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Acts 13.2-11
October 23rd 2016
Milk
Okay folks we launched into some thoughts about the Holy Spirit last week – which, according to the second verse – said to someone there in Antioch . . .
“Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.”
This does not mean to officially set apart through some priesthood ordination but it does adhere to the word ordain which simply means to – set someone apart from the rest to do something.
We have concocted the idea that ordination means empowering others from on high (or powers that have been passed down from our highest earthly authority but it means nothing more than to take a person (or in this case two – Barnabas and Saul) and separate them from the rest.
The Holy Spirit added:
“For the work whereunto I have called them.”
Which was preaching the Good News around the regions of Antioch.
This was a temporary assignment because (as we will see) when they did as they were charged they returned to Antioch.
We note that again the Spirit said that these places were “whereunto I have called them.”
I find this passage very difficult to see as God and Jesus are absentee managers who have no idea or input into the say of the Holy Spirit when we read that its says, “this is whereunto I have called them,” but instead see this as God, through Jesus Christ, by His Spirit, directing the affairs of the early church.
Verses 3-11
Acts 13:3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
5 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.
6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,
10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand..
Alright, back to verse 3
3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
Being that this was a mission of the VERY Church of Jesus Christ we can readily assume that there was prayers and fasting and encouragement.
There can only be good results when believers send others off on missions in the name of the Lord and this was no exception – neither should it be an exception today.
When people we know are about to embark on anything its good practice to include prayer on their behalf.
One of the ways that the Jews of the Old Covenant blessed others (and conveyed priestly rights) was through laying on of hands.
So this carryover from that time was present here. Not a bad idea today – the laying on of believers hands on another.
But we cannot allow ourselves to believe this was authoritative in some manner. Paul was an apostle. The man wrote scripture. He was not receiving any special dispensation of powers from the lay membership to go out in the surrounding areas. Both had openly and freely already been out preaching and teaching the Good News.
It was merely a way to impart blessings, encouragement, and Christian love. And so it is today.
4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
The city of Seleusia was situated at the mouth of the river Orontes, where it falls into the Mediterranean. Antioch was also built on this river, some distance from its mouth.
After going there they went to Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean, not far from Seleucia.
5 And when they were at Salamis (a principle city and seaport in Cyprus), they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews (remember, Paul always went to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles to whom he was specifically called): and they had also John to their minister (and this would be John Mark as opposed to John the Beloved).
In any case all Luke is telling us is they went to the synagogues of the Jews there before their travels continued (verse 6)
“ And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
Apparently Paphos was a city at the western extremity of the island of Cyprus and at that time there was a great temple there honoring Venus who was worshipped throughout the island.
In fact the Island of Cyprus was fabled to be the place of the birth of this goddess.
It had, besides Paphos and Salamis, several towns of note–Citium, the birth-place of Zeno and Amathus, a place sacred to Venus.
Today its capital is Nicosia and Paphos is still on the western end! So they get to this place right in the coast of this Mediterranean Island and what do they find?
“they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus.”
The Greek word translated sorcerer here is “magos,” and means magician, conjurer,
Even a scientist from the far east.
But he is not only called a sorcerer but has the added title of “a false prophet.”
Put the two together and it seems to be describing a man who uses the false arts of magic or conjuring to prove himself to be a prophetas of some sort, inspired in some way or manner.
We note that Luke also tells us that he was a Jew named BarJesus, which means, Son of Joshua. Bar is a Syriac word that means, Son, and Jesus or Yeshua was not an uncommon name for a Jew to have, so he was the Son of Yeshua, barJesus (like Simon Bar-Jonas. So there’s one character, Bar-Jesus. (verse 7)
7 Which was (or who was) with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
At this time Cyprus was subject to the Roman empire and was governed by someone known as “a proconsul” who was appointed by the emperor to govern over an area under Roman rule.
History proves that what Luke says here about “Sergius Paulus, a prudent man and Proconsul” over Cyprus to be correct.
Also the word rendered “prudent” here means intelligent, wise, and learned. Apparently he was given to liberal open views and had an inquiring nature and so he sought out the attention of Barnabas and Saul.
Open, seeking, studied, willing to hear. I love it. We have nothing to fear when it comes to the opinions of others. Let them speak. Let them convey their best arguments. If we have God in us where is the fear?
I recently had a young college man who has been engaging a group of LDS missionaries call me. He has spent a lot of time talking with them and hearing their views but recently, when he was invited to attend one of their meetings his pastor told him he was taking things too far and should refrain.
So he called me, fearing that if he refuses to attend a meeting that the door of sharing with these young men will end.
I was curious about what might lead the pastor to counsel against his attending a Mormon meeting so I asked:
Are you being swayed by their views?
He laughed and said, “not at all.” I asked if in his time with the missionaries he was able to plant seed from the Word,” and he said, “absolutely.”
