CRITICAL REMARKS
Acts 13:4. Seleucia.—“Civitas potens, sæpta muris neque in barbarum corrupta sed conditoris Seleucia retinens” (Tac, An., vi. 42). The port of Antioch, three miles west of the city and two hours’ journey from the month of the Orontes, was founded almost contemporaneously with Antioch, B.C. 300, by King Seleucus I. (Nicanor). The harbour is mentioned according to Luke’s custom, Acts 14:25; Acts 16:11; Acts 18:18 (Ramsay).
Acts 13:5. Minister.—Attendant, or assistant; in what capacity is not told.
Acts 13:6. The best MSS. read the whole island. They probably made “a complete tour of the Jewish communities in the island, preaching in each synagogue” (Ramsay).
Acts 13:7. The deputy of the country should be proconsul, ἀνθύπατος. Long supposed that Luke had here erred in designating the governor of Cyprus proconsul, but now recognised that Luke is correct (see explanation in “Homiletical Analysis”). Bar-jesus = son of Jesus, or = Barjesuvan, son of readiness (Klostermann, Ramsay who for Elymas would read Ἕτοιμος).
Acts 13:8. Elymas.—Arabic for “wise” (like Turkish Ulemah), and interpreted by Luke as equivalent to sorcerer or magician. Note.—The above story of Elymas is supposed (Baur, Zeller, Holtzmann, and others) to have been influenced by the parallel narrations about Simon Magus (Acts 8:20-24) and Ananias and Sappbira (Acts 5:1-10); but see “Hints” on Acts 13:8.
Acts 13:9. Saul, who also is called Paul.—That from this point onward in the narrative the apostle ceases to be designated Saul, and is always called Paul, has been explained by the hypothesis that the apostle, either from Sergius Paulus, or his friends, received, or himself adopted, the Roman title Paul in commemoration of the proconsul’s conversion (Jerome, Augustine, Bengel, Olshausen, Meyer, Ewald); but against this stand these considerations:
1. That Luke introduces the change of name before the conversion is recorded.
2. That while customary for a pupil to adopt the name of a teacher, it was not usual for a teacher to appropriate the name of a pupil.
3. That if Paul actually did assume the governor’s name, it might at least look as if he attached more importance to the conversion of a distinguished than to that of an obscure person. Wherefore the more probable theory is that the apostle originally had the two names—Saul among the Jews, and Paul among the Gentiles (compare John Mark, John 12:25; Jesus Justus, Colossians 4:11)—and that, as hitherto, while preaching to the Jews his Jewish name was used, so henceforth, when evangelizing among the Gentiles, his Gentile designation should be employed (Weizsäcker, Holtzmann, Wendt, Lechler, Hackett, Spence, Ramsay). The notion that Saul assumed the name Paul to express his personal humility is unlikely; the suggestion that Luke at this point began to use memoirs in which the apostle was called Paul (Alford) is little better. Still less correct is the hypothesis that Luke only invented the name from Paul’s connection with Sergius (Baur, Zeller, Hausrath). The derivation of the name Paul from the Hebrew פלא = mirabilis, wonderful, in allusion to the miracle wrought by the apostle (Otto, Zöckler), appears somewhat fanciful.
Acts 13:12. Read the proconsul instead of the deputy as above. Believed.—Baur, entirely without reason, thinks the conversion of the proconsul has “only a very slight degree of probability.”
HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.—Acts 13:4-12
Barnabas and Saul in Cyprus; or, the Commencement of the First Missionary Journey
I. The journey to Cyprus.—
1. By land to Seleucia. This town, sixteen miles distant from Antioch, to which it served as a seaport, stood upon the coast five miles north of the mouth of the Orontes. “Seleucia united the two characters of a fortress and a seaport. It was situated on a rocky eminence, which is the southern extremity of a range of hills projecting from Mount Amanus.… The harbour and mercantile suburb were on level ground towards the west,” and were protected by “strong artificial defences” (Conybeare and Howson, The Life and Epistles of Paul, 1:132). “In addition to splendid buildings and temples, the city possessed other advantages. The climate was excellent, and the soil around uncommonly fruitful. Its geographical position, before the gate of Antioch, between Cyprus, Cilicia, Syria, and Phœnicia, made it a seat of extraordinarily lively and profitable commerce” (Hertzberg in Riehm, art. “Seleucia”). “A village called Antakia and interesting ruins point out the ancient site” (Hackett).
2. By sea to Cyprus. Conybeare and Howson offer four reasons why the missionaries turned in the first instance towards this island. It was separated by no great distance from the mainland of Syria; a vessel sailing from Seleucia to Salamis was not difficult to procure, especially in the summer season; Cyprus was the native land of Barnabas, a consideration which would naturally weigh with the Son of Consolation (compare John 1:41-42; John 11:5); and some of the Cypriotes were already Christians (Acts 11:20). As the Holy Spirit is not said to have prescribed the route, these suggestions may serve as an explanation of the missionaries’ movements, at least till better can be found.
