31. And over a period of many days he appeared to those who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to the people of Israel.
32. “And now we are here to bring you this Good News. The promise was made to our ancestors,
33. and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. This is what the second psalm says about Jesus:‘You are my Son.Today I have become your Father.’
34. For God had promised to raise him from the dead, not leaving him to rot in the grave. He said, ‘I will give you the sacred blessings I promised to David.’
35. Another psalm explains it more fully: ‘You will not allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.’
36. This is not a reference to David, for after David had done the will of God in his own generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors, and his body decayed.
37. No, it was a reference to someone else—someone whom God raised and whose body did not decay.
38. “Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins.
39. Everyone who believes in him is declared right with God—something the law of Moses could never do.
40. Be careful! Don’t let the prophets’ words apply to you. For they said,
41. ‘Look, you mockers,be amazed and die!For I am doing something in your own day,something you wouldn’t believeeven if someone told you about it.’”
42. As Paul and Barnabas left the synagogue that day, the people begged them to speak about these things again the next week.
43. Many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, and the two men urged them to continue to rely on the grace of God.
44. The following week almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach the word of the Lord.
45. But when some of the Jews saw the crowds, they were jealous; so they slandered Paul and argued against whatever he said.
46. Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles.
47. For the Lord gave us this command when he said,‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles,to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’”