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CHAPTER Act_13:4-12
b. Luke describes merely three features which marked the labors of Barnabas and Saul on the island: (a) the preaching of the Gospel in the Jewish synagogues; (b) the collision with the sorcerer Bar-jesus; (c) the conversion of the Roman proconsul Sergius Paulus.—He states in a very summary manner, Act_13:5, that they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. Where? We may naturally suppose that Salamis itself is meant, but we cannot restrict the application of the language to this city exclusively; even if it was of considerable extent, it can scarcely have contained more than one synagogue. Moreover, as Barnabas himself was a Cyprian Israelite by birth, it is natural to believe that he, together with Paul, preached the Gospel of the Messiah and Redeemer who had appeared, first of all, to the children of Israel, who were very numerous in the island.—The collision with the sorcerer Bar-jesus occurred in Paphos, Act_13:6 ff. [This name is an Aramaic form, meaning the Son of (Jesus) Joshua; comp. Barabbas, Bartholomew, Barjonas, Bartimeus, etc. (Alex.).—The different forms which this name assumes in the (manuscripts), fathers, and versions, originated in the reverence which was entertained for the name Jesus; hence, even Barjeu, Barsuma, (Bar-jehu), etc. occur. (Meyer).—Tr.]. This man, as it appears from Act_13:8, appropriated to himself the title of Elymas, an Arabic word, from the same root as the Turkish title Ulema [which signifies learned men, and is applied to “the college or corporation composed of the three classes of the Turkish hierarchy, etc.” (Brande’s Dict. ad verb.)]; he thus styled himself the “wise man” or sage, that is, an Oriental Magian. [“While the verbal root, in Arabic means to know, the corresponding root in Hebrew means to hide, both which ideas (occult science) are included in the term by which Luke here explains it, Magus.” (Alex.).—Tr.]. The true character of this man is described by the term in Act_13:6, false prophet. He had gained influence over the Proconsul, and was near his person, Act_13:7. When the latter invited Barnabas and Saul, for the purpose of hearing them, this man was apprehensive of losing the confidence of the Roman officer, and denied the truth of their words, attempting at the same time to confuse ( äéáóôñÝøáé ) Sergius Paulus, and withdraw him from the faith. [“From the faith, may either mean from the Christian faith, the new religion, which these strangers preached; or, from the act of faith, i.e., believing the new doctrine thus made known to him.” (Alex.).—Tr.]. Then Saul was filled with the Holy Ghost, that is, the Holy Ghost enabled him at once to understand the true character of the man before him, and discover the hidden thoughts of his soul. He was thus filled with a holy zeal, which manifested itself, first, in a penetrating look ( ἀôåíßóáò åßò áí ̓ ôüí ), and then in terms of stern rebuke. His language, primarily, unveils the true spiritual state of the man ( Ὦ … äéêáéïóýíçò ); the latter was full of deceit and of frivolous or wanton sentiments of every kind, and an enemy of all righteousness, that is, of all that is right and acceptable in the eyes of God, a child of the devil. (The appellation íἱὲ äéáâüëïí is the antithesis to his name Bar-jesus, implying that the sentiments which predominated in his soul, had been engendered by the arch-enemy of all that is divine and good). The language of Saul, further, rebukes the sorcerer’s resistance to God, of which his present conduct made him guilty ( ïí ̓ ðáýóῃ — åýèåßáò ); the ways of God are straight, leading directly to salvation, but he attempts to cross them or change their course, so that the Proconsul might not believe the word of God, and not reach the point to which they conducted, that is, salvation. Saul, lastly, announces, Act_13:11, that the divine punishment of temporary blindness shall be inflicted on Elymas. ( ×åὶñ êõñßïõ is here the chastising power of God). Saul declares that he shall be blind only for a certain period, and not permanently. His words were at once fulfilled; the vision of the man was immediately obscured, and he was soon involved in total darkness.
