The Missionary
“Up to thy Master’s work! for thou art calPd To do His bidding, till the hand of death Strike off thine armour. Noble field is thine — The soul thy province, that mysterious thing Which hath no limit from the walls of sense.
Oh! live the life of prayer,
The life of tireless labour for His sake;
So may the Angel of the Covenant bring
Thee to thy home in bliss, with many a gem
To glow for ever in thy Master’s crown.”
“Over the vast extent of the Roman empire, Paul everywhere projects his shadow. What are we, preachers or missionaries of a day, before such a man!” — Monod.
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f my readers will carry their eye along the coast of Palestine, they will see the names of two cities marked, at a considerable distance from each other. The one was Joppa or Jaffa, strikingly situated on a rocky ledge, jutting into the sea. From it, you „ remember, Jonah fled when God wished him to go to Nineveh. It was also famous as the old port of Jerusalem, to which Solomon floated his rafts of cedar- wood from Lebanon for the building of the temple. The other city was Cesarea, of which we have already spoken. It was situated 35 miles north of Joppa, built by Herod in honour of his royal master, and called after him. He constructed there, at enormous cost and labour, a harbour, where ships might ride in safety from the fearful western storms that swept the coast. Also, a large Roman theatre, a remnant of which, at the present day, survives among the other ruins.
While Saul was at his Tarsus home, there dwelt two celebrated individuals in these two towns. The Apostle Peter was living in Joppa, in the house of a tanner.* A Roman officer, of a great family, called Cornelius, was stationed at Cesarea. He was centurion (or captain over a hundred) of a troop of Italian soldiers, which were there in garrison as a body-guard to the Roman governor. Peter one day, as he was engaged in prayer on the roof of his house, “overlooking the waves of the Western Sea — the sea of Greece and Rome — the sea of the isles of the Gentiles “t — fell into a trance, which you will find particularly described in Acts x. 3. He heard a voice commanding him to u slay and eat” some of the animals prohibited to be eaten by the Levitical law. J The day preceding this, Cornelius had a vision also in his house at Cesarea, telling him to send messengers to Joppa, to inquire there for “one Simon, whose surname was Peter.” The messengers just arrived when the latter was returning from his devotions, and wondering what the vision he had witnessed could mean. Their appearance furnished him at once with an explanation. It was nothing less than this, that the Gentiles were now to be admitted to share the privileges of the Jews; and that the distinction between clean and unclean animals,
* The trade of a tanner was generally despised by the Jews, as being connected with dead animals, and many of these in themselves, according to their law, unclean. It was generally carried on in the outskirts of towns near the sea.
t Stanley’s Sermons and Essai/s, p. 94. t Lev. xi. which was till this time the sign or badge of separation, was henceforth to be done away. Peter did not hesitate to obey the heavenly voice. Many years before, his Lord had given him the “keys of the kingdom of heaven.” He now understood the meaning of the words. The gates of salvation, which had for ages been locked against the Gentiles, were now to be thrown open to “all people;” and he was to have the privilege of first unbarring them. We find him the following day standing in the house or barrack-room of the centurion, where the good Roman soldier had also gathered his kinsmen and near friends. The Gospel of the grace of God is freely proclaimed to Gentile hearers, and, henceforth, “in every nation he that feareth God and wcrketh righteousness is accepted of him.”* The Holy Ghost descended. The officer of Rome, his house, and believing friends, were all baptized. It was a most solemn and joyous moment for the Church of Christ.
