Acts 19:1- "And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples 2 he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." 3 And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" So they said, "Into John's baptism."" 4 Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would 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 had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 7 Now the men were about twelve in all."

A. "And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul..."

1. The scene shifts in chapter 19 from Apollos going to Corinth to Paul's work in Ephesus.

2. Paul was returning from his trip to Antioch of Syria. He first went through the eastern part of Asia Minor visiting the congregations that he, Barnabas, and Silas had planted. He had promised to return to Ephesus. Now he was keeping that promise.

B. "And finding some disciples he said to them..."

1. Paul had left Ephesus early, thus he expected to find brethren in various states of development. It seems from here that these men were disciples of either Apollos before he was converted, or simply more disciples of John the Baptist.

2. Verse 2 shows us that a person could be a Christian in the first century and still not exercise the various spiritual gifts that were available. These were only available to those upon whom the Apostles had laid their hands. See Acts 8:14-18.

3. Not having the miraculous workings of the Holy Spirit did not prove that these men were not Christians. Not understanding whether there was a Holy Spirit did.

4. This also shows that having the baptism of the Holy Spirit did not guarantee perfect knowledge, nor the ability to read minds. Paul had to ask questions from the men to understand their situation.

C. "Into John's baptism...."

1. John's baptism was no longer in effect because it was for a specific purpose and fulfillment.

2. It was only intended to last until the Lord had fulfilled his plan.

3. It could not be the baptism that Christians were required to submit to in order to be saved. Romans 6:1-3 teaches us that baptism is "into his death", i.e. into the death of Jesus.

4. Paul teaches us here that baptism is not valid unless it is for the right purpose. Just as we cannot be baptized into John's baptism and hope to receive salvation, we cannot be "baptized" according to some man-made ordinance at variance with God's plan and be saved.

a. "Saved before baptism"

b. "Sprinkling or pouring"

D. "When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus."

1. When the heard about the true nature of Jesus' coming, death, and kingdom they gladly submitted to being baptized into Christ's death.

2. "The name of the Lord Jesus" signifies the authority of Jesus. See also Colossians 3:17.

E. "And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied."

1. The miraculous signs signified that a Christians had the apostles hands laid on them, not that they were Christians. Paul had wanted the impart some spiritual gift to these men, just as he had desired do to the Roman brethren. See also Romans 1:11.

A. "And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months..."

1. Paul returned to the Synagogue in Ephesus, where the Jews had asked him on his earlier visit to stay and continue his preaching. See Acts 18:19-20.

2. Paul must have felt that the soil would now be prepared for bolder preaching, since he had left Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus to continue the work.

3. Paul's beginning his work in the Synagogue does not conflict with what he said in Acts 18:6. Paul had already begun the work. These Jews seemed to be eager to hear more about the gospel when he traveled through on the way back to Antioch. It would be logical to go back there to pick up where he had left off.

4. He reasoned and persuaded them about the kingdom of God.

a. This is always the content of the gospel message.

b. Reasoning is always used. The intellect is always appealed to. The whole nature of truth is such that there must first be an understanding of the facts of the gospel.

c. There must also be persuasion. The emotions, when properly armed with the truth, is always appealed to for obedience.

B. "But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude..."

1. Paul continued in the Synagogue preaching and teaching until a significant faction of the Jews turned angry.

2. The multitude here is likely the large number of Gentiles who were "God fearers."

3. Paul's reaction was to withdraw from the synagogue to a place that would be more conducive to continued teaching. He withdrew the disciples. The no longer met in the synagogue with the Jews, but now learned from Paul at the "School in Tyrannus."

4. The School of Tyrannus is likely a place where there was a large room that would be useable for a lecture hall. There is a Tyrannus in the archeological records of Ephesus who was a physician.

5. This daily teaching went on for two years and permeated the whole area around Ephesus.

6. His work had great fruit. The preaching of the gospel went forth all over the province of Asia.

A. "Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul..."

1. We need to keep in mind that the primary purpose of miracles in the New Testament period was to confirm the word of the apostles and other preachers/teachers of the gospel. See Mark 16:17ff.

2. The miraculous was done in a way which is similarly described only one other time in the New Testament. See also Acts 5:15. They are called "unusual" (literally "extraordinary")

3. They very texts shows that these were not regularity done. What was unusual about them.

a. The word means "of Lat. or.; a sudarium (sweat-cloth), i.e. towel (for wiping the perspiration from the face, or binding the face of a corpse):--handkerchief, napkin."

b. Probably Paul would use these in his work as a tentmaker. Christians would get these and use them in the healing of the sick. It was not the physical object that healed but the power of God that flowed through it.

4. Why were unusual miracles wrought in Ephesus and not in other places. Pentecostals would contend that they were wrought as a regular practice in other places, but this removed them from the unusual, which the text demands.

a. Ephesus was an unusual "hotbed" for black magic. That can be seen from the next section. Special miracle would be need to differ Christianity from paganism.

b. This would again be to confirm the Word.

