Luke's account of Paul's third missionary journey is essentially a record of Paul's ministry in Ephesus, the city he probably tried to reach at the beginning of his second journey (cf. 16:6).
This is the first of two incidents taken from Paul's ministry in Ephesus that bracket Luke's description of his general ministry there.
19:1-2 Two roads led into Ephesus from the east, and Paul travelled the northern, more direct route (cf. 18:23).758Ephesus, like Athens, had reached its heyday and was in decline when Paul visited it. Its claim to fame was twofold. Its location on the west coast of Asia Minor near the mouth of the Cayster River made it an important commercial center. As commerce declined due to the silting up of the port at Ephesus, its religious influence continued to draw worshippers to the Temple of Artemis (Greek) or Diana (Roman). This temple was four times the size of the Parthenon at Athens and was renowned as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
"It was 425 feet long by 220 feet wide by 60 feet high. There were 127 pillars, each of them the gift of a king. They were all of glittering Parian marble and 36 of them were marvelously gilt and inlaid. The great altar had been carved by Praxiteles, the greatest of all Greek sculptors. The image of Artemis was not beautiful. It was a black, squat, many-breasted figure, to signify fertility; it was so old that no one knew where it had come from or even of what material it was made. The story was that it had fallen from heaven. The greatest glory of Ephesus was that she was the guardian of the most famous pagan temple in the world."759
Ephesus was a hotbed of religious superstition and occult practices.
"Ephesus, for all her past splendour, was a dying city, pre-occupied with parasite pursuits, living, like Athens, on a reputation, and a curious meeting-place of old and new religions, of superstition and philosophy, of East and West."760
It is difficult to determine whether the "disciples"whom Paul found in Ephesus were Christians or not. They seem quite similar to Apollos (18:25-26) and may have been Old Testament saints or untaught Christians.761Another possibility is that they were not believers at all but only seekers after the truth.762The second alternative seems more probable to me. Elsewhere Luke used the word "disciple"to describe John's followers (Luke 5:33; 7:18-19). Clearly these men were disciples of John the Baptist, not Jesus.
Paul asked them about their possession of the Holy Spirit, probably because he saw some incongruity in their claim to be admirers of John and their evident lack of the Spirit.763Paul's question assumed two things: they were genuine Christians, since they professed to believe John the Baptist, and everyone who believes in Jesus possesses the indwelling Holy Spirit (cf. Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:13).
John had predicted the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; cf. John 1:32-33). Their response to Paul's question probably indicates that they did not know that the Lord had given the Holy Spirit as John had predicted. This enabled Paul to see that his first assumption about these disciples was incorrect; they were not Christians.
19:3 This discovery led Paul to raise another question to clarify his second assumption. What baptism had they experienced, or with whom did they identify in baptism? They replied that they had undergone John's water baptism. This response told Paul that they had not experienced Spirit baptism and so were unsaved.764
"Like Apollos (18:25), they had been baptized as a symbol of repentance only."765
19:4 Paul explained to these disciples, as Priscilla and Aquila had undoubtedly explained to Apollos, that John's baptism was good but insufficient. John had also instructed his disciples to believe in Jesus who would baptize them with the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Spirit normally accompanied faith in Jesus.
19:5 When these disciples of John heard that the Messiah had come, they believed in Jesus and submitted to water baptism in His name. This is the only explicit reference to re-baptism in the New Testament.
19:6 As with the new converts in Samaria, these Ephesian disciples received the Holy Spirit when an apostle, this time Paul, laid his hands on them (cf. 8:17). In Samaria, this identification of the coming of the Spirit with Peter and John first authenticated God's giving the Spirit in a non-Jewish context. Here the identification of the coming of the Spirit with Paul authenticated God's giving the Spirit in a town in which demonic religious activity flourished (cf. vv. 13-19). As subsequent events would show, the Jesus whom Paul preached was the more powerful deity. These former disciples of John received the Holy Spirit when Paul laid his hands on them thus obviously connecting their endowment with Paul's message and apostolic authority.766
Note some interesting parallels between Spirit baptism as it took place in Ephesus in this chapter and how it occurred in Samaria in chapter 8.
