Keeping the Path Straight

Sunday, January 28, 2024

Introductory information

In the last lesson we covered the opening of Act 13 where Barnabas and Saul were sent by the church in Antioch as missionaries to the island of Cyprus (1)

This had been directly by the Holy Spirit and confirmed by the church

They had left and taken Mark with them, who had journeyed with them since Jerusalem

READ

Question to consider as we read:

How do you know when the enemy is speaking?

Acts 13:5–12 CSB

5 Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant. 6 When they had traveled the whole island as far as Paphos, they came across a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (that is the meaning of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul—also called Paul—filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at Elymas 10 and said, “You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery, you son of the devil and enemy of all that is right. Won’t you ever stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord? 11 Now, look, the Lord’s hand is against you. You are going to be blind, and will not see the sun for a time.” Immediately a mist and darkness fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 Then, when he saw what happened, the proconsul believed, because he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

EXAMINE

What are the key points in this passage?

#1 | The governor (Sergius Paulus) wants to hear the Gospel

Acts 13:7 ...Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God.

The Gospel is straight forward and clear

2 Corinthians 4:2 “...we have renounced secret and shameful things, not acting deceitfully or distorting the word of God, but commending ourselves before God to everyone’s conscience by an open display of the truth.”

God doesn't make it hard for people to understand - He wants people to know the truth (1 Timothy 2:3-4 & Romans 10:8-9)

#2 | Bar-Jesus (Elymas) tries to turn the governor away from the Gospel

Acts 13:8 But Elymas the sorcerer (that is the meaning of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

Bar-Jesus’ actions were a typical example of the work of the devil (2)

2 Corinthians 11:3 “But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds may be seduced from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”

The devil is always trying to lie, distort, and over-complicate the words of God in order to misdirect, confuse, and blind people

#3 | The Holy Spirit judges Bar-Jesus (Elymas) (3) and the governor is saved

Paul’s words highlight the huge difference between how God speaks and how the devil speaks

Acts 13:9–10 But Saul—also called Paul—filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at Elymas 10 and said, “You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery, you son of the devil and enemy of all that is right. Won’t you ever stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord?”

God loves truth, simplicity, and clarity

The devil loves to obscure, complicate, and confuse our understanding

From this encounter we can learn to differentiate between God’s voice and the enemy’s voice

God’s voice sounds like a person laying things out straight and clear

The catch is that you may not alway like what He is saying

The enemy’s voice sounds like a person who is speaks in “technicalities” - full of schemes and loop-holes

The catch is that you may often like what he is saying

From Paul’s example we are exhorted to confront confusion and misdirection as God’s Spirit leads

As children of God, we have an obligation to confront all attempts to mislead people from the Truth of God

Furthermore, love for others compels us to advocate for their chance to hear God’s Truth

APPLY

Explore and apply the passage with these questions:

[These questions must be focused, yet very open-ended. Allow the conversation to go where people take it - we want to encourage everyone to share and explore the topics of the passage. You don’t have to ask all these questions. Sometimes a group may only get through one or two questions. Select the questions you think are right for the conversation. Then, as it comes time to wrap up, refocus the conversation to “land the plane.”]

What stood out to you in this story?

How can we learn to identify when confusion and misdirection is happening?

How can we know when we are right in confronting someone/something?

Where we want to “land the plane”

We must learn to 1) discern when the devil is bringing confusion and 2) confront it with the clarity and authority that comes from the Holy Spirit

REFLECT

Prayer Points for Today

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any confusion or misdirection in our own lives, so we can see clearly to help others

Devotional Question for the Week

Sometimes we confront a situation, not out of love, but out of defensiveness. Can you tell the difference? How might you need to humble yourself, so you can learn to confront in a way that pleases God and serves people?

FOOTNOTES

Cyprus was among Paul’s first destinations during his first missionary journey with Barnabas and John Mark. Perhaps it was chosen because Barnabas hailed from Cyprus and would have had connections there (Acts 4:36). Paul and his companions first arrived at the eastern port city of Salamis, where they preached to the Jews in various synagogues (Acts 13:5). The city of Salamis was of such prominence in the Roman era that the main roads converged on it as opposed to the capital city of Paphos (Nielsen, The Roads of Ancient Cyprus, 230; Schnabel, Early Christian Mission, 1079–80). After leaving Salamis, Paul and his companions traveled “throughout the whole island” before coming to the city of Paphos, which remains a coastal city on the southwest corner of the island (Acts 13:6 NIV). At Paphos, they were confronted by a Jewish/pagan sorcerer known as Bar-Jesus, or Elymas, who advised the local proconsul. The location of a proconsul in Paphos would make sense, as the capital city was also the seat of the Roman administration over the province (Gill, “Paul’s Travels through Cyprus,” 222–26). Early Roman itineraries indicate that this week-long journey probably covered some 115 Roman miles, which would equal out to around 180 kilometers (Gill, “Paul’s Travels through Cyprus,” 221–26). Eric P. Costanzo, “Cyprus,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

In Aramaic, Bar-Jesus means “Son of Jesus.” But Paul told him that instead of being a son of Jesus (“Jesus” means “Yahweh is salvation”), Elymas was a child (huie, lit., “son”) of the devil. Paul lashed at him with strong language: Bar-Jesus was an enemy of everything that is right (lit., “righteousness”), he was full of … deceit (dolou) and trickery (rhadiourgias, “unscrupulous mischief, work that easily deceives,” used only here in the NT) and perverting the right ways of the Lord. Sorcery, exercising power by the help and control of demons, had led him into all kinds of deception of others and distortion of the truth. The occult is indeed dangerous. Stanley D. Toussaint, “Acts,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 388.

The name Elymas is something of a problem. Probably it is a Semitic word meaning “sorcerer,” which was given or taken by him as a nickname. Stanley D. Toussaint, “Acts,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 388.