The first missionary journey opens with a collision. On Cyprus, the gospel meets a court magician, and the room divides between truth and trickery. A Roman proconsul wants to hear the word of God, a sorcerer tries to turn him away, and the apostle Paul—filled with the Holy Spirit—confronts the lie in a way that leaves no doubt whose word rules the moment (Acts 13:6–11). The result is not theatre, but faith: the official believes, astonished at the teaching of the Lord (Acts 13:12).
This short scene reveals a pattern that still holds. Wherever Christ is preached, there is both hunger and resistance. The Church is not naïve about this. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces that hate the light, yet those forces cannot silence the word that raised Jesus from the dead (Ephesians 6:12; Acts 4:33). In the book of Acts, God sometimes answers opposition with signs that both judge and invite repentance, and He does so to advance the gospel into new territory and to keep the Church visibly one (Hebrews 2:3–4; Acts 8:14–17). Cyprus is an early example.
Words: 2822 / Time to read: 15 minutes / Audio Podcast: 29 Minutes
Historical and Cultural Background
Cyprus lay at the eastern edge of the Mediterranean trade lanes, a place of ships and speech where Roman authority and local religion mingled in the streets. After leaving Antioch in Syria, Barnabas and Saul sailed to the island and began to proclaim the word of God in the Jewish synagogues, taking the message first to the covenant people and then outward as doors opened (Acts 13:4–5; Romans 1:16). The journey brought them across to Paphos, the seat of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a Roman governor described as intelligent and eager to hear the message (Acts 13:6–7).
It was common for rulers to keep counselors who claimed access to hidden knowledge. The world of the first century knew astrologers, magicians, and diviners who blended superstition with influence, and texts use the word “magus” to describe such figures (Daniel 2:2; Acts 8:9–11). Elymas, also called Bar-Jesus, was a Jewish false prophet who attached himself to Sergius Paulus and resisted the gospel when he saw the governor’s interest (Acts 13:6–8). His resistance was not only intellectual; it was spiritual and relational. Influence was at stake.
The setting also marks a hinge in Acts. In the very paragraph where Elymas is named, Luke writes, “Then Saul, who was also called Paul,” and from this point the apostle is called by his Roman name as his ministry moves decisively toward the Gentile world (Acts 13:9). What happens in Paphos is more than a local quarrel. It is the first clash on a journey that will carry the name of Jesus into provincial capitals and finally to Rome itself (Acts 19:21; Acts 28:16). The Lord had said the gospel would go from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth, and Cyprus sits on that path like a doorway the Spirit is opening (Acts 1:8).
The background of signs also matters. In a dispensational, grammatical-historical reading, the book of Acts records a transitional season as the risen Christ establishes His Church, confirms the apostolic witness, and gathers Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles into one body under one Spirit (Ephesians 2:14–16; Ephesians 4:4–5). Miracles in Acts authenticate the message and display the Lord’s rule over darkness, not as a spectacle to be repeated on demand, but as wise works suited to the advance of the gospel and the unity of the Church (Hebrews 2:3–4). The blindness that falls on Elymas resembles the blindness that once fell on Saul, but in each case the sign serves the Lord’s purpose in that hour (Acts 9:8–9; Acts 13:11).
Biblical Narrative
Luke sets the scene with crisp strokes. Barnabas and Saul traverse the island “until they came to Paphos,” where they meet “a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus,” attached to the proconsul Sergius Paulus (Acts 13:6–7). The governor “sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God,” but Elymas “opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith” (Acts 13:7–8). Opposition often takes the form of diversion. The heart leans toward truth, and another voice strives to pull it away.
Paul’s response is direct. “Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, ‘You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?’” (Acts 13:9–10). The language shocks because it names the spiritual reality without diplomatic gloss. To distort the straight paths of the Lord is not a neutral mistake; it is active war against what is right (Isaiah 40:3–5; Acts 13:10).
Paul then announces a judgment that mirrors the inner condition. “Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun” (Acts 13:11). Immediately “mist and darkness” come over Elymas, and he gropes about seeking someone to lead him by the hand (Acts 13:11). The sign is not random. Blindness in Scripture often speaks of spiritual darkness, a refusal or inability to see the truth until God opens the eyes (Isaiah 42:6–7; 2 Corinthians 4:3–4). Here the outward state exposes the inward one.
