Who Was Bar Jesus (Acts 13,6-12)? 81 Finally, I draw attention to the fact that Luke was aware of other false claimants in the communities he knew. In Acts 19,13-16, he exposes the sons of Scaeva who use the Name to exorcise. In his Gospel, he repeats Mark’s report that there was a man casting out demons ‘in the name of Jesus’, but he was forbidden by the disciples because he was not ‘following with us’ (Luke 9,49-50//Mark 9,38-40). In addition, even Apollos, already a Christian, needed to have the way of God expounded to him more accurately (18,26). Bar Jesus belonged to a category somewhere between Apollos and the sons of Scaeva. He had the name, ‘son of Jesus’, but he did not follow the correct understanding of the way of God as taught by Paul and Barnabas. * ** In summary, I have proposed an alternative understanding of Bar Jesus to that given in scholarship. I have argued that Luke represents Bar Jesus in Acts 13 as a serious opponent of the Christian faith, not because he taught or practiced heathen magic, nor because he practiced some kind of syncretism, but because he taught the righteous ways of God in a false way. Bar Jesus claimed to be a prophet, he claimed to live up to his name as a ‘son of Jesus’ who correctly understood the way of the Lord, but the Lukan Paul exposed him as a false exponent of that way. Testing the spirit, and distinguishing true prophecy from false were difficult issues in many early Christian communities. But Luke was not afraid to make that judgment. For him, it was Paul, a man filled with a holy spirit who had authority in the teaching of the Lord, and his true exposition of the righteous ways of God convinced the intelligent proconsul who then believed. Studies in Religion Rick STRELAN University of Queensland Brisbane, Australia 4072 SUMMARY In Acts 13, Bar Jesus is confronted by Paul and cursed by him. This false prophet is generally thought to have been syncretistic and virtually pagan in his magical practices. This article argues that he was in fact very much within the synagogue and that he had been teaching the ways of the Lord. He was also a threat to the Christian community of Paphos and may even have belonged inside of it. Luke regards him as a serious threat to the faith because of his false teaching about righteousness and the ways of the Lord.