c. The conversion of the Proconsul Sergius Paulus. Barnabas and Saul met this man in Paphos. [“From the time when Augustus united the world under his own power, the provinces were divided into two different classes,” the senatorial, governed by Proconsuls (which the Greeks translated by ἀíèý ́ ðáôïò , the word occurring in Act_13:7), and the imperial provinces, governed by Proprætors or Legati. Subordinate districts of the former, were under the authority of Procurators. See a full statement of the whole subject in Conyb. and H.: Life, etc. of St. Paul, I. 153–157. Lond. 1854; the appropriate passages of Dio Cassius (who lived at the beginning of the third century, was twice Roman Consul, and wrote a History of the Romans) are there given in the original, and a wood-cut is furnished representing a coin which distinctly exhibits a Proconsul of Cyprus, of the reign of Claudius, during which Paul made this visit to the island.—Tr.]. Cyprus had belonged to the imperial provinces for a certain period during the reign of Augustus, and its affairs were administered by a Prætor; but Augustus subsequently restored it to the people (Strabo, XVII. 810; Dio Cass. L. 3. 12), and it was afterwards governed by Proconsuls, like all the other senatorial provinces. Hence the incidental remark of Luke that an ἀíèýðáôïò was the chief ruler of the island, precisely agrees with other historical accounts, and is sustained by coins still remaining, which belong to the reign of Claudius. It had long been assumed, before the authorities just mentioned were properly considered, that Luke had employed the title of Proconsul erroneously, or had not been precisely acquainted with its true meaning; see Hackett: Comment. 209. [Second edition. 1863.].—The classic writers do not mention Sergius Paulus, who was the Proconsul at that time, but he is here described as ἀíὴñ óõíåôüò ; this term may have been strictly applicable to him, even if he listened for some time to the words of the Jewish sorcerer. [“For many years before this time, and many years after, impostors from the East, pretending to magical powers, had great influence over the Roman mind…Unbelief, when it has become conscious of its weakness, is often glad to give its hand to superstition. The faith of educated Romans was utterly gone.” (Conyb. and H. loc. cit. p. 157.—Tr.]. The proconsul, indeed, evinced that he possessed an intelligent mind, by voluntarily seeking an acquaintance with Barnabas and Saul. He was ultimately conducted to the true faith, partly by having himself witnessed the direct divine punishment inflicted on Elymas, Act_13:12, and partly by the deep impression made on him by the doctrine of Christ, which filled him with wonder. [Miraculo acuebatur attentio ad doctrinam. (Bengel)].
Act_13:9-12. Then Saul … Paul.—The name Paul, in addition to that of Saul, occurs for the first time in Act_13:9, and the latter is not again introduced. While the apostle constantly receives the Hebrew name Saul [signifying asked for, or, desired], from Act_7:58 to Act_13:7, he, as constantly, from this point of time, receives the Roman name of Paul. We cannot, with Heinrichs, regard this circumstance as merely accidental; he supposes that when Luke mentioned Sergius Paulus, it occurred to him that Saul likewise bore the name of Paul. The change in the name, is, on the contrary, made intentionally by the historian, who was here reflecting on the relation of a cause to its effect. But interpreters differ widely in their views respecting the cause, the effect of which was this permanent change of the name. The following opinion was originally adopted at a very early period, and has, quite recently, been re-adopted:—Luke introduces the name precisely at this point because the apostle received his name of Paul in consequence of the present occurrence, as a memorial of the conversion of Sergius Paulus. This was the opinion of Jerome: “[Ut enim Scipio, subjecta Africa, Africani sibi nomen assumpsit … ita et Saulus] a primo ecclesiæ spolio, proconsule Sergio Paulo, victoriæ suæ tropœa retulit, erexitque vexillum, ut Paulus diceretur e Saulo. (De viris ill. 5). The same view is expressed by Laur. Valla; Bengel; Olsh.; Meyer; Baumg., and Ewald. They assume either that the apostle, from this period, applied the name to himself (Jerome), or that other Christians had given it to him in memory of this remarkable conversion of his “first-fruit.” (Meyer).