Oct 25, 2017
At the church at Antioch were prophets and teachers, five of whom are named. The first one mentioned is Barnabas, the last is Saul. Of the other three, one is likely a black man from North Africa, another perhaps an Arab, and the third a Roman; thus we see the diversity of the early church. The Holy Spirit, in a way that is unknown, calls for the setting apart of Barnabas and Saul to that which “I have called them.” Off the two go to Cyprus, which is Barnabas’ native country, and in the city of Salamis the first missionaries run into a Jewish false prophet named Bar Jesus and Elymas. Elymas means magician. He had gotten attached to the proconsul Sergius Paulus who wanted to hear the “word of God” from Barnabas and Saul. The magician opposes this, and Saul miraculously causes the magician to go blind. This event has a major impact on Sergius Paulus, and Luke reports that he “believed.”