The Intelligent Man

June 18

(Acts 13:6-7 NIV) "They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, {7} who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God."

(1 Corinthians 1:18-25 NIV) ““For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. {19} For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." {20} Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? {21} For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. {22} Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, {23} but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, {24} but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. {25} For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.””

After sailing to the island of Cyprus, Saul and Barnabas preached in the city of Salamis. Then they traveled to Paphos where they met a sorcerer and a seeker. The sorcerer was a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus Elymas. The seeker’s name was Sergius Paulus. He was a proconsul, which means he was a man of power. Luke describes him as an intelligent man who invited Saul and Barnabas to his house because he wanted to hear the word of God. Truly intelligent people still want to hear the word of God. Christianity is often derided as a religion for the gullible and the unsophisticated, but the opposite is really true. Intelligence and seeking God go together. One could even say that the essence of true intelligence is seeking God. The traditional Christmas time phrase, “Wise Men Still Seek Him”, is an intelligent statement year round. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day