⁵When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews . . .

“Proclaim the word of God” – that was the defining characteristic of apostolic ministry, and that should be the hallmark of preachers of the Word. It was “the word of God” they preached, not the word of men. Today we use that phrase as synonymous with the written Bible, and that is true. But the NT documents had not yet been written at this point. The apostles rested on three sources for their preaching “the word of God.” First, they were preaching the OT from a Christological framework, as Jesus Himself did on the road to Emmaus:

Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. (Luke 24:27)

Second, they preached what Jesus had taught them:

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” (John 14:26)

Finally, they preached what the Holy Spirit taught them, beyond what the OT and Jesus taught them:

“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” (John 16:13)

Remember, that is why the early church was built on four pillars, the first of which was “the apostles’ teachings” (Acts 2:42). Specifically concerning the message of the gospel, Paul went to great lengths to assert:

For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. (Gal. 1:11–12)

The precedent was set here: Paul’s ministry went to the Jews first, even though his primary focus was to be to reach the Gentiles. He later wrote,

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Rom. 1:16)

This principle became strategy: the best place to begin preaching was among those with a common background, and through them to reach the Gentiles.

Lord, may I continue the apostolic precedent of proclaiming the Word of God.