Acts 13:4-12 - Power encounter at Cyprus

 Being sent by the Holy Spirit, Barnabas and Saul, taking John Mark, went to Seleucus, the port of Antioch. From there they set sail for Cyprus docking at Salamis. Acts 4:36 tells us that Cyprus was Barnabas home country.

At Salamis, they preached at the synagogues. The presence of synagogues tells us that there were colonies of Jewish people on the Island. The role of John Mark was not clear, but we are told that he was there to help.

Nothing is said about what took place from Salamis to Paphos. We surmise that they just preached the good news with every opportunity and in synagogues wherever they went. The highlight of the passage was about a Jewish false prophet by the name of Bar-Jesus, meaning son of Jesus or Joshua. He was given the title Elymas, meaning the magician.

In introducing Elymas, we get an indication that there was an attempt to disrupt the word of God from reaching proconsul Sergius Paulus. This false Jewish prophet was attached to the office of this proconsul Sergius Paulus, the chief Roman official of the island of Cyprus.

The proconsul summoned for Barnabas and Paul, seeking to hear the Word of God. But Elymas came between the servants of God and the proconsul, trying to prevent the latter from believing in  the good news.

Saul, now known as Paul, by the power of the Holy Spirit, thwarted the plan of the evil one. He fixed his gaze on Elymas and dealt with him firmly.  Paul told him off saying, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?

Together with his rebuke, Paul also pronounced a curse upon the magician saying, "Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately he was struck with blindness and needed to be led about by his helpers.

Notice that the judgment of blindness  was only for a season. It is interesting to note that Paul should pronounce blindness on Elymas. Could he be thinking of his own earlier experience? Perhaps this temporary blindness that struck this magician was also a means to bring light to his lost soul ultimately.

However, this event had a profound and powerful effect on the proconsul. Verse 12 tells us that he became a believer at once. What a climatic close to the incidence. Notice that Paul now had taken the lead role.

What happened at Cyprus tells us that spiritual warfare would always be involved in the work of God. On the surface it might just appear as a human attempt to disrupt the work of God. But Paul's rebuke tells us that there was more than what meets the eye. He identified that underneath it was that old devil seeking to undermine God's work.  

As we seek to trust God and rely on the Holy Spirit in our journey and service to God, we too will face diabolical opposition. The key to find victory is to live a life of allegiance to the Lord as we serve Him.