CRASHING THE GATES

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on January 11, 2023 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: January 11, 2023 from Acts 13:4-12

Theme: The opposition of our enemy will not prevail against the God-appointed spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

Click HERE for the live-stream archive of this Bible Study.

Click HERE for the audio version of this Bible Study.

In this morning’s passage, we are given a glimpse of the first foreign missionary journey in church history. It’s the story of the third phase of our Lord’s promise in Acts 1:8—as His Spirit-empowered witnesses had taken the gospel beyond Jerusalem, and then beyond Judea and Samaria, and now out into the further reaches of the globe.

In Acts 13:1-3, we were told of how the church leaders in Antioch—under the leading of the Holy Spirit—had commissioned Barnabas and Saul to the work of missions to which they had been divinely appointed. And now, in verses 4-12, we’re told the story of how they began to fulfill that divine appointment into the reaches of what would eventually be known as Europe. But no sooner had this great mission work begun than we’re also told of how the enemy of our souls—the fierce opponent to Christ and His gospel—sought to hinder the message of the gospel from being heard and received. So; the story of the first missionary outreach into the world is also the story of the manifest effort on the part of the devil to ruin it.

As followers of Jesus today, we also share in His commission to proclaim the message of the gospel to the world. We’re to keep on working toward the fulfillment of that commission until the day of our Lord’s return. And as this passage reminds us, we also face a powerful enemy’s opposition to that work. But it also shows us that—in Christ—we’re not powerless in the face of that opposition. Later in his ministry, Paul wrote to the believers in the city of Corinth and told them;

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

As Barnabas’ and Paul’s ministry in Cyprus shows us, the opposition of our enemy will not prevail against the God-appointed spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

* * * * * * * * *

Now; in verse 2, we’re told that it was the Holy Spirit who had commanded that Barnabas and Saul be ‘separated’ unto Him for the work to which He called them. The leadership of the church did not appoint them. Rather, the leadership only recognized their calling; and prayerfully sent them in submission to the Spirit’s command.

And so; when it comes to this work, we recognize that …

1. THE HOLY SPIRIT AUTHORITATIVELY SENDS HIS MISSIONARIES (vv. 4-5).

These missionaries went out in the authority of the Holy Spirit. Verse 4 tells us;

“So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus” (v. 4).

Cyprus is a large island in the Mediterranean Sea, about 150 miles or so west of the city of Syrian Antioch. Why did they go to Cyprus? It might, in part, have been influenced by the fact that there had already been an outreach to the Jewish people on that island that resulted from the scattering of the believers from Jerusalem—as it’s described to us in Acts 11:19. It may also have been because Barnabas himself was from Cyprus—as we’re told in Acts 4:36. He naturally would have wanted to bring the good news to his own people. But to whatever degree these other reasons had a part in it all, it was ultimately because the Holy Spirit led them there.

Cyprus was a very significant place. It was a Greek island that had become annexed by the Roman empire several decades before; and it was being administrated by an officially senate-appointed Roman ‘ proconsul’ or governor. To reach the people of Cyprus would have opened the door for the gospel to go further into the Roman empire. They went first to the largest city on the eastern side of this island; and once there, they followed a very important pattern of ministry. Verse 5 tells us;

And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews (v. 5a).

In Romans 1:16, the apostle Paul wrote that the gospel was for the Jew first, and also for the Greek. And this was the pattern that Paul followed whenever he went out to any new city with one of his missionary partners. They’d always go to the synagogue and preach the gospel to the Jews first.

And notice something else. We’re told in verse 5;

They also had John as their assistant (v. 5b).

This young man John was none other than John Mark; the son of the woman Mary in whose home the church met for prayer while Peter was in prison (12:12). This young man John Mark most likely grew up in a wealthy family; since it was usually only wealthy Christians who would have a home large enough for the church to meet in. This young traveling assistant was eventually used by God to give us the Gospel of Mark. What’s more, he was also a cousin to Barnabas (see Colossians 4:10). It’s natural that they would want to take him along—perhaps to give him some ministry training experience and develop him for future service in the cause of Christ.

So then; these two missionaries—along with their assistant John Mark—traveled all across from one end of Cyprus to another. They ended up in the largest city on the southern west coast, which was the city of Paphos. Paphos was a center of the immoral worship of the pagan goddess Aphrodite—not just for Cyprus but for all the surrounding regions and coastal lands. To go there would have required Spirit-enabled courage; because it was a definite stronghold of Satan.

