Paul's Pattern of Ministry (Part 1: Cyprus)- Acts 13:1–12

I. The Setting of Paul’s Ministry- Acts 11:19–30; 13:1–3

Return from Jersualem journey (Acts 11:19–30)

A. The Land Itself- Cyprus (3rd largest island in the Mediterranean)

There is a significant population of Jewish people here (Acts 13:5 “synagogues”)

Salamis and Paphos are two among many cities on this island. They journey through the island of about 106 miles to Paphos, the capital of this province.

B. Home of Barnabas (Acts 4:36)

C. The People Sent

Prophets and teachers (Eph. 4:11)

Barnabas, Simeon (Niger), Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, and Saul (Paul)

Manaen

“But what a commentary on the mystery and sovereignty of divine grace that, of these two foster-brothers, one should attain honour as a Christian leader, while the other should be best known for his shameful behavior ain the killing of John the Baptist and in the trial of Jesus!” (F.F. Bruce, NICNT: Acts, 261)

“What is most notable about these five is their racial, cultural, and social diversity. Two are from northern Africa, one is from Cyprus, and the other is from Cilicia (Tarsus). Only one is from the Holy Land and not one is from Antioch or Syria. One is clearly from the upper class society of Palestine, while the others are from the Hellenistic Diaspora.” (Clinton Arnold, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Acts, 333)

Ministry takes place in almost every conceivable setting

Ministry involves our “Jerusalem” (cf. Acts 1:8)

Ministry takes place in and by the Church

II. The Standard of Paul’s Ministry- Acts 13:4–12

Now that we have established the setting of Paul’s ministry, we can now examine the standard of Paul’s ministry. This will be how Paul operates without exception through the rest of the book of Acts. There may be different approaches depending upon the various settings, but for the most part, this is how Paul will conduct ministry for the remainder of his life on earth.

A. General Standards of Paul’s Ministry

Paul discusses the Gospel’s approach, at least humanly speaking (that is, bound to the people for whom the Gospel matters) in Romans 1:16. It is to the Jewish people first and then to the Gentiles. This pattern is, no doubt, logical, when one considers the unique place the Jewish people have enjoyed throughout human history. It was through the Jewish people that Messiah would come.

1. Preaching to the Jewish people- Rom. 1:16; Acts 13:5

Paul goes to the synagogues, a demonstration of the large population of Jewish people on Cyprus. We will not dwell long on this point, as further investigation into the book of Acts will yield more evidence of Paul’s interactions. In general, the liturgy is quite similar to the Church’s practice (which should not surprise us). Scripture (O.T.) would be read, prayers would be offered, and then exhortations from the Scriptures would follow.

2. Preaching to the Gentiles- Rom. 1:16; Acts 13:6

After Paul ministered to the Jewish people, seeking to present them to the Messiah, he would turn his attention to the Gentiles (anyone who was not Jewish). We will see some specifics now.

B. Specific Standards of Paul’s Ministry

Paul and Barnabas, and John Mark, meet a Jewish man, Bar-Jesus, a magician also known as Elymas, and the proconsul Sergius Paulus. Let’s spend a few moments examining how Paul handles this situation.

1. Paul & Company met with the governmental leader- 13:7

Paul was invited to speak to Sergius Paulus, the leader of the area. And Paul took this opportunity to share the Gospel.

We need to be aware of opportunities to share the Gospel with people that God brings into our paths. Whether at a doctor’s office, or in line at a grocery store, we need to be aware of the people that God brings into our paths and share the Gospel with them.

Let me also say that they were already living out lives of obedience. The two go hand-in-hand.

2. Paul & Company met opposition- 13:6, 8

They meet a guy named Bar-Jesus (son of Jesus), also known as Elymas the magician, who “opposed them.” The idea here is that Elymas opposed them through speech and action. It was not enough to counter their message, but he sought to physically prevent Paul from sharing the Gospel.

It was probably not an outright violent act, but presumably he stood between Paul and Sergius Paulus. Elymas’ goal was pointed, as Luke records, “seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.”

He did not want Sergius Paulus to believe. We see this in 2 Timothy 4:4 “and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

We need to remember that we live in a world system that is hostile to God, with people that are hostile to God, and a devil that is hostile to God. Paul and his company met opposition, and we will, too.

3. Paul & Company confronted sin- 13:9–11

Paul responds to this opposition. Here we must be careful and consider what Luke records. It is absolutely paramount that we respond to opposition in a biblical and God-honoring way.

First, note that the very first description of Paul is that he was full of the Holy Spirit. To be filled with the Spirit, in the Bible, demonstrates an individual under the control of the Holy Spirit. This is not a jumping-around filling, or barking, or speaking in tongues, but a calm-controlled-and-Spirit-empowered life that bears the fruit of the Spirit (cf. Gal. 5:22–23; Eph. 5:18).

Second, note that Paul “looked intently,” or stared straight at Elymas. He did not goof around, he focused on the seriousness of Elymas’ sin.

Third, Paul saw “with spiritual eyes,” and was able to discern the work of the devil. He refers to Elymas with four different descriptions:

son of the devil

enemy of all righteousness

full of all deceit

full of all villany

The son of the devil connects the magician back to the seed of the serpent, the worker of iniquity. The enemy of all righteousness places him against the God of heaven, as does his opposition to the truth (deceit). He is also full of villany, wicked actions, etc.

The man was a terrible sinner, and the apostle Paul boldly declares the truth. He is still filled with the Spirit, by the way, and then he pronounces a most just punishment. Just as Elymas was trying to blind Sergius Paulas to the truth (2 Cor. 4:4 “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”), so, too, Paul declares Elymas to be temporarily blinded.

They were not afraid to confront sin when necessary, and they offer us a wonderful example of how to handle such situations. Notice they did not run into the courts and challenge Elymas to a battle, they simply responded to the threat against the Gospel with godliness. Oh how we need the Holy Spirit to help us!

What happens as a result?

4. Paul & Company reaped the harvest- 13:12

Sergius Paulas believes the Word of God after seeing it authenticated by this miracle. Miracles were given by God to authenticate the Gospel (cf. 1 Cor. 14:22 with tongues). We cannot get into all the details this evening, but it is amazing that as the Scriptures were being given to the church, the miraculous gifts slowly passed from the scene.