A CHILD OF THE DEVIL

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.

They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 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? 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 amazed at the teaching about the Lord.

Acts 12:24-25, 13:1-3

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Saul was a devout Jew and persecutor of Christians. Though he thought he could see the right way of things, he was really spiritually blind to the Gospel truth grounded in Jesus, the very Son of God. He needed his spiritual blindness cured but to get there, we know that Jesus took away his physical sight first as He challenged Saul on the road to Damascus. Unable to see for three days, Saul prayed and fasted, seeing how a man names Ananias would come and restore his sight. On the third day, the vision came to life and with his eyesight restored, Saul dedicated the rest of his life to the service of Jesus and the cause of the Gospel.

Fast forward to today’s passage as Saul has began his first missionary journey, accompanied by Barnabas and John who we learned at the end of chapter 12 also went by the name of Mark.

The scriptures tell us that the three men were being led by the Holy Spirit, their divine version of GPS. They were led from Antioch to Seleucia where they caught a boat ride to Cyprus, arriving at Salamis. From there, they traveled through the entire island until they came to the city of Paphos.

There, we read where Saul, Barnabas, and John Mark met two men, one who was intelligent and interested in God, the other someone who worked against the Lord.

The latter was a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus but also known by the name Elymas. Of interest, the two names contradict themselves in regard to literal meaning. Bar-Jesus was translated “son of the Savior” while Elymas meant sorcerer or magician, occupations that specialized in the occult and dark forces.

The scriptures tell us that Elymas/Bar-Jesus was an “attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus”. A proconsul was a person who carried out the role of a consul without actually being one. They were officers who would oversee civil affairs in a province after being appointed by a senate. In our passage for today, we find the proconsul send for Barnabas and Saul “because he wanted to hear the word of God”. He was excited to receive instruction but there was only one issue.

For we read where Elymas interfered and sought to oppose Barnabas and Saul, attempting to turn Sergius Paulus from his faith. It was a huge mistake.

We know this because Saul, who from this point on would be known as Paul, looks Elymas straight in the eyes and says the following, fueled by the power of the Holy Spirit:

“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.”

I don’t know about you but there aren’t too many worse things a person could be called than a child of the devil. But Elymas had earned the title through his actions which Paul highlighted well. He was an enemy of everything right, just like Satan. He was full of all kinds of deceit and trickery, just like Satan. And he perverted the right ways of the Lord, just like Satan.

Yes, Elymas was an adversary of the Lord and so the Lord did what he did to His adversaries, He gained victory over them. In Elymas’ case, he lost his sight, a penalty that Paul was all too familiar with and I wonder what was going through his mind as he watched “mist and darkness” immediately envelop Elymas, leaving him groping about while “seeking someone to lead him by the hand”. I can’t help but wonder if Paul may have hoped that Elymas would change his ways and come to follow Jesus, just as he had.

So what happened to the proconsul with Elymas out of the way?

The scriptures tell us he was left awestruck by what he had witnessed, believing in the Lord and left amazed at the teaching he received. That day, he saw that he was truly a child of the Lord, the polar opposite of where Elymas was.

So where does this leave us today?

I believe we’re being asked to consider who we’re most like in this account.

For if we oppose God and turn toward the occult and sorcery found in our world, then we, like Elymas, can bear the title “child of the devil”.

But, if we turn from Satan and fully seek the Lord in all we do, then we can have the honor of being known as children of the Lord Most High.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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