John Calvin Commentary Acts 13:10

"and said, O full of all guile and all villany, thou son of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?" — Acts 13:10 (ASV)

O thou full of deceit. It was not without cause that Paul was so intense and angry, for he had no hope of doing any good if he were to deal in a moderate and mild way. We must always begin with doctrine, and those who do not yet appear to be altogether obstinate are also to be admonished, exhorted, and urged on.

Neither does Paul so vehemently inveigh against the sorcerer at first; but when he sees him maliciously and openly fight against the doctrine of godliness, he handles him like a slave of Satan. Thus we must deal with the desperate enemies of the gospel, in whom appears open contumacy and wicked contempt of God, especially when they stop the way before others. And lest anyone should think that Paul was excessively angry, Luke says plainly that the inspiration of the Spirit was his guide.

Therefore, this heat of zeal is not only not to be rebuked, but it ought to make the profane condemners of God very afraid, who do not fear to rebel against His word; for this judgment is given upon them all not by mortal man, but by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of Paul.

Regarding the words, this passage refutes the error of those who think that Paul took his name from the deputy, as if he had set up some token of victory. Many strong reasons may be brought to the contrary, but this one passage is sufficient, where Luke shows that when the deputy was not yet brought to the faith, Paul had two names. And undoubtedly, he retained his own name among the Jews; and we know that it was a usual thing for those who were Roman citizens to borrow an Italian name.

Luke joins subtlety with deceit, which is contrary to sincerity; namely, while crafty men twist their ingenuity here and there, so that they have no simplicity in them. Though the Greek word Luke uses signifies a ready boldness to do harm, the former meaning agrees better. Son of the devil means a reprobate and desperate man. Such are all those who maliciously resist what is just and right, as if by deliberate design. Therefore, Paul adds that he is a great enemy of all righteousness.

Dost thou not cease to pervert? He calls all those means by which the Lord brings us to Himself the ways of the Lord. He testifies that this way is plain and straight, and he accuses the sorcerer of making it crooked, full of turnings, and doubtful with his twists and turns. From this, a profitable doctrine can be gathered: that it happens through the subtlety of Satan that we do not readily, in a straight course, go to the Lord. For He shows us in His word a plain way, one that is not thorny. Therefore, we must be very wary of seducers, who trouble the way with their ditches or thorns, or else make it hard and unpleasant.

And it is appropriate to repeat here what I mentioned before: that the servants of Christ must not be blamed if they severely inveigh against the professed enemies of sound doctrine, unless we want to accuse the Holy Spirit of intemperance. Nor am I ignorant of how easily people can fall in this matter, for which reason godly teachers must be all the more careful:

1. that they do not indulge the desires of the flesh too much under the guise of zeal;
2. that they do not break out with headlong and unseasonable heat where there is still place for moderation;
3. that they do not give themselves over to foolish and improper railing, but only express the impropriety of the thing with gravity and weight of words.

Such was the vehemence of holy zeal and of the Spirit in the prophets, which if delicate and soft men judge troublesome and raging, they do not consider how dear and precious God’s truth is to Him.

Now, not just one Elymas rises to subvert the faith, but many, and those who are far more wicked. For we see with what sacrilegious boldness they rob God of all honor; with what filthy corruptions they profane all religion; how cruelly they throw miserable souls headlong into eternal destruction; how improperly they mock Christ; how foully they disfigure the entire worship of God; with what cruel reproaches they tear apart the holy truth of God; with what barbarous tyranny they devastate the Church of God, so that one would say they tread God underfoot.

And yet there are many irritable philosophers who would have these furious giants flattered. But since it evidently appears that such individuals have never tasted what this means: The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up (Psalms 69:9), let us, setting aside their coldness, or rather sluggishness, be most fervent, as befits us, in maintaining the glory of God.