David Bahn – Reflections

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Acts 13:13-25

Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem, ¹⁴ but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. ¹⁵ After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.” ¹⁶ So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said:

“Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen. ¹⁷ The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. ¹⁸ And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. ¹⁹ And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. ²⁰ All this took about 450 years. And after that he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. ²¹ Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. ²² And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’ ²³ Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised. ²⁴ Before his coming, John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. ²⁵ And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

One of my favorite movies is Hunt for Red October. Based on Tom Clancy’s book of the same title, it is about a rogue Russian submarine captain who eventually defects to the United States. I’m not sure if the scene I’m remembering is in this movie, but it is in a submarine movie for sure. When the captain of the sub is heading down the narrow stairs he shouts, “Make a hole!” In other words, Get out of the way. I’m coming through and you better not be in my way.

I once asked a friend and fellow pastor who served in a very large, inspiring, influential and pace-setting church, “Mark, what are you praying about these days?” He thought about it for a few moments and finally said, “I’m just praying that I can stay out of God’s way.” He realized that if anything of true significance was to happen, it had to be God at work. He was God’s tool – and a faithful and influential one at that. But God was the one who was at work.

Paul was all this and more. The most influential missionary ever, a leader of leaders, and an Apostle by Jesus’ direct call, Paul was a force to be reckoned with in almost every situation. That becomes clear here in this report by Luke. It’s Paul and his companions who set out on this missionary journey. Paul is the one who speaks up when the Synagogue leader asks if they have something to say. Paul is the man.

But Paul is not The Man. And he realizes this. He makes no effort to tout his credibility. He has no desire to make a name for himself. Rather, he will point people to The Man, Jesus Christ, who is also the Son of God. He is the one whose sandals John the Baptizer is not worthy to untie. He is the culmination of all the Old Testament prophecies. He is the Savior promised by God.

I don’t think of myself as all that important. Most of us don’t harbor delusions of grandeur. But we all can point to Jesus as the author and source of every good gift. We can all confess him as Lord. We can all claim his salvation through faith. We can all make a way for him in our hearts so that he can use us to gain access to others’ hearts.

We may not need to shout, “Make a hole!” But we can acknowledge Jesus as the only one worthy of our faith, hope, love, and worship. Perhaps we can make a way for him to touch the hearts of people around us with his grace, truth, and love.

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Acts 13:1-12

 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

⁴ So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵ When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. ⁶ When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. ⁷ He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him ¹⁰ and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? ¹¹ And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Jerry opened the door of what I learned was a photographic darkroom. Inviting me to come in and sit down, it started a long-lasting and deep spiritual friendship. Jim and his wife came to visit about the church I was serving. Our conversation was one of many. They became faithful members of the church I served, and Jim and I became good friends – one of my closest. Kent invited me to join him on a mission trip to Russia. The experience was life-changing. He was instrumental in my pursuit of a Doctor of Ministry degree, and my move to Texas.

None of those encounters brought me to faith. But each of them was a springboard to other faith-building relationships. Maybe you can name some of your own. Perhaps you can point to someone who actually brought you to faith. It could be that someone’s influence was removed from your relational orbit (like Elymas’ influence was removed from Sergius Paulus).

I note how Luke names Barnabas, Simeon, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, Saul, and John (Mark) in these few verses – not to mention Elymas and Herod. Each of these played a part in the growth of the church. The gospel reach was extended through or in spite of their efforts. 

I believe God’s mission will succeed. I believe God will find his lost ones. I believe there are people we may influence toward Jesus – or sadly, away from him. And if we drop the ball, God will see to it that someone will share the message. But to be clear, it does not go well for those who resist, thwart, or undermine God’s mission. We may fumble, not expressing our faith well, or failing to give the witness we should. That is not good. We need God’s mercy and forgiveness for that. But let us never stand in the way of God’s good will toward all people.

To that end, I think of Manaen, the lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch. Some might have written him off as too enmeshed in Herod’s evil. Herod had ordered John the Baptizer to be beheaded and had presided over one of the trials of Jesus. He was at best curious about Jesus, but no friend of God. Yet Manaen, his lifelong friend, was a leader of the church in Antioch.

