Act 13:35-37 | KingComments | STEP | Paul can now proceed to proclaim the fulfillment of the promise with regard to “us”, which are the children of the fathers, i.e. the Israelites. The fulfillment of the promise happened through the raising up of Jesus by God. This raising up of the Lord Jesus is both through the Holy Spirit in Mary ( ) and through God’s raising him up from the dead. For both aspects of the raising up Paul quotes Scripture. First he refers to Psalm 2 ( ). From this quote it appears that the Lord Jesus is more than just the Son of David, because here it appears that through His birth He is also the Son of God. So this is not about raising up in the sense of the resurrection, but really as the origin of His life as Man on earth. After the quotation which indicates His being begotten, Paul proceeds directly to His resurrection from the dead. He presents it as the resurrection to an imperishable life. The Lord Jesus will never see decay. Paul proves this with a quote from Isaiah 55 ( ) in connection with another quote from the book of Psalms ( ). Every Jew who reads Isaiah 55:3 knows that it is about the great Son of David in Whom God proves to His people the sure blessings of David. All the blessings that God has promised to David are fulfilled by the great Son of David. Because of this it is also clear that that Son could not remain in the tomb and therefore God did not let Him undergo decay, as Psalm 16 mentions ( ). God gives us His blessings in Him Who is the Blessed or Holy One. To further underline his application of Psalm 16:10 to the Messiah, Paul points out that this word from this psalm cannot, of course, be applied to David himself. In his generation David fulfilled the will of God and then died and was buried. After that he underwent decay and that is precisely not the case with the Lord Jesus. Once again Paul confirms that He Whom God raised up, did not see decay. After establishing the great facts regarding all that God has done with the Man after His heart, Paul can proclaim to his hearers, the blessings of David. The way is free to offer them to all who believe. The first of those blessings is the forgiveness of sins. It does not stop there. There is more than forgiveness, there is justification. The question that appears twice in the book of Job, “how can a man be in the right [or righteous] before God?” ( ) is answered here. The law causes man to be preoccupied with himself; justification makes him see what God has done in Christ. It is impossible to be justified on the basis of the law. Every transgression of the law of Moses is an aggravation of the righteous judgment that is connected with the transgression of the law. Yet justification is not impossible. It is possible, but only by faith in the accomplished work of Christ.

‏ Acts 13:35-37

The Proclamation of the Promise

Paul can now proceed to proclaim the fulfillment of the promise with regard to “us”, which are the children of the fathers, i.e. the Israelites. The fulfillment of the promise happened through the raising up of Jesus by God. This raising up of the Lord Jesus is both through the Holy Spirit in Mary (Lk 1:35) and through God’s raising him up from the dead. For both aspects of the raising up Paul quotes Scripture.

First he refers to Psalm 2 (Psa 2:7). From this quote it appears that the Lord Jesus is more than just the Son of David, because here it appears that through His birth He is also the Son of God. So this is not about raising up in the sense of the resurrection, but really as the origin of His life as Man on earth.

After the quotation which indicates His being begotten, Paul proceeds directly to His resurrection from the dead. He presents it as the resurrection to an imperishable life. The Lord Jesus will never see decay. Paul proves this with a quote from Isaiah 55 (Isa 55:3) in connection with another quote from the book of Psalms (Psa 16:10).

Every Jew who reads Isaiah 55:3 knows that it is about the great Son of David in Whom God proves to His people the sure blessings of David. All the blessings that God has promised to David are fulfilled by the great Son of David. Because of this it is also clear that that Son could not remain in the tomb and therefore God did not let Him undergo decay, as Psalm 16 mentions (Psa 16:10). God gives us His blessings in Him Who is the Blessed or Holy One.

To further underline his application of Psalm 16:10 to the Messiah, Paul points out that this word from this psalm cannot, of course, be applied to David himself. In his generation David fulfilled the will of God and then died and was buried. After that he underwent decay and that is precisely not the case with the Lord Jesus. Once again Paul confirms that He Whom God raised up, did not see decay.

After establishing the great facts regarding all that God has done with the Man after His heart, Paul can proclaim to his hearers, the blessings of David. The way is free to offer them to all who believe. The first of those blessings is the forgiveness of sins. It does not stop there. There is more than forgiveness, there is justification. The question that appears twice in the book of Job, “how can a man be in the right [or righteous] before God?” (Job 9:2 ; Job 25:4) is answered here.

The law causes man to be preoccupied with himself; justification makes him see what God has done in Christ. It is impossible to be justified on the basis of the law. Every transgression of the law of Moses is an aggravation of the righteous judgment that is connected with the transgression of the law. Yet justification is not impossible. It is possible, but only by faith in the accomplished work of Christ.