Twelve Disciples of John the Baptist
1 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions and came to Ephesus. He found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
“No,” they told him, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 “Then what [baptism] were you baptized with?” he asked them.
“With John’s baptism,” they replied.
4 Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the One who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in [other] languages and to prophesy.
7 Now there were about 12 men in all.
In the Lecture Hall of Tyrannus
8 Then he entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, engaging in discussion and trying to persuade them about the things of the kingdom of God. 9 But when some became hardened and would not believe, slandering the Way in front of the crowd, he withdrew from them and met separately with the disciples, conducting discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 1 10 And this went on for two years, so that all the inhabitants of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the message about the Lord. 2
Demonism Defeated at Ephesus
11 God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands, 12 so that even facecloths or work aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them. 3
13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches!” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 4 15 The evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul-but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them all, and prevailed against them, so that they ran out of that house naked and wounded. 17 This became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. Then fear fell on all of them, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 18 And many who had become believers came confessing and disclosing their practices, 19 while many of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them in front of everyone. So they calculated their value and found it to be 50,000 pieces of silver. 5 6
20 In this way the Lord’s message flourished and prevailed.
The Riot in Ephesus
21 When these events were over, Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem. “After I’ve been there,” he said, “I must see Rome as well!” 7
22 So after sending two of those who assisted him, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, he himself stayed in Asia for a while. 8 23 During that time there was a major disturbance about the Way. 24 For a person named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, provided a great deal of business for the craftsmen. 25 When he had assembled them, as well as the workers engaged in this type of business, he said: “Men, you know that our prosperity is derived from this business. 26 You both see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this man Paul has persuaded and misled a considerable number of people by saying that gods made by hand are not gods!
27 So not only do we run a risk that our business may be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be despised and her magnificence come to the verge of ruin-the very one all of Asia and the world adore.” 9 28 When they had heard this, they were filled with rage and began to cry out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
29 So the city was filled with confusion, and they rushed all together into the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions. 10 30 Though Paul wanted to go in before the people, the disciples did not let him. 31 Even some of the provincial officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent word to him, pleading with him not to take a chance by going into the amphitheater. 32 Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing and some another, because the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 Then some of the crowd gave Alexander advice when the Jews pushed him to the front. So motioning with his hand, Alexander wanted to make his defense to the people.
34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a united cry went up from all of them for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 11 35 However, when the city clerk had calmed the crowd down, he said, “Men of Ephesus! What man is there who doesn’t know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple guardian of the great Artemis, and of the image that fell from heaven? 12 36 Therefore, since these things are undeniable, you must keep calm and not do anything rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are not temple robbers or blasphemers of our goddess. 38 So if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a case against anyone, the courts are in session, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you want something else, it must be decided in a legal assembly. 40 In fact, we run a risk of being charged with rioting for what happened today, since there is no justification that we can give as a reason for this disorderly gathering.” 13
41 After saying this, he dismissed the assembly.
Interesting Facts
- Some critical scholars claim Acts was not written until A.D. 125-130, while others date it to A.D. 80-90. The strongest evidence however dates Acts to the early 60s.
- Strong evidence points to Luke as the author. Tradition holds that he wrote Acts as a sequel to his Gospel and that the two should be read together.
- In this long book Luke recounted the history of the growth of the early church, tracing events from Jesus’ ascension to the conversion of Paul to the spread of Christianity throughout the Mediterranean region. The book provides an exciting glimpse into the ups and downs, setbacks and struggles faced by the first followers of Christ as they obediently took the message of salvation to the ends of the earth.
- The details about all the people makes Acts read like a biography. However, the most likely option for the genre of this book is a historical account. Luke recorded eyewitness accounts of real events, real people, and real miracles. It is a vivid account of the power of God at work in the hearts, minds, and lives of the first followers of Christ.
Questions
Don’t know what to talk about? Here are a few questions you can answer to get you started…
- Do you think God still does “extraordinary miracles” today? (verses 11-12)
- In verse 19, the people who practice magic “repented in front of everyone.” Are there things that we should publicly repent of?
- Acts 19:23-27 and 1 Timothy 6:9-10. Talk about some of the reasons that people follow other religions. Are all really sincere? Even if they are sincere, what is our responsibility to them? How are our lives a testimony to the gospel?
- Discuss anything that comes to your mind!
Footnotes
- Verse 9: Perhaps Tyrannus owned the hall or regularly taught there. The name Tyrannus is known in inscriptions from Ephesus during this time, although the actual lecture hall has not been discovered.