All kinds and sorts of people make up the church. We who are part of the church will have occasion to interact with all kinds of folks. We must be ready always to offer grace, mercy, hope, and love to those whom we encounter. We may never know how our lives may be woven into others’ spiritual journey. But we must do all we can to honor Christ whenever we are part of such encounters. 

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Acts 13:1-12

 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

⁴ So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵ When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. ⁶ When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. ⁷ He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him ¹⁰ and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? ¹¹ And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Sometime between 8 & 9 PM each night my phone lights up with one-word texts. “Amen,” comes from 20 or more people – members of various call committees at churches I am working with. These churches are seeking pastors to guide and serve them for the sake of God’s mission. The “amens” are evidence of the prayers of these people of God, and a reminder to one another to do as Jesus commanded. Matthew records Jesus’ command to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38). 

I’ve encouraged calling congregations to covenant together to pray each night at a specific time that God would send a pastor to them. The challenges to this are at least two-fold. First of all, it’s really easy to simply type, “AMEN” and hit send – without actually praying. Second, there is an urgent need today for pastors in our church body (and in most church bodies throughout the United States). That makes the task of finding and calling a pastor more challenging. I strongly suspect that these are not the only ones praying for a new pastor.

Saul and Barnabas will be sent from a worshiping, fasting, and praying congregation. Antioch would be the first sending New Testament congregation. They were intentionally dedicated to a level of urgency that brought them together in prayer. They recognized that God is worthy of our worship. And they were even willing to fast to heighten their awareness of their need for God’s favor. It would surely focus and intensify their prayers.

God promises through the prophet Isaiah, that he will not break off a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick. That speaks of Israel’s weakness and God’s faithfulness. It also applies to us when our faith is weak and we are more in need of his grace than in we are in step with his will. God will certainly listen to the strong and fervent prayers of God’s people for workers in the harvest. Will he also not hear the weak cries of his people who are seeking a new pastor?

There are currently more than 600 congregations in our church body that are calling pastors. That’s about 10% of the churches. We need pastors. Please join me in praying that the Lord would send more laborers into the harvest of souls. And while you’re at it, remember this: Immediately after Jesus commands his disciples to pray for workers to be sent into the harvest, Matthew records that Jesus named his 12 disciples and sent them out. They turned out to be part of God’s answer to their own prayers. There may be a roll for each of us in this need for which we are praying.

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Acts 13:1-12

 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

⁴ So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵ When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. ⁶ When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. ⁷ He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him ¹⁰ and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? ¹¹ And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Maybe you learned it too: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. It was meant to be a comeback when someone called you a name. I’m not sure it’s used anymore. We’ve become hypersensitive to depecretory epithets. There are certain names you may not use to describe a person. Rather than relying on quippy comebacks, we rely on preemptive prohibitions.

But sometimes names do leak out. Sometimes they hurt. Sometimes they open a door of healing. Sometimes they may also protect us from harm and alert us to danger. We cry, “Thief!” when a purse-snatcher is trying to get away. We may call someone a prophet when she speaks a word of truth in the face of confusion. We might say don’t be a fool when someone is on the verge of making a dangerous turn away from God.

Paul calls Elymas a son of the devil, and enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy. He asked him, “will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?” Sometimes we must call people to account for their rebellious, reckless and wayward ways. 

If a excavator operator accidentally damages part of a building near where he is working he might be called wayward and reckless. But only if he did it intentionally would he be called rebellious. Elymas is all three: reckless, rebellious, and wayward. He is called out as such and will be taught a lesson. We don’t have record of his behavior or faith after his time of blindness.

We do have a record of Sergius Paulus’ turn to faith, after being relieved of Elymas’ dangerous advice. Elymas was called a son of the devil. Peter had been called Satan. Sometimes we must recognize those who would lead us away from Jesus and call them out for what and who they are and thank God for those who turn us toward Jesus rather than away from him.

They are the peacemakers. They are the sons of God. They are those whose feet are beautiful. How beautiful on the mountain are the feet of those who bring good news!

