Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.
Paul rose in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia on the Sabbath, after the reading of the law and the prophets, when the rulers of the synagogue invited him to give a word of exhortation. He stood up and beckoned with his hand to gain attention and call the congregation to listen. With “Men of Israel” he meant the Jews or Israelites, and with “ye that fear God” he meant Gentile God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped God, addressing the two groups together and including all present who feared God.
After this opening he recounted the Lord’s dealings with the Jews, beginning with deliverance from Egyptian bondage and continuing to the promise of a Saviour of the seed of David. He proclaimed Jesus as that Saviour of men, the Messiah foretold in prophecy. The salvation he announced is for Gentiles as well as Jews.
The verse shows Paul combining home and foreign missions by preaching to the Jews in their own place of worship, just as he preached to the Gentiles before their own temple and in the very presence of their gods. His approach follows Christ’s pattern of not erecting barriers and constantly thrusting upon the people that they are wrong, but appreciating Jesus Christ as the Truth and the Light with sweetness of soul. To the Jews he presents a Messiah who came not to destroy the old dispensation but to develop the whole Jewish economy in accordance with the truth. Here Christianity obtains a decided victory, with converted Jews taking the high stand that Christianity and salvation are for all nations, tongues, and peoples, showing that the disciples who carried the word of truth the widest were ready to stand the test of any interview with those who remained close at home.
Paul rose in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia on the Sabbath, after the reading of the law and the prophets, when the rulers of the synagogue invited him to give a word of exhortation. He stood up and beckoned with his hand to gain attention and call the congregation to listen. With “Men of Israel” he meant the Jews or Israelites, and with “ye that fear God” he meant Gentile God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped God, addressing the two groups together and including all present who feared God.
After this opening he recounted the Lord’s dealings with the Jews, beginning with deliverance from Egyptian bondage and continuing to the promise of a Saviour of the seed of David. He proclaimed Jesus as that Saviour of men, the Messiah foretold in prophecy. The salvation he announced is for Gentiles as well as Jews.
The verse shows Paul combining home and foreign missions by preaching to the Jews in their own place of worship, just as he preached to the Gentiles before their own temple and in the very presence of their gods. His approach follows Christ’s pattern of not erecting barriers and constantly thrusting upon the people that they are wrong, but appreciating Jesus Christ as the Truth and the Light with sweetness of soul. To the Jews he presents a Messiah who came not to destroy the old dispensation but to develop the whole Jewish economy in accordance with the truth. Here Christianity obtains a decided victory, with converted Jews taking the high stand that Christianity and salvation are for all nations, tongues, and peoples, showing that the disciples who carried the word of truth the widest were ready to stand the test of any interview with those who remained close at home.