4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant. 6 Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? 11 And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.” And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
Commentary
Vs. 4-5 4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant.
Being then sent out by the Holy Spirit, Barnabas and Saul now leave and go down to Seleucia, a seaport about sixteen miles from Antioch where they caught a vessel and sailed to Cyprus (the homeland of Barnabas). Having then arrived at Salamis which was the largest city on the southeast coast of Cyprus, they begun their work there, preaching the Word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. For that was familiar to them, and was a readily available mission field for them. And the Gospel was to first come to the Jews (Rom. 1:16-17). And so not until their rejection of it do, we see the apostle Paul shift his focus to the Gentiles (Acts 18:6). Now during this time, they had John (that is John Mark) with them as their assistant.
Vs. 6-7 6 Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.
Having preached the Word of God throughout the island of Cyprus, Saul and Barnabas now come to Paphos, which was on other side of the island and which was the capital city of Cyprus in N.T. times. Now while they were there they found (that is they encountered and exposed) a sorcerer and false prophet, who was a Jew, whose name was Bar-Jesus. This man was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, whom the Scripture describes as an intelligent man who then ruled over the province and who sought to hear the Word of God from Barnabas and Saul. Now in regards to this Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus, though his name means son of Jesus, or Joshua, yet as we will see he himself had nothing to do with Jesus. And that he is referred to as a “sorcerer” (i.e., magos, magician or “wise man”, Str. 3097) indicates that he had likely by practicing his magic arts impressed himself upon proconsul, and thus gained his confidence.
Vs. 8-12 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? 11 And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.” And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
And so, it was that while Saul and Barnabas declared the Word of the Lord to the proconsul, that Elymas (i.e., “wise man”, likely the name given him by the proconsul) sought to turn the proconsul away from the faith (vs. 8). Now as soon as Saul, who is here for the first time referred to as Paul, saw what he was trying to do, he being filled with the Holy Spirit looked intently at him, and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? 11 And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.” Vs. 10-11 Now though some people believe it to be sin for Christians to be angry, here we clearly see that this is not the case, especially when someone is trying to mislead someone away from the faith. Therefore, the Apostle Paul’s anger was most just, and his rebuke of Elymas was most stern, because Elymas in taking a stand against the Word of the Lord, only exposed himself for who he was, a fraudster and liar, a son of the devil, and an enemy of all righteousness! Therefore, the Apostle Paul being filled with the Holy Spirit rebuked him in the strongest of terms, so as to save the proconsul from heading him anymore. Now upon rebuking him by the Holy Spirit the apostle Paul also pronounced upon Elymas the loss of his sight for a time, because he had sought to blind the proconsul to having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, not only would Elymas himself not see the salvation of the Lord, but he who had so impressed himself upon the proconsul because of his magic arts, would now need someone to lead him around like a little child by the hand (vs. 11). And so, it was when the proconsul saw all of these things, he himself believed being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
Scripture Quotations
New King James (1982):Thomas Nelson.
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