September 13, 2024
Some believers have the opinion that salvation is the end goal of God’s plan for our lives. In truth, salvation is the beginning. Every Christian is called by God to be a witness and to view themselves as sent by God into the spiritual darkness of the world. We are set apart for God’s purposes.
Acts 12 describes Herod’s persecution of the Church, but Acts 13 shifts the focus from Jerusalem and Samaria to the establishment of the missionary church in Antioch. Because of gifted spiritual leaders, Antioch became a sending church. Luke highlights the gifted leadership of prophets and teachers within the church. Barnabas was a former Levite familiar with the ministry and sacrifices in the temple in Jerusalem. We possess no knowledge of Simeon other than his nickname “Niger.” He may have been a native of North Africa. Lucius was from Cyrene in North Africa, which is modern Libya. Manaen, whose name means “comforter,” was a close associate of Herod Antipas — the man who ordered the death of John the Baptist (Mark 6:14–29).
As the church at Antioch worshipped the Lord and fasted, the Spirit commanded them to set apart Barnabas and Saul (Paul) for church planting. Perhaps because his name is mentioned first, Barnabas may have been the leader of the missions team. The method of setting apart the missionary team was the symbolic act of laying on of hands.
Barnabas and Paul sailed to the island of Cyprus, perhaps because Barnabas was a native of Cyprus (Acts 4:36). They proclaimed the Word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John, better known as John Mark and the author of the Gospel of Mark, also served on the missionary team. The team had men with varied personalities and spiritual gifts. They experienced a dramatic encounter with a sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus. Bar-Jesus had influence on Sergius Paulus, the Roman proconsul on the island. Luke mentions that the Roman proconsul was an intelligent man.
The sorcerer, whose name meant Elymas, opposed the witness of Barnabas and Paul. Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit and confronted Elymas. Paul noted the nature of Elymas, the source of his powers and the goal of the false prophet. Elymus’ heart was full of deceit and trickery. Elymas’ goal was to use deceit and trickery to keep the proconsul from faith in Jesus. The source of Elymus’ power was the devil. Paul predicted that God would judge the false teacher by blinding him. The prediction of blindness occurred immediately. Instead of being a man to follow, someone had to lead Elymas by hand. His spiritual blindness was greater than the physical blindness he experienced.
Like Barnabas and Paul, we may encounter spiritual opposition as we attempt to share the gospel. The goal of the spiritual opposition is to influence people so they do not receive the gospel.
But because Paul communicated insight about the nature of Elymas, the proconsul believed and was astonished at the teaching of the Lord. The power of the gospel exceeds the power of Satan’s kingdom.
___
This lesson was written by Mark Rathel, professor at the Baptist College of Florida in Graceville, Fla., and originally published by The Baptist Paper. This study is based on the Explore the Bible curriculum from Lifeway Christian Resources.
