A Magician and the Hand of the Lord | Disruptive Presence 62

In which John and David observe Paul and Barnabas's encounter with a magician. The new missionary group head out into their gospel work, but they being to encounter some opposition.

Episode 119 of the Two Texts Podcast | Disruptive Presence 62

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Transcript

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[00:00:00] John: We're back still in the early part of chapter 13 of X, but my goodness, I've just been enjoying the slow burn through this and reflecting on the sentness of Barnabas and Saul, the arrival at Cyprus, that sense of home the sense of cooperation between the sending of the spirit and maybe the Maybe, can we say the preferences and desires of these two men to go to home territory, to, to Jewish synagogues and unpack the Word of God and it set us up beautifully this, I think, in our last podcast, we, we ended up with this idea of an openness to the Holy Spirit as opposed to the resistance of the Holy Spirit, which can cut not just in the direction of people who don't believe, But even for people within within a believing community, faith community, the church community, we can find ourselves resisting the Holy Spirit, and it's led us really nicely to this moment of this engagement with this man that were introduced as Bar Jesus, a Jewish. 

[00:01:09] Sorcerer who's introduced to us as they are on their travels ministering across the island of Cyprus. And it, it does set up what seems to be certainly for, for Saul and Barnabas, the first major confrontation at a spiritual level outside of, outside of a sort of a, an internal scriptural argument type level. 

[00:01:34] This seems like the first full on confrontation at an external level and we end up with a very interesting, interesting moment. 

[00:01:46] David: Yeah, a very, very interesting moment. I mean, we alluded to it in the last episode that it has, it has sort of some of the hallmarks of the encounters that Jesus had with people. But there's also some fascinating little interplays around, I mean, it's not lost on us that his name is Bar Jesus. This is this is interesting. 

[00:02:05] The description the, the, the way the story unfolds, the fact that there's this pro console in the story, I mean, there's, there's multiple points to sort of, jump in on. So I'm going to let you choose, where do you want to start with all of the little bits and pieces in this story? 

[00:02:21] John: yeah. Well, I'm fascinated by the description of Bar Jesus in in verses six and seven. There they met a Jewish sorcerer. Now, there's a thing a false prophet. And who is also an attendant to the pro consul. So so we're introduced to three pretty dense ideas right there.  

[00:02:44] David: All of them problematic. 

[00:02:46] All of them. Yeah. 

[00:02:46] John: Yeah all of them present, with this so this this jewish sorcerer false prophet, which is You know, we're assuming this is Luke's commentary here. He's not been, he's not presenting himself as a false prophet. And then you've got 

[00:03:02] David: That's not on his 

[00:03:03] John: yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. My business card. I'm a false prophet. 

[00:03:06] And then you've got attendant to the pro console. So a fairly influential man. Clearly, the fact that he's listed in this way shows that he has, you could argue there are some Yeah. Spiritual influence. If in terms of profit, maybe even some scriptural weight to him, he's able to use the scriptures in some way. 

[00:03:26] And then of course, he's got some political clout. It's all going on there in the context of the introduction. 

[00:03:32] David: Yes, absolutely. And these would be, these would be sort of descriptions that for any God fearing audience that Luke would be writing to, it's a sort of marker in the text of like, there are There are multiple problems with this person in terms of you trusting them, liking them, and it doesn't, doesn't need you to be a Christian audience to hear that. 

[00:03:56] This would be, within the conversation we had in the last episode that within the world, where at this stage, it's very blurry, the sort of Christian, Jewish separation that we would see now isn't happening in the first century. Magicians are, are not well thought of within first century Jewish communities. 

[00:04:19] Being a false prophet has never been thought of, but then this allegiance to a pro console. So you've got, you've got allegiances in all the wrong places for your average person that would be reading a text like this. The average person encountering this story. I mean, I I'm thinking about I, I, I wonder if some of our listeners might have watched the chosen TV series and we have alluded to on multiple occasions. 

