Acts 13:12

This show of superior power convinced Sergius Paulus of the truth of Paul’s gospel, and he believed it. Notice again that belief is all that was necessary for his salvation (cf. Acts 14:1; Acts 17:34; Acts 19:18). It was Paul’s teaching concerning the Lord that Sergius Paulus believed. There is some extrabiblical evidence that Sergius Paulus’ daughter and other descendants also became Christians. [Note: See William M. Ramsay, The Bearing of Recent Discovery on the Trustworthiness of the New Testament, pp. 150-72.]

"This blinding of the false prophet opened the eyes of Sergius Paulus." [Note: W. J. Conybeare and J. S. Howson, The Life and Epistles of St. Paul, p. 120.]

The blinding of Elymas shows that Paul possessed the power of binding that God had also given to Peter (cf. Matthew 16:19). God validated Paul’s message by granting a miracle. This was especially helpful in evangelism before the completion of the New Testament. Here a Roman Gentile responded to the gospel whereas a Jew did not.

This incident is significant in the unfolding of Luke’s purpose because at Paphos Paul assumed the leadership among the missionaries (cf. Acts 13:13). The mission of the church also became more Gentile oriented. Jewish response continued to be rejection, symbolized by Elymas’ blindness (cf. Acts 28:26-27). Furthermore, this was the first appearance of Christianity before Roman aristocracy and high authority, a new benchmark for the advance of the mission. Paul’s conflict with Elymas is also reminiscent of others in the Old Testament in which prophets with rival messages made presentations to kings and people (cf. 1 Kings 22; Jeremiah 28-29).

"The conversion of Sergius Paulus was, in fact, a turning point in Paul’s whole ministry and inaugurated a new policy in the mission to Gentiles-viz., the legitimacy of a direct approach to and full acceptance of Gentiles apart from any distinctive Jewish stance. This is what Luke clearly sets forth as the great innovative development of this first missionary journey (Acts 14:27; Acts 15:3). Earlier Cornelius had been converted apart from any prior commitment to Judaism, and the Jerusalem church had accepted his conversion to Christ. But the Jerusalem church never took Cornelius’s conversion as a precedent for the Christian mission and apparently preferred not to dwell on its ramifications. However, Paul, whose mandate was to Gentiles, saw in the conversion of Sergius Paulus further aspects of what a mission to Gentiles involved and was prepared to take this conversion as a precedent fraught with far-reaching implications for his ministry. It is significant that from this point on Luke always calls the apostle by his Greek name Paul and, except for Acts 14:14; Acts 15:12; and Acts 15:25 (situations where Barnabas was more prominent), always emphasizes his leadership by listing him first when naming the missioners. For after this, it was Paul’s insight that set the tone for the church’s outreach to the Gentile world." [Note: Longenecker, pp. 420-21.]