The Gospel ship is now fairly launched in Gentile waters. The Gospel seed has now fairly taken root in Gentile soil. There is one spot — a noted city — upon which, at this time, the mind rests with more than ordinary interest. If you again examine your mapt of Asia, you will find, far north from Damascus, a little way inland from the Mediterranean, and almost opposite the island of Cyprus, the city of Antioch. Antioch was situated on the river Orontes, 20 miles from the sea, and 300 miles from Jerusalem. It formed the great mart of Eastern luxury, and, from its central position, commanded the whole trade of the Mediterranean. It was the outlet for merchants and cara-
* Acts x. 35. f See the green line in the map, vans who travelled from the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, and ranked third (after Rome and Alexandria) among the cities of the Roman empire. Some Jewish converts — natives of Cyprus and Cyrene — had already gone thither and proclaimed the Gospel. Its Gentile inhabitants were beginning to be converted to the faith of Jesus. Many Greeks there “believed and turned to the Lord.” Barnabas, whose name has already been favourably before us, crossed from his native island of Cyprus, and preached to them. But the numbers were growing, and he felt the urgency of having an abler minister to argue with Jewish prejudices, Greek learning, and false philosophy. He, as “the son of consolation,” was able enough to comfort and direct young inquirers. But he needed some “son of thunder” to rouse the careless, and overturn the wisdom of men by the wisdom of God.* Where can he look? Who can he think of as the fittest man for such a work? I need scarcely name him! The Cyprian apostle embarked in some trading vessel which was bound for the Cydnus, and went, it is conjectured, about the beginning of the year 43, “to Tarsus to seek Saul” We may picture their meeting. The heart especially clings to the friends who have been kind to us in times of trial. With what joy must Saul have seen the well-known face that had beamed with kindness and good- will upon him in Jerusalem, when the other disciples were cold and suspicious! “The son of consolation” has, indeed, “consoling” news to give his old friend since they last met — that “God had granted to the Gentiles repentance unto life!” He could tell what he had seen with his own eyes in the city he had
* The Apostle Paul: a Biography. left. Saul does not hesitate to obey his wish, He leaves, possibly for the last time, the home of his youth; and the two holy men of God set out together for the great work in store for them at Antioch.
We cannot omit just noting by the way the unselfish conduct of Barnabas. He had himself been doing much good in this city — had gained many converts, and formed many Christian friendships. By his labours, we read, “much people in Antioch had been added to the Lord.” If he had been a jealous or selfish man, he would not certainly have thought on bringing another to supplant him or be his rival. But how far removed he was from any such feeling! With simple-hearted joy, we read that, “when he saw the grace of God” displayed in the conversion of so many, “he was glad!” From that moment, he meekly takes the second place in the sacred narrative, saying, in the spirit of the Baptist, regarding a Greater than Saul, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” He had but one thought, and that was, the promotion of his Lord’s cause and glory; for this he willingly sacrificed self. His was the contented but beautiful feeling of Jonathan of old, when he said to David, “Thou shalt be king, and I shall be next to thee.” *
We cannot tell whether this was Saul’s first visit to a city with which he was afterwards so well acquainted. If it were so, his eye must have gazed with delight on its vastness and magnificence — its towers and temples, Roman villas and gardens, baths and theatres. You will be able to form some idea of Antioch from the picture at the beginning of this chapter. The town itself was nearly five miles long, and lay on the north-
* 1 Sam. xxiii. 17. G era slope of the rocky Mount Silphius. Walls of enormous height and thickness (fifty feet high, and fifteen wide) extended round about it — spanning, in many places, the deep ravines of the mountain — and the ruins of which remain to the present day miracles of art and labour. A remarkable island was formed in the centre of the city, on which stood the palace of the Seleucida3, with a bridge connecting it with the northern portion. The crags of Mount Silphius were all of them bold and rugged. One remarkable column of rock overhung the town, which the art of the Greeks had formed into an immense head, with a crown upon it, and which they called “the Head of Charon.” If Saul could not see, from the road he travelled, the celebrated temple itself, he must have seen the vast groves of laurels, myrtles, and cypresses, which begirt for ten miles the great shrine at Daphne, erected in honour of Apollo and Diana. In the midst of these thickets, a thousand streams leapt from the neighbouring hills, and refreshed the sultry air. Antioch was well entitled to the name which for a long period it bore, “the Queen of the East.”
