Commentary - Acts 13:4-12

Bird's-eye view

This passage marks a pivotal moment in the book of Acts. The church at Antioch, under the direct, unambiguous guidance of the Holy Spirit, sends out Barnabas and Saul on the first great missionary journey. This is the gospel breaking out of its initial Jewish and Samaritan confines and beginning its deliberate march into the Gentile world. Their first stop is Cyprus, Barnabas's home turf, and it is here that the conflict between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness is immediately engaged. The confrontation is not with secular philosophy or political power, but with a corrupt spiritual power embodied by a Jewish magician and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, or Elymas. This encounter serves as a microcosm of the entire apostolic mission: the word of God is proclaimed, it is sought by an intelligent pagan ruler, it is actively opposed by a spiritual counterfeit, and the authority of the gospel is vindicated through a powerful, decisive act of judgment. It is also here that Saul, for the first time, is called Paul, and he steps forward as the clear leader in this spiritual warfare, filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking with apostolic authority.

The central lesson is that the advance of the gospel is not a peaceful negotiation; it is a power encounter. The "straight ways of the Lord" will always be opposed by those who profit from making them crooked. The church's mission, therefore, requires more than good arguments; it requires the manifest power of the Holy Spirit, who both sends the messengers and equips them to confront and defeat the enemies of the faith. The conversion of Sergius Paulus is not due to mere intellectual persuasion, but to his astonishment at the "teaching of the Lord," a teaching that was powerfully demonstrated in the blinding of the sorcerer.

Outline

Context In Acts

This passage is the direct fulfillment of the Holy Spirit's command in Acts 13:2, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." After a time of fasting, prayer, and the laying on of hands, the church at Antioch sends them out. This event signals a major shift in Luke's narrative. Up to this point, the story has been centered primarily in Jerusalem and Judea, with Peter as the main figure. Now, the geographical focus shifts outward toward the Gentile world, and Paul (as he will now be called) begins to emerge as the central character. This first missionary journey will take them through Cyprus and into Asia Minor, setting the pattern for all of Paul's subsequent ministry: entering a new city, preaching first in the synagogue, facing opposition, and then turning to the Gentiles. The dramatic encounter with Elymas on Cyprus establishes the spiritual stakes of this mission from the very beginning. The gospel is not just another philosophy entering the marketplace of ideas; it is the invading power of God's kingdom, and it will necessarily come into direct conflict with the demonic powers that hold men captive.

Key Issues

The Straight Ways of the Lord

The world is full of crooked paths. Men, by nature, do not walk in a straight line to God. They meander, they wander, they backtrack, and they follow trails that lead to cliffs. And for every man trying to find his way, there is another man who makes his living by confusing the map. This is the business of false prophets, gurus, and spiritual hucksters of every kind. Their trade is to take what is simple and make it complex, to take what is clear and make it obscure, and to take the straight ways of the Lord and make them crooked.

When Paul confronts Elymas, he cuts to the very heart of the matter. This sorcerer is an "enemy of all righteousness" precisely because he makes crooked the straight ways of the Lord. The gospel is a straight road. Repent and believe. Trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ, who died for your sins and was raised for your justification. This is not complicated. But the enemies of the gospel cannot stand this simplicity. They must add rituals, secret knowledge, manipulative techniques, and systems of control. Elymas was doing what all false teachers do; he was trying to keep a man with genuine spiritual interest, Sergius Paulus, from walking the straight path to God. Paul's response is not a debate; it is a spiritual bulldozer. He clears the crooked path by striking the path-twister blind. This is what the gospel does. It brings light, and in the process, it exposes and judges the deeds of darkness.

Verse by Verse Commentary

4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

The first and most important thing to note about this mission is who sent them. It was not the missions committee at Antioch, nor was it their own bright idea. They were sent out by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the sovereign director of the church's mission. He calls, He equips, and He sends. This is the foundation of all true Christian work. Without this divine initiative, our best efforts are nothing more than religious busywork. They go to Seleucia, the port city for Antioch, and then take a ship to Cyprus, a large island in the Mediterranean. This was not a random choice; Cyprus was the home of Barnabas (Acts 4:36), so it was a natural place to begin.

5 And when they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews, and they also had John as their helper.

Upon arriving at Salamis, a major city on the east coast of Cyprus, they immediately go to the strategic center of religious life for the Jewish community: the synagogues. This was Paul's consistent pattern. The gospel was to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (Rom 1:16). The synagogues were the ideal starting point, as the people there were already familiar with the Old Testament Scriptures, which Paul would use to prove that Jesus was the promised Messiah. We are also introduced to their assistant, John Mark, the cousin of Barnabas and the future author of the Gospel of Mark.

6-7 And when they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.

