Menof Renown Heros and Villans of the Who am I?

 I was a Jew  I tried to prevent the leader of my country from believing in  I was a resident of  I was a sorcerer  I was blinded for a time

I am Elymas the Scorcerer Elymas the name

 Elymas, also known as Bar-Jesus (arc. Bar-Yeshua, lat. Bariesu),  His name was Bar-Jesus or Bar-Yeshua which means "son of Joshua" in .  He was known as a sorcerer  Elymas means "Wise" in Arabic and was interpreted as sorcerer in KJV

Who was Elymus?

 a sorcerer,  a ,  a Jew,  His name was Bar-jesus  Known as Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation)

Acts, chapter 13 4: So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. 5: And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the : and they had also John to their minister. 6: And when they had gone through the isle unto , they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus: 7: Which was with the deputy of the country, , a prudent man; who called for and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. 8: But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. 9: Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, 10: And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? 11: And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. 12: Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord. Where is Paphos?

Who was Sergius Paulus?

 deputy of the country  a prudent man;  called for Barnabas and Saul,  he was a Proconsul  the Romans sent two different kinds of governors into the provinces. ◦ Some of the provinces were Caesarean or imperial  into those they sent a proprætor, a magistrate of ancient Rome who governed a province after serving as a prætor in Rome. ◦ Other provinces belonged to the senate and people of Rome  into those they sent proconsuls, a governor appointed for one year by the senate ◦ Cyprus had formerly been an imperial province; but Augustus, who made the distinction, had given it to the people, so it was governed by a proconsul.  (Rosenmuller) Why was Elymas where he was?

 common for Roman officials to retain the services of Jewish civic leaders as close personal counselors and advisers throughout the Empire.  Elymas was probably an extremely highly placed individual within the local Jewish community.  There is a tradition in Cyprus ◦ Paul was taken to the entrance of the local synagogue and tied to a special pillar ◦ received 39 lashes for the ‘intentional sin’ of preaching about the Lord Jesus Christ ◦ This pillar at St Paul’s church in Paphos, is still visited by countless pilgrims

What Paul did

 He was filled with the Holy Ghost,  He set his eyes on him, And said,  O full of all subtilty and all mischief,  thou child of the devil,  thou enemy of all righteousness,  wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord  He performed his first recorded miracle

What Sergius Paulus did

 was obviously impressed by this miracle performed before his very eyes.  he converted to the Faith.  Sergius Paulus may have himself given him the name Paulus in token of his favour and respect to him

Importance of this event

 Conversion of a Roman official  Paul’s first recorded miracle  officially marks the name change from Saul to Paul.  Paul becomes the missionary leader