We may imagine the two brothers in the Lord now entering the town. They have perhaps reached the spacious colonnade in the long centre street, which was erected, at enormous cost, by Herod the Great, and where the citizens could assemble for business or pleasure, and be protected either from rain or heat. What a strange and motley crowd would greet their view! — Roman soldiers — servants from th3 prefect’s palace — gay and pleasure-seeking Greeks — the keen dark eye of their brethren according to the flesh; the latter not arrayed in the poor garb they were often found in, in other cities, but bearing the evidences of wealth and prosperity, and worshipping the God of their fathers in handsome synagogues.* But there were other glories which gladdened them more. The cause nearest and dearest to their hearts was fast spreading in Antioch. The sect of disciples now began to assume the form of a Church, and, in the year 44, Jews and Gentiles who believed in Jesus as the Son of God and Saviour of the world, had a new title given to them, which they retain to this day, from the Greek word Christos (” anointed,” or “the Messiah”), — “the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.’”
A writer of the sixth century — himself a native of the city — mentions the very spot where the two apostles first engaged in their work of preaching the Gospel. Its situation reminds us of St Paul, at a future period of his ministry, when he stood on Mars Hill, close to the Athenian temples. At Antioch they also took their position near to the Pantheon, in a street called “Singon,” close to the busiest thoroughfare.t
Little did Saul think of the wonderful change which the power of God would produce in a few years in that Pagan city. Heathen temples were to give way to Christian churches — hymns to the praise of Jesus were to be heard in every street. In the age of Chrysostom, we find the Christians numbering 100,000, and supporting no less than 3000 poor, besides relieving many more! Antioch became, for many hundred years, the capital of Christendom, and was called by the name of Theopolis, a Greek word which means “the City of God.” These facts will explain to our readers why we have
* Lewin.
f Malela, quoted by Lewin, p. 115.
dwelt more minutely than we should otherwise have done, in giving an account of this interesting place.*
An event in the meantime occurred, which required the two Christian ministers to leave Antioch for a little. Owing to a predicted failure in the harvest, in all the surrounding countries, and especially in Judea, thousands of the poor were about to endure famine. The Christians in Jerusalem, from their poverty, were likely to be among the greatest of the sufferers. Accordingly, they sent some “prophets,” and among them one Agabus, to Antioch, to acquaint their fellow-Christians of their coming wants, and request from them what relief they were able to afford. The Gentile believers of the city met. They resolved to do what they could to help their starving friends at a distance; and, having collected some money, they appointed Saul ana Barnabas to go with it, and give it to the elders at Jerusalem. God thus overruled this calamity in the world of nature to bring out the spiritual graces of His people, so that Jews and heathen might be .brought to say of the Nazarenes they hated, “See how these Christians love one another!”
Josephus, in his history, confirms the account given in the sacred narrative regarding the famine. Among other things, he relates that Helena, the Queen of Adiabene (a country not far from Antioch), having become a convert to the Jewish religion, had taken up her abode in the city of Jerusalem, in order to be near the temple. When the famine broke out, she sent her
* Lewin, Conybeare and Howson, Neancler, Bible Cydopadio,, &c. — Autiocb is nnw a small town. It has been six times the scene of fearful earthquakes. Tnat of a.d. 526 is said to have destroyed 250,000 individuals, having happened on occasion of a festival. In 126S it was laid in ruins by a Sultan of Egypt. In 1822 another earthquake occurred, which destroyed 4000 or servants to Alexandria, in Egypt, to procure a large quantity of corn; others she sent to the island of Cyprus for a store of dried figs, — distributing these among the starving Jews. Her son, the reigning King of Adiabene, followed her charitable example, and forwarded large sums of money to Palestine.