5. Luke gives two categories of miracles here: the healing of true sickness, and the casting out of demons.

B. "Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying..."

1. As with faith healers today, there were fake and charlatans in the first century.

2. It is clear from the text that these men were not Christians who had apostolic hands laid on them, but were looking to make some profit off the sincere desire of those afflicted to be healed.

3. These men would travel from place to place, never staying for long. They were much like the fabled "music man" or "rainmaker" of our day.

C. "Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so...."

1. These Jews sought to cash in on the true work of the Spirit, just as the itinerant Jews were seeking to.

2. This was common among the Jews of Jesus time, i.e. to attempt these things. See Matthew 12:27.

3. Probably these men were just as surprised by the demon speaking to them as the famed witch of Endor was at bringing back Samuel. See 1 Samuel 28:7-12.

4. They got more than they had bargained for. The man, under the control of the Spirit, leaped on them, beating them and tearing at their clothes. Demons sometimes gave great strength to the persons whom the possessed. See Mark 5:2-4.

5. We need to remember that demon possession, and the power to cast them out, was temporary in nature. The demons understood that their time on the earth was limited (Matthew 8:29). Since the power to cast them out was temporary in nature (Mark 16:16ff; 1 Corinthians 13:8-10), that it is safe to assume that the power of possession was temporary as well.

a. From everything we read it seems that possession in the first century was involuntary. But the Scriptures make it plain that Christians may "stand up to the Devil" (Ephesians 6:11; James 4:7).

B. "This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified."

1. As a result of Paul's indisputable miracles, and the exposure of the fakes, man obeyed the gospel and Jesus' name was magnified through all of Ephesus.

2. One comment is in order before we close this section. There are "faith healer" galore who send people prayer clothes for a "special love offering."

a. Paul's healings were easily verified and known to all. These modern day healings are clearly open to dispute.

b. No evidence that Paul or any other New Testament preacher charged for their healings.

c. It was to confirm the truth. These modern day men always preach things contrary to the doctrine of Christ. What are they seeking to confirm? Would the Holy Spirit confirm a false message?

A. "And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds"

1. This is to be understood in the context of the passage. This caused many Ephesians to obey the gospel.

2. They were so desirous to demonstrate a changed life that they confessed their prior sins and told of their sinful practices.

B. "Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all..."

1. The preaching and miracles of Paul had an effect on those who had formerly practiced "black magic" on the gullible citizens of Ephesus.

2. They showed "fruit worthy of repentance" (Matthew 3:8).

3. They did more than "just" obey the gospel, they showed a complete change. One writer estimates that these 50,000 pieces of silver were equivalent to 50,000 days wages. Thus, this is understood as a fabulous sum.

4. It is a sign of the times that thousands are eagerly gobbling up the same kind of nonsense that these faithful brethren were burning.

C. "So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed."

1. The gospel continued to experience a broad audience and fast growth.

2. It was a result of the great preaching of the Word, the confirming it with signs, and the faithfulness of the new brother and sisters in Christ.

A. "When these things were accomplished"

1. The gospel had been firmly established in Ephesus. It was likely full-grown with elders and deacons and had it's share of those with spiritual gifts to guide it.

2. Paul never stayed at a place once it was on solid ground, but would always travel on to an area with was either virgin territory for the gospel of where the church was weak.

3. Paul now began his roundabout journey which would end in his being arrested, imprisoned and eventually traveling to the very heart of the Roman Empire itself, Rome.

B. "When these things were accomplished..."

1. It is impossible to determine from the passage whether or not Paul's travels were directly commanded by the Holy Spirit, or whether it was a decision of Paul that was approved by the Holy Spirit. In either event it was clear that God saw greater events unfolding in the life of Paul.

2. Paul clearly saw a greater purpose for him in mind. He was determined to travel to Rome to preach the gospel. He had transmitted this desire to the Roman brethren (Romans 1:10-11, 15).

3. He was also desirous to travel to Jerusalem. His purpose in this was to take the contributions of the various Gentile brethren to the church in Jerusalem for the care of the needy saints there. See Romans 15:25; 1 Corinthians 16:1-3; 2 Corinthians 8,9)

C. "So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time."

1. Paul returned to Ephesus but dispatched two of his most trusted young helpers, Timothy and Erastus (Concerning Erastus see Romans 16:23 and 2 Timothy 4:20). It is likely that they were sent to collect the funds for the various churches around Philippi and Greece. It was also during this time that they had traveled on to Corinth to deal with the problems that existed in the Corinthian church (at least Timothy, 1 Corinthians 4:17).

A. "And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way."

1. It was in the spring of the year that Ephesus held a great month long religious festival for their patron god Diana (Artemas).

2. People would come from many miles away to participate in the festivities. There would be opportunities to make a great deal of money for the enterprising entrepreneur.