[00:04:48] So it's possible that some people even watched it because we've recommended it. But. I think about Matthew's role in the discipleship group and how, because of his work that he did with the Romans as a tax collector before the, the artistic telling of the story, Matthew is not welcomed easily into the group of Jesus's disciples. 

[00:05:10] And obviously this is artistic license, but I think it's an accurate. Of what could have been the case, because the moment you aligned yourself with a pro console, for example, like, oh, my goodness, you're not the type of person that we, want to hang around with. And then, think back to the Old Testament, magicians, definitely not well thought of within, within the, within the world that we're talking about there. 

[00:05:35] So it's really interesting commentary from Luke, isn't it? 

[00:05:39] John: It is. It is. And, and of course if I know it was a little while ago, if we've been, if our listeners have been following with us, we, we have come across a Jewish sorcerer before. So, in in X chapter eight, we have Simon. And again, the name seems to suggest that possibly from a Jewish background or at least familiar with the, with the Jewish world. 

[00:06:04] So Simon, the sorcerer who confronts Philip or tries to buy the work of the spirit of Peter. And all of that's going on there, and I think it's important for our listeners to recognize that even within Judaism, there would have been a tradition of mysticism. There would have been a tradition of, of multiple threads within Judaism's from very ultra conservative right through to very mystic. 

[00:06:31] And and so, so there's a, there's a, in a sense. A tolerance or at least an engagement with ideas that would, would have a range there. And, and so you've got that, that, that sense here of this man from a Jewish background and yet very, very committed to sort of mystic or even occultic ideas within his world. 

[00:06:53] And of course, the fact that he is working for the Pro Consul means that as a Jewish person, he has got over any squeamishness he might have with working with the Romans. 

[00:07:05] David: Yes. 
 

[00:07:06] John: So it's one thing to sort of do what the Romans say, it's another thing... to assist the Romans in a positive way, and he clearly is an attendant or a helper to the Pro Consul. 

[00:07:19] And, and our, our, our listeners will, will probably be aware the Pro Consul in terms of this area or this region would have been the highest ranking, ranking Roman official. So this is a very, very influential man. So clearly Elimus or Bargesis has got over any squeamishness around serving the Romans and is able to place any difficulty of his Jewish identity within that somewhere squarely. 

[00:07:50] So, so this is a man that has. a range of both influence, but also he's able to adapt. He's able to use his various skills. And although he's called a false prophet, it suggests that he must have been making some sort of pronouncements to those around him. So again, having a spiritual authority there within his world. 

[00:08:15] And, and he's the one now confronting Saul and Barnabas. 

[00:08:21] David: It's interesting. I was, I was trying to find, as you were chatting just there, a reference to how These ideas of magician and and sorcery work in the ancient world, and it's interesting that there's several Roman writers. The way they use the word magician is actually as as as an insult. It's actually so. 

[00:08:46] So there's also a nuance that. The identifying somebody as a magician is speaking to their sort of public status, as to how are they perceived by others as well, which, which in and of itself is quite interesting because within acts, bumping into people that are not well liked by others is a, It is often a cue that something interesting is going to happen but, but it's because it seems like from, from what they say that the reason that the Greeks and the Romans didn't often talk well about magicians is because they had various practices, which were considered really gross and grotesque. 

[00:09:30] And and so the sort of things, the sort of things that we would. In children's stories, the, the sort of things that witches do to make, to make spells are, are kind of attached to this, this world and, and therefore quite, quite challenging for people to accept. 

[00:09:46] So interesting. And also you get Jesus being accused of being a magician from time to time as well. So it's one of these sort of things that I always want to say to people when. When you get a description like this of, magician, false prophet, assistant to the pro console, it's probably worth taking a minute or two and just looking up like, what do all of those terms mean to that world? 

[00:10:10] Because it's a very descriptive definition. I was thinking of as an example of the, when Jesus heals a Greek speaking Syrophoenician woman's daughter, right? The, the, the pain has been taken to describe the person in a very particular way. is probably a clue that for the average hearer, this would mean something. 

[00:10:28] So, so that would be just a little kind of hermeneutical and exegetical tip for people is pay attention to overly elaborate descriptions when you're reading and studying scripture. I mean, do you think that's, that's fair to say? 

