Bar-Jesus

Biblical Account

Bar-Jesus appears only in Acts 13:4-12. Sent out by the church at Antioch, Paul and Barnabas took Mark along as their assistant and traveled across the island of Cyprus to Paphos at its western end. This journey is commonly regarded as the beginning of Paul's first missionary journey. At Paphos they found "a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus," who was with the proconsul (the governor of a Roman province), Sergius Paulus (Acts 13:6-7).

When the proconsul summoned Barnabas and Saul because he wished to hear the word of God, Bar-Jesus opposed them, "seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith" (Acts 13:8). Then "Saul, (who also is called Paul,)" filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes on him and rebuked him as a "child of the devil" and an "enemy of all righteousness." He declared that the hand of the Lord was upon him and that he would be blind, "not seeing the sun for a season"; immediately the man lost his sight and went about seeking someone to lead him by the hand (Acts 13:9-11). When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, "being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord" (Acts 13:12).

Name

Bar-Jesus is Aramaic for "son of Jesus (Joshua)." Acts 13:8 also calls him Elymas and explains that this name, "by interpretation," means "sorcerer." The etymology of Elymas is uncertain. Scholars disagree about the language from which it derives, and some manuscripts are known to preserve variant spellings.

Significance in Scripture

The account is read as a confrontation with the forces that sought to block the gospel as it reached a high-ranking Gentile official. Together with the account of Simon the Sorcerer in Acts 8, it is frequently cited as an example of the gospel confronting sorcery and magic in the early church. In this scene Acts refers to Saul as Paul for the first time, and from this point Paul becomes the central figure of the missionary narrative. Some interpreters also compare this incident with Paul's own temporary blindness at Damascus (Acts 9:8-9).

Interpretation and Debated Issues

• The nature of the blindness: The text says only "for a season," indicating that the blindness was a temporary discipline rather than a permanent punishment. Some interpreters see this as leaving room for repentance. The text, however, does not say whether Bar-Jesus later repented.
• The change of name: Since ancient times some have conjectured that Paul took his name from Sergius Paulus. The text, however, says only "Saul, (who also is called Paul,)" without giving a reason. Today the widely accepted view is that Paul bore both a Hebrew name and a Roman name from the outset.
• Punitive miracles: The question of whether power of the kind displayed in this incident still appears today bears on the debate over cessationism and continuationism, on which denominations and theological traditions reach differing conclusions.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, Bar-Jesus is discussed chiefly in expository sermons on Acts 13 and in sermons on missions. He is cited as an example in discussions of spiritual opposition that hinders the spread of the gospel, the relationship between faith and divination or sorcery, and the discernment of false teaching. In Sunday school lessons, he is often presented as one episode in the story of Paul's first missionary journey.