Study Desk

While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him.

The people kept shouting, "The voice of a god, and not of a mortal!"

And immediately, because he had not given the glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

But the word of God continued to advance and gain adherents.

When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John also to assist them.

He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God.

So Paul stood up and with a gesture began to speak: "You Israelites, and others who fear God, listen.

The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it.

Then they asked for a king; and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years.

Of this man's posterity God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised;

"My brothers, you descendants of Abraham's family, and others who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.

But God raised him from the dead;

And we bring you the good news that what God promised to our ancestors

For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, died, was laid beside his ancestors, and experienced corruption;

but he whom God raised up experienced no corruption.

When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.

Then both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles.

"Friends, why are you doing this? We are mortals just like you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.

There they strengthened the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, "It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God."

From there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had completed.