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Acts 13:1-12

 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

⁴ So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵ When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. ⁶ When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. ⁷ He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him ¹⁰ and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? ¹¹ And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

A friend, sister in Christ, and reader commented on yesterday’s post. “The Holy Spirit teaches us the ultimate lesson in ‘Thankfulness.’ His love makes us blush with His movement towards us…he is so gracious to us!” I’ll admit I had to think about that. I had never thought about blushing at the Holy Spirit’s move toward us. Nor had I thought of thankfulness being the ultimate lesson of the Holy Spirit. I’ve not got that quite all worked out yet. But I’m considering the work of the Holy Spirit again today.

One of my first more in depth encounters with the book of Acts was while I was in college. I took a class taught by a local pastor. There I learned that some call the book of Acts The Gospel of the Holy Spirit. In fact, Rev. Fr. Alfred Mcbride wrote a commentary on Acts by that title. The original title of this book was “The Acts of the Apostles,” showing how the Gospel message was carried forward after Jesus’ ascension, and Pentecost. The apostles surely did act. And God used them for his kingdom’s purposes. But all this grew out of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and through the Spirit’s ongoing work in and through the Apostles.

Looking again at this passage, we see that the Apostles were sent out by the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit filled Paul and gave him strong words calling Elymas to repentance. This is Good News. God will confront evil and falsehood, even exposing these for the world to see. God will send out workers into his harvest to bring people into his kingdom. And for all this we give thanks to God.

So the list grows. The Holy Spirit calls us to faith, enlightens us with his gifts, keeps us in the faith, gathers his people, and sanctifies us. And as Martin Luther says, the Holy Spirit “daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.” 

This is the Good News (Gospel) of the Holy Spirit. Glory be to You, O Holy Spirit!

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Acts 13:1-12

 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

⁴ So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵ When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. ⁶ When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. ⁷ He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him ¹⁰ and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? ¹¹ And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

In our Bible Class yesterday, the leader shared a list of the things the Holy Spirit does:

• The Holy Spirit reveals God’s plan and brings us to faith in Christ granting us forgiveness of our sins and eternal life.
• The Holy Spirit is our Comforter, providing aid, comfort, consolation, and assurance thus keeping us in the faith.
• The Holy Spirit is our guide reminding us of Christ’s teachings and granting understanding.
• The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins and brings us to repentance.
• The Holy Spirit established and brings unity to the Church.
• The Holy Spirit creates the bonds of Christian fellowship making all believers to be one body in Christ.
• The Holy Spirit provides spiritual gifts to all believers to be used in serving, witnessing and building up the Church.
• The Holy Spirit guides our prayers and assures us that God hears and answers them.
• The Holy Spirit prays for us when we do not know what to pray for.

It’s a beautiful list that reflects the breadth of God’s grace. I love to say that God is on both sides of the equation when it comes to our salvation. He is the giver of grace, forgiveness and redemption through Jesus. We receive this gift by faith. And God is on that side as well: The Holy Spirit moves us to recognize the treasure of God’s salvation, then moves us to believe and receive the gift. God is the giver of grace and the giver of faith.

But there is a third dimension to this equation of our salvation. For the faith does not come to us apart from the message of the gospel. Someone has to tell you about Jesus. Someone has to be sent to declare the forgiveness of sins and salvation of Jesus. Paul puts it this way:

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? ¹⁵ And how are they to preach unless they are sent? – Romans 10:14-15

This is where the Holy Spirit comes into the picture. We see that here. While the people in Antioch were worshiping and fasting the Holy Spirit calls them to send Saul and Barnabas on a mission to spread the Gospel message to new people in new places. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would be given and that the disciples would be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. We’re seeing that come to pass here.

I’m thankful that the Holy Spirit moved the church in Antioch to send Saul and Barnabas. I’m thankful, too, that the Holy Spirit moved my parents to share the Gospel message with me when I was a little child. I’m thankful that the Holy Spirit keeps me in this faith. I’m thankful that the Holy Spirit continues to send people share the Good News of Jesus and moves people to believe. I’m thankful that the Holy Spirit has moved you to read this. I pray that he works in you to believe that Jesus loves you, forgives your sins, and grants you eternal salvation.