[00:10:40] John: Oh yeah. Oh, completely. And I think that's very, very helpful. And, and I think in some ways, of course, the description of bar Jesus is, is set up in really nice relief to the description of the pro console. So you have him described as a Jewish sorcerer, false prophet. And then in the very next verse, verse seven, the proconsul, an intelligent man who sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. 

[00:11:12] So, so clearly whatever influence Bargesis has on this proconsul Sergius Paulus he's not allowing that. to close his mind to what clearly these Barnabas and Saul, Barnabas and Paul are now doing. And he's interested enough to invite them to come. And that's of course where it kicks off. It kicks off because suddenly Bar Jesus sees his world of influence threatened. 

[00:11:42] By these two men. And of course you can't hear that idea and then not hear the i the echo back to the ministry of Jesus who, whose influence threatened those who had voice and power, either over the people or the, the, the influencers who had the ear of Rome. So if you think about the religious community that probably only managed to survive and operate the system of the temple because they cooperated with Rome, at least behind the scenes, and some of the most senior officials on a Jewish world would have had to have had the ear of Roman officials in order to do it. 

[00:12:29] to be able to do what they did. Jesus, of course, comes along, and by very nature of the kingdom, he's threatening that relationship. He's threatening to fracture that relationship. He's even threatening to interrupt it. And you're getting the same feel here. Here's a Roman proconsul going, hey, what are these guys doing? 

[00:12:48] This sounds amazing. He sends for them. Suddenly now, bar Jesus, his world is threatened. And his direct line of access and influence to the Roman proconsul is coming under threat and therefore his only reaction to that is the abuse or, or aggressive resistance to the message of Barnabas and Saul. 

[00:13:10] David: and I wonder if that contrast that you've picked up there is the contrast that brings Luke to tell us this story, actually, because there's a disorientation going on where it's like, I was thinking about, all the, if you string together all the things we've said, Luke. Really wants you to capture the fact that this bar Jesus character wouldn't be overly well liked, and he holds one extra in his top pocket. 

[00:13:35] If you notice, he says certain magician, a Jewish false prophet, works for a poker pro console. And then he reveals a verse or two later. In fact, actually, the truth is. The truth is he also goes by the name Elymas, which means magician. Right. So he's literally chosen a name that will remind you that he's not a good person. 

[00:13:55] And, and then the disorientation is now. And forgive, I'm playing with lazy language, and stereotypes on purpose here. But now then the actual bad guy turns up, the proconsul, and the proconsul is not behaving like a proconsul is supposed to behave. The proconsul is like, oh, I kinda, I want to know about the word of God. 

[00:14:15] And so you've got this classically Lucan model, I think, where he's I would be tempted to almost argue he's chosen this story for exactly this tension, right? Because the one person that you don't really don't like is the one that's actually leaning in towards Jesus. And then the person who is really should be one of us is the one that seems to be resisting the will of creator. 

[00:14:44] He's not, he's not even resisting the will of the Christian take on these things in Jesus. Like he's out of line with Old Testament stuff. Right? And it's a, it's, it's part, I think, of this disruption of the Holy Spirit to just not write people off because, because they come in a package that you're uncomfortable with. 

[00:15:05] And, and I, I just think it's really clever storytelling at this point from Luke. And I just, and that's why I say, and I mean it respectfully. I wonder if that's part of why Luke chooses of all the stories, cause he's being selective in acts. We know that. I wonder if that's part of the reason why this story is told is, 

[00:15:21] John: Yeah, well, and it fits beautifully with the look and pattern, doesn't it? Luke often sets up contrast and compare. So you should we've seen this all through the gospel of Luke. If you did any sort of serious study in the gospel of Luke, you see these couplets all the time and they are set up in a, in a really amazing way of sometimes. 

[00:15:48] Simple comparison, sometimes dynamic contrast, and I think we've now carried that into the book of acts, and we've already seen it in a number of simply remarkable ideas were were, probably for us, the most famous that we've spent like. Millions of years in at Cornelius and Peter is a great example of this juxtaposition and this scenario of, of one should be behaving one way and he doesn't and then the other should be behaving a certain way and he doesn't and you're getting this, this sort of contrast. 