B. "For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen...."

1. Diana (Artemas) was the mother goddess, the goddess of fertility. She was pictured as a many breasted woman with arms extended. Her worship included frenzied dancing and temple prostitution and sometimes human sacrifice.

2. These silversmiths evidently did a brisk trade in small statues of the goddess. These would be blessed at the temple of Diana and then placed in homes or small ones worn as good luck charms.

3. Demetrius' motive clearly was not the love of Diana but money. We can surmise that Christianity had put a dent in their business. Many who had formerly bought their statues (much like souvenirs of our day) would no longer participate in idol worship.

4. In order to mask their real intentions, Demetrius declared that if they did not do something the temple of Diana would fall into disrepute and decay.

5. While greed was the motivation, religious fervor was what stirred them into action. They started chanting, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" In the ancient world the worship of the local diety was a point of civic pride and loyalty.

A. "So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul's travel companions.

1. This shouting by the silver smiths started a mob and it began to run through the streets repeating the chant that the artisans had begun.

2. This group had either known where to find Gaius and Aristarchus, or had happened upon them and knew that there were fellow helpers of Paul.

a. Gaius is mentioned four other times in the New Testament. It is not certain whether any of the others are him. Gaius was quite a common name in ancient times.

b. Aristarchus is named in Philemon 24 as one of Paul's fellow laborers.

3. The theater here was a large open air semi-circular theater which was used for all kinds of public meetings as well as plays. It was right next to the temple of Diana

B. And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples would not allow him. {31} Then some of the officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater.

1. Paul was certainly not a coward. He wanted to speak before the crowd, but the brethren thought it wise not to do so. They would have likely killed Paul, as angry as some of them were.

2. We learn the extent of the preaching of the gospel here. It had spread to even some of the provincial officials of Asia. We are not sure whether these men were Christians or friendly disposed to Paul. Likely the later.

C. "Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together."

1. As with any mob, there was a great deal of confusion. Some knew what it was all about, some did not.

2. Likely the procession had traveled swiftly down the street toward the temple and some had fallen in out of curiosity. Some perhaps had thought that a town meeting had been called in the theater.

D. And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward.

1. This passage can be interpreted in two different ways.

a. Alexander could have been a Jewish Christian whom the Jew maliciously pushed forward to be sacrificed before the mob.

b. He could have been a Jew whom the Jews had set forward to try to convince the mob that the Jews had nothing to do with the Christianity.

2. In any event it was impossible for him to be heard. It was said that there was shouting for two hours, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians."

3. The Jews tended to have a bad reputation among the Gentiles for their separatist tendencies, their attitude, and the fact that they were in constant turmoil among themselves.

A. "And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd"

1. This uproar had not escaped official notice. It is likely that the chief native official, the city clerk, had to hurry quickly into the night after getting word of what was going on.

2. He was the highest official in the city, acting as a go between with the citizens' assembly of Ephesus and the Roman proconsul.

3. He was the recorder of official papers, the keeper of the citizens' list, and the treasurer for all of the city's municipal funds.

B. "Men of Ephesus..."

1. The city clerk was determined to calm down the mob. He would be in trouble with the Roman authorities if anything rash took place.

2. He starts out by complimenting their religious devotion. They had the high privilege of being the keeper of the temple to Diana (Artemis).

3. It is possible that the statue to Diana was so old that it's worshipers had developed a legend about how it fell out of the heavens from Zeus, father of the gods. It is also possible that the original "statue" was a meteorite which fell from the sky and bore a resemblance to a many breasted woman.

4. Basically he was stating that since they all knew how great their god was, and that all knew that they were the guardians of it's temple, there was no need to riot to show their devotion.

C. "For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess."

1. The most heinous crime in ancient times was the desecration and robbery of temples. The city clerk told the mob that they knew that these men were good citizens who had not done this.

2. Neither had they spoke blasphemous of the goddess. While the first century Christians never compromised with paganism, they were careful not to go out of their way to be insulting concerning the religion of their friends and neighbors. We should be careful that we not constantly use ridicule against those who are sincere.

D. "Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another."

1. If the silversmiths had a complaint against Christians they should solve it in a lawful manner, through the courts.

2. The Romans had an elaborate judicial system, upon which our system was based. Those who considered themselves to have been cheated could sue in court for redress.

E. "But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly."

1. If there is something that cannot be solved in the courts it should be present to a lawful assembly of the citizenry of Ephesus. The atmosphere usually changes complete when there is a legal assembly compared to a mob action.

F. "For we are in danger of being called in question for today's uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering.""

1. If this unlawful assembly continue, and something rash was done, the Roman proconsul would have to look into it.

2. The Roman government usually allowed a great measure of autonomy with it's subjects. They could decide local issues, as long as the peace was kept. But they could be ruthless when the peace was threatened.

3. This was clearly an unlawful assembly, therefore they needed to disburse and go home. When he finished his address, having calmed the crowd down, he dismissed them without further incident.

Copyright 1999 by Grady Scott may be reproducted for non-commercial purposes at no cost to others.