The phenomenon of the separate conversion and Spirit baptism experiences of some Christians that Luke recorded in Acts may need further clarification. It seems that God wanted to highlight the fulfillment of Jesus' promise that He would send the Holy Spirit to be in and with believers (John 14:16-18, 26; 15:26). To do so God made the coming of that Spirit obvious until the church generally appreciated the fact that it normally occurred at the time of regeneration.
"This story has often been used as the basis for doctrines about the reception of gifts of the Spirit subsequent to conversion; but it has no real connection with these. Rather Paul was dealing with an unusual situation which required special treatment. . . .
". . . it is safe to say that the New Testament does not recognize the possibility of being a Christian apart from possession of the Spirit (Jn. 3:5; Acts 11:17; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:3; Gal. 3:2; 1 Thes. 1:5f.; Tit. 3:5; Heb. 6:4; 1 Pet. 1:2; 1 Jn. 3:24; 4:13)."768
"It should be noted that the reception of the Holy Spirit [by Christians] in Acts does not follow any set pattern. He came into believers before baptism (Acts 10:44), at the time of or after baptism (8:12-16; 19:6), and by the laying on of apostolic hands (8:17; 19:6). Yet Paul declared (Rom. 8:9) that anyone without the Holy Spirit is not a Christian. Quite obviously the transitional Book of Acts is not to be used as a doctrinal source on how to receive the Holy Spirit (cf. comments on tongues, 1 Cor. 13:8-14:25)."769
"Ephesus was a polyglot city of the Roman Empire. There were many languages spoken there, just as there had been in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. East and West met all along that coast. . . . These men were now able to give the good news about Christ to the entire city."770
This is the last reference to speaking in tongues in Acts (cf. 2:4; 10:46; 1 Cor. 12:10, 28, 30; 13:1, 8; 14). Is this gift still in the church today? Some charismatic Christians believe that it is. They argue mainly from experience, having heard someone, perhaps themselves, speak in what others refer to as tongues. In most cases what they call tongues is gibberish, not known languages. This is different from what the New Testament identified as tongues, namely known languages (cf. 1 Cor. 12; 14). In a few cases people have apparently spoken in known languages that they have not studied, the type of tongues-speaking that the New Testament describes.
The real issue is what does the New Testament say about tongues? It says that they would pass away or cease of themselves, as in petering out (1 Cor. 13:8, middle voice of pauo). When would this happen? The New Testament does not specify when, but it implies that they would peter out before prophecy would end (lit. be terminated [by God], passive voice of katargeo, 1 Cor. 13:8). I do not believe that any one verse indicates that tongues would cease or did cease in the apostolic period. However, I think it is reasonable to conclude that they did for two reasons.771First, other New Testament passages imply that they would and did cease then (Eph. 2:20; Heb. 2:3-4). Second, the early church fathers wrote that tongues petered out in the early history of the church even though there were rare instances of the phenomenon after that.772
How can we explain the instances of people speaking in languages they have not studied today? It may be that God occasionally gives people this ability today, though the evidence of this happening is rare. Practically no one, including respected charismatic leaders, claims that the ability to speak in a language that one has not studied exists today as it did in New Testament times.773
God evidently gave the gift of prophesying to each of these Ephesian disciples to enable them to assume leadership of the church and the church's mission.
19:7 Luke may have intended this group of "about 12"to remind the reader of another core group, the 12 apostles, though these were not on the same level of authority. The Ephesian church became the center of Christian witness in western Asia Minor and the Aegean region as Antioch and Jerusalem had become earlier.
19:8 Paul followed his standard procedure of preaching to the Jews in the synagogue at Ephesus as long as possible. Here the Jews were more tolerant than they had been in some other towns that Paul had evangelized, and he was able to continue speaking there for three months. As usual, Paul reasoned and persuaded (Gr. dialegomenos kai peithon) there, meaning he reasoned persuasively.774His general subject was the kingdom of God (cf. 1:3, 6; 8:12; 14:22; 20:25; 28:23, 31).
