Finding Our Place in God’s Story

This morning we’re with Barnabas and Paul as they continue their missionary journey. They’re moving from place to place sharing the message of salvation through Jesus.

We pick up the story as they set sail from Paphos for Pamphylia on the southern coast of Asia Minor, land at the port town of Perga.

After a missionary desertion, they make their way inland to Antioch of Pisidia. This is in what is now modern day Turkey.

The Sabbath day comes around and they make their way to the local synagogue.

After being asked by the local synagogue leader to give a few words of encouragement, Paul stands up and gives a lesson on the link between the OT prophecies of the Messiah and Jesus of the NT.

Paul gives a grand historical narrative of God’s redemption, and in it we find our purpose by embracing our role in sharing the story of Jesus.

Let’s set the scene.

I. Setting the Scene (v. 13-15)

We start with a famous desertion.

Read v. 13.

John Mark leaves them when they make port in Perga. We’re not given the reason why he left. Could be:

Could have been homesick

Missed mama

Got in over his head

Fear of danger as they moved inland

John Mark didn’t stick with it. When the going got tough the he turned back. He left the missionaries high and dry.

But Paul and Barnabas didn’t allow John Mark’s quitting stop them from moving forward.

John G. Butler wrote, “Making the difficult journey underscored the dedication of Paul and Barnabas in their missionary work. They did not let the quitting of Mark cause them to also quit. They simply continued on anyway. If we quit because of others quit, we have our eyes on the wrong people in serving. Our eyes need to be on Jesus when we serve.”

I also believe that letting what other people are doing or not doing to discourage us is to take our eyes of Jesus. Just keep doing what He’s called you to do even if others don’t like it or don’t support you. The only person we have to answer to is Jesus. But, make very sure it’s Jesus you’re obeying and not religious tradition or simply to keep people happy.

Later, Paul would enlist Timothy to take John Mark’s place. John Mark, however, did eventually redeem himself and was eventually accepted and approved by Paul.

Read vv. 14-15

Paul and Barnabas traveled 100 miles north and about 3,600 feet up to get to this important city on the Roman road. As you follow Paul’s journeys in Acts, we notice that he selected larger, strategic cities, planted churches in them, and went on from the churches to evangelize the surrounding areas.

We also notice that, where it was possible, he started his ministry in the local synagogue, because he had a great burden for his people (Rom. 9:1–5; 10:1), and he found in the synagogue both Jews and Gentiles ready to hear the Word of God.

We also have strategic locations in our lives. Not always points on a map, but moments and times in our everyday lives where we have opportunities to share the gospel with people who are willing to listen. At school, in the break room at work, at the coffee shop with friends. These are all places where people might be curious, hurting, or searching for hope.

II. Let’s take a look next at Paul’s message: a thread of redemption woven throughout the OT and into the NT and fulfillment of prophecies (16-25)

This is the first of Paul’s sermons recorded in the book of Acts. We could divide it into three parts where Paul begins each section with the phrase, “men and brethren.”

Read vv. 16-25

In this section, Paul reviewed the history of Israel, climaxing with the ministry of John the Baptist and the coming of their Messiah. He made it clear that it was God who was at work in and for Israel, preparing the way for the coming of the promised Messiah.

He also reminded his hearers that the nation had not always been faithful to the Lord and the covenant, but had often rebelled. Every pious Jew knew that the Messiah would come from David’s family, and that a prophet would announce His coming beforehand. John the Baptist was that prophet.

Addressing both ethnic Jews and Gentile converts, Paul rushed past the patriarchs and started in Egypt. He moved quickly over the Exodus and the desert wanderings. By the end of the first paragraph, he had covered 450 years and brought the nation to Canaan. In his historical review, Paul seems to emphasize that God sent Moses.

Luke here seems to be establishing God’s control of history and the unique place of Israel in that history.

The verbs attributed to God are crucial in the entire sermon: God chose, God prospered, God led, God endured, God overthrew, and God gave. The theme of God’s sovereignty continues not only from the pen of Luke, but in the ministry of those he describes.

David Jeremiah wrote, “The ‘big idea’ of Paul’s sermon is the sovereignty of God that God has been, and is, in charge of everything. His audience is Jewish—they know their Bible—and he is going to trace the sovereign actions of God through the history of Israel, culminating in God’s sovereign provision of a Savior—Messiah.”

Paul moves forward in time pretty quickly. He touches on the judges, Samuel, Saul, and lands on David. Having reminded his listeners that God had sent Moses, he now reminds them that God sent David.

After establishing God’s control of history, Paul wanted to focus on the lineage of the Messiah. To do that, he brings them back to 2 Samuel.

Paul then couples the theme of sovereignty to the theme of grace. God in His graciousness has done all these things.

Verse 22 - Paul brings up that David was a man after God’s own heart, bringing up 2 Samuel 7:14, and would make the sonship connection shortly.

I think an appropriate quote here is from Richard Longenecker from his commentary on the Book of Acts. It’s a little deep, but I think it ties all this together and makes the connection between David and Jesus.

