Acts 13:12 (ESV Strong's)
Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
When God Corrects One, the Other Might Believe
In order to understand the above passage we have to note the context. The “proconsul” was a big influencer in the two Paul and Barnabas had visited (Salamis). Paul and Barnabas were sent out by the church to spread the gospel. When they are arrived at Salamis they were met with great joy by many in the synagogue but also, this man, Sergius Paulus. It reads that he was a man of intelligence. But, they were also meet by a man of great fame and power, Elymas, the magician. Elymas, the Jewish leaders later, became jealous of the attention the people gave Paul and not him. He attempted to stop Paul and Barnabas from teaching the gospel to everyone, including the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. Paul does not shrink from the moment. Paul take the man on in a spiritual sense and, in the power of God, curses him and tells him he will become blind. When Paul finishes the curse the man does become blind and we don’t hear from him again. His spiritual blindness was manifested as physical blindness. We should rejoice in the power of God that was given to Paul to make sure the gospel was heard.
That is the context for the above verse. When Sergius Paulus sees this thing happened he becomes fascinated with God’s Word and the power of it. When Sergius saw Elymas, the fool, corrected, he took notice of the wisdom of God. Notice how Solomon talked about this very thought in his proverbs:
Proverbs 19:25 (KJV)
Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware:
and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.
When we “smite” a scorner, others take notice. A fool will always be a fool. But, when we correct a fool, the simply become wise. This is what happened in this story in Acts. God fulfilled Solomon’s words as He reached out and gave forgiveness of sins to Sergius.
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