—If such, however, had been the case, we might have reasonably expected that Luke would have given an intimation to that effect, at least, by a single word. But in place of adopting this course, he does not even mention the name in immediate connection with the conversion of the Proconsul; he rather connects it with the rebuke which was addressed to the sorcerer. And, further, Luke mentions the fact in intimate connection with a circumstance which does not usually receive due attention, viz. that a new era, as it were, begins with the precedence which the apostle henceforth takes of Barnabas. For Luke had hitherto (the last time in Act_13:7) exhibited the latter as the chief personage; but now it is Saul, and not Barnabas, who takes the lead alike in words and in acts; see also Act_13:16 ff. So, too, in Act_13:13, the whole company of travellers is named after Paul as the chief personage ( ïἱ ðåñὶ ÉÉáῦëïí ), and, afterwards, the regular order of the names is: “Paul and Barnabas” (Act_13:46; Act_13:50. etc.), and it is merely an exceptional case [Act_15:12] when this order is subsequently reversed. Hence it appears that the name of Paul (like the effect and its cause) is connected with the independent personal action and the prominence that are henceforth observable in the case of this apostle. Nor can it be regarded as an unmeaning and accidental circumstance that at the very moment when Luke first of all mentions the new name, he remarks that Paul was filled with the Holy Ghost. Hence, at this critical moment, an internal progress and a decisive elevation of Paul’s whole character were effected by the Holy Ghost. It was by virtue of this influence that Paul came forward and commenced an independent course of action, taking precedence of Barnabas, who had, in this case, refrained from personal interference. It is in connection with this circumstance, and not precisely with the conversion of the Proconsul that Luke henceforth employs that name which was the only one which the apostle of the Gentiles applied to himself [and by which he is designated in 2Pe_3:15.—Tr.].—It is, at the same time, true, that these considerations do not enable us to decide at what time, and from what source, the apostle received his Roman name. It is possible that, as a Roman citizen [ch. Act_22:27-28], he received it at his birth, but, during the Pharisaic period of his life, and even during the first years which followed his conversion, employed the Hebrew name Saul alone; when he afterwards commenced his career as the apostle of the Gentiles, he may have preferred the Roman name of Paul.
a. His ability to glance into the deepest recesses of the soul of that man, was a gift of the the Spirit of God. As he had never, previously, seen the latter, how could he, after a brief interview, have thoroughly comprehended his character, without being divinely enlightened? The charges which he advanced, were well founded. If the man had been a pagan magian, his spiritual state and his guilt could not have been exhibited in the dark colors which the apostle employed. But the greater the amount of knowledge was, which the sorcerer, as an Israelite, could have acquired of the true God and his ways, of his counsel and his commands, the more decidedly he must have become an enemy of the kingdom of God, when he exhibited such cunning and sophistry in obstructing the ways of God.
b. Further, the Spirit of God and Christ reveals Himself in the announcement by the apostle of the divine punishment. We do not here discern the spirit of an Elijah, who calls down fire from heaven, and slays the prophets of Baal, nor that carnal zeal which so easily mingles with a righteous indignation. The course adopted by the apostle exhibits moderation, and a tendency to pity and to spare. He announces to the misguided man, that he would become blind, but that he would remain in that condition only during a certain period, and not until his death. Thus he indirectly speaks of a termination of the punishment, provided that the offender should cease to resist the will of God (comp. ïὐ ðáýóῃ , etc. Act_13:10). This is the spirit of Christ, who “is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” (Luk_9:56).
Act_13:5. They preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews.—For, was not salvation of the Jews? [Joh_4:22]. The public synagogues furnished the most favorable opportunities for delivering addresses. It is important that we should enter every door which may be opened to us, and work while it is day. (Rieger).
Act_13:6. The isle, unto Paphos.—Paphos was noted for the wantonness and vice which attended the worship of Venus. [“Paphos was, indeed, a sanctuary of Greek religion: on this shore the fabled goddess (the Paphian Venus) first landed, when she rose from the sea (Tac. Hist. II. 2, 3).—The polluted worship was originally introduced from Assyria or Phœnicia, etc.” (Conyb. and H. I. 168.—Tr.]. It was precisely into such a stronghold of Satan [Rev_2:13] that the messengers of Christ at the very beginning effected an entrance. The prince of this world attempts, indeed, to offer resistance, and, in the person of the sorcerer, Bar-jesus, utters the language of reproach and defiance: “I was here before you!” (Rieger).