After traversing the island, they arrive at Paphos, the capital city and seat of the Roman government. Here the real action begins. They encounter a man who is a walking contradiction: a Jew who is a magician, a man of God's covenant people who is a false prophet. His name, Bar-Jesus, means "son of Jesus" or "son of Joshua," a tragically ironic name for a man who was, as Paul will shortly say, a son of the devil. This man had managed to attach himself to the court of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. Luke describes the proconsul as a man of intelligence. This is not a gullible fool. He is a thoughtful, discerning Roman official, and his intelligence leads him to be curious. He hears about these new teachers and summons them because he wants to hear the word of God. True intelligence always leads to spiritual curiosity.

8 But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

Here we see the inevitable conflict. The light of the gospel arrives, and the darkness immediately resists. Elymas, which may mean "sorcerer" or "wise man," sees Barnabas and Saul as a direct threat to his position and influence. He makes it his business to oppose them. His goal is specific and malicious: to turn the proconsul away from the faith. He is actively trying to prevent a man from being saved. This is the work of Satan in every generation, to erect barriers and create distractions to keep seeking souls from coming to Christ. Elymas is not interested in a debate; he is interested in obstruction.

9 But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him,

This is a turning point. For the first time, Luke calls Saul by his Roman name, Paul. From this point on, as his mission is primarily to the Gentiles, he will be known as Paul. And at this critical moment of confrontation, he is filled with the Holy Spirit. This is not the same as the indwelling of the Spirit that all believers have; this is a special empowerment for a specific task, an anointing for spiritual warfare. Paul does not act on his own frustration or anger. He acts as a vessel of the Spirit's power. He fixes his gaze on Elymas, a look of intense, righteous, apostolic authority. The battle is about to be joined.

10 and said, “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?

Paul's words are not minced. This is not polite discourse. This is a divine indictment. He exposes Elymas for what he truly is. While Bar-Jesus claimed to be a "son of Jesus," Paul renames him a son of the devil, identifying his true spiritual parentage (John 8:44). He is full of deceit and fraud, the opposite of the truth of the gospel. He is an enemy of all righteousness, the opposite of the righteousness that comes by faith. And his central crime is twisting the straight paths of God into a crooked mess. Paul's question is a rhetorical command: "Stop it!" This is the authoritative voice of Christ's apostle shutting down the work of a satanic agent.

11 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 a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand.

The indictment is followed by the sentence. "The hand of the Lord," an Old Testament phrase for God's power in action, is now upon Elymas for judgment. The punishment perfectly fits the crime. Elymas, who sought to keep Sergius Paulus in spiritual darkness, is now plunged into physical darkness. He who tried to lead others astray is now unable to find his own way and must be led by the hand. The judgment is immediate and undeniable. This is not a magic trick; it is a creative, sovereign, and just act of God. It is also a temporary judgment, "for a time," leaving open the possibility of repentance. It is a striking parallel to Paul's own conversion experience, where he was struck blind on the road to Damascus.

12 Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

The result is decisive. The proconsul witnesses this power encounter and believes. The miracle was not the main event; it was the validation of the teaching. He was astonished at the teaching of the Lord. The word of God, which he had sought to hear, was now confirmed to be utterly authoritative and powerful. He saw that the message of Paul was not just a set of ideas, but a reality backed by the power of the living God, a power that could strike a man blind with a word. The crooked path was blocked, the straight path was cleared, and an intelligent man walked down it into the kingdom of God.

Application

This account from the front lines of the first missionary journey is packed with application for us today. First, we must remember that all true mission is initiated and empowered by the Holy Spirit. We do not go in our own strength or with our own clever strategies. We go because we are sent, and we succeed only as He works through us.

Second, we must expect opposition. The gospel of grace will always be an offense to the systems of this world, particularly the religious systems that trade in spiritual counterfeits. There will always be an Elymas in the court of power, whispering lies and trying to turn people away from the faith. We should not be surprised when the world, both secular and falsely religious, opposes the straight ways of the Lord. It is their nature.

Third, our response to such opposition must be rooted in the Spirit, not in the flesh. Paul was not simply clever or angry; he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Our warfare is not carnal. We do not fight with deceit, fraud, or political manipulation. We fight with the truth of the gospel, spoken with boldness and authority, trusting that God will vindicate His own word. Sometimes that vindication is a dramatic display of power, but more often it is the quiet, miraculous power that changes a human heart.

Finally, we see that the goal of our spiritual warfare is the conversion of the lost. The blinding of Elymas was not an end in itself; it was the means by which the way was cleared for Sergius Paulus to believe. Our goal is not to win arguments or to punish our enemies, but to see intelligent, seeking people become astonished at the teaching of the Lord and come to faith. We are to be instruments that God uses to make His crooked paths straight, so that men and women can walk on them and be saved.