Acts 13:1-12
A new division of the book of the Acts begins here. The assembly at Antioch becomes the starting point for the work which is going to be done among the Gentiles. Barnabas and Saul were called, set apart, and sent away, accompanied by the prayers of the assembly. Their first stopping place is the isle of Cyprus, from where Barnabas came (Acts 4:36). When they arrive at Paphos, the apostles are summoned by the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, the highest Roman official on the island. This "prudent man" knew the God of the Jews and wished to hear His Word. But he took counsel from an unpleasant individual: Elymas, a Jewish magician (who practised an activity which is abominable in the eyes of God – see Deuteronomy 18:9-10), who was taking advantage of the spiritual needs of Sergius Paulus to exert an evil influence upon him. The opposition of this man produces exactly what he was trying to prevent. It permits Paul (thus called for the first time) to give to the proconsul proof of the power of the Lord in punishing the false prophet.
Elymas is a type of the Jewish people who, because of their resistance to the Spirit of God, have been rendered blind "for a time" while the Gentiles reap the blessing.