In Ephesus
19
📚And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having traveled through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples,19:1 See Acts 18:19. Priscilla and Aquila had not been able to instruct all the disciples in Ephesus as they had Apollos (Acts 18:26). These men, twelve in number (v 7), had either been baptized by John the Baptist in Judea, or by a disciple of John who had baptized them somewhere else (v 3). If they had been to Judea they must have left there before the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, before the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. They had not gone on to these great truths.⚜
2 📚he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit”.
19:2 Evidently their manner of living and their conversation made Paul wonder about their spiritual condition and knowledge of the things of Christ. His question indicates his conviction that if they had really believed in Christ they would have received the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13; Gal 3:14; Rom 8:9). Their reply revealed how little they knew of events after John’s death.⚜
3 📚And he said to them, “Then into what were you baptized?”
And they said, “Into John’s baptism”.
4 📚Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe on him who was to come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus”. 5 📚When they heard this, they were baptized in the name 📖 of the Lord Jesus.
6 📚And when Paul laid hands 📖 on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke with tongues 📖 and prophesied. 7 Altogether there were about twelve men.
8 📚And he went into the synagogue, and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and speaking persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 📚But when some became hardened and refused to believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the crowds, he left them, and separated the disciples, and spoke daily in the school of Tyrannus.
19:9 See Acts 13:45-46; 14:19; 17:5, 13; 18:5-6. In those days sometimes the way of Christ was called simply “the Way”.⚜
10 📚And this continued for two years, so that everyone who lived in the province of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord Jesus.
19:10 In all his journeys Paul never stayed so long in any other city (Acts 20:31). And this was in a place which God had once kept him from entering (Acts 16:6; 18:19).⚜
11 📚And God performed special miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 📚so that from his body handkerchiefs or aprons were taken to the sick, and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
19:11-12 God used this way to convince everyone that Paul was His apostle (2 Cor 12:11-12). See notes at Acts 5:15; 8:15, 17 also. Paul did not attempt to do these miracles himself and he made no gain from them.⚜
13 📚Then some traveling Jews, exorcists, undertook to call out the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We command you by Jesus whom Paul preaches”. 14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, who did so. 15 📚And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?” 16 📚And the man who had the evil spirit leaped on them and overpowered them and showed his strength against them, so that they ran out of that house naked and wounded.
17 📚And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
19:17 The failure of the sons of Sceva to drive out demons had a good result. It was in sharp contrast with the power of God displayed through Paul (vs 11,12). God can use all such things, if He wills, for the advancement of the gospel.⚜
18 📚And many who believed came, and confessed and made known their evil deeds. 19 📚Also many of those who practiced magic arts brought their books together, and burned them before everyone. And they counted up the value of them and found it was fifty thousand pieces of silver.
19:19 They had seen the power of the true God at work and realized the evil of sorcery and how little power it had in comparison with God’s power. On sorcery see Deut 18:9-11. This is the third mention of it in Acts (Acts 8:9-11; 13:8-10). Their “books” were writings containing magical spells. Fifty thousand pieces of silver was a huge sum. One piece of silver was a day’s wage for a laborer. 50,000 was enough for one’s wages for 140 years! Notice they did not sell these books and use the money. They saw the evil of sorcery and wanted the books utterly destroyed. See their great zeal for God’s truth once they learned it.⚜
20 📚So mightily the Word of God grew and showed its power.
21 📚After these things were over, Paul purposed in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem, when he had traveled through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, I must see Rome also”.
19:21 One reason for the visit to Jerusalem was to take a contribution from the churches to the poor believers there (see 1 Cor 16:1-4; 2 Cor 8:1—9:15). He had long had a desire to visit Rome (Rom 1:15; 15:23-28). Here he says he “must” do so. Does this not indicate that he was conscious of God’s will in this (Acts 20:22)?⚜
22 📚So he sent into Macedonia two of those who assisted him, Timothy and Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time.
23 📚And at that same time there arose no small disturbance about the Way.
24 📚For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Diana 📖, was bringing in no small profit to the craftsmen.
19:24 Verse 9.⚜
25 📚He called them together, along with the workmen of similar occupations, and said, “Men, you know that we have our income from this work. 26 📚Moreover you see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but almost throughout all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and taken away many people, saying that gods which are made with hands are not gods at all. 27 📚So that not only is this craft of ours in danger of falling into contempt, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised, and her magnificence may be destroyed, she whom all Asia and the world worships”.
28 📚And when they heard this, they were filled with anger and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”
19:28 Love of money and fanaticism for false religion are a dangerous combination.⚜
29 📚And the whole city was filled with confusion, and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s traveling companions, they rushed into the theatre with one accord. 30 📚And when Paul wanted to go inside to the people, the disciples would not let him. 31 📚And some of the officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent word to him begging him not to venture into the theatre.
32 📚So some cried out one thing, and some another, for the assembly was confused, and the majority did not know why they had come together. 33 📚And they drew Alexander out of the crowd, the Jews having pushed him forward. And Alexander gestured with his hand, and wanted to make his defense before the people. 34 📚But when they found out that he was a Jew, all cried out with one voice for about two hours: “Great is Diana of the Ephesians”.
19:34 They knew that the views of the Jews on idolatry were the same as that of the Christians (Ex 20:1-5; Ps 115:2-8). They shouted for two hours about the greatness of Diana but does anyone worship her today? Her huge temple at Ephesus is now buried in a swamp.⚜
35 📚And when the town clerk had quieted the people, he said, “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana and of the image which fell down from heaven 📖? 36 📚Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet, and do nothing rashly. 37 📚For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples, nor blasphemers of your goddess. 38 📚Therefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen who are with him, have a matter against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you enquire about any other matter, it must be decided in a lawful assembly. 40 📚For we are in danger of being called to answer for this day’s uproar, there being no reason we may give to account for this riot”. 41 📚And when he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
19:38-41 Ephesus was ruled by Rome. “Proconsuls” (v 38) were Roman governors. The people had no right to take the law into their own hands and they could have been in trouble with the authorities if they had tried to do so. Therefore the city clerk coolly alleviate the crowd and sent them away.⚜