“And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord. Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem. But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down. And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on” (Acts 13:11-15.) “And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.” Elymas/Barjesus gets judgment, but not death: God wants him, too. “Seeking those who would lead him by the hand” is God’s little irony on him: he who would be a leader must now follow. Perhaps also uncoincidentally, Paul pronounces on Elymas the same judgment he got in Damascus. As is typical of Dr. Luke’s record, we’re not told the ultimate condition of Elymas/Barjesus because it isn’t known, isn’t relevant. This is a record of the Holy Spirit’s work (Acts of the Holy Spirit, not “Acts of the Apostles,” Acts 1:1-2.) This record needn’t include death or life, only that these things are disobedient and are thus judged, and those things are obedient and thus rewarded with more opportunities to obey. This “wise man” was a fool for opposing the gospel of Jesus Christ and got a fool’s consequences; let us not imitate him. That’s all that’s relevant here. “Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.” Note that Dr. Luke does not say that Deputy Paulus was astonished at the power of the Lord but at the “doctrine” of the Lord. He would know supernatural power was possible (if nothing else, Mr. Wise Guy would have been using it.) But as a government official for a pagan death cult (i.e., the Roman Empire), he would be familiar with any paganism, and any paganism is entirely D.I.Y. The “Doctrine of the Lord” that offends the proud is that you CAN’T do it yourself because you’re a puny human whose death is your earned wages for all the sin you worked at committing (Romans 1-6.) More to the point, the core of the “Doctrine of the Lord” is that God loves you (1 John 4:8, 16) and wants a RELATIONSHIP with you, which is only possible if you’re forgiven for disobeying Him and lying about Him, so God took that penalty you earned so that He could have that relationship with you . . . if you would only accept it. No pagan religion ever offers a relationship with its “god.” From Babylon’s paganism to Islam, their “god” is uninterested in being with us, barely involved in helping us. Then these 2 guys show up, preach this weird stuff, and demonstrate POWER over all pretenders. He believes, but he’s still “astonished” because this is radical, empire-changing stuff. “Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.” These 3 are suddenly, “Paul and his company.” Barnabas might not think so (v. 2, Barnabas is mentioned first), but he’s not writing this history—Dr. Luke is. Dr. Luke focuses the 2nd half of his history on how Persecutor Saul developed into Apostle Paul. They thus leave Cyprus for Paphos Island, then leave Paphos Island for Pamphylia Island. Perga isn’t on the coast, so they likely sailed up Cestrus River to get there. As for their reason, the best guess is knowing a synagogue was there (while not on the coast.) John Mark leaves, which Paul makes a point of contention in Acts 15:35-39, but which we should at least try to see from John Mark’s view. They went to Cyprus, Uncle Barnabas’ home. Okay so far. They leave Cyprus not to return but to go to another island . . . mmmm, okay. This is the 3rd island these 2 guys are visiting and I didn’t sign on for a tour of the Greek islands (there are more than we realize.) As noted, he was not called by the Holy Spirit, but brought along as “minister.” For all we know, he went back to minister to Apostle Peter. Heh, Paul later comes around to seeing John Mark’s value (2 Timothy 4:11.) “But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.” “Antioch in Pisidia” is in Central Turkey (the other “Antioch” is on Turkey’s Southern border), and was also called, “Colonia Caesarea.” That sounds like an important place. Hellenization under Seleucus I Nicator became Romanization under Emperor Augustus. By this time, it’s a right peaceful, “civilized” city even tho there are 5 other “Antiochs.” They quickly find the synagogue, enter, sit down, and wait. The policy here is to listen first, then speak later, maybe . . . if invited. If nothing else, these 2 men know what their job is, have the message to preach, but willingly wait for the audience to welcome the message by asking them to give it. Nowadays, many Christians would have walked right in and started talking, gotten nowhere, and left wondering why so many people are blinded by Satan. Instead, “And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.” Thus we see the importance of waiting: the audience FIRST hears from God’s word (incidentally giving Saul/Paul or Barnabas a place to begin preaching the gospel.) Whether this is Saul/Paul’s prepared speech or the Scripture reading coincidentally mentioned namesake King Saul is unknown, unimportant. Only that God’s witnesses demonstrated patience, tact, attention to the other people’s words, and spoke to the needs revealed there. The curious flip side is that the Jews know they have God’s word so they don’t fear disagreement, aren’t afraid to ask strangers to say a few words. We sure don’t see that attitude in most competing, pagan religions.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 17:47:27 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015