Magical Cyprus
The island of Cyprus has climbed near the top of my list of places I want to go back to. It is not like other islands I have been to. It does have facets of tourism, but it also is very urban and yet has massive agriculture. The mountains look down on the farmland that descends to the Sea. Cyprus is simply a beautiful place — where else would the birthplace of Aphrodite be? Or perhaps we could even say that Cyprus is magical.
I recently wrote about Sergius Paulus and the impact he likely had on Paul and Paul’s future ministry to the Gentiles. This encounter takes place on the western side of Cyprus in a town called Paphos, which was easily my favorite place on the island. I merely hinted at the side-story of Elymas, or Bar-Jesus, the magician. After visiting Cyprus, though, the account of Elymas deserves a little more attention.
Acts 13:6-11 — 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. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 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? 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.
This story is powerful in its own rite: another false prophet bites the dust in public humiliation. Think about that for a moment. A prophet was much like a traveling salesman who relied on the people around him to subsidize his existence. Similar to what Paul discusses in 1 Corinthians 9, when these bringers of wisdom came to town, they would impart their wisdom in exchange for a place to stay, some food to eat, and perhaps even a small donation to keep them going. A prophet who is publicly reprimanded — “seeking people to lead” them along — would be destroyed. Their reputation was tarnished. But there is more to this story.
Cyprus has been around for a long time, as it turns out, and there is a rich history of paganism dating back to the Bronze Age. Cypriot magic was an important part of the belief structure, as it was for most of the surrounding areas. There is something unique about Cypriot magic, though: it had nothing to do with pulling rabbits out of hats but rather with keeping others silent. What we know about ancient magic rituals on Cyprus tell us that the most effective magic would result in silence by the opposition. In other words, if I was to practice magic on you, it would be simply to prevent you from speaking what you wanted. An additional follow-on to this magic spell would be that you would experience not only a closed mouth, but also temporary blindness. If my spell of silence on you was successful, you would be blinded, as well.
If we read the account of Elymas again, given this new information, it highlights the power of God. Here we have a magician who wants to prevent Saul from speaking to the proconsul, who wants to hear about God. What would a Cypriot magician do to prevent another from speaking? He would cast a spell. Had Elymas’ spell been successful, Saul would not only have been unable to speak, but he would have been blind. But Saul, instead of being mute, is filled with the Holy Spirit and speaks to Elymas. In a cool twist, Saul turns the table and forecasts blindness on Elymas. As we see, Elymas is blinded by God.
Two things are immediately relevant. First, when God wants to speak, He will. Nothing can stop that. It would do us well to remember that. Second, Paul was aware of his culture and his surroundings. Perhaps we should be, as well. Would he have cast blindness on someone in Damascus or someone in Athens? We cannot know that, but we do know that he use what he could when he could (reference 1 Corinthians 9, again, specifically verses 19-23). Note that the blindness prompts, or at least aids, the proconsuls belief:
Acts 13:12 — Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
The third thing that we can learn from this is that we can understand the Scriptures to a different depth when we understand the culture around them. It is not enough to be well-versed in our own culture(s) and merely try to interpret the Bible to our scenarios. We need to understand why and how things happened back then to augment the way in which we interpret them today.
Comments