The effect on the proconsul is decisive. “When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord” (Acts 13:12). The sentence is carefully balanced. He saw the sign, but he was astonished at the teaching. Miracles in Acts support the message instead of replacing it. The governor receives the word that Elymas opposed, and the gospel takes root in a Roman heart at the first stop of a Gentile mission (Acts 13:12). The Lord had promised to open doors that no one can shut, and in Paphos He did (Revelation 3:8).
The scene also participates in a pattern that Luke traces elsewhere. When the word goes forth, some believe, some oppose, and God vindicates His messengers in ways that protect the flock and further the mission (Acts 14:1–3; Acts 19:8–10). The Church reads these accounts not to script each response but to learn the Lord’s ways. He is patient, He is holy, and He is sovereign in the timing and manner of His interventions (Romans 2:4; Isaiah 46:10).
Theological Significance
Elymas represents real, personal opposition to the truth. Scripture says our struggle is against “the powers of this dark world and… the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms,” a conflict that plays out through people and institutions in history (Ephesians 6:12). The sorcerer’s effort to turn Sergius Paulus from faith is not merely career protection; it is participation in a deeper resistance to the Lord and His Christ (Psalm 2:1–2). The gospel does not enter a vacuum. It advances into contested space, and the Church must be awake to that reality.
Paul’s rebuke teaches that opposing God’s straight paths is wicked, and naming it so is sometimes necessary. The apostle calls Elymas a child of the devil and an enemy of all that is right, words that echo Jesus’ own truth-telling to those who resisted Him (John 8:44). Such speech is not license for harshness. It is the rare, Spirit-filled clarity that protects a soul under pressure and a flock at risk (Acts 13:9–10; Acts 20:28–31). Discernment distinguishes between honest questions that need patient answers and malicious distortion that needs a firm, public no (Titus 1:10–11).
The temporary blindness that falls on Elymas shows both judgment and mercy. Paul says it will be “for a time,” language that leaves the door open for repentance (Acts 13:11). In this the sign resembles Paul’s own experience on the Damascus road, when a light flashed, he fell to the ground, and “for three days he was blind” until a disciple laid hands on him and something like scales fell from his eyes (Acts 9:8–18). Judgment that exposes our condition can be the severe kindness that leads to change, for “God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance” even when it arrives through hard means (Romans 2:4). Whether Elymas turned we are not told, and that silence is part of the warning.
The episode also clarifies the role of signs in the apostolic age. Hebrews says the great salvation “was confirmed to us by those who heard” and that God testified to it “by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will” (Hebrews 2:3–4). In a dispensational framework that honors progressive revelation, these works serve to authenticate the apostolic message and to knit the people of God together as the gospel crosses ethnic and geographic lines (Acts 10:44–48; Acts 15:8–11). They are not commodities to be bought, nor techniques to be mastered, but sovereign acts given to magnify Christ and propel His word (Acts 8:18–20; John 16:14).
Sergius Paulus’s response shows how signs and teaching relate. He believes because he is astonished at the teaching of the Lord, even as the sign removes a stumbling block and exposes a deceiver (Acts 13:12). Faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ (Romans 10:17). The Church honors the Spirit’s unusual works wherever He chooses to do them, but she never swaps the gospel for spectacle. The center is the Word, crucified and risen, by which God rescues people from the dominion of darkness and brings them into the kingdom of His beloved Son (Colossians 1:13–14).
Finally, the narrative hints at the larger turning of the mission. After this scene Luke consistently calls the apostle by his Gentile name and highlights a ministry that plants churches among the nations (Acts 13:9; Acts 14:21–23). Israel’s Scriptures promised a light for the Gentiles, and in the book of Acts that promise stretches into the streets of Roman cities as the Lord opens hearts to respond (Isaiah 49:6; Acts 16:14). Elymas cannot stop what God has decreed. “My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please,” the Lord says, and in Cyprus that purpose included the salvation of a governor at the edge of empire (Isaiah 46:10).