[00:16:23] And I think it's another example of look of a great contrast for us deliberately. A person who should sort of know better is resisting and the person who you expect to slap Barnabas and Saul in jail or kick them off the island is going, Hey, come round for dinner. I'd like to hear what you have to say. 

[00:16:43] And again, we are, to use that lovely language that we're constantly using in the book X, we are surprised, we are surprised by what we see and by what we experience. And again, I think it's a reminder for us that we, we should not. Negatively or even positively prejudge, sometimes we walk into a world and we prejudge positively because we, we say, Oh, this person, because they are this and this and this, they will be open to this. 

[00:17:13] And then sometimes they're not, and then, and then we can prejudge negatively. out of a prejudice that says, Oh, this person won't be interested in anything I have to say, or in my worldview. And then we find a receptive conversation or receptive behavior. So again, we, we've been talking about being open to the spirit, being led by the spirit, being sent by the spirit, cooperating with the spirit. 

[00:17:38] Is this another incredible example of this moment where Barnabas and Saul now respond to the proconsul? They don't hold back. Even though they'd be ministering in Jewish synagogues, they have no hesitation to cross the line and meet with the Roman proconsul. So you can see already their shift in thinking they're super comfortable in the Jewish synagogue, but they're also now showing very clearly right at the beginning of this new missionary journey that actually we're prepared to go to the room at the house of a Roman and we're prepared to sit there with him and explain the gospel and you get this lovely lovely sort of trajectory now really being affirmed in terms of where we're going. 

[00:18:20] David: As you're saying this, as you, as you're sort of tying this thread together, I couldn't help but think this Luke in love of, of these contrasts is found in the parables of Jesus as well, isn't it? The parable of the lost sons, the parable of the good Samaritan. So there's almost a part of me wondering, has Luke learned this listening to the stories of Jesus? 

[00:18:43] Hmm. Hmm. That, that he's like, Oh, this is a, this is a good thing to look out for 

[00:18:48] John: Yeah. 
 

[00:18:49] David: because it captures us, doesn't it? And it works because Jesus does it, doesn't he? Oh, hey, guess who's coming around the corner now to save the day? Oh, no, he didn't save the day. Now comes a Samaritan. It's, it's, it disrupts us. 

[00:19:01] It creates fertile soil for the Holy Spirit. And 

[00:19:05] John: Yeah. And it was funny, it was funny recently, David, in, in my own little devotional meditations, I was reflecting on another contrast parable of Luke, a unique parable of Luke, the, the parable of the Pharisee and the text collector. praying in the temple and I could not read that and reflect on it and meditate without hearing our reflections in the book of Acts. 

[00:19:30] I couldn't help read that and think about Peter and Cornelius. I couldn't help but read that and think about Saul and Stephen. 

[00:19:39] David: Yes. 
 

[00:19:40] John: Do you know what I mean? So suddenly, suddenly reading forwards, then I was with our reflections in the book of X, the way we've slowed attack, I think, oh my goodness, there's like incredible little connectors that seem to be throwing forward into the book of X here, which are absolutely stunning. 

[00:19:59] And we, we tend to look at, well, I tended to look at the sort of pharisee. in Luke 18 as the sort of, well, he's the obvious, bad guy. These are the guys resisting Jesus and Jesus is sort of, but actually, of course, this is a good man who loves God and loves the Bible. And yet he finds himself at odds because of his self righteousness, his own view of himself, and that sets him at odds in the presence of God at this moment of incredible atonement within the temple. 

[00:20:31] And then, of course, the tax collector God. be merciful, or literally it reads, make atonement for me a sinner. It's just absolutely beautiful. And, and I read that differently, was meditating on that different because of our reflections in the book of Acts. It's lovely how it sort of reads forward and reads back. 

