Acts 13:6

And when they had gone through the whole island unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-Jesus; who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of understanding. The same called unto him Barnabas and Saul, and sought to hear the word of God.

The sad state of affairs on Cyprus is emphasized by the fact of such a practitioner of evil as Bar-Jesus enjoying the status of an advisor to the governor.

Proconsul ... It was once a favorite conceit of critical antagonists of the New Testament that Luke erred in this title given Sergius Paulus; but the excavation of a coin with this title for the ruler of Cyprus refuted their error, not Luke's![13]

Paphos ... This was the seat of the government on Cyprus, being the residence of the governor who was "a man of understanding." The "understanding" attributed to Sergius Paulus does not have reference to any secular or literary learning that he possessed, but to the fact of his seeking to hear the "word of God." Only they who thus seek to know the will of God may properly be credited with such an attribute as "understanding." The fact of Bar-Jesus' having been a Jew suggests that Sergius Paulus had made inquiry into the beliefs of the Jews and may therefore be presumed to have had some knowledge of the sacred Scriptures. As MacGreggor admitted, "there would be nothing extraordinary in a Roman official having a Jewish teacher in his house."[14]

[13] For a picture of this coin, see J. W. Conybeare, op. cit., p. 123.

[14] G. H. C. MacGreggor, op. cit., p. 169.