II. The work in Salamis.—
1. The city and its inhabitants. Situated near the modern town of Famagousta, the ancient city stood “on a bight of the coast to the north of the river Pediæus.” “A large city by the sea shore, a widespread plain with cornfields and orchards, and the blue distance of mountains beyond, composed the view on which the eyes of Barnabas and Saul rested when they came to anchor in the bay of Salamis” (Conybeare and Howson, 1:135). “When the apostles stepped ashore upon one of the ancient piers, of which the ruins are still visible, it was a busy and important place, and we cannot doubt that Barnabas would find many to greet him in his old home” (Farrar, The Life and Work of St. Paul, 1:347).
2. The synagogues and their worshippers. Since there were “synagogues,” the Jewish population must have been considerable; and one can easily understand how “the unparalleled productiveness of Cyprus, and its trade in fruit, wine, flax, and honey, would naturally attract them to the mercantile port” (Conybeare and Howson, 1:135). Hitherto it had been Saul’s custom to begin his work by visiting the synagogues; and from this practice, neither he nor Barnabas as yet departed.
3. The missionaries and their occupation. Whatever else they did, their time was mainly spent in preaching or proclaiming the word of God to their fellow-worshippers in these synagogues, who would of course be Jews with a mixture perhaps of heathen proselytes. (On synagogue worship, see Acts 13:15.) What measure of success they obtained is not reported.
4. Their attendant and his duties. By name John Mark (see on Acts 12:25); whether he assisted Barnabas and Saul in preaching and baptising, or confined his attention to secular matters, such as making arrangements for the travel, lodging, and sustenance of the company, cannot be determined. That John Mark is introduced in this “curiously incidental” way, was probably designed, in view of what was to happen in Pamphylia, to show that “he was not essential to the expedition, had not been selected by the Spirit, had not been formally delegated by the Church of Antioch, but was an extra hand taken by Barnabas and Saul on their own responsibility.”—Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller, etc., p. 71.
III. The arrival at Paphos.—
1. The town. New Paphos, on the west coast of the island, a hundred miles from Salamis; then a bustling haven, the city of Aphrodite (Venus), whose infamous rites long continued to be celebrated in its temple, and the residence of the Roman proconsul; now a decayed and mouldering village, the modern Baffa.
2. The governor.
(1) His name—Sergius Paulus, of whom nothing more is known. Galen mentions a Sergius Paulus who flourished more than a century later, and was distinguished for philosophy; while Pliny (A.D. 90) names a Sergius Paulus as his chief authority for some facts in natural history which he relates, and in particular for two connected with Cyprus. “A Greek inscription of Soloi, on the north coast of Cyprus, is dated in the proconsulship of Paulus, who probably is the same governor that played a part in the strange and interesting scene to be described” (Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen, p. 74).
(2) His character—“prudent,” or “a man of understanding.” One who intermeddled with all knowledge, a philosopher like his namesake above referred to. Out of this thirst for learning may have arisen his acquaintance with Bar-jesus; it was a better proof of the sincerity of his desire for enlightenment that he summoned Barnabas and Saul to his palace to hear from them the word of God.
(3) His office—“deputy of the country,” or rather, proconsul. That Sergius Paulus should have been so styled was formerly regarded as an error on the part of Luke, but is now proved to be in accordance with absolute historical accuracy (see “Critical Remarks”).
3. The sorcerer.
(1) His personal designation. Bar-jesus, the son of Jesus (see “Critical Remarks”).
(2) His professional title. A certain magician. He had assumed the appellation Elymas (from the same root as the Turkish Ulemah), meaning, “the wise man” or wizard.
(3) His correct description. A false prophet. “He was a fortune-teller, but his art was an imposition” (Hackett).
(4) His national derivation. A Jew. Hackett thinks he may have been born in Arabia or lived there for some time.
IV. The encounter with Bar-jesus.—
1. The conduct of the sorcerer. He “withstood Barnabas and Saul, seeking to turn away the deputy or proconsul from the faith.” A statement which shows—
(1) That the governor’s reception of the apostles took place not in private, but in public, at least to the extent of being in presence of the inmates of his household, including Elymas, who was apparently established in the service of Sergius.
(2) That the exposition of the gospel given by the apostles had made a manifest impression on the governor’s heart, which promised to result in his conversion.
