Acts 13:17-25. Paul begins his testimony in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia by giving a very brief summary of Jewish history leading up to Jesus' arrival. He reminds the assembled Jews that God chose their fathers; made their people great during their time in Egypt; and led them out of Egypt with an uplifted arm. God "bore with them" for forty years in the wilderness and then destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan to give them their land as an inheritance. They lived there for four hundred and fifty years, and then were given judges until the people asked the prophet Samuel for a king. God gave them Saul as a king for forty years, and then removed him and raised up David as king, a man after God's own heart. From David's line, God has brought a Savior to Israel as He promised. That savior is Jesus, who was preceded by John the Baptist. John preached a baptism of repentance and told the people that he was not the promised Savior, but one much greater than him was coming after him.

As Paul speaks these words to the Jews, I can imagine them feeling joy, excitement, and an overwhelming sense of being told truth. The very short history Paul gives is just enough to make the necessary connections and spark the fire of belief. Yes, God did choose Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. Yes, God did have his people grow great in number while in Egypt. Yes, God did bring them out of Egypt and bore with them in the desert, even as they kept going astray. Yes, God did drive out seven nations to give them their inheritance. And yes, God did give them David, a king after His own heart, and promises a Savior from David's line.

Remembering all of this as Paul speaks, the connection becomes so clear, especially when one considers the testimony of John the Baptist. Jesus is the promised Savior, everything points to it, and Paul attests to it.