Monday, February 18, 2019
Acts 13:4-12 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper. 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, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who was also called Paul, 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! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. 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, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
PAUL'S FIRST JOURNEY AND FIRST ENCOUNTER
Cyprus -- This is what could be called a spiritual tug of war. With Paul on one end, Elymas on the other and Sergius in the middle. It is also confrontational. The confrontation though is not with Sergius, the object of the witness, but with the opponent, Elymas. Here Paul hurls the law at Elymas who is interfering with Sergius, who "sought to hear the Word of God." Sergius was a man of intelligence who truly was interested in Paul and Barnabas' message. The wicked Elymas tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
We do not have the apostolic power to do as Paul did, but we do have the law which we can speak to condemn. There will be those times for us in small groups when one individual we try to witness to will be interfered with. Then it may well be that we need to turn on an opponent in no uncertain terms. While the confrontational approach today is frowned on in trying to gain an individual, this confrontation is toward an opponent who hinders the witnessing. We should always be ready to bear witness, "Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you" Peter adds in our method to win the individual, "do it with gentleness and reverence" (1 Peter 3:15).
The beauty of this encounter is that the proconsul did believe, "astonished at the teaching of the Lord." It was the Gospel that Paul then preached that won him over after the interference was eliminated. On this first account on the journey we see also the importance of just one sinner who repents.