I said (admittedly a little impetuously) “well, your pastor’s a fool.” Then I quickly corrected myself and said, “I mean he doesn’t understand that you have God in you and there is nothing in an LDS meeting that will take you from His hand.
The man was relieved – as he felt sincerely lead to continue his relationship with them.
So the attitude of Sergius Paulos was also open – “Come teach me you views Paul and Barnabas,” he seems to have said.
“I desire to hear your views.”
(Verse 8)
8 But El-oo-mas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
But Eloomas the sorcerer, for so is his name by interpretation.
Eloomas is an Arabic name for magician just like Magos is in the Greek. He resisted Paul and Barnabas.
“Anthis-stay-mee” – he opposed, he resisted the message that they were bringing to Sergius Paulos.
Now, this brings us to a very important principle that abides over the world of epistemology (which is the study of how we know things).
(Go to Board)
First, there is a truth out there with a capital T. (ON BOARD – Capital T Truth)
This truth exists on itself and has no purpose in having people receive or understand it except for the fact that it is the Truth (with a capital T) and this truth WILL, in fact, set people truly FREE. (CAPTIAL T TRUTH – SETS US FREE)
“TRUTH THAT SETS US FREE”
The interesting thing about this truth, this message, is that it comes freely, or as Isaiah said:
Isaiah 55:1 “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
And it continues to keep and lead all who receive it in freedom. Got that? Again why did Jesus come? Toward the beginning of His ministry Jesus came to a synagogue and when the pulpit was opened up for people to freely express themselves Jesus did. This is how Luke reports the event:
Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
From this we know, from the Lord’s recitation of Isaiah that the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him that he was anointed to . . .
Preach the Gospel to the poor.
To heal the brokenhearted.
To preach deliverance to those in captivity
To give sight to those who are blind, and
To set them at liberty who are crushed.
Got all of that?
Reworded, He came to
(ON BOARD UNDERNEATH
(“THE TRUTH that sets us Free”)
Gives SOMETHING TO THE POOR (does not take from them)
Heals the broken hearted (does not break hearts)
Preaches or teaches DELIVERANCE to those bound by ANYTHING (does not capture or try to bind people)
Gives sight to those who have been blinded (does not blind people to anything)
And frees people who have been crushed (does not crush people into servitude or burden them more)
When the Truth with a capital T is presented in its fullness, these are the results. It is wonderful. It is good News. It does NO harm but ONLY good to all who receive it.
In our story here, Paul and Barnabas were in possession of this Good News and were asked by Sergio Paulus to share it. However . . .
They (or really, the Message of Truth they were there to share) was “resisted.” By what or whom? A sorcerer. A magician. In the end . . . “a counterfeit to the unadulterated truth.
(ON BOARD)
The Truth that sets vs A counterfeit to the truth
us Free that sets us free
Represented by Paul and Barnabas Represented by a Sorcerer false Prophet
Gives to the poor takes from them
Heals broken hearts breaks hearts somehow
Teaches Liberty Somehow takes liberty
Provides vision that lasts Somehow blinds (blinds and binds)
Frees those who have been crushed Crushes those who should be freed
It goes without saying then that the purveyors of false systems, not truths, false prophecies or systems of magic would, out of self-preservation, resist the propagation of anything that threatens its existence – so especially the truth – at every turn.
For Eloomas, he probably knew that if Paul and Barnabas could influence this Roman Procurator then he would be exposed as an imposter and his influence and power and money would end.
Luke says that he desired to “turn away the deputy from the faith.” The Greek is Dee-astreph-o him turn the things that Saul and Barnabas were saying around. To convolute them, confuse them.
(verse 9)
9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,
Here we discover the last time that Paul is referred to as Saul, (who also is called Paul.) Why was there a change? Let me put it this way, if you have an opinion its as good as all the others out there on why.
We can really say conclusively.
We know Paul is of Roman origin (it means dwarfish or smallish) but we do not know who bestowed it on him. Some suggest it was given him as an adult because he was small.
Again, don’t know.
The name Saul, however, does not mean the same thing as Paul. Saul means, “asked for” in Hebrew not dwarfish.
So though they sound so similar Paul, from what I can ascertain, is not the Latin way of saying Saul.
In any case Paul was filled with the Holy Ghost. And as an apostle of the Lord he was able to not only able to read the heart of this sorcerer but was able to announce Divine judgment and to inflict punishment on him.
Luke tells us that Paul then
“Set his eyes on him.” (looked at him intently) (verse 10).
10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
What was Paul able to discern about this sorcerer?
He was “full of all subtilty”
and mischief.
He was a child of the devil
An enemy of all righteousness
And he sought to pervert the right ways of the Lord
The word subtilty means he was deceitful and fraudulent and implies that he was practicing a lie and that he knew it.
The word rendered “mischief,” here in the Greek means possessing the ability to act with sleight of hand – to be sly, cunning and to deceive through trickery.