[00:20:48] Doesn't it? It's like, like some things you read and you're able to go back the way that we've done so many times with the old Testament. And then some things you read and you go, hold on a minute. We bump into that later and you realize there's a whole backwards and forwards and pull and push in the text, which is just stunningly gorgeous. 

[00:21:07] David: No, I absolutely agree. And that's, I always hope our listeners pick up on that. Expect that to keep happening. It's once you've seen one thing. Texts in the ancient world, always worth remembering that you wouldn't have had a library full of books in your house. You wouldn't have had any books in your house. 

[00:21:28] So committing something to be written was also to Committed to be read regularly. So, so the likelihood is, some of our older listeners and by older listeners, I mean, people our age, John, we'll remember, we'll remember a period of time when I'm, I'm reminded of these things regularly because my daughter has hit that age where we have these conversations now, but what was it like when you were a kid and, and we were talking the other day there about. 

[00:21:57] Even growing up as, as privileged children, we were talking about like what happened if you missed your TV show, your favorite TV show and how you may never see that episode again, there was maybe no opportunity to do that. And your video collection was maybe three or four videos that you watched regularly. 

[00:22:14] And because. You had a video player. You were actually quite advanced compared to most people. My dad was in television repairs, so we often had access to this kind of cool television technology. And so you had certain things that you watched again and again and again and again, which the modern streaming era has stopped. 

[00:22:31] But that, that era of watching multiple video multiple times is very similar to what it would have been like in the time of, of Jesus, where if you had a text, it would be like, well, what would we do when we gathered together? Well, we'll read acts again and we'll just keep reading acts and we'll read it again and again. 

[00:22:49] So what happens is we tend to think of story and you write it, you begin here and you end here. And so you can't do anything at the end. that makes you reread the beginning differently because you're only reading it through once from beginning to end. But all of the texts in the New Testament will have been designed to have been read multiple times. 

[00:23:11] And sometimes the writers were so clever because they knew that was happening, that they would do exactly what you're saying, is that actually some things only become apparent to you on your second and third reading. So what you're describing there is exactly, I think what's intended to happen. 

[00:23:29] John: So good. So good. And that may explain the The experience maybe we've had, certainly I've had gazillions of times and maybe some of our listeners have had where you read something, you've read that 100 times then you go, what, where's that been hiding? And you see something, you go, I've never seen that before. 

[00:23:53] And I think personally I'm benefiting from a slower read of the scripture and I think it's definitely, it's definitely transforming my ability to hear and I've, I've been in the Bible all my adult life, I'm 56, like, and yet I'm going, wow. Okay, even this morning in my daily devotions, reading something, you go, oh my goodness, that's just stunning and just a little thing where you go Oh, I've I haven't quite seen that before but you're giving your chance Yourself the chance to see it not just because you're reading that text again But because you're also reading other bits of the scriptures that actually miraculously mysteriously and gloriously Connect to that text in some way and speak in a way even across the centuries. 

[00:24:45] And it's just it's for me, it's what makes the Bible truly. spectacular as an inspired text. 

[00:24:52] David: I am. I had a different experience where I was prepping for some stuff just yesterday, John, I'm only telling this to make you laugh, but, and I was reading something in John 13 and I was like, wow, like I've never seen that before. And I was like, and in fact, I don't know that. Anybody's that I've ever heard has seen that either. 

[00:25:13] I'm like, wow, that's a really cool thought. So I must meditate on that for a little while, and think about it. And then, so quite literally an hour later, I was sat reading some sermons from John Chrysostom, right? And for context, he died in the four hundreds, right. And I pick up the first of his sermons on John 13, and he says exactly what I've just seen for the first time. 

[00:25:36] But he says it like. eminently better than I could have ever said it. And I was thinking, well, check out this arrogance, David. Here's you thinking, wow, a new insight. And like, no, somebody spotted that 1600 years ago, which is actually amazing. 

[00:25:52] John: It's love. I love it. Love it. Love it. 

[00:25:54] David: what you've said there, though, John actually leads me into ask some questions about Paul's. 

[00:26:00] Accusation then towards this magician, because that paragraph, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy. And then he says this, and I I'm using the new revised standard version because actually I prefer how it renders the Greek. It says, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? 