That’s when we learn that, when God’s missionaries faithfully go at the Spirit’s leading …

2. THE DEVIL RESPONDS WITH OPPOSITION (vv. 6-8).

Verse 6 tells us;

Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man (vv. 6-7a).

This ‘sorcerer’ (magi in the original language) had taken the name ‘Bar-Jesus’, but was also known as Elymas; and it’s possible that this name Bar-Jesus was a fake name that had been drawn from hearing about Jesus through the Jewish believers that had already preached on the island. Those early preachers in Acts 11:19 had preached to the Jews only; and this man was a Jew. Perhaps hearing about the miracle worker named Jesus, this man advertised himself as ‘the Son of Jesus’. (This, by the way, would have been the second sorcerer that the apostles encountered in the spread of the gospel—the first being the man named Simon, who Peter encountered in Antioch in Acts 8:9-24.)

Obviously, this man Elymas was a depraved man who had wandered far from the teachings of Jewish law. After all, Deuteronomy 18:9-14 forbade the Jewish people from practicing sorcery. In his apostasy, Elymas had become connected in some way to the Roman proconsul of the island—a man named Sergius Paulus; and perhaps this sorcerer had maintained that connection by offering pretend prophetic utterances. Elymas would have been jealous and protective of the position of power and influence he had developed on the proconsul.

But we’re also told that the proconsul, Sergius Paulus (who shared the same name as Paul), was an “intelligent man”.

This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith (vv. 7b-8).

This man was an instrument of the devil; and the devil was the real opponent to the potential faith of the proconsul. The devil is the one who’s always behind opposition to the gospel. In Ephesians 6:10-13, the apostle Paul wrote;

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand (Ephesians 6:10-13).

Now; it was the Holy Spirit who had sent these missionaries. And it’s in the power of the Holy Spirit that they met the opposition. And so, we’re shown that …

3. THE LORD STANDS FOR THE DEFENCE OF HIS MISSIONARIES (vv. 9-11).

We’re told in verse 9,

Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him (v. 9).

What a piercing look this must have been! It would have been a gaze that was informed by the Holy Spirit Himself. Paul (and do you notice that his name is now no longer ‘Saul’ but ‘Paul’?) finally spoke:

and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time” (vv. 10-11).

This wasn’t a matter of simple ‘name-calling’. Paul spoke under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; and declared the reality of who this man Elymas was. He also declared that the hand of the Lord (whom Elymas opposed) was now upon him in judgment. Verse 11 goes on to say;

And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand (v. 11).

This false prophet had pretended to be spiritually insightful; but now, a mist of darkness fell upon him and he sought pathetically for someone to lead him by the hand. He would have been a real-life illustration of what Jesus said in John 9:39;

“For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind” (John 9:39).

It might be that the fact that Paul said this would be “for a time” indicated that Elymas’ sight was eventually restored to him—just as Paul’s had been in Acts 9. But during that time of blindness, it must have been that Elymas did a considerable amount of thinking.

And another man who did a considerable amount of thinking—an intelligent man—was the proconsul Sergius Paulus. He must have received the immediate impression that the message that these two missionaries were declaring was more than just a man-made philosophy or religion. This shows us how, in a time of opposition from the devil …

4. THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL IS DEMONSTRATED UPON ITS OPPONENTS (v. 12).

verse 12 tells us;

Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord (v. 12).

* * * * * * * * * *

The demonstration of this power against the forces of the devil was overwhelming—so

overwhelming, in fact, that—as verse 13 tells us—John Mark quit the missionary team and headed back home. (But there are some important lessons to be learned from that story; and so, we’ll take a closer look at verse 13 next time.)

But for now; consider that some time before all of this, Jesus was walking with His disciples in another place known for its paganism. It was the place up north of Galilee that was known for its worship of false gods—just at the very edge of the land of Israel. Matthew 16 tells us;

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:13-19).

Jesus chose that very particular spot in order to make the declaration that the gates of hell would neither keep His gospel out of wherever He sends it, or lock His church in so that it doesn’t spread out.

As this first great foreign missionary story shows us, the gospel of Jesus crashes through the devil’s gates—if we will only be faithful to proclaim it at His Spirit’s call.

AE