Acts 13:11Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

“And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you: you shall be blind.” By the same sign through which he himself had been converted, he wished to convert this man also.

The expression “for a time” was the word not of one punishing, but of one converting. If it had been the word of one punishing, he would have made him blind forever. But now it is not so, but “for a time,” in order to gain the proconsul also.

And why did Paul not perform another sign? Because the best thing of all was to catch the enemy.

“And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you.” This was not punishment, but medicine. He spoke as though saying: I am not acting, but the hand of God. Do you see how far he is from pride?

“And you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.” By the same means by which he himself had been converted, he wished to convert this man also.

Thus this was not a punishment, but a healing. For Paul was almost saying: I am not doing this, but the hand of God.

And the expression “for a time” was clearly the word not of one punishing, but of one converting. If it had been the word of one punishing, Paul would have made him blind forever. But here it is not so, but “for a time.”

He says “for a time” in order to work upon the proconsul. By this he makes known that it depends on the magician himself to receive sight again. He must change his way of life for the better.

The Apostle's action toward the magician, most wise as it was, is not contrary to the law of God, which commands us to love our enemies.

But since the magician was corrupting the ways of the preaching and was keeping the proconsul from the faith, the whole people could easily have been led to salvation through the proconsul's cooperation.

Therefore Saint Paul chastens the blasphemer by the same measure that had been used for his own correction. He imposed blindness upon him, by which he himself had been brought to become a disciple of Christ.

For he had learned to heal unbelief by the very medicine by which he himself had been healed of disobedience caused by attachment to the law.

The Apostle said, “for a time” (Acts 13:11), leaving to the magician's will the freedom to recover his light through amendment of life.

Accompanied by Mark, Paul and Barnabas first set out for the island of Cyprus, the homeland of Barnabas. They passed through the island from east to west, from Salamis to Paphos.

In their preaching they addressed themselves first to the Jews, and then to the Gentiles. By their calling and by the promises given to them, the Jews had the first right to this. They had established places for religious assemblies, the synagogues, where proselytes also gathered.

Through the proselytes the most convenient passage opened to the Gentiles themselves. In Paphos they found, in the proconsul Sergius Paulus, one of those men who were satisfied neither with the popular faith nor with philosophy.

Then, noticing the terror that had seized the soul of the exposed hypocrite because of this bold and thunderous blow, he immediately added: “And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you: you shall be blind and not see the sun for a time.”

The sentence at once took effect. The sorcerer immediately felt that his deceit had been laid bare and that he himself was undone. He stood before the face of punishing justice.

A mist covered his sight. Complete darkness came upon him. In despair, stretching out his hands, he sought someone to lead him. All this made a powerful impression on the proconsul, and he “believed, marveling at the teaching of the Lord.”

Behold, the hand of the Lord: the punishing, chastising power of God (Judg 2:15; Job 19:21, and others).

You shall be blind and not see the sun: this is an intensified expression of the divine punishment of the magician. You shall be utterly blind. The following intensified expression corresponds to it: mist and darkness fell upon him, so that he saw nothing.

For a time: this punishment does not strike the magician forever, but is only temporary. The limit of time is not stated, but it is implied of itself. The magician will be blind until he ceases opposing the preachers and repents; compare Chrysostom.

The possibility of being delivered from this punishment is indicated to him. Whether Elymas made use of this indication is not evident from the history.

Turning this way and that, and so forth: this is a vivid depiction of the reality of the punishment that befell Elymas, and that suddenly, immediately after Paul's word.

The punishment of the magician was deserved, yet it was also so impressive that everyone, after his blindness, had to see that he did not possess the light of truth or its inherent power.

That power, meanwhile, was so wondrously manifested by Paul. Hence it is understandable that Sergius Paulus believed completely after this.

Yet he was struck as much by the teaching itself as by the miracle. He considered it the Lord's teaching, that is, preached in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the words of God Himself.

Probably the preaching of the Apostles contained many references to the predictions of the prophets and to the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore the preaching is called the teaching of the Lord and the word of God, in verse 7.