CYPRUS FRUIT
Opening Prayer
Almighty Lord God, you are worthy of honor far greater than anything I can offer you. Thank you for welcoming my words of praise. My heart’s desire is to bring you glory in all that I say and do.
Read ACTS 13:4–12
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
On Cyprus
4 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.
6 They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 7 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. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 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? 11 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. 12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
Almighty Lord God, you are worthy of honor far greater than anything I can offer you. Thank you for welcoming my words of praise. My heart’s desire is to bring you glory in all that I say and do.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might … rest on… God’s power.’1
As Barnabas and Saul are sent out on mission from Antioch, Luke emphasizes again that this is the Spirit’s work—they are ‘sent … by the Holy Spirit’ (v. 4). After going through Antioch’s seaport Seleucia, they set sail for the island of Cyprus. This prompts the question—why Cyprus? It seems that they don’t have a master plan at this point, for there is really no precedent for this sort of missionary journey. I can imagine Saul saying that he has already spent quite a lot of time in his hometown of Tarsus, at which point Barnabas suggests that they go to his home region of Cyprus.2 His cousin John Mark,3 also with family in Cyprus, is with them (v. 5), so this is actually a logical starting point.
Following family networks and relational attachments, they proclaim the Word of God in the Jewish synagogue in Salamis and then make their way across the island to Paphos. Here they encounter an important proconsul (the leader of a Roman senatorial province) named Sergius Paulus. The dramatic confrontation with his attendant Elymas, which results in temporary blindness, leads to Sergius Paulus’ faith in Jesus, ‘for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord’ (v. 12).
This early story establishes multiple missional themes—following the Spirit, social networks, signs and wonders, preaching to receptive audiences, urban centers, and a person of influence all play prominent roles. Luke does not say what happens beyond Sergius Paulus’ conversion, but the implication is that the faith of such an influential person within the entire region will ensure the continued spread of the Word throughout Cyprus.
Apply
Arguments and apologetics only go so far—what transforms people is experience of the power and love of God. How can you give people this opportunity to encounter Jesus today?
Closing prayer
Holy Spirit, lead me to those who need to hear the Good News. Work in and through me, give me words and actions that will draw others to faith in Jesus.
1 I Cor 2:4,5 2 Acts 4:36, 37 3 Col 4:10
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