Acts 13:12Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

And rightly so, because such a punishment had to bring to understanding one who was under the influence of magic. Thus the Egyptian magicians of old were brought to understanding by the gnats (Ex 8:16-19).

And observe: after the proconsul believed, they did not delay there, nor remain idle, nor become softened by flattery and honor. At once they took up the work and went to the country lying beyond the sea.

Then the proconsul sees the blindness and immediately believes. And not simply, but “marveling,” for he saw that here there were not mere words and not deception.

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.”

He believed, marveling at the teaching of the Lord: in Paul's foretelling of God's punishment upon the magician, and in the immediate fulfillment of this foretelling, the proconsul clearly saw the great power of the Lord's teaching.

That is, he saw the power of the teaching which the Lord Jesus proclaims through His Apostles (Acts 8:25). One of the proclaimers of this teaching manifested such divine power before his face.

Its opponent was struck by such a punishment that the proconsul marveled at the teaching, which was confirmed by such a strong manifestation of God's evident judgment upon the one who resisted it.

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.