Acts 17:3

3 expounding and alleging that it was necessary for Christ to have suffered and risen again from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus whom I preach unto you is Christ."

Acts 17:3 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 17:3

Opening
That is, the Scriptures of the Old Testament, explaining and expounding them, giving the true sense of them; so this word is frequently used in Jewish writings ^F5, as that such a Rabbi (xtp) , "opened", such a Scripture:

and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again
from the dead;
he set this matter in a clear light, and made it plain and manifest, from the writings of the Old Testament, that there was a necessity of the Messiah's suffering and rising from the dead; or otherwise these Scriptures would not have been fulfilled, which have said that so it must be; for these things were not only necessary on account of God's decrees, and the covenant transactions the Son of God entered into, and on the account of the salvation of his people; but because of the types, promises, and prophecies of the Old Testament: the Scriptures which the apostle opened and set before them, and reasoned upon, showing the necessity of these things, very likely were such as these, ( Genesis 3:15 ) ( Psalms 22:1-31 ) ( Isaiah 53:1-12 ) ( Daniel 9:1-27 ) ( Psalms 16:10 ) ( Hosea 6:2 ) with many others:

and that this Jesus whom I preach unto you is Christ;
he showed that all the things which were spoken of Christ, or the Messiah, in those Scriptures, were fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, who was the subject matter, the sum and substance of his ministry; and therefore he must be the Messiah, and the only Saviour and Redeemer of lost sinners.

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FOOTNOTES:

F5 Zohar passim.

Acts 17:3 In-Context

1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

2 And Paul, as was his custom, went in unto them, and for three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

3 expounding and alleging that it was necessary for Christ to have suffered and risen again from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus whom I preach unto you is Christ."

4 And some of them believed, and joined themselves with Paul and Silas, as did a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and of the chief women not a few.

5 But the Jews who believed not, moved with envy, engaged certain wicked fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a crowd and set all the city in an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason and sought to bring them out to the people.