"Three months in a synagogue without a riot was something of a record for Paul. Perhaps the cosmopolitan nature of Ephesus caused the Jews there to be more tolerant."775
19:9 Eventually the Jews grew unresponsive and tried to discredit Paul's preaching of the way of salvation. Paul, therefore, withdrew from the synagogue to a neutral site. In Corinth, this had been the home of Titius Justice (18:7). In Ephesus, it proved to be a school owned and or operated by Tyrannus. Tyrannus (lit. Tyrant, probably a nickname of this teacher and or landlord) made his classroom facilities available to Paul during the afternoons. The Western text (i.e., Codex Beza), one of the ancient copies of Acts, added that this was from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Normally this was siesta time when people rested before resuming work after the heat of the day had subsided.
"The old sequence of events unfolded, monotonously true to form. It was not lack of sad experience which led Paul in chapters ix--xi of the Epistle to the Romans to speak of the national rejection of Christ by the people privileged first to hear of Him. It was an essential part of Luke's theme to underline that fact. Hence the careful record of Paul's method, his scrupulous regard for the synagogue, his programme of patient teaching and persuasion, the crystallizing of opposition, and the altogether justifiable turning to the Gentiles'."776
19:10 Evidently Paul taught in Tyrannus' school for two more years. Later Paul said that he had labored in Ephesus for a total of three years (cf. 20:31). As a result of this work, the local Christians preached the gospel and established churches all over the province of Asia. Among these were the churches of Colosse, Laodicea, and Hierapolis in the Lycus Valley (Col. 4:13), though evidently Paul did not personally plant them (cf. Col. 2:1; 4:13). Perhaps the other churches mentioned in Revelation 2 and 3 (i.e., Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, and Philadelphia) got their start at this time too.
"We may think of the hall of Tyrannus' as the centre of Paul's activity, attracting many Gentile enquirers from the province generally, who in due course became themselves, like Epaphras, faithful ministers of Christ on Paul's behalf (Col. 1:7)."777
"The province was intensively evangelized, and became one of the leading centres of Christianity for centuries afterwards."778
Many students of Acts do not adequately appreciate the significance of Ephesus as a center for the spread of the gospel. One must carefully note the clues in Acts and the epistles as well as later church history to understand what took place during the years Paul lived there. God had opened a wide door of opportunity for Paul, but there were many adversaries (1 Cor. 16:8-9). Timothy and later the Apostle John followed Paul in ministry there. The church at Ephesus became the recipient of at least three New Testament epistles (Ephesians, 1 and 2 Timothy) and possible as many as seven (1, 2, and 3 John, and Revelation).
19:11-12 Jesus continued to work the same supernatural miracles through Paul that He had demonstrated during His own earthly ministry (cf. Mark 5:27; 6:56) and that he had manifested through Peter (Acts 5:15). Note that Luke recorded Paul doing the same types of miracles as Peter. Both healed a lame man early in their ministries (14:8; cf. 3:2). Both exorcised demons (16:18; cf. 5:16), defeated sorcerers (13:6; cf. 8:18), raised the dead (20:9; cf. 9:36), and escaped from prison (16:25; cf. 12:7). Evidently it was because of the multitudes of magicians and religious charlatans that worked Ephesus that God demonstrated His power in these supernatural ways.
"The atmosphere of the city was electric with sorcery and incantations, with exorcists, with all kinds of magical impostors."779
". . . the phrase Ephesian writings' (Ephesia grammata) was common in antiquity for documents containing spells and magical formulae (cf. Athenaeus Deipnosophistae12.548; Clement of Alexandria Stromata5.242)."780
God healed indirectly through Paul's garments in Ephesus too. The fact that God used Paul's handkerchiefs (Gr. soudarion, or sweat-cloths) and aprons (simikinthion, lit. workman's aprons) is unusual, but not without precedent. God had previously healed people who touched Jesus' cloak (Luke 8:44). The fact that some modern charlatans have abused this form of healing should not lead us to conclude that God never used it.
"Paul is not said to have recommended the use of cloths from his own body as instruments of healing, but God was pleased to honor the faith of these people by granting these miracles."781
The following incident throws more light on the spiritual darkness that enveloped Ephesus as well as the power of Jesus Christ and the gospel.
19:13 "But"introduces a contrast to the good miracles that "God was performing . . . by . . . Paul"(v. 11). As had been Peter's experience, some of Paul's observers tried to duplicate his miracles (cf. 8:18-19). They wrongly concluded that the simple vocalization of Jesus' name carried magical power. Some people feared the Jews in the ancient world because they thought the name of God, which the Jews refused to utter, was the key to their powers, including their success in business. This was Paul's third contact with demonic powers that Luke recorded (cf. 13:6-12; 16:16-18).