[00:26:23] Right. Now listen, the hand of the Lord is against you and you will be blind for a while, unable to see the sun. I mean, that to me feels like it's packed with illusions and symbols and connections to other parts of scripture, doesn't it? 

[00:26:39] John: Oh, for sure. For sure. And there there's, there's that I, I love that before Paul launches into that as well, it says filled with the spirit he looked at. So, so you're, you're getting a sense that, hold on, this isn't just Paul getting riled up here, but there's something, Ooh, a bit of an auction, a bit of a. 

[00:26:57] boom moment, a bit of a nudge from the Holy Spirit, whatever way you want to, want to do that. And of course he looks straight at him. This is a full on eyeball to eyeball confrontation with that. And that lovely little play on child of the devil and bar Jesus, which is, it's just quite, quite delicious. 

[00:27:17] David: also just to make a very, a very, not helpful point right at this moment, but as a writer, I appreciate this. But this is also the moment Luke decides to tell us that he's also known as Paul. 

[00:27:31] John: That's right. That's right. 

[00:27:32] David: It's the one bit of all of this praise that we give to Luke for the way he writes. It's such a random point to decide. 

[00:27:38] Oh, by the way, I should probably explain that. So he's like, Saul filled with the Holy Spirit. Oh, also known as Paul says, you son of the devil. It really makes me laugh. And that's it. Now he's Paul for the rest of the story. 

[00:27:51] John: well, that's right. That's right. And, and I think, I think we will probably lean into this in, in, in maybe the next couple of podcasts, but I, I think there's a significant shift that happens there, which impacts John Mark, but we, we, we can talk about that a little bit later on, but I, I think it's more than just a shift of name. 

[00:28:09] I think there's almost a feeling that Paul seems to be stepping up here. Yeah. As, as an authoritative voice, so he, he seems to be the authority in the scriptural context, and that seems to be affirmed when later, he, he preaches that great sermon at, at Pisidian Antioch, which we'll look at later in chapter 13, but, but he does seem to be taking the lead here, and it feels like, like something has shifted a little bit, and there is that, there is that very, very Direct language. 

[00:28:44] It reminds me of the sort of language that Jesus uses. When addressing the sort of religious community, when, when he, when he's tried his hardest to win that community and it hasn't, by and large, been won over and some of that very direct language, very on compromising and on. Ambiguous language. 

[00:29:06] Paul is not missing here in hitting the wall. He, he says what he says, and he means what he says, and he says what he means. It's all going on here directly. But that, that e even that great illusion to Isaiah, making a straight way crooked again, and, and the illusion, of course, the blindness and saying, I mean, they're, they're great. 

[00:29:28] Isaiah illusions, I think within the text. 

[00:29:31] David: And that's interesting and we must get to it in a future episode, but your point there about the name, the shift of name. So Paul is shifting to use his Greek name here, but coinciding with this rise in authority. Authority and particularly his scriptural authority. I wonder if, just again, thinking out loud here, this might make sense of why Luke chooses this moment to tell us about the name change because, because he says Saul, also known as Paul filled with the Holy Spirit. 

[00:30:01] And then you get this, this sentence, which is. dense with biblical illusion, and that's what I love that as well. Like the text let me, let me read it. That just, that I went looking for, when you read something, you go, okay, I know this text. And so Isaiah 59, eight, the way of peace, they do not know. 

[00:30:19] There is no justice in their paths, their roads. They have made crooked. No one who walks in them knows peace. And so you enemy of righteousness, righteousness, justice, there's no justice. There's no righteousness in their paths. You have made crooked the straight paths of the Lord. I mean, there's, there's definitely some allusion to that going on, but then I also can't help, but think about the contrast of, of. 

[00:30:44] Of Saul's own blindness with an encounter with the Lord that went very differently. And John the Baptist's cry from Malachi to make straight the way for the Messiah, I mean, so it just, it felt to me like one of those places where you're like, well, this is a heavy and informed statement. 