- Verse 10: After three months of regularly speaking in the Ephesian synagogue (verse 8), Paul spent another two years teaching there; this had a significant impact throughout the Asian province. Some believe many events unrecorded here but taking place during this time may be referred to elsewhere in Paul’s letters, including temporary imprisonments and beatings (2 Cor 1:8-10; 11:23-25).
- Verses 11-12: God’s power through faith was at work in these healings, even if physical devices were a part of the process.
- Verses 13-14: The magical tradition of the ancient world often involved invoking names of divine figures (as magical papyri and amulets indicate). There are numerous Jewish magical texts that attest to the interplay of magic and Judaism. Here some itinerant Jewish exorcists, apparently traveling around the countryside in search of money for performing magical acts, stumbled upon the (unsuccessful) use of Jesus’ name.
- Verse 19: Ephesus had a reputation for magical practices so notable that magical texts were called “Ephesian letters” (Athenagoras). When these magicians became believers, they burned their magical texts.
- Verse 19: God forbids all forms of occult arts or enchantments (see Leviticus 19:25; Deuteronomy 18:9-12; Isaiah 47:12-14). The appropriate response of those converted out of occultism is to rid themselves of all occult paraphernalia.
- Verse 21: As in Romans 15:23-29, Paul believed his missionary work in the East was done–and after taking the collection to Jerusalem, he proceeded to Rome and possibly as far west as Spain.
- Verse 22: Though disputed, some think that the Erastus here is the same Erastus mentioned in Romans 16:23. Indeed, it is possible that this same Erastus is mentioned in a Corinthian inscription. However, it should be noted that Erastus was a popular name at that time.
- Verses 24,27: The artemis cult here was part of a larger Greek Artemis cult (the “Great mother”). Small silver artifacts honoring Artemis have been found in Ephesus. In the 1950′s, several large Artemis statues–with clear fertility associations–were also discovered here. Typical in the ancient world, money was to be made or lost by those associated with the cult, and Paul’s preaching clearly jeopardized their practices (verses 25 and 26). This temple of Artemis (its foundations dating to the either century B.C.) was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The temple eventually fell into disrepute and ruin–what these Ephesians wanted to avoid (verse 27); it was rediscovered in the nineteenth century, with an alter uncovered in 1965.
- Verse 29: The Ephesian amphitheater (seating 24,000) was thoroughly remodeled in the first century A.D.–a suitable place for a large crowd.
- Verses 33-34: Wanting to distance themselves from the controversy Paul and his followers caused, the Jews shoved forward one of their own, Alexander (a Hellenistic Jew, as indicated by his name), to offer an apology on their behalf. Since the Jews would have had the same view of the Artemis cult as Paul and his followers, the Ephesian crowd clearly rejected him when it was recognized that he was a Jew.
- Verse 35: Perhaps the Artemis cult in Ephesus was started when a meteorite fell there, or maybe the reference to falling from heaven included any divine cult that was though to originate with the gods.
- Verse 40: The city clerk (verse 35) urged the disbanding of the disorderly gathering, appealing to Rome’s fear of public unrest and its decisive response to it. No mention of further legal action indicates that Paul and his followers did nothing unlawful; they simply upset those profiting from the Artemis cult.
Acts 19:23-27 Talk about some of the reasons that people follow other religions. Are allreally sincere? Even if they are sincere, what is our responsibility to them?
I think these verses are a good example for this question–people in that area were obviously “sincere” in their worship of the goddess Artemis (even if part of the motivation was a ‘good income’…v. 25). Paul was preaching that man-made gods are no gods at all and that there is only one true God–that would be labeled “intolerant” today! Even though it’s easy for us today to see that Paul was doing right to preach of the one true God–that those people would all have been lost to hell by continuing to put their faith in their goddess Artemis–it’s sometimes not so easy to realize it’s the same thing for people today–regardless of how sincere their faith is–if it’s not totally in the saving power of Jesus Christ, they will also be lost to hell.
As a Christian, I believe 100% that anyone who does not receive the saving power of Jesus Christ will be lost to hell (i.e. John 3:16). But the second part of the question asks, “what is our responsibility to them?”
I can’t exactly answer this question with Scripture (though it would be great if anyone has some good scripture related to this to support/argue my side), but I don’t feel it is our responsibility to convert every person that may believe differently than the Christian faith, but rather to help provide opportunity for them to find Christ. This can be done through invitation to church related events, open-minded (for both parties) conversation regarding Christianity, or, and this is my favorite, lead by example and let your actions and way of life show what Christianity means. Too often we see Christians trying to force their beliefs (whether valid or not) onto others, which can actually draw people away from God. A perfect example is a parent making a child do something, their immediate response is to do the opposite.
