3rd Missionary Trip - Lorin

the Gospel in the Jewish synagogue Paul was very convincing of his audience to accept his message. By using
his training as a Pharisee in order to explain the OT scriptures with methods his Jewish audience understood,
he was able to make his case for Christ in a very persuasive manner. Implicit in this language of Luke is that a
considerable number of converts to Christianity came out of this extended ministry at the synagogue.
The central theme of Paul’s presentation at the synagogue was [τὰ] περὶ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ. The
wording of the original text here is somewhat uncertain. Some manuscripts (B D Ψ 1175. 1891 c pc) read τὰ περὶ
τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ, the things regarding the kingdom of God. But several others (א A E 33. 1739 M) drop the
beginning article to read περὶ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ, about the kingdom of God. The article may very well have
been added later so that this uncommon reference here conforms exactly to the one in 1:3 of Acts.
The expression τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ, the kingdom of God, is found, either in full or abbreviated expression,
in Acts 1:3, 6; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31. 38 In Paul’s own writings it surfaces in Rom. 14:17; 1 Cor.
4:20; 6:9-10; 15:24, 50; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5; Col. 1:13; 4:11; 1 Thess. 2:12; 2 Thess. 1:5; 2 Tim. 4:1, 18. Overwhelmingly,
however, the subject of the kingdom of God was the central theme of Jesus’ teaching in the Synoptic
Gospels and accounts for the majority of the 161 uses of the term in the NT. From the other depictions of Paul’s
presentations in synagogues (17:31; 18:5; and cf. also 28:31), what Luke was stressing here is how Jesus is
connected to the reign of God both now and in the future. 39 The negative response to this presentation is labeled
‘the Way’ (τὴν ὁδὸν) in the next verse, thus confirming the central role of Jesus in this theme on the kingdom.
Gentile ministry in the lecture hall, vv. 9-10. Although Paul was persuasive to many of those in the
synagogue not everyone accepted his message. Luke describes the negative response to Paul as ὡς δέ τινες
ἐσκληρύνοντο καὶ ἠπείθουν κακολογοῦντες τὴν ὁδὸν ἐνώπιον τοῦ πλήθους, When some stubbornly refused to believe
and spoke evil of the Way before the congregation. Luke first describes this as a developing process over time
with ἐσκληρύνοντο, which defines a hardening process often of the heart (e.g., Rom. 9:18; Heb. 3:8, 13, 15; 4:7)
in the sense of intense volitional rejection of a message. Over the weeks this segment (τινες) of the synagogue
group deliberately chose to reject what Paul was saying. Parallel to the hardening of their rejection of his message
was ἠπείθουν, disbelieving. The pun that Luke uses here is lost in translation. The presentations of Paul
were πείθων, but the reaction of this group was ἠπείθουν (πείθω / πείθομαι ≠ ἀπειθέω). The point of ἀπειθέω is
suaded Ac 21:14. πεισθεὶς ὑπὸ τῆς γυναικὸς τοῦ Νάβαλ AcPl Ha 6, 23. W. dat. of the thing by which one is persuaded (opp. ἀπιστεῖν;
τοῖς γραώδεσι μύθοις Iren. 1, 16, 3 [Harv. I 162, 8]) τοῖς λεγομένοις (Hdt. 2, 146, 1; Jos., Bell. 7, 415) Ac 28:24. πείθομαι I believe w.
ὅτι foll. Hb 13:18; Hs 8, 11, 2. Ac 26:28 v.l. (s. 1b above), construed w. inf. ἐν ὀλίγῳ με πείθῃ Χριστιανὸν ποιῆσαι in too short a time
you believe you are making a Christian of me (so Bachmann, Blass). οὐ πείθομαι w. acc. and inf. I cannot believe Ac 26:26.
b. obey, follow w. dat. of pers. or thing (Hom. et al.; Diod S 4, 31, 5 τῷ χρησμῷ=the oracle; Maximus Tyr. 23, 2d τῷ θεῷ; 36,
6g τ. νόμῳ τοῦ Διός; Appian, Iber. 19 §73 θεῶ; pap; 4 Macc 10:13; 15:10; 18:1; Just., D. 9, 1; Mel., P. 93, 705; π. θεῷ Did., Gen. 225,
17; τῇ ἀδικίᾳ Theoph. Ant. 1, 14 [p. 92, 5]) Ro 2:8 (opp. ἀπειθεῖν, as Himerius, Or. 69 [=Or. 22], 7); Gal 3:1 v.l.; 5:7; Hb 13:17; Js 3:3;
2 Cl 17:5; Dg 5:10; IRo 7:2ab; Hm 12, 3, 3.
c. Some passages stand betw. a and b and permit either transl., w. dat. be persuaded by someone, take someone’s advice
or obey, follow someone Ac 5:36f, 39; 23:21; 27:11 (objection of a passenger, to which the crew paid no attention and suffered harm
as a result: Chion, Ep. 4, 1 οἳ δʼ οὐκ ἐπείθοντο. Of relation between heretical leaders and their adherents Iren. 3, 12, 5 [Harv. II 58, 10]).
4. perf. pass. πέπεισμαι to attain certainty in ref. to something, be convinced, certain (Pla.+; pap, LXX) πεπεισμένος τοῦτο
convinced of this B 1:4. πέπεισμαί τι περί τινος be convinced of someth. concerning someone Hb 6:9. περί τινος be sure of a thing IPol
2:3. Foll. by acc. and inf. (Diod S 12, 20, 2 πεπεῖσθαι θεοὺς εἶναι; PPetr II, 11, 4 [III B.C.]; EpArist 5; Just., D. 58, 2; Mel., HE 4, 26, 11;
Ath. 36, 1f) Lk 20:6. W. περί τινος and acc. w. inf.: περὶ ὧν πέπεισμαι ὑμᾶς οὕτως ἔχειν concerning this I am certain that it is so with
you ITr 3:2. W. ὅτι foll. (X., Oec. 15, 8; Just., D. 65, 2; Tat., 20, 2) Ro 8:38; 14:14 (w. οἶδα); 2 Ti 1:5, 12 (cp. w. ὡ foll. Did., Gen. 131,
8); Pol 9:2. πέπεισμαι περὶ ὑμῶν ὅτι Ro 15:14.—B. 1206; 1339. DELG s.v. πείθομαι. M-M. EDNT. TW. Spicq.
[William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian
Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 791-92.]
38 “His theme is described as the kingdom of God (cf. 8:12; 20:25). It is unlikely that this means that Paul was preaching a different
message from that in 17:31; 18:5 and other places which was concerned with Jesus as the Messiah. The message was about Jesus
and the kingdom (28:31), and Luke employs the different terms simply for literary variation.” [I. Howard Marshall, vol. 5, Acts: An
Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1980), 327.]
39 “It is a topic that would appeal to Paul’s Jewish listeners. Implied is the role of Jesus of Nazareth in that kingdom; this is not
said explicitly, but the next verse mentions ‘the Way,’ which thus reveals it as an aspect of the Lucan Paul’s kingdom preaching. Actually
the kingdom is a topic that only rarely appears in Paul’s own letters (1 Thess 2:12; Gal 5:21; 1 Cor 4:20; 6:9–10; 15:24, 50; Rom 14:17),
and then usually in catechetical summaries that Paul adopts from the tradition before him. For Luke, however, the kingdom of God is
closely tied to the person of Jesus, especially as the risen Christ, and that is why he depicts Paul so preaching.” [Joseph A. Fitzmyer,
vol. 31, The Acts of the Apostles: A New Translation With Introduction and Commentary, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale
University Press, 2008), 647-48.]
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