“Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to bring my name before the Gentiles.” This was God’s response to Ananias when the latter protested at being sent to bring healing to Saul (cf. Acts 9:15). And true to the Lord’s word, after the healing at the hands of Ananias, Paul embarked on his new mission with the same enthusiasm with which he had persecuted Christians. It didn’t take long before Paul emerged (at least as narrated in the Acts of the Apostles) as the premier proclaimer of the Good News of Jesus Christ among the Gentiles, overtaking Peter and the other apostles. In today’s First Reading, Paul gives his first (apparently) public speech as a follower of Jesus Christ. It is a speech that is a summary of our salvation history.
From David’s descendants, God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus. Given Paul’s pharisaic training and background, it comes less as a surprise his understanding of both the person and mission of Jesus Christ. He perfectly situates Jesus within God’s salvific plan. He rightly sees Jesus’ mission not as an isolated one but rather as a continuation of God’s salvific acts on behalf of Israel (and by extension, humanity in its entirety). According to Paul, in Jesus Christ is brought to fulfillment the liberative acts of God that began in Egypt and continued throughout Israel’s history. Jesus’ mission brings together the missions of the prophets (John the Baptist), judges (Samuel), and kings (Saul and David). 
Like the prophets, judges and kings who plied their trade before him, Jesus’ mission is the reconciliation of the people to God. Jesus’ mission is the gathering together of the scattered sons and daughters of Israel so that they can once again constitute the holy and elect nation. But unlike the prophets, judges and kings of the Old Testament, Jesus opens up the boundaries of the holy and elect nation in order to include all the nations of the earth. And by so doing, his mission becomes the culmination of the promise which God had made to Abraham: “All the nations of the earth shall find blessing through your descendants” (cf. Genesis 22:18).