I would agree with most of that comment, kevan11
–adding that parents are encouraged in Prov. 22:6 to “train up a child in the way he should go…”–sometimes that’s a hard balance–but I would agree that it’s ALWAYS better if someone can SEE us living out an exciting, fulfilling life in Christ, rather than trying to force it on anyone. Paul must have thought the same thing in this passage of Scripture, as v. 9 states how he “withdrew from them” and went on somewhere else when a group of people there became “obstinate” (as one version puts it) and were not wanting to listen, but simply argue.
In verse 19, the people who practice magic “repented in front of everyone.” Are there things that we should publicly repent of?
The footnotes to this verse go into further detail about how Ephesus had a reputation for practicing magic. I think because of this it only made sense to them to outwardly express their new ofund wisdom of Christ and express their repentance publicly. As for today’s standards, I think a public repentance should be done at times, but is never mandatory for forgiveness. Jesus forgives our sins just by us asking for them to be taken away. However, as we learned in John 8:1-11, the woman who was an adulteress who Jesus said “Whoever is without sin cast the first stone”, Jesus told her afterwards to “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.” A public repentance could help keep us accountable for our actions as a opposed to a behind-the-scenes repentance. Both are acceptable in the eyes of God and forgiven, but it’s more important that we “go forth and sin no more” than to have a fancy elaborate repentance.
So to sum up, there is never a time where it is mandatory for a public repentance, but there are times where it could/should be done to help the repentance be genuine.
Along this same line of thought, I’d really like some input from all of you as to how many people you know who are in the “So what?” category–there was an article in USA Today talking about what an increase there has been in the number of people who just don’t care about Christianity or religion of any kind. It states, “they simply shrug off God, religion, heaven or the ever-trendy search for meaning and purpose. Their attitude could be summed up as, “So what?”
In two different surveys–
(1) 44% said they spend no time seeking ‘eternal wisdom’ and 19% said, “It’s useless to search for meaning.”
(2) 46% said they never wonder whether they will go to heaven…
The article goes on to say, “They’re uninterested in trying to talk a diverse set of friends into a shared viewpoint in a culture that celebrates an idea that all truths are equally valid…instead of followers of Jesus, they’re followers of 5,000 unseen ‘friends’ on Facebook or Twitter.”
“For them, the Almighty is off the radar, like some tiny foreign country they know exists but never think about.”
I don’t think I know too many people who would fit this kind of “So What?” category–but I do know several who have been burned out on religion that was mostly tradition and rules, rather than a relationship with Jesus. I tend to think the ONLY way to reach those people is for them to see someone who DOES have a real, personal relationship with Jesus.
Sorry, my 5th comment got posted before I saw your 4th comment, kevan11, so it might not make sense.
Your comment, “So to sum up, there is never a time where it is mandatory for a public repentance, but there are times where it could/should be done to help the repentance be genuine.“–I would agree totally with that. The accountability comment was good–but I’m thankful for a God who accepts our genuine repentance and knows our hearts when no one else does.
v17 – This became known to everyone ….v19 many who had become believers came confessing ….
The power of Christ had been demonstrated – v13-17- the fear of the Lord was upon them ….I believe, that the reason for their public confession was that - they had been public in practice of magic and they were now letting the people know that Jesus was/is the Way – through the burning of the books.. etc.
I am sure that the public “burning the books” ..etc.. help cement their repentance – their turning to Christ – it was probably done without too much debate, after what had happen – but also this public act was a great testimony to the remaining unbelievers in the city.
So – maybe there would be times when someone might be public in repentance – no so much for themselves – but to help others?
“…this public act was a great testimony…”–good point, Kram–and many times when someone is honest with their sin and brave enough to confess and repent in front of others, many others in the room will admit to the same sin and also repent.
Going a different direction, I liked the way the Message Bible puts v. 2–”Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? Did you take God into your mind only, or did you also embrace him with your heart?” How easy it is to know and even believe something about God, but not really embrace Him in a way that changes our lives.
Also, v. 6 states that “…when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them…” Several times in the Bible it talks about God giving a gift of some kind to people (healing, the gift of the Holy Spirit, etc.) after someone laid hands on them. I’m wondering what is the purpose or why God would use that act of someone laying hands on another?
That is a good question, cgail. I definitely do not know the answer, but it will be one to ask Him one day!
I have read through these verses and read the footnotes a few times this week, and it has been one of those studies that just helps reaffirm the validity of God and the entire concept of Christianity itself. It’s not that I have doubted it, but it’s more of a, “How can you NOT believe?” The events and evidence supporting these events definitely outweighs the doubt. So I guess what I’m trying to say is that though I didn’t really have a lot to say about the verses, I enjoyed it and it helped me grow as a Christian the last two weeks.