Saturday 13 May 2023

Background

My first surprise in this passage is just how Jewish the Church still is at this point. Paul and Barnabas have travelled to Barnabas’ home island of Cyprus and been joined by John Mark to share the good news. Their focus is still on bringing the good news of Jesus to the Jewish community. Despite Peter’s experience in Joppa and the subsequent recognition of the scope of God’s saving work, they remained focused on those from a Jewish background. When they meet with Elymas, we are told very clearly that he too is Jewish.

Then we get the somewhat startling story of Elymas who opposes the Christian message (in the same way that Saul/Paul had been doing previously). It might have been that Elymas saw his career as a fortune-teller coming to an end if Christianity took root among the Roman leadership. Saul confronts and denounces him, and consequently Elymas becomes temporarily blind, which again is the same as what had happened to Saul (Acts 9).

The end result is that the leading Roman official becomes a follower of Jesus. That, perhaps, is the key part to this story. The gospel is attractive to Sergius Paulus ‘an intelligent man’ (v. 7).  Although missionaries such as Saul and Barnabas were important,  it was Roman soldiers, administrators and business people who made the most significant impact in helping spread the gospel through the Roman Empire. And that has been the normal pattern for the spread of the good news that we have seen throughout history. Missionaries and evangelists have been and still are important, but it's ordinary people sharing their faith in ordinary ways that enables the faith to grow.

The incident with Elymas is clearly pivotal in this passage, but the teaching is the real focus here. The ‘power encounter’ with Elymas would have drawn attention, but perhaps that is temporary. It’s the revelation of God through Jesus that is really astonishing.

To Ponder:

• How astonishing do we find God’s word?
• What do you make of the ‘power encounter’ between Elymas and Saul?

Prayer

Gracious God, may our lives show and share the gospel in ordinary and occasionally extraordinary ways, that the world may believe.