When the two holy apostles, Saul and Barnabas, arrived in Jerusalem, there were other events which had made their poor Christian friends very sad and sorrowful. Herod (the grandson of the king who had murdered the little children in Bethlehem at the time of the Saviour’s birth) was still reigning Sovereign of Judea, under Claudius Caesar. Though he was a wicked man, and indulged in many vices, he had always been a strict observer of the Jewish law, and therefore very much hated the new sect of Christians. After eight years’ freedom from persecution, the dreaded flames once more burst out. James, one of the disciples of Jesus, he had “slain with the sword.” He had put Peter, at the time of the Passover, in prison — set sixteen soldiers to guard him, and bound him with two chains — resolving, in a short time, to bring him forth, and have him killed also. What human power can save him? This apostle must have concluded that the hour of his martyr-death, of which Jesus had forewarned him, had arrived, when he was to “stretch out his hands” like his Lord upon the cross.* But God has work for him to do before he receives his crown. The infant Church could yet ill spare him. No bolts or bars can stop the power of prayer. A prayer-meeting was held in a lowly dwelling in Jerusalem. God heard the voice of his servants. He sent his angel to open the prison doors
* John xxi. 18-22, and let the apostle free; while the king who put him there was brought to a sudden and fearful end. In the same city where Cornelius the Christian Roman dwelt, there was, as we have already told you, a large theatre, erected by the elder Herod. One day about the beginning of the month of August, this building was crowded with people. The cause of the immense assemblage is to us an interesting one. The Emperor Claudius had gone to join his armies in Great Britain, and remained there for sixteen days. During this time, he obtained several victories, and took, among others, the city of Colchester, which was then, what London is now, the capital of the empire. On returning to Rome, there was universal rejoicing; he was called “Brittanicus,” after our island; he had a naval crown put above his palace; and an annual celebration of the event was instituted at Rome, consisting of the usual barbarous sport of fighting wild beasts, with war-dances and chariot-racing. Herod Agrippa, who was both much indebted to Claudius, and desirous of retaining his favour, resolved to keep the festival also in imposing splendour in the theatre at Cesarea. The stone seats, which rose one above another, were a moving mass of human beings. On the second morning all faces were turned towards a private portico, through which in great pomp Herod entered, clad in sparkling robes of silver. He took his seat on a purple throne. When the people saw him, they shouted and cried, “Behold a god!” adding, according to Josephus, “Be thou merciful unto us; for although we have hitherto reverenced thee only as a king, yet shall we henceforth own thee as superior to mortals.” The same writer, in his account of it, also relates that at that moment the unhappy being they were thus foolishly worshipping looked up and saw an owl (a bird of “evil omen,” that is to say, supposed by the superstitious heathen to bespeak calamity) perched on a rope above his head. He was immediately filled with dread.* The great God of heaven, who will not give his glory to another, made him to be “eaten of worms!” He was carried away to his palace in the agonies of a dreadful death. Josephus adds, that the assembled multitudes fled from the theatre, and, as was the custom with the Jews, rent their clothes and sat in ashes, making a great lamentation — “And the king being laid in a high chamber, and looking down on the people prostrate on the ground, could not himself forbear weeping. And having continued in agony for five days, .... he departed this life.” Think of holy Stephen’s- end, with angels his spectators! Think of this! What a comment on the words of the Psalmist! — “I have seen the wicked great in power and spreading himself like a green bay tree: yet he passed away, and lo! he was not; yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.” t
We cannot tell what time Saul and Barnabas waited in Jerusalem; probably not long. They would give the money they had collected for the impending famine, and make the minds of the Christians there glad and joyful, by telling them of all that the Lord was doing at Antioch. When they prepared to return, they did not go alone, but took with them the nephew of Barnabas,
We have just spoken of a prayer-meeting of dis-
* Josephus, b. xix., chap. viii. t Psalm xxxvii. 35-37.
ciples, in a house at Jerusalem, for the cleliveranco of Peter. It was the house of Mary, sister to Barnabas, and mother of “John, whose surname was Mark” * It is more than probable that one of those present at this prayer-meeting, who had the joy of welcoming back the imprisoned apostle, was Saul of Tarsus; that there he may have formed his acquaintance with the nephew of his companion, who was to be a future son and fellow-labourer in the faith. We shall have occasion more than once to mention the name of Mark; and though at one time, as we shall find, there was an unhappy difference between him and the great apostle, it is interesting to read among the very last sentences which Paul, when he became “the aged,” wrote, — “Take Mark,” said he to Timothy, “and bring him with thee, for he is profitable to me in the ministry”-^
After this short visit to Jerusalem, Saul’s history becomes more, than it has been yet, a history of preaching among the Gentiles. We shall enter, at this point, on the first of those great missionary tours, with their labours and perils, their joys and sorrows, which only closed when he could say, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course.” That noble missionary river, whose streams are now fertilising the world, had its little fountain-head in Antioch.