[00:31:05] John: Oh, for sure. And I think that's there. And I think even in Paul's language is, when it says it's filled with the Spirit, is, is there a sense of could, are we overplaying it to see a sense of prophetic unction from Paul here that the Spirit is, is, is helping Paul bring these words to mind and therefore Paul is, is bringing the scriptures to bear. 

[00:31:28] And remember, If Barjesus is a false prophet, then ironically, Paul is quoting the prophet of prophets. If you like the, the, the essay, the, the, the Isaiah text in confronting the false prophet. So it's interesting that if, if we have that illusion of him being a false prophet, then and Paul is quoting the prophets, there's something very powerful here in the way. 

[00:31:54] Even the word of God is used. And in the way that Paul confronts this man by, by challenging him and, and this idea, this contrast that actually what Paul is made or Saul is made blind, but then when Ananias prays for him, his eyes are opened and you get a resurrection moment, whereas you're getting the reverse here, you're getting almost a curse here brought on this man where he is Prevented from not just seeing spiritually, but he's prevented from seeing and you get this terrible sense of the action of making him blind is affirming him in his blindness. 

[00:32:34] It's a bit For me, there's this little echo of the pharaoh thing a hard heart being hardened a blind man being made blind So you so you're getting a really dynamic moment. I don't think this is the sort of language that is normally pronounced over people who don't believe. I think this is language of Paul, who is specifically attacking someone or even could, let's use different language, defending the proconsul against someone who is set on Making crooked the straight path and perverting or corrupting the word of the Lord. 

[00:33:15] And therefore Paul is very aggressively standing against that idea, not just that person. And I think there's a difference, David, between not believing and aggressively against it. perverting the attempted believing of others. And I think that's the difference here. I think a man chooses not to believe that's one thing. 

[00:33:36] A man tries to exert his own crookedness onto the mind of another. I think that's where Paul gets aggressive. And I think Paul's aggression is not just against Bar Jesus, but Paul's aggression is in defense of the proconsul so that he can hear the gospel. I think the two things are going hand in hand there. 

[00:33:59] David: And I love that tension in the narrative of the one who is. Technically, the insider who should not be working against the work of God is doing. And Paul is now protecting the one who would normally be seen as the outsider and the oppressor so that they can encounter the word of the Lord. 

[00:34:19] And I mean, it is. It's a fascinating, and even just some of the interplay you know how I switch back and forward with my translation. Sometimes I like the way the new revised standard version clarifies this make crooked, your stop, you will not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord. 

[00:34:37] The NIV tends to kind of blend that To keep the same sense, but you miss the trigger that is an Isaianic allusion. But then the NRSV says, And now listen, the hand of the Lord is against you, and you will be blind. And it's not a bad translation, but, But I think Luke's playing on the fact that what Paul, Paul says It's nunidu, like a now behold. 

[00:34:56] Like, edu means it's to look. There's this, there's this kind of irony of, and now look, you will be blind, right? And he's inviting him to, to, to look at the hand of the Lord and that be the last thing that he sees, right? Look, the hand of the Lord is against you and you will be blind. I mean, it's quite, the poetic of that is quite stark, isn't it? 

[00:35:18] The last thing this man sees for a time is the hand of the Lord, blinding him. And then ironically, that the blinding of the man who is resisting the work of the Lord allows for the pro console now to be astonished. But what is he astonished at? This is what's really fascinating. 

[00:35:37] John: come on, come on. 

[00:35:38] David: When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, right? 

[00:35:41] And this is why you've got to read all of Luke's sentences. He saw it, and he believed. Oh, he saw the man go blind. That's what astonished him. And then you get, he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord. So, so the proconsul is not, and hear me respectfully when I say this, he is not brought to faith. because of parlor tricks. It, yes, this miraculous situation happens, but what brings him to faith is what is said about the Lord. And this is absolutely in keeping with the preaching of the early church. I mean, I don't know if that excites you, but it really excites me. 

[00:36:15] John: It totally does. And I think it plays into the aggression against Bar Jesus. I think, I think what's, what's reading between the lines, I think what's happening is the pro consul is already receiving the teaching from Barnabas and Paul. 

