Acts 13:4 - Meaning and Application

In these verses, we have a general account of Barnabas and Saul coming to the well-known island of Cyprus. Perhaps they headed there because Barnabas was from that country (Acts 4:36), and he likely wanted his first work in the gospel to begin among his own people. Their being sent out by the Holy Spirit was the great encouragement for this journey. If the Holy Spirit sends people, he goes with them, strengthens them, carries them through their work, and gives them success.

They landed at Seleucia, the seaport across from Cyprus, then crossed the sea to the island. Their first city there was Salamis, on the east side of the island (Acts 13:5). After they had sown good seed there, they traveled through the whole island (Acts 13:6) until they reached Paphos on the western coast. Wherever they went, they preached the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They were not shutting the Jews out, but giving them the first chance to hear, which left unbelieving Jews without excuse. They were not preaching in secret or trying to introduce the Messiah without public notice. Instead, they put their teaching before the synagogue leaders, who could object if they had anything to say.

John also went with them as their helper. He was not there to serve them in ordinary matters, but to assist them in the work of God. He may have prepared the way in places they planned to visit, supported their work where they had already started, or spoken privately with those they preached to in public and explained things more fully. In a foreign country, such a helper could be very useful.

At Paphos they met Elymas the sorcerer, who opposed them. Paphos was where the governor lived, and it was also known for a temple to Venus, so there was a great need for Christ to be revealed there to destroy the works of the devil. The governor, Sergius Paulus, was a Gentile and a man of good judgment. He was the Roman ruler of the island, like a lord lieutenant, and he had a prudent, thoughtful mind, ruled by reason rather than by passion or prejudice. When he heard about Barnabas and Saul, he sent for them and wanted to hear the word of God. It is wise to want more of what leads us to God. Anyone who truly wants to know God’s mind is wise, even if the world counts them among foolish people.

Elymas, however, a Jew and a sorcerer, tried to stop them. He was a false prophet, a man who claimed special knowledge through divination and likely dealt with the devil in these practices. His name was Barjesus, which means “son of Jesus” or “son of salvation,” but the Syriac form of the name suggests pride. He stayed close to the governor, though it does not seem the governor had called for him as he had for Barnabas and Saul. He likely attached himself to the court to gain influence and money. He made it his business to oppose the apostles, just as the magicians in Pharaoh’s court opposed Moses and Aaron (2 Timothy 3:8).

He tried to turn the governor away from the faith (Acts 13:8), because he saw that Sergius Paulus was inclined to believe. This shows why Satan pays special attention to great men and those in authority. He knows their example, for good or ill, affects many others. Anyone who turns people against Christ’s truth and ways is doing the devil’s work.

Then Saul, who is here for the first time called Paul, confronted him with holy anger. Saul was his Hebrew name, from the tribe of Benjamin, and Paul was his Roman name. Until now, he had mostly worked among Jews, so his Jewish name was used. But now, as he was being sent to the Gentiles, he is called by his Roman name, which suited his work in Roman cities. Some think he was not called Paul until this moment, when he helped bring Sergius Paulus to faith, and that the name marked this victory of the gospel. Others think Sergius Paulus himself gave him the name as a sign of respect, as Vespasian later gave Josephus the name Flavius.

Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit. That meant he was filled with holy zeal against a man openly fighting Christ, one of the Spirit’s graces. It also meant he had power to speak judgment against him, one of the Spirit’s gifts. His words came from the Spirit’s strong work in him, not from personal anger. He then fixed his eyes on Elymas, meeting him boldly and showing fearless opposition to his wicked boldness. His stare also showed that the all-seeing God was looking straight through him, and that the Lord’s face was against him (Psalm 34:16).

He fixed his eyes on him to see whether he could detect any sign of remorse for what he had done. If he had seen even the smallest sign of it, it would have kept the coming judgment from falling.

He gave him his true character, not in anger, but by the Holy Spirit, who knows people better than they know themselves (Acts 13:10). He describes him, first, as an agent of hell. People like this have existed on earth, the battlefield between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, ever since Cain, who belonged to the evil one, killed his brother simply because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s were righteous. Elymas, though his name meant “son of Jesus,” was really a child of the devil. He carried the devil’s image, followed his desires, and served his interests (John 8:44).

In two ways he was like the devil, as a child is like his father. First, he was crafty. The serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field (Genesis 3:1), and Elymas, though lacking real wisdom, was full of trickery. He knew how to deceive people and mislead them. Second, he was full of malice. He was full of evil intent, a spiteful, ill-natured man, and a sworn enemy of God and goodness. A man full of both craftiness and evil is truly a child of the devil.