By anchoring Israel’s kerygma (proclamation) in the messianically relevant ‘son’ passage of 2 Samuel 7, Paul has begun to build a textual bridge for the Christian kerygma—which kerygma he will root in the messianic ‘son’ passage of Psalm 2:7. By drawing these two passages together …, he will draw together Israel’s confession and the church’s confession, thereby demonstrating both continuity and fulfillment (Longenecker, 425).

So, God sent Moses, God sent David, and God sent Jesus. Paul is going to establish the true identity of the Messiah by moving to the authenticity of the resurrection.

I’m sure this proclamation surprised Paul’s listeners. Paul links Jesus to Isaiah 9-11. Not pulling any punches. Remember, Paul’s in a Jewish synagogue. Paul says that Jesus is the Messiah.

John was the last of the Old Testament prophets, commissioned to proclaim repentance and baptism. That work ended when the actual Savior came on the scene, and John himself was the first to acknowledge that Jesus was the Messiah.

Paul’s message isn’t just a history lesson. It’s a wake-up call. He’s showing them—and us—how Jesus is the fulfillment of all those promises God made centuries before.

So, what does this mean for you? Well, it means your story is part of something way bigger than just your day-to-day life.

Start seeing your life as a chapter in God’s story. When you’re at school, at work, when you’re hanging out with friends, even when you’re just scrolling through your phone, think about how you’re reflecting Jesus in those moments.

Now Paul comes to…

III. The Heart of the Gospel: Jesus' Death and Resurrection (v. 26-37)

As we see, Paul now introduces his second point in his sermon outline. “Men and brethren.”

26-27

Paul addresses both the Jews and the Gentile “God-fearers” in the congregation.

He explained to them why their leaders in Jerusalem rejected and crucified the nation’s Messiah. It was not because they had not read or heard the message of the prophets, but because they did not understand the message. Furthermore, the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth was even promised by the prophets.

Throughout this section Paul presents a fourfold Christian confession not unlike that which we see in 1 Corinthians 15:3–5:

Jesus was crucified.

Proof: He was buried in a tomb.

God raised him from the dead.

Proof: He was seen by many witnesses.

28-31

Here Paul tells them of the purchase of salvation by being put on the cross. Jesus became our substitute and died in our place.

Then, Paul stays with the resurrection theme and goes on to quote Psalm 2:7, Isaiah 55:3, and Psalm 16:10.

32-37

God kept his promise; the gospel has come, and the signature of that promise rests in the resurrection. How was this a message of encouragement (v. 15)? The Father had provided for his children. He had delivered on a promise made hundreds of years earlier to their forefathers.

God’s promises of resurrection to David had been fulfilled in Jesus.

As we come to verses 38-41, Paul moves to

IV. The Invitation and Warning: Responding to the Gospel (v. 38-41)

Paul had declared the Good News to them (Acts 13:32), and now all that remained was to make the personal application and “draw the net.” He told them that through faith in Jesus Christ, they could have two blessings that the Law could never provide: the forgiveness of their sins and justification before the throne of God.

Justification is the act of God whereby God declares the believing sinner righteous in Jesus Christ. It has to do with the believer’s standing before the throne of God. The Jews were taught that God justified the righteous and punished the wicked (2 Chron. 6:22–23). But God justifies the ungodly who will put their faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 4:1–8).

The Law cannot justify the sinner; it can only condemn him (Rom. 3:19–20; Gal. 2:16). God not only forgives our sins, but He also gives us the very righteousness of Christ and puts it on our account! This was certainly good news delivered by Paul to that searching congregation of Jews and Gentiles who had no peace in their hearts, even though they were religious.

With the invitation came a warning taken from Habakkuk 1:5 (and see Isa. 29:14). In Habakkuk’s day, the “unbelievable work” God was doing was the raising up of the Chaldeans to chasten His people, a work so remarkable that nobody would believe it.

What does this mean to us today?

Believe on Jesus alone for your salvation, or reject Him and try to get to heaven on your own and die in your sin.

What will you do with Jesus today? Right now we’re standing at the crossroads of history and your personal journey. It’s about how you will respond to Jesus.

Now, He’s offering you a new chapter, a fresh start. And all it takes to begin is faith—simply believing in what He’s done and accepting it for yourself.

So, I want to invite you, right here and now, to think about where you stand.

If you’ve never made the decision to trust in Jesus, why wait? There’s no better moment than now to say, “Yes, I want to be part of this story. Yes, I believe.”

And if you’re ready to make that choice, it can be as simple as a prayer from your heart—a conversation between you and God where you say, “Thank you Jesus for what you’ve done for me on the cross by paying the complete payment for my sin. I surrender my life to you and trust you completely as my Savior.”

And for those of you who’ve already made this decision, take a moment to reflect. How has your story changed since you stepped into God’s story? How can you live in a way that invites others into this story too?

Maybe it’s starting a conversation. Or a simple act of kindness. Maybe it’s telling someone the story of what Jesus has done for them and how they can become part of His story.