He was astonished at the teaching of the Lord

 

 

So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. 6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? 11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord. Acts 13:4-12

 

Barnabas, Saul (Paul) and John Mark proclaim the word of the Lord throughout Cyprus, beginning in the synagogues.

The Roman proconsul of Cyprus summoned the preachers to hear the word of God.

Elymas the magician butts in and tries to turn the proconsul from the faith with his magic.

Paul, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, rebukes Elymas and temporarily blinds him.

The proconsul, having seen everything, becomes a believer – being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

 

This is a remarkable incident for a number of reasons:

 

1.  A Roman proconsul wants to hear the gospel. A proconsul is head of government in a senatorial province.

2.  Luke describes him as “a man of intelligence.”

3.  Satan uses a magician to try and deceive the proconsul.

4.  God uses Paul to confirm, with convincing miraculous demonstration, the power of the gospel over the power of magic. The occasional use of miracles in Acts was for the purpose of confirming the gospel. See Mark 16:15-20; Acts 14:1-7; Hebrews 2:3-4. The proconsul is intelligent enough to spot the difference!

5.  His astonishment, though, is not at the miracle by Paul, but at the teaching of the Lord! This is significant.

6.  It is worth noting that miracles on their own are not necessarily convincing to everyone – they don’t always produce belief. There can always be some ambiguity about them. Note the example in Acts 14:1-7, and also note the reaction of the disciples and others to a couple of Jesus’ demonstrations of power. Mark 4:35-41; John 6. Miracles confirm the teaching. They help prove something. They confirm truth. John 20:24-31. But only if you are open to truth. Note the miracles of Jesus in John 9 and 11 and see how Jewish leaders weren’t convinced. Read John 10:1-21 in between these two miracles. See Matthew 16:1-12; John 7:17; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31.

7.  So here we have two conflicting demonstrations of power – the Holy Spirit and a spirit of magic, some teaching of the Lord, an intelligent government leader, and a conversion to Christ as the outcome.

8.  You have to want a relationship with Jesus, based on complete trust in his teaching, even if you aren’t convinced by everything! If you don’t like the teaching, the miracles won’t change your mind about it.

 

About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. The Jews therefore marveled,

saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” So Jesus answered them, “My teaching

is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks  his own glory; but

the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. John 7:14-18

 

David Hunter