Second, he was an enemy of heaven. If he was a child of the devil, then he was also an enemy of all righteousness, because the devil is that way. Those who oppose the doctrine of Christ are enemies of all righteousness, because Christ’s teaching gathers up and fulfills all righteousness.

He then charged him with his present sin and confronted him directly: “Will you not stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord?” That is, will you keep twisting them, putting them in a false light, and turning people away from them? The ways of the Lord are straight, all of them. The ways of the Lord Jesus are right, and they are the only right way to heaven and happiness.

There are people who twist these straight ways. Some wander away from them themselves, like the penitent who says, “I have perverted what was right, and it profited me not.” Others lead people astray by planting unfair doubts against them, as if Christ’s teaching were uncertain, his commands unreasonable, and his service unpleasant or useless. That is a wicked way of making the Lord’s straight paths look crooked.

People who twist the Lord’s ways are often so hardened that, even when strong proof of their error is set before them, they refuse to stop. You may advise them, but you will not persuade them. They will have their own way, and they keep going after what they love.

He then announced God’s judgment on him, a present blindness (Acts 13:11): “Now the hand of the Lord is upon you. God is about to seize you, because you have taken arms against him. You will be blind and will not see the sun for a time.” This served as both proof and punishment. It proved his guilt, because it was a miracle confirming the Lord’s right ways and exposing the wickedness of the man who tried to turn others from them. It also punished his sin.

The punishment fit the crime. He had shut the eyes of his mind against the light of the gospel, so the eyes of his body were now shut against the light of the sun. He had tried to blind the deputy, acting for the god of this world, who blinds unbelievers so the light of the gospel will not shine on them (2 Corinthians 4:4). So he himself was struck blind.

Yet the judgment was moderate. He was struck blind when he could justly have been struck dead. And it was only for a time. If he repented and gave glory to God by confessing his sin, his sight would be restored. Even if he did not, it seems his sight was still restored, so that either God’s judgment or God’s mercy might lead him to repentance.

The judgment was carried out at once: thick mist and darkness came over him. This silenced him, filled him with shame, and was a clear answer against everything he had said against Christ’s teaching. He could no longer pretend to guide the deputy’s conscience when he himself had been struck blind. It was also a warning of a far worse punishment if he did not repent, for he belongs with those wandering stars for whom blackest darkness is kept forever (Jude 1:13).

Elymas himself proved the miracle true when he went around looking for someone to lead him by the hand. Where was all his skill in sorcery now, the thing he had prized so highly, when he could not even find his way or find a friend to help him walk?

Even though Elymas tried hard to turn the deputy away from the faith, the deputy was brought to believe. The miracle done on the magician himself, like the boils on the Egyptian magicians so that they could not stand before Moses (Exodus 9:11), helped lead to that belief. The deputy was a thoughtful man and saw something unusual, something that pointed to God’s hand.

He was amazed at Paul’s teaching, the teaching of the Lord Christ, the teaching that comes from him and reveals the Father, and the teaching about him, his person, his two natures, his offices, and his work. The doctrine of Christ is deeply amazing, and the more we know of it, the more we see cause to stand in wonder.

He also believed because of the miracle. When he saw what had happened, and how far Paul’s power rose above the magician’s, and how completely Elymas was put to shame, he believed. Scripture does not say plainly that he was baptized, so we cannot be certain, but it is likely that he was. Paul did not do his work halfway, and God’s work is always complete.

When the deputy became a Christian, he did not give up his office, nor was he removed from it. We may suppose that, as a Christian ruler, he helped spread Christianity throughout that island. The Roman church tradition, which has tried to assign bishoprics to nearly every important convert in Acts, says this Sergius Paulus became bishop of Narbo in France, left there by Paul on his journey to Spain.

They then left the island of Cyprus. It is likely they did much more there than is recorded, but the account focuses on the unusual event, the conversion of the deputy. When they had finished what they came to do, they left the country and went to Perga.

Those who went were Paul and his companions, and it is likely that their group grew larger in Cyprus, since many wanted to join them. The phrase “those around Paul” suggests that he also set sail from Paphos. His new friends loved him so much that they stayed close to him and, if they could, would not have left his side.

Then John Mark left them and went back to Jerusalem without Paul and Barnabas’ agreement. Either he did not like the work, or he wanted to go home and see his mother. This was a fault in him, and we will hear about it again later.