Verse 4 starts with “The two of them, set on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.” From here Paul and Barnabas begin their world evangelism. The Holy Spirit sent them out so this evangelism was by the work of the Holy Spirit. First they “went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.” Cyprus is about 100 kilometers from Seleucia. God led them to Cyprus and there Sergius Paulus was saved. Today let’s look at three aspects of this work of God’s salvation.
- I. The battle with Satan (Vs.4-8)
According to verse 5, when Paul and Barnabas went to Cyprus, they weren’t by themselves. John was also with them. John had accompanied them earlier when they returned from Jerusalem. (Acts 12:25) He was the cousin of Barnabas. (Col. 4:10). He later became the author of the Gospel of Mark, the second Gospel in the New Testament.
When they arrived in Cyprus, the first place they went to was the major city in Eastern part of the island of Cyprus, Seleucia. The first thing that they did there was to go to the Jewish temple there and preach the Gospel. They were sent out to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, but they went to the Jewish synagogue and began preaching there. Not only in Seleucia, but everywhere that Paul went, the first place he always preached the Gospel was the Jewish temple. Paul tells us in Romans that God’s plan was that salvation must be preached first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. Paul understood this so he always preached to the Jews first.
After preaching in the synagogue, “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 …sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.“(6-7) However the sorcerer “opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.” (8) The sorcerer’s name was Bar-Jesus. “Bar” is Aramaic for “son of” so his name means “Son of Jesus” or “Son of salvation”, but he was trying to turn the proconsul from the faith. His nickname was Elymas. It was a Sematic name meaning “sorcerer” or “magician” or “wise man”. He was using his outstanding wisdom to do evil magic, sorcery. He had left his position as Bar-Jesus, the son of salvation and had become Elymas, an evil sorcerer, trying to keep people from having faith in God.
I Cor. 1:20-24
We can not be saved by human wisdom or ideologies. This is because the human heart wants to protect itself. It doesn’t want to change its present life or give up worldly wisdom. Elymas made his living by being a sorcerer for the proconsul. Therefore, when he heard that the Proconsul wanted to hear the Word of God, he was afraid of what might happen to his means of living and did not want to change so instead he tried to keep the proconsul from having faith in God. We too sometimes know that what we are doing God does not approve of, but we are afraid of making changes in our lives and so we refrain from making a decision to follow Him more closely. This is one of the main causes for not having faith in God and failing to grow spiritually.
However, this passage teaches even a greater reason for not having faith in God and failing to grow spiritually. That is because of spiritual warfare. In verse 7 we are told about Sergius Paulus who was an intelligent man. “He sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.” (7) One of the main reasons that the Holy Spirit led Barnabas and Saul to Cyprus was so that Sergius Paulus would hear the Word of God.
However, when someone like that wants to hear the Word of God, there is always a force working to pull that person away from God’s word. Where the Gospel is being preached, there is always a force working to turn people away from the road of faith just like Elymas the sorcerer, a wise man “tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.” (8) It is like a tug of war between the evangelists and the false prophet within Sergius Paulus. However the tug of war is actually taking place between the Holy Spirit and evil spirits.
Ephesians 6:11-19
We need to remember that evangelism is always a spiritual war, and resist the devil by putting on all the armor of God. Then we need to always pray in the Spirit. When we think about what the first evangelism was like in Cyprus. we can see that it was a spiritual warfare.
Our evangelism and Christian life is based upon this fact. There is always a force present trying to pull us away from God. Therefore, we need to keep awake and pray. Through prayer and the Word of God, we need to resist the devil.
- II. Being filled with the Holy Spirit (vs.9-11)
Elymas the sorcerer “tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.” (8) Against that force, “Saul, who was called Paul was 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! … 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, he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.”
From now on Saul is no longer called by his Jewish name, Saul, but he is called Paul, the Grecian name. This change shows that Paul is entering a new phase in his life. This evangelism start begins with a spiritual battle. As a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit, Paul was able to boldly face Elymas and tell him that he was wrong. Luke tells us that his words and actions were a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit. He was filled with the Holy Spirit so he could look “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.’”(9,10) Also he never stops “perverting the right ways of the Lord” (10) He is not Bar-Jesus, the son of salvation. He is Elymas, the child of the devil. His work is the work of the devil. Salvation is only possible by the destruction of the devil’s work and bringing people to the side of God. Then Paul says, “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.” (11) This was the same experience that Paul had on the road to Damascus. Paul is saying that this is a necessary experience. His eyes will be shut so he can’t see the world that he was so used to. He must lose all and accept the new life in Christ. He must realize that he is a sinner and repent.
Those who are sent out by the Holy Spirit are able to have victory. Therefore, to have victory in the spiritual fight of evangelism, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. If we try to do things in our own strength, we won’t have victory. Every day we need to seek the Holy Spirit, trust Him, and fellowship with Him, be encouraged by Him, receive strength. Then we will be able to have victory in the spiritual fight and we will be able to see the Word of God bear fruit.
- III. The Work of God’s salvation (vs.12)
“When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.” (12) . This must have taken a lot of courage and power to make decisions. To become a Christian meant to give up worshipping the Roman emperor which was required for his job. It also meant that he might lose his life. However, more than that he felt he needed the grace of God. Therefore he was able to enter the road of faith.
Here it says that “he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.” (12) He became a Christian not because of a miracle that he saw, but because “he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.” (12) In verse 7 we are told that “he wanted to hear the word of God.” As a result of God’s Word, in other words, by being amazed by the teaching about the Lord, he was able to enter the faith. We don’t enter faith by experiencing some miracle, but by hearing the word of God and being amazed by it. Then we will be able to experience the grace of God.
Let’s desire to hear the Word of God. It will bring the work of salvation. The important thing is to trust in the Holy Spirit, be encouraged by the Holy Spirit, and share the Word of grace. Then we will experience God’s salvation like they did at Cyprus. God’s word changes people and has the power to bring new life.