Acts 13: 1-12

(Acts 13: 1-12)

And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.  And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:  Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.  But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,  And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?  And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord. And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.  And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus: Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.  But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.  Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,  And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?  And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.  Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.

 

The Church of Antioch had a group of leaders called prophets and teachers, five of them: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Rugio the Cyrene, Manaen, the younger brother of Herod, the Bunbon King, and Saul. Barnabas was an Orthodox Jew from Gubro. And there was a Simeon called Niger, which can be presumed to be a black convert.

And a man named Rugio belonged to the group of leaders of the Antioch Church, a Cyrene, who was from what is now Libya, Africa. Manaen has the formula that it is the younger brother of Herod, the king of bonbon. He was raised and raised with Herod from an early age, and although he may have been raised in an economically and socially aristocratic environment, he comes from an unjust ruling class. Saul was also one who severely persecuted the early church.

Looking into the face of the leaders of Antioch Church, the racial background, origin, status, and class were so different that there was inevitably doubt that one church community could be achieved through unity. However, beyond this difference, they and their churches were united under one vision, and they were able to do missionary work well. The power that made this possible was the gospel. Although they were living different lives from different backgrounds, they found the same thing, that Christ is their true truth and treasure.

The Gospel changed them into a completely different life, and when they found the treasure of Christ, they lived reliably on the Holy Spirit. Through the grace of the Gospel and those who thoroughly hold the Gospel, the Antioch Church has grown and matured further as a church of unity in Christ.

The members of the Antioch Church formed unity around the leadership group, serving the Lord, fasting and praying. Then they heard a voice from the Holy Spirit. It was said to set up Barnabas and Saul separately. After fasting and praying again, they laid their hands on the two and sent them off for mission. The two men sent by the Holy Spirit first went to the island of Kubro and preached the word of God in Salami, one of the island cities. And while the two were crossing the island and preaching the gospel, they finally reached the city of Paphos. But there they met a man named Bayesus, a false prophet and magician.

At that time, the city of Paphos was famous for worshiping the goddess Venus, who was synonymous with lewdness and immorality. At the time when superstition prevailed, most of the high-ranking people living there had personal magicians. These magicians were those who made money by tricking people with divination or mystical magic. False Prophet The magician Baresus was the personal magician of the governor, C. Paul, who was under the command of the governor, who gave false prophecies and enjoyed considerable wealth and power. A crisis came to him.『 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God..』 The governor, attended by the magician, called Barnabas and Paul to hear the word of God. It seems that if the governor believed in Christianity through this opportunity, the magician's own wealth and power would end. The magician then tried to disbelieve the governor against Barnabas and Saul. In response, Paul responded:

『 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,  And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?  And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. 』 Soon afterward, fog and darkness covered him, and the magician grope, looking for someone to take his hand and lead him. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Paul overpowered the magician by blinding his eyes so that he could no longer obstruct the gospel. Then, the governor, who was watching all these scenes, saw what happened and came to believe in Jesus, and he was amazed at Jesus' teaching. This event also shows the power of the gospel.

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