SATURDAY 19TH MAY, 2018 MORNING PRAYER DEVOTION
SCRIPTURE READING:– ACTS 13:4-12
TOPIC:- YOUR BAR-JESUS MUST DIE
TEXT:- ACTS 13:6
The name Bar-Jesus is a bit of a challenge, because very old sources don’t think that this was really his name. How it came to be Bar-Jesus nobody knows, and neither is it clear what the man’s name actually was.
It all becomes more complicated when the author of Acts explains that the magician was also known by his translated name Elymas, and sure enough, nobody knows what that means either, or even from which language the name Elymas stems.
It’s not even clear whether Elymas translates Bar-Jesus or the word magician. But the name Bar-Jesus would be a perfectly plausible Semitic name, consisting of two elements, the first of which being, “bar” which is the Aramaic word for son.
The Aramaic word “bar” which is cognate of the Hebrew word ‘ben’, basically meaning son, (ben) under the name Ben. Thus Bar-Jesus was a very powerful man in the government His name means “son of the Savior,” but he is also known as Elymas, meaning “Wise” in Arabic.
Bar-Jesus in the Bible is a “certain magician, a Jewish false Prophet”. He resides with the proconsul Sergius Paulus at Paphos on the Island of Cyprus. The proconsul asks for Paul and Barnabas to come over and explain things to him, but Bar-Jesus works against Paul and Barnabas. That leads Paul to rebuke the magician, who in turn becomes blind. Acts 13:6
Barnabas and Saul arrive at Paphos they are challenged by a “sorcerer and false prophet” named Bar-Jesus, or Bar-Joshua. Bar-Jesus was a counselor for Sergius Paulus, the Roman proconsul on Cyprus.
Sergius Paulus wishes to meet with Saul, but Bar-Jesus opposes this meeting. Paul is described as “full of the Spirit” as he condemns Bar-Jesus.
Paul accuses him of trickery and deceit, and perverting the ways of the Lord. Paul then blinds the man, and he had to be led away. This is in itself a rather unique event in the New Testament, but the miracle is also a symbolic act.
Prayer Points:-
1. I silence every spirit of magic operating in my life now by fire, in the name of Jesus Christ.
2. I silence the magician’s influence in my life, and I release myself from their trap, in the name of Jesus Christ.
3. I receive discerning spirit to discern all tricks and deceit of diabolic power hovering around my life, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Have A Lovely Saturday!