Act_13:7. Which [who] was with … Sergius Paulus, a prudent [an intelligent] man.—Prudence and godliness most happily accord with one another. The truth of God set forth in the Gospel, asks for the investigation of those who are wise. (Rieger).—The desire to become acquainted with God’s word, is a mark of an intelligent mind. (Starke).—Sergius was a man of understanding, and, nevertheless, allowed himself to be influenced by the sorceries of Bar-jesus: not only are the eyes of reason already weak, but the enchantments of impostors really consist in the success with which they also blind the eyes of reason. We accordingly perceive that many powerful minds are enslaved by a love of darkness. (Ap. Past.).
Act_13:8. Seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.—Men who occupy high positions, are always attended by persons who desire to turn them aside from the path of duty and suggest evil designs; they are not always warned and protected by apostles; comp. 1Sa_10:1-8. (Quesnel).
Act_13:9. Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him.—He who is a Paul, that is, feeble and mean [Lat.] in his own eyes, is a Saul, that is, desired and beloved [see above Exeg. Act_13:9-12] by others. Pro_29:23. (Starke).—As military leaders derive honorable titles from the places in which they gained victories, so Saul obtained the name which he bore as an apostle, from the first victory which he gained for Christ. He himself took the more pleasure in this change of his name, as Paul signifies little, mean; Eph_3:8; 2Co_12:9. [See Hom, and Pr. on Act_19:21.—Tr.]. His Hebrew name was the same as that of the king of his own tribe, who was taller than any of the people [1Sa_9:2; 1Sa_10:23]: and as the latter persecuted David, the man after the Lord’s own heart [1Sa_13:14], so Saul, who surpassed all others in Pharisaic dignity [Gal_1:14], persecuted Jesus, the Son of David. He now writes the epitaph of the Saul who once was: “Paul—I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” Gal_2:20. (Besser).—We hear no loud and noisy reproaches, such as a hot temper utters. Even when a teacher’s office and conscience require him to employ the language of rebuke, he should carefully consider whether he is in the right frame of mind, and can speak and act in the presence of God out of the fulness of the Holy Ghost. (Ap. Past.).
Act_13:10. And said, O full of all subtilty … child of the devil, etc.—Paul inflicts one blow after the other, tears the mask from the deceiver’s face, and exposes to him the true state of his heart: “child of the devil,” the opposite of his name, “Bar” (son of) “Jesus;” “full of subtilty and mischief,” the opposite of “Elymas” (a sage); “enemy of all righteousness”—“perverting the ways of God”—the opposite of the title which he assumed, i.e., a prophet of God (Act_13:6), a title belonging to him alone who teaches the true way of salvation. (Williger).
Act_13:11. The hand of the Lord is upon thee.—It came upon him, not as in the case of the true servants of God, in order to enlighten and strengthen, but to blind and paralyze him. Nevertheless, the punishment was intended to be only temporary, since it was, in an evangelical sense, designed to be a chastisement unto righteousness, and not unto condemnation and reprobation.—The punishment was, I. Suited to the offender—he who blinded others, is struck blind himself; II. Adapted to impress and convince the spectators; III. Designed, with all its severity, to lead to the reformation of the offender, by Paul’s indirect reference to divine mercy [“for a season”]. Paul himself had been blind for a season, when he was converted, and his own experience had taught him that this darkness was exceedingly salutary, since it enabled the sufferer to collect his thoughts and examine his spiritual state. (From Ap. Past.).
Act_13:12. Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed.—The fall of one leads to the rising again [Luk_2:34] of another. (Starke).—The judgment which overtook Elymas, delivered Sergius from his corrupt influence, but, strictly speaking, it was the doctrine of the Lord which supplied the seed and root of his faith. (Rieger).—The soul of the meanest slave in Paphos was not less precious, it is true, than that of the ruler of the country; still, it was an important circumstance in the eyes of the apostle, that the first fruit of those who were called by his preaching, was one of those few “noble” ones (1Co_1:26), who obeyed the call of God. He had been commissioned to bear the name of Jesus Christ before kings (Act_9:15), and Sergius Paulus was the representative of kingly power in that country. (Besser).
