Acts 13:4-12 (NIV)
The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.
They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun.”
Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
Saul and Barnabas wasted no time once their commission was clear. At God’s direction, they headed directly to the island of Cyprus, southwest of Syria. They took along John Mark, not as a fellow evangelist, but as a helper.
They landed first at Salamis, the closest port, and started their ministry there preaching in the Jewish synagogue. This set up a pattern that Saul/Paul followed all the rest of his life. Whenever he would enter a new area, if there was a synagogue or a place where Jewish people were likely to gather, he started preaching there. The gospel was uniquely suited to the Jews, as it was the fulfillment of the law and of the Messianic prophecies that they had grown up with. They were, in a sense, the “low-hanging fruit” in the harvest. Only after the Jews had either accepted or rejected the gospel did he expand out into the gentile communities.
Saul and Barnabas worked their way across the southern half of the island until they came to Paphos on the southwest coast. There they continued to teach in the synagogue, and word of the amazing things that they were saying and doing got all around town.
Sergius Paulus, the proconsul and a gentile, heard about these two men and their message and wanted to hear more. So, he sent for them, and they came and shared the good news. But Sergius’ servant, a man of Jewish descent but not Jewish practice, hated them on sight. He name was Bar-Jesus, which simply meant that his father’s name had been Jesus, a very common name among the Jews of that time. But he was called Elymas, or “sorcerer” because, like Simon of Samaria (acts 8:9-13), he used magic tricks to gain influence and a following for himself.
Saul and Barnabas had genuine power that people could sense in their very presence, power that Elymas didn’t have, despite his reputation. So, he tried to poison Sergius Paulus’ mind against them to keep himself from losing influence with his master. That’s when Saul acted.
Luke’s note that Saul was “filled with the Holy Spirit” doesn’t mean that the Spirit suddenly “came on” him. Saul was continually filled with and operated in the Spirit. It is merely Luke’s way of reminding his readers that Saul’s actions were not done through his own volition or skill but were directed by the Holy Spirit.
Saul denounced Elymas, clearly pointing out the fact that he was led, not by God, but by satan, and that his working at turning his master aside from the truth did not come from pure motives, but evil. Saul then pronounced God’s curse on Elymas: he would be stricken blind, but only for a time, as a sign of the truth of Saul’s message. And it was so. Elymas was instantly blinded and began to grope about helplessly.
As is common in the miracles that God does, this made a huge impact on Sergius Paulus. It gave massive credibility to Saul and Barnabas’ message and opened Sergius Paulus’ heart to receive the good news.
Luke includes one more significant note in verse 9, almost as an afterthought: “Saul, who was also called Paul…” As a Pharisee, Saul was arrogant and proud of his home-grown holiness. And that pride and arrogance had been behind his actions against the Church. From this point forward, he took the name of Paul, Paulus in Latin, which means “small,” “insignificant,” and “humble.” This change of name, purposeful on his part, continually pointed people away from him and to the Jesus whom he preached. From this point forward, in both Acts and in the Epistles he wrote, it is always Paul, unless he is referring specifically to his pre-Christian life.
Father, Elymas’ blindness and the openness of Sergius Paulus show what You can do to a person. Saul’s change of name to Paul and all his subsequent actions and lifestyle show what You can do in a person to transform their entire life. I know that from the moment I received Jesus as my Savior and Lord, my life has never been the same. And that is true of everyone whose life You touch. And for all of us, that is very good news indeed! Thank you! Amen.
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