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March 1927
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true colors. “Don’t listen to these men, Governor. Talk with me, only. I, Bar-jesus, will tell you the facts about their Jesus,” Thus he may have pleaded. Again, Elymas failed to reckon with the Holy Spirit. “Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, set his eyes on” this blasphemer, this self-styled “Son of Jesus.”. “Son of the Devil!” he said, “Full of subtlety, full of mischief, enemy of righteousness, perverter of the right ways of the Lord,” Son of the Devil, the hand of the Lord is upon you. Go find someone to lead a blind man by the hand! And over the eyes of Elymas, darkness fell. And into the heart of the Roman deputy broke forth a great light,—the light of Jesus Christ the Son of God. Why Mr. Moody Wouldn’t Debate Mr. Moody once outwitted the Free-thinkers Club of New York City. He did it by an appeal to the value of experience. They sent him a challenge to debate. He sent them a courteous and Christian reply in which he main tained two things: First, that this is not the time for dis cussion but for action, that he was doing his best to lift men out of sin and misery, and they should do the same in their way; second, that Christ is not known by debate, but by personal experience, that he had had an experience of many years with Christ which no argument could rob him of, and that every member of the Free-thinkers Club who sincerely wished to know the truth ofChristianity could have proof positive by applying the same test of exper ience. H is Grace Suffices In a little paper printed in India, we read this little story of a bed-ridden saint. Such cases may well serve to warn us of assuming any extreme position as to divine healing, for some of the most powerful influences for God emanate from the chambers of the afflicted, nor can we say that either sin or unbelief holds them there. “On my arrival from China,” wrote a missionary, “I received a letter asking me to call and see, an invalid. I knew he was. blind, but' I was not prepared to see what I did see. He was lying upon the bed, every joint in his body immovable, unable to turn in any direction. His jaw was locked, so that it necessitated the removal of his front teeth to insert the spout of his feeding cup. His whole body was as stiff as a log of wood, but his mind was full of vigor, and his heart was full of the grace of service. For twenty-nine years he has lain thus, fed only on liquid foods. For twenty-two years he has been blind. Is it possible that such an one as he could do any thing to help others? Listen. Seventeen blind children are supported by his efforts in India. Ten in China. A blind Biblewoman in Korea, A blind boy in the Sudan. A blind boy in Fiji. A blind Biblewoman in Jaffa. Three hundred pounds a year is received in answer to prayer by that faithful, sightless, silent, paralyzed disciple in that little shut-in room in Melbourne. “There has been sent to me, like the agony of impale ment,-Satan’s angel dealing blow after blow. I have be sought the Lord to rid me of him; but His reply has been, ‘My Grace suffices for you, for power matures in weak ness. Most gladly therefore, will I boast of my infirmi ties rather than complain of them, in order that Christ’s power may overshadow me.’ ”
The Story of E lymas,—“ Son of Jesus” (Acts 13:1-12) J. C lyde S tillion
‘‘O EPARATE,” said the Holy Spirit at Antioch, “Separate O me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.” And it was done. Hands were laid upon their heads after the Christians at Antioch had fasted and prayed, and they were sent away by the Holy Spirit,—sent first to Cyprus by way of Seleucia. To Cyprus! How the heart of Barnabas, “Son of Consola tion,” must have thrilled as the ship sailed away to Cyprus. Forty miles south of what is now Asia Minor, and sixty miles west of Syria lay this little isle. To Barnabas, it was home (Acts 4:36). In his younger days, when he was known as Joses, the two mountain ranges of Cyprus were his companions; and there ever stretched before him the broad central valley, where . grew the oats, the wheat, the barley, the grapes, the olives, the carrots, the beans, the silkworms and the cotton. Cyprus lay on the trade routes. Joses looked across the sea, heard the call of adventure, and wandered to the mainland to make his own. And he made it. But when this son of Levi opened his heart to Jesus Christ, he sold his land and laid the money at the apostles’ feet. And then;?#- then that which every believer should desire, was realized in his life. The Holy Spirit took control,—and Barnabas .turns again home. What a story he would have to tell the folks back home 1 They must have heard of Jesus,—all of them. Many accounts of his miracles would have filtered along the trade routes. How eagerly they would hear that Jesus had really opened blind eyes,- healed the sick, raised the dead, and worked many other mir- aclest With what joy they would learn that Jesus was in truth the Messiah, that He was crucified for their sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. With what ease they would be won to Christ. The plan was simple. Disembarking at Salamis, and gradually moving across the island to Paphos, they would, preach the Word. Probably Paul Would tell the great story of his conversion, and John Mark would minister. What a blessing to bring to the isle of his youth. But when they landed at Salamis, disquieting rumors seem to have come to them. For, almost immediately, they are preach ing the Word at Paphos. Had the Cyprus folks heard of Jesus? Oh, yes. Certainly. They had heard of Jesus the prophet and His mighty deeds. In fact, Elymas, son of Jesus, was at that moment assistant to the deputy of the country. He, too, was a prophet and a wonder-worker. Just how amazing Elymas was, we are not told. Possibly he was skilled in the lore and uncanny arts and strange powers of the Median Priests, as were many of the Babylonian Jews; a man of science beyond his age in acquaintance with the powers and processes of nature. He may have been representative of an oriental system of religion, and very probably was a magician of great cleverness, Josephus speaks of such a one, whose name was Simon,—a Cypriot. So clever was Elymas that he was able to represent himself as Barjesus, “Son of Jesus,” and be accepted even by Sergius Paulus,—the deputy of the country, “a prudent man.” For a little while, life was rosy for this blasphemous mas querader, Elymas; but he failed to reckon with the Holy Spirit. “Separate,” the Holy Spirit had said, “Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.” “Being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, they sailed to Cyprus.” The news of the arrival of these strange preachers reached the ears of Sergius Paulus. Would he care to hear them preach Jesus? Would he? By all means. Elymas, Son of Jesus, was in his employ. Bring them in. But Elymas was on the job. This would never do. If these men really knew Jesus, he,—Elymas,—would be shown in his
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