[00:36:32] David: yes. 
 

[00:36:34] John: Bar Jesus is trying to corrupt or make crooked that teaching, and that's why Paul gets so aggressive, because he's sensing or seeing or perceiving that the proconsul is open and receptive, and therefore he gets aggressive against Bar Jesus. 

[00:36:52] And then that makes sense of that final statement, because although he sees Bar Jesus being struck blind, which is a pretty spectacular thing to happen to a magician to someone who has some sort of serious spiritual influence over him, but he leans into the teaching and, and the suggestion seems to me, David, the teaching he's already heard. 

[00:37:13] So I think, I think it feels like a straight timeline here, but I think there's a backwards and forwards in this story. And I think. I think Paul and Barnabas have been ministering to this procouncil and now Bar Jesus kicks off and Paul goes super aggressive. And that, that paves the way for the procouncil to make his final decision to believe. 

[00:37:34] But he believes in the word of the Lord, in the word that Bar Jesus is trying to make crooked. 

[00:37:40] David: yes, yes. 

[00:37:42] John: that fits together beautifully, yeah. 

[00:37:45] David: And what it makes me think of is how many sermons across the years that I have listened to. And I'm sure you have listened to as well. And I'm sure some of our. Listeners will have listened to as well, where there's this desire to get back to Acts, right? And I've probably preached some of those sermons. 

[00:38:06] And what we mean when we say get back to Acts is all of this miraculous ministry that's going on in Acts. Like, people are like, wouldn't it be great to live in those days? I mean, I often think, well, they don't seem to have an easy time of it. So I'm not sure, I'm not sure I would want to, but you know, be more serious. 

[00:38:21] I understand what people are saying. It's like, wow, look at all this miraculous ministry. This is, this is stunning. But then there's a false equivalence attached to that point where we say, if we had miraculous ministries like that, think about how many people would, would come to follow Jesus, but this prompts me to to to remind myself that actually Luke works quite hard to help you see that what actually brings people to Jesus is The proclamation of gospel, you know the the and and I don't mean that simply in speaking But I also mean in terms of the living it out in their lives But he definitely wants to take seriously Teaching about Jesus is what brings people to faith. 

[00:39:08] There's a miraculous situation on the day of Pentecost. Nobody comes to faith until Peter gets up and preaches and people hear what he says and say, we've got to do something. What must we do? They say, and the same on the temple. A few days later is they always need a sermon, right? And so actually one of our desires to have all of these miracles happen in the modern world, because that would be great. 

[00:39:30] for people to come to Jesus. It's almost as if I wonder if Luke would say to us, actually, you have everything in place. Just, just keep telling the story of Jesus. Keep teaching about Jesus, which I think will make sense of our next episode when we get to Paul's sermon. But, but don't feel. That you, because you don't have some amazing miraculous ministry, you are somehow, unable to share the news of Jesus that brings people to trust in him. 

[00:40:01] I mean, does that, does that make sense? What I'm kind of scratching at there? 

[00:40:04] John: Yeah, and as a card carrying Pentecostal, I would say amen to all of that. So, so, I want to believe for the same working of the Holy Spirit that we see demonstrate in the book of Acts and in the Gospels. I, I want to believe that the greater things, whatever that means that Jesus did that we can do. 

[00:40:24] But I also absolutely want to affirm that it is only really a revelation of the Word of God that is the basis of true spiritual transformation. And, Paul says later on, I pray that you will have the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you will know him better, that the eyes of your heart will be enlightened so that you will know the hope to which you are called. 

[00:40:50] So miracles the supernatural. Absolutely. Do we, do we want those things and need those things? Would we like those things? Yes, yes, and yes. But actually it is the word of the Lord that endures forever. And it is the word of the Lord proclaimed in whatever form is the basis on which we are saved and our lives are transformed. 

[00:41:13] And the Roman proconsul didn't experience directly on himself any miraculous or supernatural activity, but he received the word of God. And the Bible says he believed. And that's the most important.