What Scriptures might Paul have used in Acts 17:2 to explain the Messiah? Context of Acts 17:2–3 Paul “reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead” (Acts 17:2-3). His synagogue audience already accepted the authority of the Tanakh, so every claim had to be anchored in texts they knew. Torah Foundations: Seed, Substitute, and Prophet • Genesis 3:15 — “I will put enmity between you and the woman… He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel.” First promise of a conquering yet wounded Redeemer. • Genesis 22:7-8, 14 — “God Himself will provide the lamb.” Isaac’s spared life pre-figures substitutionary sacrifice. • Exodus 12:5-13 — Passover lamb without blemish; blood brings deliverance. • Leviticus 16:15-22 — Day of Atonement; innocent blood carried into the holy place, the scapegoat bearing sin “into a solitary land.” • Numbers 21:8-9 — Bronze serpent lifted up; those who looked lived (cf. John 3:14). • Deuteronomy 18:15-19 — “The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your brothers.” Paul links this to the greater-than-Moses Messiah. Psalms of the Suffering–Rising King • Psalm 16:8-11 — “…You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see decay” (quoted in Acts 2:27; 13:35). • Psalm 22 — Pierced hands and feet (v.16), mocked by onlookers (vv.7-8), gambling for garments (v.18), yet universal worship promised (vv.27-31). • Psalm 69:21 — “They gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” • Psalm 40:6-8 — “Here I am… I delight to do Your will,” anticipating the incarnate Son’s obedience (Hebrews 10:5-9). Royal & Resurrection Psalms • Psalm 2:6-8 — “Ask of Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance.” Coronation language fulfilled in Christ’s resurrection/ascension (Acts 13:33). • Psalm 110:1-4 — “Sit at My right hand… You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” David’s Lord is both King and eternal Priest, explained in Hebrews 5-7. Prophets on Messiah’s Sufferings and Glory • Isaiah 7:14 — “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” • Isaiah 9:6-7 — “For to us a child is born… Mighty God… Prince of Peace.” • Isaiah 50:6 — “I gave My back to those who strike, and My cheeks to those who pull out the beard.” • Isaiah 52:13-53:12 — “He was pierced for our transgressions… Yet He will see His offspring and prolong His days,” uniting death with prolonged life. • Isaiah 55:3-5 — “I will make with you an everlasting covenant, the sure mercies of David,” linked to resurrection in Acts 13:34. • Daniel 7:13-14 — “Son of Man… given dominion, glory, and a kingdom that all peoples… should serve Him.” • Daniel 9:24-26 — “Messiah will be cut off and have nothing,” establishing a timetable before the second-temple destruction. • Zechariah 9:9-11 — “Behold, your king comes… riding on a donkey.” • Zechariah 12:10 — “They will look on Me, the One they have pierced, and they will mourn.” • Zechariah 13:7 — “Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered,” cited by Jesus in Matthew 26:31. • Micah 5:2 — “From you, Bethlehem… will come forth the ruler in Israel, whose origins are from days of eternity.” Typology of Three-Day Deliverance • Genesis 22 realized on the third day (v.4). • Exodus 19:11 — “On the third day the LORD will come down.” • Hosea 6:2 — “After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up.” • Jonah 1:17 — “Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights,” Jesus’ own sign (Matthew 12:40). Light to the Nations • Isaiah 42:1-7; 49:6 — “My Servant… a light for the Gentiles,” aligning with Paul’s Gentile mission. • Malachi 1:11 — “My name will be great among the nations.” Philosophical–Behavioral Resonance Human conscience (Romans 2:14-15) and universal hunger for meaning align with a designed moral order. Resurrection offers empirically anchored hope that answers existential angst, producing transformed lives (Acts 17:4; 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10). Paul’s Method: Explaining and Proving He opened (διηγέτο) the texts, set beside (παρατιθέμενος) prophecy and fulfillment, and demonstrated logical necessity (προving, παραββάλλων) that: 1. Messiah must suffer (Isaiah 53; Psalm 22). 2. Messiah must rise (Psalm 16; Hosea 6:2). 3. Jesus fulfills both (eyewitness testimony; empty tomb; changed apostles). Likely Scriptural Portfolio in Thessalonica Genesis 3:15; 22 Psalms 2; 16; 22; 40; 69; 110 Isaiah 7; 9; 50; 52-53; 55 Daniel 7; 9 Zechariah 9; 12; 13 Malachi 3; 1 These constitute a coherent, interlocking witness that the promised Anointed One would die as a substitutionary sacrifice, rise incorruptible, reign eternally, and extend salvation to the nations—claims vindicated in the historical, bodily resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. |
    |