In Acts 13:1-12 it is easy to see how God can work in a person's life. This story shows us the journey Paul and Barnabas take to Cyprus, the preaching and witnessing they do to the people who come to the synagogues, and the way God shows the governor that he really can do miracles in anyone's life. We see how God is good, but can use evil to punish those who try to deny his word. This message prepares the way for the rest of Paul's journey by helping him see that it is important to show others how much God can do for their lives. Paul learns that things aren't always easy and that it takes some work to get others to believe in God. In order to explore this theme I will discuss the contextual, literary, and historical aspects of this paper.
Acts 13 begins in a church at Antioch where prophets and teachers are gathered. Saul and Barnabas were called by God to be set apart and to do work for him. They sailed to Cyprus and headed to different towns to preach the word of God in the synagogues. They met a magician in Paphos who called them over so he could hear the word of God, but he turned everything that Saul and Barnabas said around and made it evil. …
