Acts · chapter 19 of 28
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Acts 19 tells how Paul, in Ephesus, baptizes twelve disciples of John who receive the Holy Spirit, teaches for two years in the hall of Tyrannus and God does extraordinary miracles by his hands. The sons of Sceva fail when they invoke the name of Jesus, many burn their magic books, and the silversmith Demetrius stirs up a riot against Paul over the goddess Artemis, which the town clerk calms.
Ephesus was a great commercial and religious city, home to the temple of Artemis, one of the wonders of the ancient world. Here Paul spends more time than anywhere else in his ministry. This chapter shows the power of the gospel against magic and the economics of idolatry, and how the word of the Lord grows and prevails.
Paul comes to Ephesus and finds about twelve disciples who know only John's baptism and have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. Paul explains that John told people to believe in the one who was coming after him, Jesus. They are baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, Paul lays his hands on them, and the Holy Spirit comes on them and they speak in tongues and prophesy.
For three months Paul reasons in the synagogue about the kingdom of God. When some become hardened, he teaches daily in the hall of Tyrannus for two years, so that all who live in Asia hear the word of the Lord. God does extraordinary miracles by Paul's hands: handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched his body are carried to the sick, and diseases and evil spirits leave them.
Seven sons of Sceva, Jewish exorcists, try to invoke the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches. The evil spirit answers that it knows Jesus and Paul, but not them; the man overpowers them and they flee naked and wounded. Fear falls on all, and the name of the Lord Jesus is extolled. Many confess their practices, and those who had practiced magic burn their books in the sight of all, worth fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord grows and prevails.
Paul resolves to go to Jerusalem and then to Rome. Then the silversmith Demetrius, who makes silver shrines of Artemis, gathers the craftsmen and says that Paul is turning away many people and that the worship of the great goddess is in danger. The city fills with confusion and rushes to the theater, and for two hours they cry out: Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! The town clerk quiets the crowd, says there are courts for complaints and that they risk being charged with rioting, and dismisses the assembly.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The twelve disciples are baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, and when Paul lays his hands on them the Holy Spirit comes on them. Receiving the Spirit is an essential part of belonging to Christ, and here it is fulfilled in plain sight.
For two years Paul teaches daily, and all who lived in Asia hear the word of the Lord Jesus. A ministry centered in one city reached a whole province through those who heard and went out to tell.
Those who practiced magic burn their books in the sight of all, and the value comes to fifty thousand pieces of silver. Conversion has a visible cost: breaking with what was once valued.
The word of the Lord grows and prevails mightily. The narrator sums up that the gospel advances over magic, idolatry and opposition.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: That they knew only John's baptism and had not heard of the Holy Spirit. — Acts 19:2-3
Answer: In the hall of Tyrannus. — Acts 19:9-10
Answer: That it knew Jesus and Paul, but did not know who they were. — Acts 19:15
Answer: They burned their books in the sight of all. — Acts 19:19
Answer: Because Paul said gods made with hands are not gods, and his business of Artemis shrines was in danger. — Acts 19:24-27
Answer: Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! — Acts 19:28
The sons of Sceva remind us that the name of Jesus is not a magic formula but the authority of a person one knows. In your group, ask whether your faith is a personal knowledge of Christ or only religious habit.
The burning of the books shows a conversion that costs something. Ask what habit, relationship or source of security you need to leave behind to follow Jesus more closely. The chapter also teaches us not to fear when the gospel disturbs economic interests: the word of God keeps growing.
Acts 19 ends with the assembly dismissed and Paul safe, preparing to leave Ephesus. Acts 20 tells of his journey through Macedonia and Greece, the raising of Eutychus in Troas and the moving farewell speech to the elders of Ephesus.
They were followers of John the Baptist who had received his baptism of repentance but did not know Jesus's work or the gift of the Spirit. Their case is exceptional and marks the transition between John's time and the church's. Paul presents Jesus to them, they are baptized and they receive the Spirit.
They were cloths from his manual work that people carried to the sick. The text stresses that it is God who does the extraordinary miracles by Paul's hands, not a power in the objects themselves.
It is a very large sum, which shows the value of the magic books burned and the cost of conversion. Each piece was roughly a day's wage for a laborer, which suggests an enormous amount.