Bar-Jesus and Saul

by Edwin Crozier

The first stop for Barnabas and Saul on this first missionary journey has some really interesting wordplay in the names.

First, you’ve got Bar-Jesus and Barnabas. The first literally means “son of Jesus,” and the second literally means “son of the prophets.” Luke gives us more insight by calling him the “son of encouragement” (Acts 4:36). Paul gives more insight into Bar-Jesus when he calls the magician a “son of the devil” (Acts 13:10).

Then, we meet a proconsul named Sergius Paulus. Oddly enough, in this story we will discover Saul was also known by the Greek name Paul. From this point on in Acts, he will take that Greek name. That shift likely happens because he travels in Greek regions and works among Greek speakers. Yet, how odd that Luke brings it up in an event where we meet another Paul.

However, more intriguing than the contrasting wordplay is the contrast in character. Bar-Jesus was a Jewish false prophet who was attacking and speaking against the gospel. Though Saul was not called a prophet before becoming a Christian, he, like Bar-Jesus, had opposed the gospel. But the same thing happened to Bar-Jesus as it had to Saul. He was struck blind for a time and had to seek people to lead him by the hand (see Acts 9:8). However, for all the wordplay with names and such, we see the real distinction. Sergius Paulus turned to the Lord when he saw what happened to Bar-Jesus. But we hear nothing of Bar-Jesus's conversation. When Saul was struck blind, he responded with submission. When Bar-Jesus was struck blind, he didn’t respond at all.

This gets back to one point. Saul chose to follow Jesus. Bar-Jesus, whose name means “son of Jesus,” chose not to. Folks often want to fixate on all the events that happen to them. It’s as if some believe they had to respond the way they did because of what they experienced. But these two men experienced similar things, yet they chose to respond differently.

This leaves us with the question. Not what has happened to me and where has it led me? Rather, how will I respond to Jesus? How will you?

Can we help you surrender to Jesus as both of the Pauls did?