As I prepare for my upcoming journey, I grow more and more excited about the places I will be visiting. Perhaps the place I anticipate as being the most scenic is the small island of Cyprus, which sits on the western edge of the Mediterranean Sea. This small island is sort of in-the-way of the trade routes on the Sea making it a common stop for travelers and traders. Cyprus appears to be the first stop for Paul and Barnabas on what is typically called their first missionary journey.

Acts 13:4-7, 12 — So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God… Then the proconsul believed, when he was what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

This is an interesting passage for two main reasons. First, we read about the proconsul of Cyprus being converted. Paul, as was his custom, begins by teaching in the synagogues and to the Jews. But through a side story involving a magician Bar-Jesus (Elymas), he runs into a political leader of the island. The importance of the conversion is not readily listed, but many scholars believe that it was Sergius Paulus who assisted Paul’s ministry into Asia Minor. In other words, the conversion of the proconsul gave Paul some credence and validity when he ventured into the largely-Gentile areas.

The second item of interest are the names used by the protagonists. Before this passage, the apostle Paul is referred to as Saul throughout the book of Acts. After this passage, he takes on the name Paul.

Acts 13:9 — But Saul, who was also called Paul…

It is this passage where we see Paul’s name change. There has been speculation for centuries as to what prompts this change. Some believe it has to do with Paul taking on a Roman name to be more effective in Gentile areas. Others say it may be an act of modesty — tradition has Paul as being a short, bald man and the word “Paul” means “little.” Another possibility, which intrigues me, is that Paul took on this name due in some way to the conversion of Sergius Paulus.

It could have been that Sergius Paulus asked Paul to take on his name or it could have been prompted by Paul himself as an honor or symbol of their new kinship. This is one of those relatively unimportant things that we cannot know for sure about until we are together with Paul and Sergius Paulus in heaven. Nevertheless, the Bible is full of symbols.

I do not expect to return home from Cyprus with a definitive answer to Paul’s name change. But I am very excited to visit the island that had an obvious effect on Paul and his ministry.

I appreciate your prayers for me and my family as we are apart over the next couple of weeks. I expect to have limited access to the Internet, but look forward to sharing my thoughts and pictures soon.

Thank you, God, for the ability to travel, for the amazing sights and history, and for the beautiful people scattered across this planet.

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This entry was posted by zac on Thursday, January 10th, 2008 at 7:51 am and is filed under Weekly Jib Jab. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.