In Acts chapter 13, Paul meets a magician on Cyprus.
I wonder if, as you read that, you found yourself thinking this was familiar. Ah yes, there was another magician in Acts chapter 8. There, Simon the Magician met with Philip, and then with Peter. Here Bar-Jesus or Elymas met with Paul.
There are differences between them. Most notably, Simon was (superficially, at least) converted; Elymas was not.
Nevertheless, this is one of those passages in Acts that gives the reader a sense of deja-vu.
That is no accident; Luke is a very careful story-teller. In particular, the focus has now moved from Peter to Saul or Paul. Peter was a disciple of the Lord. He may have denied him at his trial, but he was reinstated, and his authority was beyond question. Paul is a different kettle of fish. This is the Pharisee who persecuted the church, who only met Jesus after the ascension. Was he a proper apostle? Lots of people questioned it (and his authority to tell churches what to believe or do is questioned today as well).
Luke knew this. So he very carefully records Paul doing a lot of the things that Peter did. See how many more you can find as you read through Acts. (I'll give you a clue: Paul will escape from prison miraculously as well - but there are many more). Paul is meant to remind us of Peter. He's another from the same mould. Which is Luke's way of impressing on our hearts the fact that he is an apostle of the Lord, just as much as Peter is.
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