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| Acts 13:4-12 Prevailing through Opposition |
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Each Christ follower is given the mission of continuing the point of need ministry of Jesus. The Holy Spirit has been given to direct and empower the Christ follower. Opposition will be real and sometimes very intense, but the message of Christ will prevail and many will believe.
Acts Chapter 13 tells us that God had a mission for Saul and Barnabas to take the message of Christ to the “end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). It would not be an easy mission, but it would be a rewarding mission and the Kingdom of God would grow as a result. In obedience to the Holy Spirit, the church at Antioch sent them out (Acts 13:1-3).
So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. 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. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 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? 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. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
(Acts 13:4-12 ESV)
God’s Word emphasizes that Saul and Barnabas were sent out from the church in Antioch (Acts 13:1-3) by the Holy Spirit. Instead of doing what they wanted to do, they were doing what God called them to do. It would have been a much easier life to stay within the confines and comforts of the Antioch church, but the good news of Jesus Christ is to be taken wherever the Holy Spirit directs. And when the Holy Spirit directs, you can rest assured that He is busy on the other end preparing ears to hear the gospel and hearts to believe it.
Saul and Barnabas obeyed the direction of the Holy Spirit. They sailed to Cyprus which was where Barnabas was born and grew up (Acts 4:36). It’s in this paragraph of Scripture that Luke begins to refer to Saul as Paul. Saul is a Hebrew name and is Paul in Greek. From this point forward in the book of Acts, Saul would be referred to as Paul as his ministry turns to the Gentiles.
Paul and Barnabas started preaching God’s Word in the synagogues where the Jews knew the Scriptures and had the background to be able to understand the gospel. John Mark joined them on this first missionary trip. They preached the gospel with its full message of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and the hope of His future return. The proconsul was the governor that was appointed by the Roman Senate. He obviously had heard about the message these men were preaching and summoned for them to come to him. The Holy Spirit had prepared him in advance and he was hungry for the Word of God.
Being sent by God does not mean the assignment will be easy. It does mean that the Holy Spirit will help us along the way. Opposition to the message of Christ came from a magician who was connected with the governor and did not want him to receive and believe the message of Christ. But, Paul was full of the Holy Spirit and spoke the words that the Holy Spirit gave him that exposed Elymas for what he was. The words came from the Holy Spirit and not from the mind or the emotions and Elymas experienced God’s righteous judgment as he was blinded. God’s judgment is mixed with His mercy and Elymas would be blind for only “a time”. Hopefully during this time, he turned to God, repented and became a Christ follower as Paul did when he was blinded by God (Acts 9).
The governor believed the message of Christ that he heard preached. He was more astonished by the message of Jesus preached than he was by the judgment on Elymas. Paul and Barnabas obeyed the Holy Spirit. They went. They preached the gospel. The governor believed.
Beloved, the gospel is powerful! Jesus came into our world and lived an example for us to follow. He died for our sins. He defeated death, hell and the grave. He ascended back to the right hand of the Father, but has sent us the Holy Spirit to empower us to continue His point of need ministry until He returns. Run from evil and keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. Be quick to obey the leading of the Holy Spirit. It will not be an easy life to live, but it will be rewarding and the Kingdom of God will grow as the result. You will prevail through all opposition as you follow Jesus Christ.
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