COV LIFE BLOG

Acts 25:23-26:11 Jesus Resurrection is the Fulfillment of All Scripture

The Jews accused the Christians of having apostatized from the tolerated faith; it was Paul’s business, therefore, to refute this accusation — to prove that in accepting Christ he did not renounce Moses, and so make good his claim to the protection of the government under existing laws.

Thus, the form which the question that day assumed, makes the apostle’s reasoning on it very precious to the Church in all ages. Circumstances led him to show that the gospel sprang necessarily from the law, as the stalks and ears of harvest from the seed of spring.

Starting from the notorious fact, that in his youth he was himself a Jew, he proves, by a narrative of the case, that he had never changed; that his progress, instead of being an apostasy, had been the development and glory of all the Old Testament revelation.

In this aspect, the progress of revelation is somewhat like the progress of a plant that grows from seed. The first stage is in appearance very different from the second. The leaves subsequently unfolded are not a mere repetition of their predecessors. Suppose a person altogether unacquainted with the processes of vegetation has obtained some seed, which he believes to be precious, from a foreign land. He sows it in his garden, and watches its springing and growth. After having seen its first leaves spread out, he is called from home. The plants are left under the charge of a skilful and faithful servant, and the owner does not see them again for a month. On his return he visits the garden to mark the progress of his valued foreign plants. He finds them growing indeed on the same spot, but entirely changed. These are not my plants! he exclaims. I left them with leaves smooth and almost circular; these leaves are downy, corrugated, and sharply indented on all sides. He thinks the gardener has removed the original germs, and substituted others of a different kind in their place. The mistake is due to the ignorance of the proprietor; the servant has been faithful to his charge. The owner ignorantly mistakes a natural development for a dishonest change.

The Sanhedrin represents the prejudiced householder, and Paul stands for the faithful steward. The gospel which Paul preached was not indeed a mere reproduction of the Mosaic institutes; it was the growth of that germ into foliage, flowers, and fruit. All the sacrifices are promises. The Sanhedrin, in their blind zeal, would grasp these promise-buds, and hold them tight, and never permit them to open; Paul would leave these precious buds free under the sun and air of heaven, and watch to see where unto they would grow.

Paul held fast the hope of the promise. It was not a new or strange doctrine that he proclaimed. It was the promise made to the fathers. He was aware, while he spoke, that his doctrine involved the resurrection of the dead. The resurrection of the dead in general, and the resurrection of Christ in particular, are bound up together. To deny the possibility of a resurrection, involves the rejection of Christ; for, if the dead rise not, then is Christ not risen.

William Arnot

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Heart Preparation
Read Acts 25:23-26:11. What is the significance that Christ’s resurrection is the fulfillment of all of Scripture even from the beginning? How does this impact your life and proclamation of the gospel?