(3) That the false prophet interposed with a view of preventing his master and patron from yielding to the eloquence of the missionaries. How Elymas sought to weaken the force of the apostles’ preaching and deaden its influence upon Sergius is not told, but it is probable “he spared neither argument nor insult in his endeavour to persuade Sergius of the absurdity of the new faith” (Farrar)—perhaps reviling Christ as a crucified malefactor, and denouncing Him as an enemy of Moses.
2. The action of Saul. Significant that not Barnabas but Saul steps into the arena against Elymas and for the rescue of Sergius—a heroic deed which, by its success, for ever established Saul’s precedence over Barnabas, and, as some conjecture, won for him his new and now world-renowned name of Paul (see, however, “Critical Remarks”).
(1) The secret impulse which pushed Saul into the foreground came from the Holy Ghost, who then presided and still presides in the Church, who then selected and still selects His agents, and who then directed as He still directs their steps. “Saul, filled with the Holy Ghost.”
(2) The searching glance with which Saul transfixed the wizard (compare Acts 3:4) showed how completely the wizard’s character and motives were understood, and how indignantly the apostle’s soul flamed out against them. Saul’s eyes were illumined by the Spirit of the Lord, which searcheth all things (1 Corinthians 2:10). Ramsay finds in the power of the apostle’s eye an indirect proof that the apostle’s “stake in the flesh” was not “impaired vision” (Ibid., p. 97).
(3) The denunciation uttered by the apostle must have told the detected impostor that his career of wickedness was at an end. In three terrific ejaculations the apostle revealed to him his depraved character, telling him first that he was “full of all guilt and of all villainy,” deceit and rascality, cunning and criminality; next, that instead of being a Bar-jesus—i.e., a son of the salvation of Jehovah—he was a veritable son of the devil (compare John 8:44); and thirdly, that he was an enemy of all righteousness, thus making him “equal to the father of lies” (Stier), “pierced through with hatred against the good” (Besser). In a short, sharp question the apostle unfolded to him the wickedness of his present behaviour: “Wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?” “The ways of the Lord aim directly and rightly at the salvation of all men (Deuteronomy 32:4; Hosea 14:9), and the two preachers of the gospel have just explained to the Romish governor these ways; … and Paul sees that the false prophet will not cease to crook the straight paths of the Lord and to turn them away from Sergius Paulus that he may not believe and become blessed” (Besser).
(4) The appalling judgment invoked upon the sorcerer—“Behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee,” etc.—was a richly merited retribution for his heinous wickedness in having sought to prevent the salvation of a soul. Yet was it mingled with fourfold mercy. In the first place it was a bodily infliction, whereas it might have fallen on his soul, as with-Judas (Acts 1:25). Secondly, it spared his life, whereas it might have cut him off, as it did Herod (Acts 12:23). Thirdly, it was only blindness, whereas it might have been loss of reason, as in the case of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:34). And fourthly, it might have been for the whole term of his natural life, whereas, as with Zacharias (Luke 1:20), it was only for a season.
3. The impression on Sergius.
(1) What he saw. The judgment taking instant effect. “Immediately there fell on Elymas a mist and a darkness,” etc.
(2) How he felt. He was astonished at such a display of spiritual power.
(3) What he did. “He believed.” “How far his belief was deep-seated or otherwise we have no evidence which would enable us to judge. But the silence of Luke would seem to indicate that he was not baptised, and we can hardly look upon him as a deep and lifelong convert, since otherwise we should, in the rarity of great men in the Christian community, have as certainly heard of him in their records, as we hear of the very few who at this period—like Flavius Clemens or Flavia Domitilla—joined the Church from the ranks of the noble or the mighty” (Farrar, The Life and Work of St. Paul, 1:355). With this pronouncement one may reasonably disagree. It is too much to expect that all great men who are converted should have their names and doings paraded in Church chronicles.
Learn.—
1. The highest sign of wisdom—desiring to hear the word of God.
2. The grossest act of wickedness—perverting the right ways of God, or opposing the salvation of others.
3. The sorest of all earthly calamities—the falling on one of God’s hand for judgment.
4. The noblest trophy of a preacher’s power—the conversion of a soul.
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Acts 13:4-12. The First Missionary Ship.
I. Its bold crew.—
1. The great Paul.
2. The noble Barnabas.
3. The youthful Mark.
II. Its first wind.—
1. The east wind filling its sails.
2. The breath of the Holy Ghost inspiring its teachers.
III. Its favourable anchorage.—The renowned Cyprus with its natural beauties and sinful abominations.
IV. Its great prizes.—
1. The sorcerer vanquished.
2. The governor converted.—Gerok.
Acts 13:6. The Story of Bar-Jesus.
I. His name—good.
II. His character—bad.
III. His profession—vile.
IV. His sin—great.
V. His punishment—severe.
Acts 13:6-12. Elymas, Sergius, and Saul; or, Three Sorts of Wisdom.
