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Acts 13:4–12
“The proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord” (v. 12).
Embarking on the church’s first purposeful missionary journey to reach the gentiles, Barnabas and Saul traveled sixteen miles from Syrian Antioch to the port city of Seleucia and from there set sail for the island of Cyprus (Acts 13:1–4). This would not be the first time that the gospel was preached on Cyprus, for we read in Acts 11:20 that some of the believers who first preached the gospel in Syrian Antioch were from Cyprus. Nevertheless, much of the island remained unreached by the gospel. Cyprus is the third-largest island in the Mediterranean, and in the first-century Roman Empire it was populated by groups of many different backgrounds and ethnicities, including Persians, Assyrians, Egyptians, and Greeks.
Reaching Salamis, the major city on Cyprus and home to a large Jewish population, Barnabas and Saul began their preaching ministry. They went first to the synagogues, where they would be able to find Jews and gentile God-fearers who had some knowledge of the Old Testament and who were thus a natural audience to hear the message that the promised Messiah had come. Luke tells us that John Mark assisted Barnabas and Paul in their work (13:5; see 12:12). Continuing across Cyprus, they came to the city of Paphos, which was the capital of the senatorial province of the island (13:6). Senatorial provinces were administered by the Roman Senate, not the Roman emperor directly.
In Paphos, Barnabas and Saul met with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, who was the leader of the province. One of the proconsul’s advisers was present, a magician named Bar-Jesus, also known as Elymas. This wicked man opposed Barnabas and Saul, trying to turn Sergius Paulus away from “the faith”—the body of saving truth being proclaimed to him (vv. 6–8).
Commentators note that Elymas’ work as a magician would have involved attempts at healings and discerning the future through things such as amulets and spells. His confrontation with Barnabas and Saul—called Paul from this point on in the book of Acts—demonstrates that gospel proclamation involves a clash of supernatural powers. Paul and Barnabas, on the side of the Lord, rebuked Elymas, whose practice of forbidden magic and divination made him an agent of the devil. It was no contest. Elymas was blinded and Sergius Paulus believed the gospel (vv. 9–12).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Gospel proclamation is a supernatural event, for it is through the gospel of the person and work of Christ that God releases people from slavery to sin, Satan, and death (Eph. 2:1–10). We should expect opposition when we preach Christ, but we must also remember that such opposition cannot finally prevail against the gospel. It is the very power of God unto salvation for all who believe (Rom. 1:16–17).
For further study
- Exodus 4:11
- Zephaniah 1:17
- Acts 8:9–25
- 1 Corinthians 1:21–25
The bible in a year
- 2 Chronicles 16–18
- John 15:1–17