One day, in some house or church in that great city, all the Christians were assembled together. They had met for fasting and prayer. The names of the different prophets and teachers are mentioned at the beginning of the 13th chapter of Acts. There was “Simeon, who was also called Niger” — a word wThich means
* Acts xii. 12. f 2 Tim. iv. 11.
“black,” and from which some have supposed that he was a black African — a negro — the first of the “Ethiopians” who are yet to “stretch out their hands unto God f there was Manaen, the foster-brother of Herod Antipas; and Lucius, probably the same as Luke the Evangelist;” Saul and Barnabas.” One or all of these had addressed the assembled disciples, discoursing to them about Jesus and his great salvation. We may imagine the assembled worshippers praising God for all His mercies, or perhaps uniting in supplication, making it the special object of their meeting to receive direction as to their future labours, when suddenly an answer is sent to their prayers. It is one which doubtless must in many ways have made them sorry; for it calls on them to part with the two of their number they had most reason to cleave to and love. But to God’s will they joyfully submit. His command was, “Separate me now Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.” * That work was to obey the parting commission of their great Lord — “Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Another solemn day was fixed to meet the two missionaries, before they set sail, to bid them farewell — to hea once more the Gospel message from their lips, and to implore anew God’s blessing and guidance. Perhaps some of my readers have been at church when a missionary was set apart, and ordained to go to some far off portion of the heathen world to preach “the unsearchable riches of Christ.” It is a touching and impressive scene, which none can ever forget — a holy man willing to leave home and friends, to” spend and be
* Acts xiii. 2.
spent for Jesus.” Here was the first of thousands of such scenes which have since taken place — the first consecration of three Christian missionaries! “They laid their hands on them, and sent them away.”* We may imagine the tears in many eyes which followed them down to the harbour where the boat was in readiness to embark; we may almost hear the farewells that are spoken as the vessel or skiff left the shore. Little did the Syrian onlookers understand these tears, or know all the importance attached to that departure. We have supposed, what is most likely, that they sailed by ship down the Orontes, with its vine-clad banks, to the harbour of Seleucia. Possibly, however, they saved time by avoiding the many windings in the river, and took the ordinary road which led across the bridge from the city on its north side. In this case, they would enter the sea-town by what was called the “Gate of Antioch” — a noble archway, on the south-east side, supported by pillars and guarded with towers. Seleucia was in those days a large port, with many gallant vessels from all parts of the Mediterranean riding in its harbour. The harbour itself was a famous one. It was built of vast stones fastened together with cramps of iron to which the ships were moored, and which, in the heavy storms and raging seas which broke at times from the west, kept them from being dashed to pieces. The scenery must have been striking to such a mind as that of Saul, standing, as we may suppose him, with his two fellow-missionaries, either on the heights of the fortress, or on the broad pier, with a forest of masts and the din of commerce all around. His eye would rest, towards the north, on a
* Acts xiii. 3.
bold parapet of Mount Coryphaeus, with its rocky sides cut into numerous sepulchres similar to those in Petra or the Valley of Jehoshaphat. In front he would gaze upon miles on miles of blue sea, whose waters he was afterwards to be familiar with in calm and in terrible storm. In the far distance, the dim hazy tops of the Cyprian mountains rose into view. Barnabas and his relative Mark doubtless loved to look at these, for Cyprus was their old home; and probably this was one among other reasons which had determined them to direct their pilgrim steps first to its shores. They have now set sail; the mountains, which at first they saw at a great distance, come nearer and nearer; their vessel, under a fair gale, is skimming over the waves; and when they are lowering its sails, they find themselves, 100 miles from Seleucia, entering the bay and harbour of Salamis.
