Episode 1499: Acts of the Apostles (Part 7, Ch 9-Paul)

Episode 9 brought a very different witness before the tribunal: Sergius Paulus, the former Roman proconsul of Cyprus. Sergius described himself as a man dissatisfied with the religious world around him. He could perform the prescribed sacrifices and observe the rituals of Roman religion, yet still leave with the same unanswered questions. When reports reached him about Paul and Barnabas, he summoned them because he genuinely wanted to hear what they were teaching and determine whether their claims deserved to be believed.

Sergius described how Elymas, a Jewish magician and false prophet associated with his court, tried to turn him away from Paul’s message. Paul confronted Elymas, accusing him of deceit and of opposing the ways of the Lord, and declared that he would be blind for a time. Sergius then watched as mist and darkness came over Elymas and the man searched for someone to lead him by the hand. Yet Sergius insisted that the miracle itself was not what ultimately produced his faith. The sign commanded his attention, but the message won his conviction. He became convinced that the God Paul proclaimed was real and that Jesus Christ was Lord.

Varro seized on the political significance of the testimony. Paul had entered a Roman province, proclaimed an authority higher than Caesar, and persuaded the province’s Roman governor to believe him. Sergius acknowledged the personal danger of admitting that faith publicly under Nero, but refused to protect himself by pretending that he had heard Paul and rejected him. His testimony strengthened both sides of the case: Paul had never asked Sergius to rebel against Rome, yet his message had reached into Roman authority itself and persuaded a Roman official that Caesar was not the highest Lord.