Thought for the Week: Missionary Journeys Begin

The Christians in Antioch have consecrated Barnabas and Saul to go spread the Good News of the Gospel to the Gentile world. They leave from the port city, Selucia, of Antioch and sail westward toward the island of Cyprus. Cyprus is the home of Barnabas and a fitting place to start. The journey is something over 100 miles. They arrive at Salmis, port city and commercial hub of the island. Immediately they begin to preach in the Jewish synagogue.

At this point I need to touch on the two names of the man who will be the focus of our ongoing study. He was called Paul, or Saul. Saul is his Hebrew name. He is identified with the Tribe of Benjamin and the first king of Israel, also named Saul and also from the Tribe of Benjamin. The name Paul is a Greek name and identifies him with the Greco-Roman world of the Gentiles. Mostly until this time, they were known as Barnabas and Saul, but from this time on in the Gentile world they are Paul and Barnabas. When they started this journey, they took a young man named John Mark, He was a relative of Barnabas. He was to serve as their apprentice. Upon their arrival on Cyprus, they went to the synagogue and began to preach.

Not much is said about their success or failure but they began to work their way overland from there toward the political center and capital, called Paphos. The island had a Roman governor or pro-consul, Sergius Paulus. He called for Paul and Barnabas to come to him. He may have heard about them and their preaching or simply wanted to keep on top of people in his realm who were having an impact on the citizens. The pro-consul had an advisor named Bar-Jesus, also known as Elymas, which means magician, sorcerer, enlightened one. This man was evil and immediately tried to persuade the pro-consul to keep Paul and Barnabas from having any influence.

The Holy Spirit fills Paul, who vigorously confronts Elymas, calling him a child of the devil, evil, full of deceit and trickery, trying to twist the truth and right. Looking straight at him Paul says, "You will be blind for a season." Immediately it was so. Mist and darkness blinded Elymas, so he needed someone to take his hand and lead him. It was unusual for Paul to do something like this. This may have no bearing, but remember Paul himself was stricken blind as a result of his persecution of Christ and His Church.

We might hope Elymas would come to the same end, repent of his evil ways, and come to faith in Christ. There is nothing to indicate that happened. We don't know if the blindness was permanent. But the proconsul does respond. He sees what has happened and believes in Christ.

I think a careful reading of the text indicates it was not so much the act of punishment on Elymas but the teaching he had heard from Paul about Christ that brought him to faith. But, either way, the end result for Sergius Paulus was to come to faith in Christ and that is most certainly a good end result.