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4 Barnabas and Saul, sent out by the Holy Spirit, went to the city of Seleucia. From there they sailed to the island of Cyprus. 5 When they came to Salamis, they preached the Good News of God in the synagogues. John Mark was with them to help. 6 They went across the whole island to Paphos where they met a magician named Bar-Jesus. He was a false prophet 7 who always stayed close to Sergius Paulus, the governor and a smart man. He asked Barnabas and Saul to come to him, because he wanted to hear the message of God. 8 But Elymas, the magician, was against them. (Elymas is the name for Bar-Jesus in the Greek language.) He tried to stop the governor from believing in Jesus. 9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked straight at Elymas 10 and said, “You son of the devil! You are an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of evil tricks and lies, always trying to change the Lord’s truths into lies. 11 Now the Lord will touch you, and you will be blind. For a time you will not be able to see anything—not even the light from the sun.” Then everything became dark for Elymas, and he walked around, trying to find someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the governor saw this, he believed because he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord. ~ Acts 13:4-12
Today, we return to our study of Acts 13 where Barnabas are traveling with Saul to do the ministry together in Cyprus. From Genesis to Revelation, God has always prepared His people to do His ministry. The ministry the Lord has given us all is to make Himself known and worshiped throughout the world. This ministry is substantiated in Habakkuk 2:14 which reads, "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." God desires for everyone to know Him personally and intimately. He desires that this knowledge of Him would render for each of us worship of Him. He has designed it such that who we worship will define us and there is no better definer for us than the God of the Bible. In His grace, God uses us, His people, to accomplish such ministry. This is where we discover Barnabas and Saul in today's passage, going forth to do this ministry.
In v.4-7 of today's passage we read, "4 Barnabas and Saul, sent out by the Holy Spirit, went to the city of Seleucia. From there they sailed to the island of Cyprus. 5 When they came to Salamis, they preached the Good News of God in the synagogues. John Mark was with them to help. 6 They went across the whole island to Paphos where they met a magician named Bar-Jesus. He was a false prophet 7 who always stayed close to Sergius Paulus, the governor and a smart man. He asked Barnabas and Saul to come to him, because he wanted to hear the message of God."
The Holy Spirit is mentioned four times in this chapter. The first in v.2 He is mentioned in connection with the calling of Barnabas and Saul. The second in v.4 He is mentioned when Barnabas and Saul were sent out. The third in v.9, Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit. The final time the Holy Spirit will be mentioned in this chapter will be in v.52 where the Gentile disciples will be "filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit." The involvement of the Holy Spirit is crucial if we are to be effective at being used of the Lord in the furtherance of His kingdom in the hearts of people. "Walking in the Spirit" is what we do when the desires produced by the Holy Spirit of God become a reality in and through us. I think of my childhood when I think of walking in the Spirit. My dad would grab my hands and I would stand on my dad's feet. He would provide the inertia to walk. Such is the case for the believer who walks in the Spirit.
Having been sent out by the believers in Antioch, Barnabas and Saul went down to Seleucia, the port city from which those who lived in Antioch would sail. From there they went to Cyprus which is a large island in the eastern Mediterranean. Barnabas and Saul and John Mark followed a track of synagogues. Here for the first real time we are witnessing a transition from the Jews to the Gentiles in the furtherance of the gospel. There will be great hostility by the Jews towards the notion that the Lord Jesus is their Messiah. On the contrary, there will be an increasing opening of arms towards the Lord Jesus by the Gentiles.
In the city of Paphos, Barnabas and Paul met Bar-Jesus a "magician" who was also a "false prophet." Bar-Jesus had the ear of the governor of that area and was connected to his court. The word translated "smart" signifies understanding derived from correlating facts. In this case, the Governor may have been intelligent, but he was also lacking discernment as is evident by the presence of Bar-Jesus. Somehow, this governor learned of Barnabas and Saul and he called them to come to him because he wanted to hear from them their message.
In v.8-10 of today's passage we read, "8 But Elymas, the magician, was against them. (Elymas is the name for Bar-Jesus in the Greek language.) He tried to stop the governor from believing in Jesus. 9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked straight at Elymas 10 and said, 'You son of the devil! You are an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of evil tricks and lies, always trying to change the Lord’s truths into lies.'"
Bar-Jesus, also known as Elymas, did not believe in the gospel message. He was like a wall that refused to be moved. In fact, he tried to prevent Sergius Paulus the governor, from believing in the Lord Jesus. He did this because he could see that the influence of the Word of God would diminish his influence over the governor. Providing contrast with Elymas, in v.9 we discover the first time Saul was ever called Paul in the Scriptures. From this point on, it will be the only name he will be referenced. I find it quite instructive that the name "Paulos" means "Little" underscoring the very important concept of "less of me and more of Him."
Having been filled with the Holy Spirit, Paul commenced to share the gospel with the governor. The filling of the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the middle voice here. This means it is the Holy Spirit Himself who does the filling. This filling is an extra unction from the Holy Spirit to speak and to work on the behalf of God. This means we do not rely on ourselves to do ministry. It means when the time comes for the Lord to lead, we must trust Him to accomplish His work in the life of anyone we are working with at the moment. There have been many times in my ministry that I did not know what to say and once I ask God for the words to say they were there. Very often I have been given much more credit than I ever deserved for something the Lord accomplished.
It was at that point that Paul, under the leading of the Holy Spirit, addressed Bar-Jesus. The Apostle identified Bar-Jesus as "a son of the devil." He continued by identifying this sorcerer as being opposed to the truth and thus he was an intentional deceiver. Paul continued to point out that Bar-Jesus was full of fraudulent intentions. Ironically, Bar-Jesus means "Son of Salvation."
In v.11-12 of today's passage we read, "'11 Now the Lord will touch you, and you will be blind. For a time you will not be able to see anything—not even the light from the sun.' Then everything became dark for Elymas, and he walked around, trying to find someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the governor saw this, he believed because he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord."
The punishment determined for Bar-Jesus was ironically the same as that which came upon Paul when he was made completely blind for three days in Acts 9. Just as in the case of Paul, the punishment would not be permanent. The physical blindness that came upon Bar-Jesus was simply a reflection of his spiritual blindness. This stricken condition was intended to lead Bar-Jesus to faith in the Lord Jesus. Even though there is no evidence that Bar-Jesus believed in the Lord Jesus as his Savior, the Governor, Sergius Paulus, did. The blinding of Bar-Jesus provided verifiable proof to the governor that the power of God was to be found in the message of the gospel. It was Paul's proclamation of the gospel that caused the governor to believe. After all, it has always been that God's Word creates faith in each of us as we allow it. Our faith in the God of the Bible is a bi-product of God's faithfulness to us and to His promises given in His Word.
