The Kingdom Confronts the Occult Text: Acts 13:4-12
Introduction: No Neutral Ground
We live in an age that prides itself on being open-minded, which is usually a clever way of saying they have minds open to anything except the claims of Jesus Christ. Our culture loves to dabble. It dabbles in Eastern mysticism, in pagan spirituality, in self-help psychologies that are just warmed-over sorcery, and it calls this enlightenment. But the Bible knows nothing of this kind of spiritual smorgasbord. The Scriptures teach us that there is no neutral ground in the cosmos. There is the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. There is the truth of the gospel and there are the lies of the devil. And these two kingdoms are in a state of total war.
The first missionary journey, which kicks off in our text today, is not a polite diplomatic mission. It is a spiritual invasion. Paul and Barnabas, sent out by the Holy Spirit, are landing on enemy-occupied territory. And whenever the kingdom of God advances, you can be sure that the kingdom of darkness will send out a representative to meet it. The conflict is inevitable. The gospel does not advance into a vacuum; it advances against entrenched opposition. It is a power encounter.
Here in Cyprus, the advance of the gospel runs straight into the established power structures of the old world. You have political power, represented by the proconsul Sergius Paulus, and you have spiritual power, represented by the magician and false prophet, Bar-Jesus, also known as Elymas. And notice who has the ear of the man in charge. It is the court magician, the spiritual advisor, the purveyor of occultic power. This is the normal state of affairs in the pagan world. The corridors of power are always haunted by the whispers of demonic counsel. Whether it is the court astrologer in Babylon or the diversity consultant in Washington D.C., the principle is the same. Ungodly rulers will always seek ungodly guidance.
But into this cozy arrangement of political power and occultic influence, the Holy Spirit sends two men armed with nothing but the word of God. What we are about to witness is a head-on collision. It is a demonstration of the fact that the gospel is not merely a set of ideas to be debated, but is the very power of God for salvation. And when the power of God shows up, the counterfeit powers of darkness are exposed, judged, and routed. This is not just a historical account; it is a paradigm for all true missionary work. The gospel confronts, the gospel challenges, and the gospel conquers.
The Text
So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 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. 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. But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, 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? 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. Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
(Acts 13:4-12 LSB)
Spirit-Sent and Gospel-Centered (vv. 4-5)
The mission begins with the proper authority and the proper strategy.
"So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 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." (Acts 13:4-5)
The first thing to notice is who is in charge. They were "sent out by the Holy Spirit." The church at Antioch had prayed, fasted, and laid hands on them, but the ultimate commissioning agent was God Himself. This is crucial. Christian mission is not a human enterprise. It is not a program we design or a strategy we invent. It is the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit, and the church is His instrument, not His advisor. The Spirit is not an impersonal force we try to harness; He is the third person of the Trinity who directs His church. He is the one who calls, He is the one who equips, and He is the one who sends.
Their destination is Cyprus, Barnabas's home turf. And their strategy is straightforward and biblical: "to the Jew first." They go to the synagogues. This was not just a matter of convenience because they would find people there who knew the Old Testament Scriptures. It was a matter of theological principle. The gospel is the fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Messiah came to His own people first. And so the apostles, in obedience to this redemptive pattern, always took the gospel to the synagogues before turning to the Gentiles. They were giving their kinsmen according to the flesh the first opportunity to embrace their King.
They also had John Mark with them as a helper. This is a small detail, but it reminds us that ministry is a team effort. Not everyone is the tip of the spear like Paul or Barnabas. There is a vital need for helpers, for those who support the frontline work. And as we know, this helper would later stumble, but by God's grace, he would be restored and become profitable for the ministry once more, even penning one of the four Gospels.
The Unholy Alliance (vv. 6-7)
As they traverse the island, the inevitable confrontation takes shape.
"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." (Acts 13:6-7)
Here we meet the opposition. He is a trifecta of spiritual corruption. First, he is a magician, a sorcerer. This is a man who deals in counterfeit power, manipulating demonic forces for personal gain. The Bible is not naive about this. It does not dismiss magic as mere sleight of hand. The magicians of Egypt really did turn their staffs into snakes; the difference was that Moses' snake ate their snakes. The powers of darkness are real, but they are utterly subservient to the power of God. This man's trade was in the dark arts, seeking to control circumstances and people through forbidden means.
Second, he is a "Jewish false prophet." This makes his sin all the more heinous. He is a covenant member who has prostituted his spiritual heritage. He should have been pointing people to the God of Abraham, but instead, he was using his religious background to lend credibility to his demonic craft. He is a wolf in sheep's clothing, an insider who has gone over to the enemy. The greatest threats to the church often come not from the outside, but from those who claim the name of God while serving the devil.
His name is Bar-Jesus, which means "son of Jesus" or "son of Joshua." This is a blasphemous irony. He carries a name that points to salvation, but he is an agent of damnation. He is a counterfeit son of the true Jesus. And he has managed to attach himself to the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. This is how the kingdom of darkness operates. It seeks to influence the influencers, to get its tendrils into the centers of power and culture. Sergius Paulus is described as "a man of intelligence," which tells us that intelligence alone is no safeguard against deception. A brilliant mind can be just as captive to falsehood as a simple one, if not more so. But this intelligent man has an itch, an inkling that there is something more than what his court magician is offering. And so, he "summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God." The gospel has an audience.
