Thereupon Paul rose up, and _beckoning with his hand_ delivered his first address of which we have any record. Like the discourse he had himself heard from the lips of Stephen[879], it was based on the history of the Jewish nation. The call of Abraham, the Wanderings in the wilderness, the occupation of Canaan, the period of the Judges[880], the election of the first King, the accession of David; all these important events were touched upon in their order (Acts xiii. 16–22). Of David’s seed, he then proceeded, God had promised (2 Sam. vii. 12) to raise up a Saviour, and this promise he had fulfilled. Duly heralded by His predicted Forerunner (Acts xiii. 24, 25), the promised Saviour had appeared in the person of Jesus. The rulers, indeed, of Jerusalem, not knowing Him, or the real meaning of the words of the prophets read in their ears every Sabbath-day, had constrained Pilate to put Him to death, had crucified, and laid Him in a sepulchre; but God had raised him from the dead, and He had been seen after His resurrection[881], not by strangers, but by those familiar with His person, who had been His companions from Galilee to Jerusalem (Acts xiii. 26–31), who were His witnesses to the people of Israel. By His death and resurrection He had truly accomplished the ancient prophecies[882], which could not refer to their forefather David (who was dead, and had long mouldered in the tomb); and now through Him was offered to all the forgiveness of sins, even of those from which they could not have been delivered by the Law of Moses[883]. Such was the purport of the Apostle’s first recorded sermon. Its immediate effect was a deep impression upon those who heard it. As they left the synagogue many[884] besought the Apostles that these words might be repeated in their hearing on the next Sabbath, and not a few, both Jews and proselytes, accompanied them from the synagogue, and listened to their exhortations that having received the word they would not let it slip, but continue steadfastly in the grace of God (Acts xiii. 43). Accordingly when the next Sabbath came round _almost the whole city_ was assembled to hear the word, multitudes of Gentiles pressing in with the Jews and proselytes. This was more than the stricter section of the Jews could bear, and filled with envy at the assembly of so many strangers, they made an uproar, and opposed the word spoken by Paul with contradictions and even blasphemy (Acts xiii. 45).