(On Act_13:4-12). The first missionary ship: I. The fearless crew—the great apostle Paul, the noble Barnabas, the youthful Mark; II. The favorable wind—the east wind filled the sails; and the Holy Ghost, the teachers; III. The blessed anchorage—the celebrated island of Cyprus, with its natural beauties, and its moral deformity; IV. The first prizes—the defeated sorcerer, and the converted ruler.—The first missionary report, the type of all that have succeeded it: it is an image of the missionary work in general; I. Of its manifold ways; (a) external—Seleucia and Cyprus, the land and the sea; (b) internal—Jews and pagans; II. Of its painful struggles (a) with pagan vices—the worship of Venus in Paphos; (b) with pagan superstition—the sorcerer Elymas; III. Of its glorious victories; (a) the powers of darkness are overthrown (Elymas;) (b) souls are won (Sergius Paulus).—Paul in Paphos, or, The preaching of the cross, revealed in its all-conquering power: I. It subdues the sensual desires of the world (in the voluptuous groves of roses and myrtles dedicated to Aphrodite, the apostle erects the cross of Christ as an emblem of repentance and the mortification of the flesh); II. It defeats the spurious wisdom of the world (the delusions of the sorcerer Elymas vanish before the light of evangelical grace and truth); III. It prevails over the weapons of the world (the Roman Proconsul surrenders as a captive to the word of God).—The heavenly light of the Gospel, dispersing the magical delusions of the world: I. The magic of worldly lust (Cyprus with its vineyards and altars of Venus): II. The magic of worldly wisdom (Elymas with his frauds); III. The magic of worldly power (Sergius Paulus, the Roman Proconsul).—Sergius Paulus, the first trophy of the great apostle of the Gentiles: I. He was taken from the midst of the enemies (a Roman, a man invested with power, a man of a cultivated mind); II. He was wrested from the hands of an artful adversary (Elymas, the representative of science falsely so called) [1Ti_6:20]; III. The victory conferred permanent honor on the apostle (a badge of honor attached to the name of Paul, which he ever afterwards bore, whether first assumed on this occasion, or now first deserved).—The Gospel, a savour of life unto life for some (Sergius Paulus); a savour of death unto death for others (Elymas) [2Co_2:16].—In what manner does a genuine servant of Christ rebuke sin? I. Not with carnal impetuosity, but in the fulness of the Holy Ghost, (Act_13:9); II. Not with carnal weapons, but with the sword of the word [Eph_6:17], which pierces [Heb_4:12] the evil heart (Act_13:10), and announces God’s judgment (Act_13:11); III. Not with a view to consign to death and damnation, but in order to warn, and to save the souls of men. (Act_13:11).—[The various forms of sin which Paul encountered in the island Cyprus: I. Worldliness (Sergius Paulus); II. Gross vice (the worship of Venus); III. Superstition (Elymas); IV. Infidelity (unbelieving Jews, Act_13:9).—Tr.].
Footnotes:
Act_13:4. ïὗôïé [of text. rec., from E—gr., G, H,] is more fully supported than áὐôïß . [The latter is found in A. B. Cod. Sin., etc., and is adopted by Lach. Tisch. and Alf.—Tr.]
Act_13:6. a. ὅëçí before ôὴí íῆó . is wanting in text. rec. [and G. H.]; but is very decidedly sustained [by A. B. C. D. E., Cod. Sin. Vulg. fathers,]; it may have seemed [to some copyists] to be superfluous [“ ὅëçí and ἅ÷ñé ÐÜö . being supposed to be inconsistent.” (Alf.). It is inserted by recent editors generally.—Tr.]
Act_13:6. b. ἄíäñá before ôéíá , also seemed to be superfluous, and has, therefore, been omitted in text. rec., in accordance with some manuscripts [G. H.]. It is, however, so well supported, that it must be regarded as genuine. [Found in A. B. C. D. E. Cod. Sin.; Syr. Vulg. etc., and inserted by recent editors generally, except Scholz.—Tr.]