It is not a word used elsewhere used in the New Testament.
It is believed by some that the art of Elymas consisted in sleight of hand or a trick which was done in accordance of some science which could easily sway those unsuspecting souls who were not armed to defend themselves.
Then Paul calls him a “child of the devil,” which mean that he was under his influence, practicing his ways to the point that he could be called his father.
And then being a child of the devil he would also naturally be an “enemy of all righteousness.”
Paul then asks Eloomas a question:
“Wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?”
Again, we don’t know exactly what ways these were or how he sought to tweak or twist (or pervert them).
Again, in what way he had opposed Paul and Barnabas is not known but the Greek does imply that he was misrepresenting their teachings somehow or twisting them around.
The phrase the “right paths” can be understood to be the straight path verses crooked or twisted paths of a counterfeit.
All of the words Paul uses toward Eloomas support the end-purposes of those who propose and promote and something that is NOT the truth with a capital T.
Now, a few insights.
First of all, Paul truly calls this man out without any apparent restraint. Are we to follow suit today?
Some do, some say we don’t. How to justify either position?
I would say that when we undertake the task of thinking we can read the heart and motives of others we had better be damn sure we have the same clarity of the soul of the person involved that Paul had.
Some think they can take the example of Paul here and because it’s in the Bible believe they are entitled to use the same approach toward those they believe are in the way of the Gospel, or those who are evil, or even unsaved.
How can we know if this is right or wrong? Let’s read more, shall we? (verse 11 where Paul adds)
11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
Did you catch it? Paul, called by Christ to be his apostle to the Gentile world, and therefore in all probability given the power to bind and loose on earth by the power of Christ, to bless and to curse in the name of God, not only called the man out (judged His heart) but had the power to pronounce and to execute judgment appropriately.
In other words, what I take away from this is believers today have the absolute right to call anyone out for their sin and evil ways IF they also have the power and ability to also pronounce a verdict upon them and then to also execute judgment – on the spot.
No ability to do the latter, then I would say no right to do the former. This is why knowing that the apostles had special powers to do miracles were for that day and age – and there was no messing around with these facts.
The miracles were done in broad day light. They were complete. And they included things that were righteously administered in an immediate fashion – in this case, literal physical blindness but ONLY for a season.
We see a LOT of condemnation coming out of the mouths of believers today but very little – if any – ability to pronounce a verdict AND the punishment on the spot.
This little detail shows that this time, recorded in the New Testament, was a very unique period in Christian history, one that certainly does NOT exist today.
I mean when was the last time you witnessed someone who considers themselves an apostle of Jesus making such a pronouncement AND executing the verdict “for a season?”
We don’t see it because it is NOT part of the Body today.
What did Paul actually do though. Listen closely to his words:
First, “the hand of the Lord is upon thee.”
He spoke for the Lord (describing the condition of his heart), and then acted on behalf of God and showed that what he said would hold up – “God will punish you and blindness will come upon you for a season.”
How long a time this blindness was to continue is not specified but we know that mercy was involved and the blindness was not to be permanent and final.
And from this we also learn a few things.
According to Paul, who was speaking by the Holy Spirit, God was going to put His hand on the man and he would be blind.
The action was to show, to illustrate, to prove to the sorcerer that God wanted Him to know the truth, wanted him to reflect and turn, and that this is perhaps always the reason God inflicts punishment.
It’s purposeful, it is directly related to the crime at hand, and has limitations.
In the mind of many men the story would be far more engaging if God had the mans eyes fall out and he spent the rest of his days groveling.
But this is not the way of God. He seeks to redeem, to draw, to heal, and fix and release the lost.
Because of this there was in the early church a story told that this sorcerer became a Christian. Who said this? Early church person named Origin who quipped, regarding the tale:
“Paul, by a word striking him blind, by anguish converted him to godliness.”
Once Paul spoke how long did it take for the man to stop seeing the sun?
And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness;
A dark obscurity as night fell immediately upon him. And the result?
“and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.”
So many lessons here. So many insights.
First of all, notice that this magician went from touring with the governor of the Island of Cyprus to an infantile existence.
Notice that darkness fell over his eyes, a just punishment as he sought to keep or bring people into darkness through he attempts.
Notice that God pronounced this fate upon him for but a season – a period of time that would end.
We have a false notion taught today that all who die without knowing, or confessing Jesus will burn forever in literal flames for an eternity.
How long will our loving father allow the recalcitrant to linger in after-life darkness? How long will the person scuba dive screaming in the lake of fire?
I would suggest that in stories like this (in addition to the teachings of Jesus of being beaten with a few stripes and not getting out until they have paid the uttermost farthing) indicate that such punishments are for a season, are perfectly meted out, that they match the crime to a T, but that they are all – everyone of them – once they have served their purpose, end.
Let’s stop here.
Q and A
