This past Sunday we studied about God’s power to uphold His Word. In Acts 13:1-12 the Word of the Lord is vindicated over against the pretend authorities of this world. The result is astonishment and faith in the Word of the Gospel.

 Acts 13 begins with a community of believers in Antioch. Some are from North Africa, and some are from a tiny island in the Mediterranean called Cyprus. Although from different countries they are united in their commitment to serve Christ together in the spread of the Good News. The purpose of the believing community is to be a living witness to the power of the risen Christ.

The Scripture continues that the early Church community sent Paul and Barnabus off from Antioch to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. They arrive at an island called Cyprus in the Mediterranean about 60 miles off the coast. After preaching in the Jewish synagogues, they meet a Jewish magician named Bar-Jesus, “son of Jesus,” a common name at the time. He claims to be able to see into the future possibly through contact with the dead. Mixing the teachings of Israel with belief in magic was common at the time. This magician persuades the local Roman authority that he is an authority to be respected. It was common for Roman leaders to consult cult people about various major decisions to be made. The Scripture makes it a point to describe this Roman official as “a man of intelligence.”

The problem is that this Bar-Jesus sharply stands against Paul and the message of salvation in Jesus Christ. The Scripture records here one of the sharpest rebukes in the entire New Testament. Paul says to this man opposing the Gospel, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?” What happened next? Following the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira in Chapter 5 and King Herod in Chapter 12 you might expect this sharpest of rebukes to end with Bar-Jesus dropping dead. However, that’s not what happens.

Instead, by the power of the risen Christ it says that mist and darkness fell upon Bar-Jesus and he was unable to see for a time much like the Apostle Paul was stricken blind on the road during his own conversion. The result is that the Roman official believes and is astonished at the teaching of the Lord. The Greek word there for teaching is “didache,” the same word used in Acts 2:42 to summarize the Gospel message preached by the Apostles. This whole story is about God upholding the teaching of the Gospel. God upholds his Word on strange islands, before strange magicians claiming to know the future and before strange government officials who think wisdom is trusting in the occult.

Here there are 5 different references to the message of the Gospel: verse 5 “they proclaimed the Word of God,” verse 6 they preached throughout the whole island, verse 7 “Sergius Paulus…sought to hear the word of God,” verse 8 “the faith,” verse 12 “he is astonished at the teaching of the Lord.” It is the mission of the Holy Spirit to uphold the Word of God in difficult times. It does not depend on the smarts, influence, or power of believers. How encouraging is it to know that the Gospel message has a power on its own that does not depend on me? The believer only needs to trust God’s power to defend and vindicate His Word. Oh, that we would speak God’s Word to one another and to our world…and watch the Spirit’s power work!