later. Here Luke gives us an outline of how synagogue worship of Almighty God was conducted on that occasion.
If you look at Deuteronomy 26 you will see that the Lord gave Moses a pattern for how Jews were to discuss His dealings with them when they met together for worship. "And you shall rejoice in all the good which the LORD your God has given to you and to your house, you and the Levite and the sojourner who is among you." Paul was conducting the worship service according to the regular pattern. Maybe Psalms 2, 16, 78 and 89 were listed for singing that day. The prophet Habakkuk is quoted. Behold, you scoffers, and wonder, and perish; for I do a deed in your days, a deed you will never believe, if one declares it to you.
The link is to the full excerpt plus the section from the Prophet Habakkuk and the Psalms.
Afterwards, when the synagogue broke up until the next Sabbath, there was still work to do because among those hearing Paul's message were some who believed and wanted to know more.