Cyprus, known to the H ebrews by the name Chctim or Kittim (from Kittim, the son of Javan), is, next to Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean. The many crooked windings and turnings in its rugged coast gave it the name of “the Horned;” but so beautiful and fertile was it, that it was called also by the name of “the Blest” Its situation, and the number of these creeks and havens, made it a favourite place of resort for merchants from Egypt, Phenicia, and Asia Minor, There were large plantations in the interior whose timber was much valued in shipbuilding. In the cultivated plains, “corn, wine, and oil” were produced in abundance, and its mines and rivers contained diamonds, emeralds, silver, lead, and copper. More valuable and “unsearchable riches” than these had already been brought to Cyprus by the
10b THE FOOTSTEPS OF ST PAUL.
Christians who were scattered abroad on the death of Stephen; but the efforts of these earlier missionaries were confined to the Jews alone. A great number of Israelites were always resident in the island, and this, we may well believe, was another reason, in addition to what has already been mentioned, for the apostles turning their steps to its shores. Jesus had himself spoken of the peculiar claims of “the lost sheep of the house of Israel;” and Saul and his two companions would doubtless consider that they best fulfilled their Lord’s will by seeking first to bring them into the Gospel fold. They accordingly began their labours in the Jewish synagogues.
After spending some little time in Salamis, they resolve to cross to the other end of the island to a town called Paphos, now “Baffa,” — a distance of nearly 100 miles. This must have been a place of importance, from being the residence of the Roman governor. The heathen goddess, under whose protection the island of Cyprus was by its Pagan inhabitants supposed to be, was Venus; hence she was called Cypria, and was fabled to have sprung from the foam of the sea. Her principal temple was situated close by Paphos, in the midst of delightful groves and delicious fruit-trees. On the streets of this island town these faithful missionaries stood and preached the glorious Gospel of the grace of God.
Saul says, at a future time, in one of his letters, “Not many noble are called.” Here, however, there was one, — the first of the few “noble” and great of this wTorld who were, through his agency, to embrace the religion of the despised Jesus. The Roman governor or deputy, Sergius Paulus, is described as “a prudent man, who, desired to hear the Word of God.” He appears to have been a person of an inquiring spirit, an “open-minded” man, as the word “prudent” means. He could get no comfort in the heathen religion; he found it could not meet the wants of his soul Mere curiosity prompted, at a future time, other kings and governors to hear Saul; but we believe it was from a deeper feeling that Sergius desired to listen to the Gospel tidings. He was brought to believe and love the Saviour. Let us hear what were the means employed to humble this exalted Roman, and bring him to the foot of the cross. He had with him in his royal dwelling a Jew whose name was Bar -Jesus, or, as he was called also, Elymas, — an Arabian word which means “the wise one” (just as our English word “wizard” is derived from, or rather is a contraction of, “wise art”). But professing himself to be “wise,” this man was a “fool.” He was one of those false deceivers or knaves, who at that age of the world used to pretend to work miracles, and prophesy, and perform magical arts in connexion with Satan.* They were often found in the houses of the great, and in the palaces of kings.
The East has at all times been famed as the region of wild dreams and fairy tales, of magic and fortune- telling. Many during the age of the Apostle, from whom we might have looked for better things, were silly enough to believe in the magical arts of cunning impostors, and to encourage them by gifts of money. It is sad to think how even some among the Jewish nation lent themselves to this wicked trade. These, certainly, were of the “baser sort,” unworthy to be called children of Abraham. They pretended to be possessed of the spi-
* See Home’s Introduction, vol. ii. p. S66.