The Direct Confrontation (vv. 8-11)
The conflict now erupts into open spiritual warfare. The lines are drawn.
"But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, 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? Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.'" (Acts 13:8-11)
Elymas, which likely means "sorcerer," lives up to his name. He actively opposes the apostles. Why? Because the gospel is a direct threat to his entire operation. His power, his influence, and his income were all tied to keeping Sergius Paulus in spiritual darkness. The light of the gospel exposes the shoddy and fraudulent nature of his occultic wares. So he does what the enemies of the gospel always do: he tries to discredit the message and turn the seeker away from the faith.
At this point, Saul, who from now on is called Paul, takes the lead. And notice the source of his authority: he is "filled with the Holy Spirit." This is not Paul's native cleverness or rhetorical skill on display. This is the raw power of God moving through His chosen instrument. Paul fixes his gaze on Elymas, and what follows is not a polite debate. It is a divine indictment. Our modern, effeminate sensibilities might be offended by Paul's language here, but this is what Spirit-filled confrontation with evil looks like.
Paul gives a four-fold description of this man's character. He is full of "deceit and fraud," the basic tools of his trade. He is a "son of the devil," a direct and devastating contrast to his name, Bar-Jesus. He is not a son of salvation; he is a child of the father of lies. He is an "enemy of all righteousness," placing him in total opposition to the kingdom of God. And his central activity is to "make crooked the straight ways of the Lord." The Lord's ways are plain, clear, and direct. The gospel call is to repent and believe. Elymas's work is to twist, to confuse, to complicate, and to misdirect. He is a spiritual vandal, throwing up roadblocks on the path to life.
After the indictment comes the sentence. "Behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you." This is a hand of judgment. The punishment is tailored to the crime. Elymas had sought to keep the proconsul in spiritual darkness, so God plunges him into physical darkness. "You will be blind and not see the sun for a time." This judgment is severe, but it is also merciful. It is "for a time." This temporary blindness was an opportunity for Elymas to repent, a small taste of the outer darkness that awaited him if he did not. It was a sign, a powerful demonstration that the God of Paul is the one who truly holds power over light and darkness.
The Result: Astonishment and Faith (v. 12)
The power encounter has a decisive and immediate result.
"And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord." (Acts 13:11-12)
God's word does not return void. The judgment is instantaneous. The powerful sorcerer is reduced to a helpless blind man, stumbling about looking for someone to guide him. The counterfeit power has been utterly humiliated by the true power. All his incantations and demonic connections were useless against the simple declaration of an apostle filled with the Holy Spirit.
And what is the effect on the intelligent seeker, Sergius Paulus? He believed. The sign did its work. It authenticated the message. It is important to see what he was astonished by. It was not just the miracle; he was "astonished at the teaching of the Lord." The miracle was the dinner bell, calling him to the feast. The miracle was the divine exclamation point at the end of the gospel sentence. It confirmed that the teaching Paul and Barnabas brought was not just another philosophy or religion, but was the very word of the living God, backed by the authority and power of the Lord of heaven and earth.
This is how the kingdom advances. Not through political compromise, not through syncretistic dialogue, but through the bold proclamation of the gospel in the power of the Spirit. This proclamation will inevitably provoke opposition from the sons of the devil who love the darkness. But when the church is faithful, God is pleased to accompany His word with demonstrations of His power, striking the enemies of the gospel with blindness and opening the eyes of those whom He has called to Himself. The crooked ways are exposed, the straight ways are vindicated, and intelligent men are brought to astonished faith.
Conclusion: The Unchanging Conflict
This scene in Paphos is a microcosm of the entire Christian mission. We are sent by the Holy Spirit into a world that is under the sway of the evil one. We will find that the centers of power, whether in government, media, or academia, have their own court magicians, their own sons of the devil, whispering crooked counsel into the ears of the influential.
These modern Elymas figures will oppose us. They will use all their deceit and fraud to try to turn people away from the faith. They will mock the straight ways of the Lord as simplistic, bigoted, and outdated. They will offer a counterfeit spirituality, a power that promises much but delivers only bondage.
What is our response to be? It is not to retreat. It is not to enter into a polite, milquetoast dialogue. It is to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to confront the lies head-on. It is to call evil by its name. It is to proclaim the word of God with authority, trusting that the "hand of the Lord" is with us. We may not see our opponents struck with literal blindness, but we can be confident that the faithful preaching of the gospel is the power of God to blind the minds of those who are perishing and to open the eyes of those who are being saved.
The gospel remains the only power that can astonish a man of intelligence and bring him to genuine faith. It is the only teaching that has the authority of the Lord Himself. Let us therefore go out, sent by the same Spirit, and proclaim the same word. Let us make the straight ways of the Lord known, and watch as He makes the crooked things straight, routing His enemies and gathering His elect, until the whole earth is filled with the knowledge of His glory as the waters cover the sea.