After hearing the Lord’s direction, Paul and Barnabas were
sent off on their missionary journey. The first stop was Barnabas’ home
island of Cyprus. Right away we see a strong contrast between light and darkness as
the sorcerer Elymas is led by the evil one to sway the Proconsul (governor of a
province) away from the faith. Any attack on the gospel and the Christian faith,
we can be sure, is an attack from the enemy that seeks to destroy the Lord’s
people and the Lord’s work. The text says that Paul was ‘filled with the Holy
Spirit’ to show that the boldness and power that was exerted was not of himself
but was surely led by the Lord. The Lord’s judgment of this ‘court wizard’ was
fitting as it exposed the truth of his life: he was a man of darkness led by
the prince of darkness, so now he would experience physically what was already
a spiritual reality. He was already blinded to the truth physically and now he
was blinded physically. This encounter reminds us of the glorious truth for
believers proclaimed in 1 John 4:4 ‘He
who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.’ If our faith is in
Jesus, we can be sure that the same Holy Spirit that filled Paul is the
powerful Spirit in us. In our world of evil, take heart: The Lord is victorious
over the powers of darkness. In John Stott’s words ‘the gospel triumphed over
the occult.’ This should give us great JOY. The light of the Kingdom was
invading very dark spaces. It continues to do so today.
Next we hear Paul’s sermon to the Jews at Pisidian Antioch. We
see that he wisely shows how the Old Testament Scriptures point to Jesus as the
long awaited Messiah and how his death and resurrection was a fulfillment of
the OT prophesies. We do well to remember that ALL of Scripture points to Jesus.
Jesus says in John 5:39 that the OT Scriptures “… are the very Scriptures that
testify about [him]!”
The focus of Paul’s sermon was on Jesus’ death and
resurrection as fulfillment of the Scriptures. Paul’s rich theology comes out
in verses 38-39: “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus
the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes
is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under
the law of Moses.”
In short, where this is a law, there is a judge. Those who
transgress the law will stand guilty before the judge (that is ALL of us). But
for those who have put their faith in Jesus, we are free from the penalty of
the law. We stand before the judge and he proclaims us INNOCENT. The truth is,
we are NOT innocent, but Jesus’ righteous, perfect and innocent status is
imputed to us if we put our faith in Him. He lived a sinless life in our place
- PERFECTLY obedient to the law. He died in our place for our sins and God
raised Him from the grave so that our
sin could be dealt with on the cross and a perfection could be given us that we
could never obtain on our own: His perfection. We could never obey the law
perfectly…Jesus is the only one who has EVER done that. He was the innocent One
who stood before the judge and took the punishment for our sin. He took the
death penalty for you and for me so that when we stand before the judge someday,
we will not be condemned. This freedom from the law and righteousness from
Jesus comes by putting our faith in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
Paul placed before the people two options. Upon hearing
about Jesus, we can choose life or we can choose death. By putting our faith in
Jesus’ we are granted the gift of eternal life with God: “For God so loved the
world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish
but have eternal life” John 3:16. But to those who reject this message, they
will be judged by a law that is IMPOSSIBLE to keep which will inevitably result
in condemnation or death.
It is a serious matter. The enemy will attack the message of
the gospel more than any other. He knows his end is condemnation and he desires
others to have the same end. Our fight in the Christian life is a FIGHT FOR
FAITH. Paul says at the end of His life “I have fought the good fight, I have
finished the race, I have kept the
faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only
to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”
HE IS the judge that was JUDGED in our place. Turn to Him. Trust in Him. His empowering presence is the living water and the
bread of life that not only saves you from the coming wrath (1 Thess 1:10) but
will also satisfy your souls.
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