"The use of magical names in incantations to exorcise evil spirits was common in the ancient world, and it seems to have been especially prominent at Ephesus."782
Earlier Jesus' disciple John had asked Jesus to rebuke someone who was casting out demons in His name, and Jesus refused to do so. He replied, "Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you"(Luke 9:49-50; cf. Mark 9:38-40). This incident exposed an attitude of rivalry among the Twelve that existed toward other disciples of Jesus. This was not a problem of orthodoxy; that exorcist believed in Jesus. It was rather a problem of fellowship or association; he was not one of the Twelve. He appears to have been on the fringe of Jesus' followers. The Twelve wanted to exclude him, but Jesus wanted to include him. Jesus' reply was proverbial. He had stated the reverse truth earlier (Matt. 12:30). Disciples should regard people who do not oppose them as associates rather than as enemies. The exorcists whom Paul encountered in Ephesus, however, appear to have been unbelievers.
19:14-16 Sceva may have been a chief priest or the head of a priestly family (cf. 5:24), or he may have only claimed to be one.783
". . . whoever he was, he was not a Jewish high priest who had held office in Jerusalem, since their names are all known; nor is it likely that he even belonged to a high-priestly family. It is possible that he may have been a self-styled high priest' of one of the innumerable pagan cults, who found that it paid him to pass himself off as a Jew."784
Apparently two or more--the Greek word autoncan mean "all"(NIV) as well as "both"(NASB) in verse 16--of Sceva's sons participated in the exorcism that backfired. They were fortunate to have escaped from the house with their lives.
"The name of Jesus, like an unfamiliar weapon misused, exploded in their hands; and they were taught a lesson about the danger of using the name of Jesus in their dabbling in the supernatural."785
19:17 News reports of this event greatly elevated the reputation of Jesus among all the Ephesians, both Jews and Gentiles.
19:18-19 Some people in ancient times believed that the power of sorcerers' rites and incantations lay in their secrecy, as noted above. The fact that the converted Ephesian magicians disclosed these shows the genuineness of their repentance. Likewise the burning of books symbolizes the public and irreversible repudiation of their contents. Luke did not describe the silver coin to which he referred in enough detail to determine its value, though it was probably a drachma. Fifty thousand silver coins in any case represents much money and many converts. If these were drachmas, the value was 50,000 days worth of wages. That would amount to several million dollars worth of wages in present earning power.
"It is all too true that too many of us hate our sins but cannot leave them. Even when we do seek to leave them there is the lingering and the backward look. There are times in life when treatment must be surgical, when only the clean and final break will suffice."786
19:20 As a consequence of the repentance described in the preceding verses, the church became purer as well as larger (cf. 5:1-11). Luke gave us this sixth progress report to mark the end of another section of his book. The section we have just completed (16:6-19:20) records the church's extension in the provinces around the Aegean Sea.
While in Ephesus Paul had considerable contact with the church in Corinth. He wrote that church a letter that he called his former letter in 1 Corinthians 5:9. Then sometime later he wrote 1 Corinthians, probably near the spring of 56 A.D. Timothy travelled from Corinth to Ephesus, then evidently went back to Corinth, and returned later to Ephesus (Acts. 18:5; 1 Cor. 4:17; 16:10-11; Acts 19:22). Following Timothy's visit to Corinth Paul evidently made a so-called "painful visit"to Corinth (2 Cor. 2:1; 12:14; 13:1-2) and returned to Ephesus. Then he wrote another "severe letter"to Corinth from Ephesus (2 Cor. 2:3-4; 7:8-12; 12:18). These facts come to us through Paul's two epistles to the Corinthians the first of which he wrote during the years he used Ephesus as his base of operations. He undoubtedly had other contacts with many other churches about which we know nothing. Luke's purpose was not to give us a complete record of Paul's ministry or the church's growth as a whole. It was to document its advance to the heart of the Roman Empire (1:8) and to show by repetition how Jesus Christ was building His church (Matt. 16:18).
