May the mumbling commence!
In Acts, the missionary trips begin with Barnabas and Saul and switch to Paul and Barnabas. Saul becomes Paul and takes preeminence over Barnabas. Barnabas once needed to be the “man of encouragement” (the meaning of Barnabas’ name) for Saul, because of Saul’s zealous history of persecuting followers of Jesus’ way.
Saul began using a new name – a Greek name – to mark his change of focus. The zeal was still there, but that zeal was transferred to service to the Lord Jesus the Messiah. Let’s focus on the passage where this transition is made. Read from Acts chapter thirteen:
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, and for a time you will be unable 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. (Verses 6-12)
Barnabas and Saul went to the island of Cyprus, and they encountered a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus – which means son of Jesus (The Lord saves). Apparently this man was also known as Elymas (meaning sorcerer). Elymas wanted to prevent his master Sergius Paulus from accepting the word of God.
Who steps forward? Saul, who is also known as Paul, steps forward. In the way of prophets of old, Paul confronts Elymas. Paul exposes Elymas’ deceit and trickery, which perverts the ways of the Lord. Then, Paul pronounces a judgment – blindness. Blindness, for a time – isn’t that ironic. Blindness, for a time, is what helped to turn the perversion of Zeal that Paul, then known as Saul, once had.
And the judgment happened just as Paul said it would. Sergius Paulus came to know the Lord through this judgment. Deceit, trickery, and power plays have no chance to stand up against the truth of the ways of the Lord. Now, note the change in narration in the next verses of Acts thirteen:
From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak."
Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: "Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! (Verses 13-16)
At this point, Paul assumed leadership. His zeal for the Lord Jesus pushed him to the forefront. “Listen to me!” said Paul. Paul no longer needed an apologist for his former actions. Paul was building up his own reputation through glorifying the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
For the rest of this missionary journey, the actions are narrated almost exclusively as Paul and Barnabas (13:42, 46; 14:1, 3; 15:2, 22, 35, 36) – no longer as Barnabas and Saul. Only twice is Barnabas given first mention, once because of the preeminence given to Barnabas by the people of Lystra (14:15) and once by the preeminence that was given to him because of the other apostles in Jerusalem (15:12). Otherwise, Paul has claimed the mission for God as a personal mission and acts accordingly.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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