rit of their old prophets, and to have the gift of secondsight, foretelling future events. One of this number was Bar- Jesus, who had now found his way to the governor’s dwelling at Paphos. Sergius Paulus had been told of the newly-arrived strangers. He had probably heard not a little of the new sect called “Christians,” which had grown up in Jerusalem, and whose doctrines were spreading in the capital of Syria. On resolving, therefore, to see and hear its three disciples, Elymas did all he could to prevent their getting into the governor’s presence; for as light has no fellowship with darkness, he knew that if his master came to embrace their doctrines, his power and influence at court would be at an end. All his arts, however, to exclude the apostle-missionaries were unsuccessful; Saul and his two friends stood in the presence of the high-born Roman. They “preached to him Jesus,” — told him of the only true rest for his troubled soul, and that there was neither happiness nor salvation in any other. Bar-Jesus evidently writhed under the apostles’ words. We are not told what he did, or what he said; but we are left in little doubt, from Saul’s strong language, that the impostor-Jew had been blaspheming that holy Name which the apostle counted dearer than life. The noble spirit of the latter is roused within him, and by the power of God he prepares to silence the wicked gainsayer by “terrible things in righteousness which he looked not for.” In the name of the same Great Being who, on his way to Damascus, had deprived him of sight, “he declared, with divine confidence, that the Lord would punish Elymas with the loss of these organs which he only abused by attempting, through his arts of deception, to stop the progress of Divine truth.“* Fixing upon him a stern look, he pronounces the awful sentence, and the miserable man is sent away groping in darkness. Sergius cannot resist the power of this miracle. He believes; and many in the town and throughout the island follow the example of their noble governor. The missionaries doubtless raise their hearts in humble gratitude to God for these first-fruits of the great harvest. t As this is the first miracle wrought by the apostle, the question may occur to us, What were the extent of Saul’s miraculous gifts 1 Could he work a miracle at any time he pleased, or was it only the result of some special power given him at particular times 1 Evidently it was the latter alone.” He could strike Elymas blind because he was so directed, but he could not cure Trophimus or Epaphroditus when they were sick, or rid himself of the thorn in the flesh, though it so sorely distressed him. So Paul had the gift of tongues, yet his knowledge in this respect was
* Neander.
t What would the pilgrim-missionary have thought if he had read the following account of his apostolic successor, given by an English traveller in Cyprus 1800 years after? — “I entered the city by the gate of Larnica, and was conducted to the Episcopal palace through a number of narrow lanes, where my horse was nearly buried in mud and filth. The archbishop, dressed in a magnificent purple robe, with a long flowing beard, and a silk cap on his head, received me in the vestibule, and ordered an apartment to be prepared for me in the palace, — a large and straggling building containing upwards of a hundred chambers. These are all required for the accommodation of the bishops, priests, and their attendants; for tltc archbishop, both in power and affluence, is the second personage on the island. ... At seven o’clock, supper being announced, he took me by the hand and led me through a gallery into the refectory, — a long and dirty hall, where about thirty priests and bishops sat down to table The wine and provisions were excellent and abundant, and the bread, which was white as snow, and baked with milk instead of water was the best I remember to have tasted.” — Kinneir’s Journey ihrowjh Asia Minor, p. 1SS.
limited, as we shall see at Lystra, where the Lycaonian dialect was unintelligible to him. So Paul had the spirit of prophecy as to Antichrist; and, when tossed by the storm in Adria, could predict that not a life would be lost, and that they should be cast away on a certain island; but when he parted from the Ephesian elders, on his third circuit, he could not foresee that he should visit them again.”*
It is worthy of note, that from this time forward the great apostle always takes the name of Paul. Saul is never used again, either in the Acts of the Apostles, nor does he use it himself in the course of his own epistles. What was the cause or meaning of this change of name 1 There must have been some reason for it. We know it was a common thing, with many of God’s favoured servants, to have an alteration of name at some important periods of their history. Abram’s name was changed to Abraham; Simon was changed to Peter (the Rock). Some think that Saul took the name of Paul in honour of Sergius Paul as becoming a Christian — that just as Pagan heroes derived their new titles from the cities or countries they conquered, so Saul adopted a new name from the first conquest he had made by the “sword of the Spirit” in this island. But it is more likely intended to mark his calling as a missionary to the heathen and Gentiles. He dropped his name Saul, which was his Jewish one; and he takes the title Paul, which was his Roman one, as it was henceforth not among the Hebrews, but the Pagan Romans, that his greatest triumphs were to be won.t He adopted the change at this particular time, as God had granted him such
* Lewiu, vol. i. p. 143. t Origen. See Calmet’s Commentary. marked favour and success in Cyprus, — a place which was always considered very wicked and sinful.
Be this, however, as it may, Paul “thanked God and took courage.” He prepared to buckle on his armour for new battles and new victories. He was now about, like Abraham, when he received his change of name, to become the spiritual “father of many nations.”