Acts 13:26-43

“Fellow Jews, Abraham’s descendants, and all those among you who worship and reverence God, this message of life has been sent for us all to hear. But the people of Jerusalem and their leaders didn’t realize who he was, nor did they understand the prophecies written of him. Yet they fulfilled those very prophecies, which they read week after week in their meetings, by condemning him to death. Even though they could come up with no legal grounds for the death sentence, they pleaded with Pilate to have him executed. And they did to him all that was prophesied they would do. “Then they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead! And for many days afterward he appeared on numerous occasions to his disciples who knew him well and had followed him from Galilee to Jerusalem. Those disciples are now his witnesses, telling the people the truth about him. “So here we are to share with you some wonderful news! The promise God made to our forefathers has now been fulfilled for us, their children. For God has raised Jesus from the dead, as it says in Psalms: ‘Today I reveal you as my Son, and I as your Father.’ “God had promised to not let him decay in the tomb or face destruction again, so God raised him from the dead. He gave this promise in the Psalms: ‘I will give to you what I gave to David: Faithful mercies that you can trust.’ “He explains it further in another Psalm: ‘You will not allow your holy one to experience bodily decay.’ “This cannot be a reference to David, for after he passionately served God’s purpose for his generation, he died. He was buried with his ancestors and his body experienced decay. But the one whom God raised from the dead has never experienced corruption in any form. “So listen, friends! Through this Jesus, the forgiveness of sins is offered to you. Everyone who believes in him is set free from sin and guilt—something the law of Moses had no power to do. So be very careful that what the prophets warned about does not happen to you: ‘Be amazed and in agony, you scoffers! For in your day I will do something so wonderful that when I perform mighty deeds among you, you won’t even believe that it was I who did it!’ ” As Paul and Barnabas started to leave, the people pleaded with them to share more about these things on the next Sabbath day. When the meeting had finally broken up, many of those in attendance, both Jews and converts to Judaism, tagged along with Paul and Barnabas, who continued to persuade them to go deeper in their understanding of God’s grace.