Spiritual Lessons and Application
Expect opposition, and do not be surprised by it. When the gospel draws near, some will seek to pull listeners away. That is not evidence that we are doing something wrong; it is evidence that the word is confronting the world as it always has (Acts 13:8; John 3:19–20). Resist the temptation to make peace with distortion for the sake of acceptance. Jesus said the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and few find it, yet He walks that way with us and strengthens us to stand (Matthew 7:13–14; Matthew 28:20).
When the moment requires it, speak with Spirit-given clarity. Paul’s words are not casual anger. He is filled with the Holy Spirit and speaks for the sake of a soul on the threshold of faith and for the sake of the gospel’s honor (Acts 13:9–10). There is a time for gentle correction and a time for open rebuke; wisdom in Scripture knows both, and love seeks the good of the hearer in either case (2 Timothy 2:24–26; Proverbs 27:5–6). Pray for the discernment to tell the difference and for the courage to act accordingly.
Trust the sovereignty of God when opposition rises. Elymas tried to turn the proconsul from the faith; God turned the proconsul to the faith, and no hand could stop Him (Acts 13:8; Acts 13:12). The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing but fulfills the purposes of His heart through all generations (Psalm 33:10–11). This confidence does not make us passive. It makes us steady. We sow and speak and pray, knowing that the outcome rests in the One who raises the dead and opens blind eyes (2 Corinthians 4:6; Acts 16:14).
Hold signs and wonders in their proper place. When God grants them, rejoice and let them point to Christ; when He does not, rejoice that your names are written in heaven and keep preaching the word (Luke 10:20; Acts 13:12; Acts 14:3). Do not hunger for power divorced from the cross. The Spirit’s great work is to glorify Jesus, and He draws hearts not to personalities or platforms but to the Lamb who was slain and now lives (John 16:14; Revelation 5:9–10). Where the message centers on Christ crucified and risen, the Church is safe; where fascination with power eclipses the Lord, the Church is at risk.
Read the sign of blindness as a call to examine your own sight. There is a way to be religious and yet blind to the righteousness of God, attempting to establish our own and refusing to submit to Christ (Romans 10:2–3). If Scripture and faithful voices expose a pattern that twists the straight paths of the Lord, do not harden your heart. Confess the truth and ask God to open your eyes. He delights to give sight to the blind and to lead those who sit in darkness into the light of life (Psalm 146:8; John 8:12).
Keep the mission central. After the confrontation in Paphos, Peter and John are not in view; Paul and Barnabas continue the journey, preaching in city after city, strengthening the disciples and appointing elders in each church (Acts 13:13–14; Acts 14:21–23). The story is not about Elymas. It is about the Lord building His Church and the gates of Hades not prevailing against it (Matthew 16:18). Let opposition sharpen your focus rather than scatter it. Pray for those who resist, protect those who are seeking, and keep the word of the cross front and center (1 Corinthians 1:18).
Even in judgment, remember mercy. Paul announced blindness “for a time,” and Scripture leaves open whether Elymas turned while he stumbled in the dark (Acts 13:11). The Lord who judged also judged Saul and then made him His apostle to the Gentiles, proving that grace can reach even the fiercest opponent (1 Timothy 1:13–16). Do not write anyone off. Pray that those who set themselves against the truth would be granted repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and that they would come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil (2 Timothy 2:25–26).
Conclusion
The meeting in Paphos puts the spiritual conflict in plain view. A governor listens. A sorcerer resists. An apostle speaks with the Spirit’s clarity. Judgment falls, not to entertain but to expose, and the word prevails as a Roman official believes the teaching about the Lord (Acts 13:9–12). The Church learns again that the gospel walks into rooms where other voices hold sway, that God is not outmaneuvered, and that the straight paths of the Lord are not to be bent by deceit or denied by threats (Acts 13:10; Proverbs 3:6).
For us the call is simple and demanding. Preach Christ with patience and courage. Expect opposition without surrendering to fear. Correct deception without becoming harsh. Trust the Lord to do what only He can do—open eyes, steady hearts, and save sinners by the power of the cross. The same hand that humbled Elymas held Paul and Barnabas as they set sail for the next harbor and will hold us as we carry the word into ours (Acts 13:13; Isaiah 41:10).
“You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand… When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord. (Acts 13:10–12)
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