I. Elymas, the representative of false wisdom, the subtilty inspired by the devil (Acts 13:10).
II. Sergius, the representative of earthly wisdom, the wisdom which the world admires (Acts 13:7).
III. Saul, the representative of true (as opposed to false) and celestial (as distinguished from earthly) wisdom, the wisdom which the Holy Ghost teaches (Acts 13:9).
Acts 13:7. Sergius Paulus.
I. A man of understanding, and yet the dupe of a sorcerer.
II. An anxious inquirer opposed by a pretended “wise one.”
III. An astonished spectator of a suddenly inflicted judgment.
IV. A promising convert, who accepts the teaching of the Lord.
Desiring to hear the Word of God. Might proceed out of—
I. Curiosity, as in the case of Herod and the Athenians.
II. Thirst for knowledge, as with Sergius Paulus.
III. Eagerness to believe, as was true of the Gentiles in Antioch.
IV. Determination to oppose, as with the unbelieving Jews.
Sergius Paulus, a Prudent Man.
I. The nature of true prudence.—It is not craft or cunning, it is not self-conceit or self-wisdom, it is not a cautious avoidance of the dangers that lie in the path of duty. It is the adaptation of our line of action to the proprieties of time, and place, and persons. It is practical wisdom.
II. The cases to which it applies.
1. To the preference of objects according to their comparative value.
2. To the due improvement of all opportunities of doing good and getting good.
3. To the foresight of all future events that may be anticipated.
4. To the control of the temper.
5. To the government of the tongue.
III. Its advantages.
1. It prevents many evils.
2. It sweetens all the charities of social life.
3. It increases the means of doing good.
(1) Cherish a deep sense of its inestimable value;
(2) Cultivate it by prayer, and an intimate acquaintance with the Bible.—G. Brooks.
Acts 13:8 with Acts 8:9. The Two Sorcerers; or, Simon Magus and Elymas Bar-jesus.
I. Compare.—In being—
1. Men.
2. Magicians.
3. Hearers of the gospel.
4. Guilty of heinous sin—the one seeking to purchase the gift of God with money, the other to hinder the work of God in others, doubtless for the sake of money.
5. Subjects of apostolic denunciation.
II. Contrast.—
1. The one (Simon Magus) an Oriental, the other (Elymas) a Jew.
2. The one a willing, the other an involuntary hearer of the gospel.
3. The one a baptised believer, the other a malignant opponent of the truth.
4. The one an adherent of Philip, the other an enemy of Saul.
5. The one simply denounced, the other signally punished. N.B.—These points of contrast sufficiently dispose of the allegation of the Tübingen critics that Paul’s contest with Elymas is simply an imitation, without any historical foundation, of Peter’s struggle with Simon Magus.
III. Suggest.—
1. That there is not much to choose between an insincere disciple and an open enemy of the truth.
2. That nothing short of genuine conversion will secure salvation.
3. That the punishments of sinners are always less than they deserve.
4. That it is dangerous to oppose or disbelieve the gospel.
The Sorcerer, the Proconsul, and the Apostle; or, a Triangular Contest.
I. Elymas and Sergius, the sorcerer and the proconsul, the pretended wise man and the earthly savant; or the deceiver and his dupe.
II. Sergius and Paul, the proconsul and the apostle, the vicegerent of Cæsar and the ambassador of Christ, the impersonation of human prudence and the bearer of heavenly wisdom; or the scholar and his teacher.
III. Paul and Elymas, the true prophet and the false, the servant of Jesus and the son of the devil; or the preacher of righteousness and his satanic opponent.
Acts 13:10. Perverting the Right Ways of the Lord.
I. The ways of the Lord are right.—
1. The ways of the Lord Himself are right—always in accordance with holiness and truth (Hosea 14:9).
2. The ways the Lord prescribes to men are right—always like His own, conformable to law and justice (Psalms 19:8; Psalms 119:75).
II. The right ways of the Lord may be perverted.—
1. Not God’s ways for Himself—which never can be other than pure and upright (Psalms 145:17).
2. But God’s ways for man—which may be turned aside
(1) by false teaching (2 Peter 2:1),
(2) by bad example (2 Timothy 3:5-6),
(3) by sinful temptation (2 Peter 2:15).
III. To pervert the right ways of the Lord is offensive.—It is—
1. Presumptuous on the part of a creature.
2. Sinful, being contrary to Divine law.
3. Dangerous, as incurring the just judgment of God.
Acts 13:11-12. The Judgment on Elymas and its Effect on Sergius a Type of the Double Work of Christianity.
I. It blinds those who (like Elymas think they) see (John 9:39).
II. It imparts sight to those who (like Sergius confess they) are blind (John 9:39).