to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.
In these verses, we have,
I. A general account of the coming of Barnabas and Saul to the famous island of Cyprus; and perhaps thitherward they steered their course, because Barnabas was a native of that country, (ch. 4. 36.) and he was willing they should have the first fruits of his labours, pursuant to his new commission. Observe,
1. Their being sent forth by the Holy Ghost was the great thing that encouraged them in this undertaking, v. 4. If the Holy Ghost send them forth, he will go along with them, strengthen them, carry them on in their work, and give them success; and then they fear no colours, but can cheerfully venture upon a stormy sea from Antioch, which was now to them a quiet harbour.
2. They came to Seleucia, the sea-port town opposite to Cyprus, from thence crossed the sea to Cyprus; and in that island the first city they came to, was, Salamis, a city on the east side of the island, (v. 5.) and when they had sown good seed there, thence they went onward through the isle, (v. 6.) till they came to Paphos, which lay on the western coast.
3. They preached the word of God, wherever they came, in the synagogues of the Jews; so far were they from excluding them, that they gave them the preference, and so left those among them, who believed not, inexcusable; they would have gathered them, but they would not. They did not act clandestinely, nor preach the Messiah to others unknown to them, but laid their doctrine open to the censure of the rulers of their synagogues, who might, if they had any thing to say, object against it. Nor would they have acted separately, but in concert with them, if they had not driven them out from them, and from their synagogues.
4. They had John to their minister; not their servant in common things, but their assistant in the things of God; either to prepare their way in places where they designed to come, or to carry on their work in places where they had begun it, or to converse familiarly with those to whom they preached publicly, and explain things to them; and such a one might be many ways of use to them, especially in a strange country.
II. A particular account of their encounter with Elymas the sorcerer, whom they met with at Paphos, where the governor resided; a place famous for a temple built to Venus there, thence called Paphia Venus; and therefore there was more than ordinary need that the Son of God should be manifested to destroy the works of the devil.
1. There the deputy, a Gentile, Sergius Paulus by name, encouraged the apostles, and was willing to hear their message. He was governor of the country, under the Roman emperor; proconsul or propraetor, such a one as we should call lord lieutenant of the island; he had the character of a prudent man, an intelligent, considerate man, that was ruled by reason, not passion or prejudice; which appeared by this, that, having a character of Barnabas and Saul, he sent for them, and desired to hear the word of God. Note, That which we hear has a tendency to lead us to God, it is prudence to desire to hear more of it. Those are wise people, however they may be ranked among the foolish of this world, who are inquisitive after the mind and will of God. Though he was a great man, and a man in authority, and the preachers of the gospel were men that made no figure, yet if they have a message from God, let him know what it is, and if it appear to be so, he is ready to receive it.
2. There Elymas, a Jew, a sorcerer, opposed them, and did all he could to obstruct their progress. This justified the apostles in turning to the Gentiles, that this Jew was so malignant against them.
(1.) This Elymas was a pretender to the gift of prophecy, a sorcerer, a false-prophet; one that would be taken for a divine, because he was skilled in the arts of divination; was a conjurer, and took on him to tell people their fortune, and to discover things lost, and probably was in league with the devil for that purpose; his name was Bar-jesus—the son of Joshua; it signifies the son of salvation; but the Syriac calls him, Bar-shoma—the son of pride; filius inflationis—the son of inflammation.
(2.) He was hanging on at court, was with the deputy of the country; it does not appear that the deputy called for him, as he did for Barnabas and Saul; but he thrust himself upon him, aiming, no doubt, to make a hand of him, and get money by him.
(3.) He made it his business to withstand Barnabas and Saul, as the magicians of Egypt, in Pharaoh's court, withstood Moses and Aaron, 2 Tim. 3. 8. He set up himself to be a messenger from heaven, and denied that they were. And thus he sought to turn away the deputy from the faith, (v. 8.) to keep him from receiving the gospel, which he saw him inclined to do. Note, Satan is in a special manner busy with great men and men in power, to keep them from being religious; because he knows that their example, whether good or bad, will have an influence upon many. And those who are any way instrumental to prejudice people against the truths and ways of Christ, are doing the devil's work.
(4.) Saul (who is here for the first time called Paul, and never after Saul) fell upon him for this with a holy indignation. Saul, who also is called Paul, v. 9. Saul was his name as he was a Hebrew, and of the tribe of Benjamin; Paul was his name as he was a citizen of Rome. Hitherto we have had him mostly conversant among the Jews, and therefore called by his Jewish name; but now when he is sent forth among the Gentiles, he is called by his Roman name, to put somewhatof a reputation upon him in the Roman cities; Paulus being a very common name among them. But, some think, he was never called Paul till now that he was instrumental in the conversion of Sergius Paulus to the faith of Christ, and that he took that name Paulus as a memorial of that victory obtained by the gospel of Christ; as among the Romans he that had conquered a country, took his denomination from it, as Germanicus, Britannicus, Africanus; or rather, Sergius Paulus himself gave him the name Paulus, in token of his favour and respect to him, as Vespasian gave his name Flavius to Josephus the Jew. Now of Paul it is said,
[1.] That he was filled with the Holy Ghost upon this occasion, filled with the holy zeal against a professed enemy of Christ, which was one of the graces of the Holy Ghost; a spirit of burning; filled with power to denounce the wrath of God against him, which was one of the gifts of the Holy Ghost: a spirit of judgment. He felt a more than ordinary fervour in his mind, as the prophet did when he was full of power by the Spirit of the Lord; (Mic. 3. 8.) and another prophet when his face was made harder than flint; (Ezek. 3. 9.) and another when his mouth was made like a sharp sword, Isa. 49. 2. What Paul said, did not come from any personal resentment, but from the strong impressions which the Holy Ghost made upon his spirit.
[2.] He set his eyes upon him, to face him down, and to shew a holy boldness, in opposition to his wicked impudence. He set his eyes upon him, as an indication that the eye of the heart-searching God was upon him, and saw through and through him; nay, that the face of the Lord was against him, Ps.
