Teaching People Into the Kingdom
6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.
8 But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? 11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand.
12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
When Paul and Barnabas went to speak to the proconsul, that was like meeting with the president of the whole island of Cyprus. Whatever they had been preaching in the synagogues and along the road made its way to the highest authority in the area.
Notice how Luke describes the governor. He was “a man of intelligence.” Is that how we would describe someone that had as one of their advisors a “certain magician, a Jewish false prophet?”
I think it’s neat how even as a writer, Luke is a disciple of Jesus. He shows Sergius Paulus mercy even as he describes who he is on the written page. Looks like a great example of “do not judge, or you will be judged,” doesn’t it?
But as far as judgment goes, Paul brings it to old Bar-Jesus. This nickname means “son of salvation” so this magician is calling himself a pretty big deal.
In a Marvel-Action-Movie culture, there is one way to read this and cheer for Paul winning the day and beating the bad guy. On the other hand, remember Paul’s past. He was struck blind while he was “full of deceit and villainy” on the road to Damascus. He knows exactly what it is like to be led astray and to lead others astray. Just like his own time of blindness, he has now humbled the magician of self-proclaimed salvation so that Elymas can settle down and rethink his life.
Action speak louder than words every day of the week. While I don’t recommend going out and striking your enemies with blindness, it is worth noting that it says that Sergius Paulus was convinced and astonished “at the teaching of the Lord.” It’s wasn’t astonished at Paul or Barnabas or of the magic tricks. There was some real teaching going on here.
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