Facing the Opposition Acts 13: 1 - 13

Background:

One thing that is a common experience for all of us is that we will face conflict and opposition at some point in our lives, in a way that stops us from flourishing. There are two ways in which we do that - one is external - the opposition we face from others, and one is internal - the conflict within ourselves.

Here, and Saul face opposition from the sorcerer, who slanders them and tries to turn the proconsul against them. His knickname probably means ‘child of salvation’, rather than ‘child of ’, and Paul turns this on its head by calling him a ‘child of the devil’. This is spiritual opposition, and Paul responds with confidence and authority by commanding blindness on him. This miraculous act persuades the proconsul to believe in Jesus. God once again turns opposition into an opportunity for the .

The second potential for conflict comes from the fact that this is a pivotal point in the story of Paul and Barnabas. Here, the order of their names changes, and Paul starts to take the lead. Barnabas seems to move back into ‘second chair’ leadership, and at the end of the passage is not even named. He becomes one of ‘Paul’s companions’. Barnabas might have struggled with this, and it certainly led to conflict later on ( Acts 15:36 - 40)

How might this speak to us?

We all face spiritual opposition. How do we respond? Do you believe that the devil is a person? How do we see spiritual opposition? I said that I believe that the devil is a person, not just symbolic of evil because of 1) the ’s constant portrayal of as a person 2) my experience with people and places who are oppressed, and 3) our observation of the extraordinary evil that sometimes consumes people and causes terrible things. What can we learn from Paul’s response to Elymas? (Look at James 4:7; Ephesians 6:10f….) What do you think are the devil’s primary tactics? (You might like to also look at the temptation of Jesus, in ). What is your experience of spiritual warfare? is there anything we should be doing differently 1) individually, and 2) corporately, in SMoB, to make sure we are facing up to spiritual attack?

We all face internal conflict that might threaten our ability to confidently live out our lives as a witness for Jesus. How do we respond to situations where our ego is threatened? If our ego is the sense of self we create in the view we have of ourselves, why is this fragile, and often unhelpful? If we feel inferior, or superior, that is our ego speaking. How does this affect our discipleship? (Might be helpful to look at Romans 12:3). Barnabas had to take a secondary leadership role, after being the more significant leader up until this point. Where do we go to to attain a biblical view of self that helps us to be humble yet confident? How can we help each other? (Other helpful passages might be Psalm 139; Ephesians 2:10; Jeremiah 29:11…)

Talk together about the kinds of oppositions we face. pray for each other, maybe using Ephesians 6: 10f as a guide for our prayers.