My brothers, children of the family of Abraham, and those others among you who are God-fearing, to us this word of salvation has been sent. 27 The inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders failed to recognize him, and by condemning him they fulfilled the oracles of the prophets that are read sabbath after sabbath. 28 For even though they found no grounds for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him put to death, 29 and when they had accomplished all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and placed him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead, 31 and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. These are [now] his witnesses before the people. 32 We ourselves are proclaiming this good news to you that what God promised our ancestors 33 he has brought to fulfillment for us, [their] children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second psalm, ‘You are my son; this day I have begotten you.’
In this part of Paul's address at the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, he speaks directly to “children of the family of Abraham, and those others among you who are God-fearing” (v. 26), referring to Jews and Gentiles who revered the God of Israel. He emphasizes that the message of salvation, long awaited by Israel, has been fulfilled in Jesus, the one sent by God.
Paul recounts that although the inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders failed to recognize Him or understand the words of the prophets read every Sabbath, they ironically fulfilled those very prophecies by condemning Him (v. 27; cf. Luke 24:25-27, John 5:39). Even when they sought a reason to execute Him, they found none deserving of death (v. 28; cf. Isaiah 53:9, Luke 23:22). Yet they carried out all that was written about Him, especially His Passion and death.
Verse 29 signals the completion of the Suffering Servant prophecies: “they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb” (cf. Deut 21:23, Isaiah 53:9). But verse 30 proclaims the triumph of the Gospel: “God raised him from the dead.” This act is not merely a historical event but the decisive moment in salvation history. This divine act vindicates Christ and inaugurates the New Covenant—a new and eternal bond between God and humanity, established through Christ’s death and resurrection, in which sins are forgiven and hearts are renewed by the Holy Spirit. (cf. Luke 22:20, Jer. 31:31-34, Heb. 9:15).
As St. Paul writes, we are “justified by faith” and have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, who was raised for our justification (cf. Rom. 5:1; 4:25). Justification means that through His suffering, death, and resurrection, Jesus paid the price for our sins, so that we are now made right with God. We are no longer estranged by sin but restored to friendship with Him through faith in Christ and the grace that flows from His saving work. The resurrection is not an isolated event—it is the fulfillment of God’s promise made “to our ancestors,” now realized for their descendants and all who believe (vv. 32-33).
The “promise” refers to the Davidic covenant (cf. 2 Sam. 7:12-16), in which God swore to raise up an heir of David whose kingdom would endure forever. Psalm 2:7—“You are my Son; this day I have begotten you”—quoted in verse 33, was often interpreted messianically. The early Church understood this verse as referring not to Christ’s divine origin, but to His exaltation through the Resurrection (cf. Rom. 1:3-4, Heb. 1:5). This sonship is not adoption, but a declaration of the eternal Sonship made manifest through the Resurrection (cf. Rom. 1:3-4), where Paul writes that Jesus “was descended from David according to the flesh but established as Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead.”
Thus, the fulfillment of the promise to the “ancestors” is not only about land or a nation but the gift of eternal life through the Messiah. This fulfillment transcends time: it is a gift for “us, their children” and for every generation (v. 33; cf. Gal. 3:29). From the moment of the Fall, when humanity first turned away from God, the divine plan of salvation was already in motion. In Genesis 3:15—known as the Protoevangelium, or “first Gospel”—God promised that the offspring of the woman would crush the serpent’s head, prefiguring Christ’s ultimate victory over sin and death. The Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation, reveal a unified narrative: God calling a people (Gen. 12:1-3), forming covenants (Ex. 24:7-8; 2 Sam. 7:12-14), and preparing the way for the Redeemer (Isa. 53:3-11; Mal. 3:1)—until, at last, Christ declares, “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev. 21:5). In Jesus, the long-anticipated Messiah, this plan reaches its climax through His death and resurrection, by which the chains of sin are broken (Rom. 6:6-9) and eternal life is opened to all who believe (John 3:16; 1 Pet. 1:3-5).
Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, You have fulfilled Your promises in the raising of Jesus, Your holy Servant and Son. Help us to recognize in Him the salvation You prepared for every generation. Strengthen our faith, deepen our hope, and make us faithful witnesses to the Good News. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
O Lord, guide every soul who seeks You
Sources
- McSorley, Joseph. An Outline History of the Church by Centuries (From St. Peter to Pius XII). 2nd ed., B. Herder Book Co., 1944.
- Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
- Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: The Pentateuch. Four Courts Press, 2017
- Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, 1990.
- Charpentier, Etienne. How to Read the Old Testament. Translated by John Bowden, 1981.
- Komonchak, Joseph, et al., editors. The New Dictionary of Theology.
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