Assignment for 7.26 to 8.1.09; Acts 19: 1-22

[Irving]

Assignment 7.26 - 8.1.09
THE BOOK OF ACTS , 19:1 -22

PREFACE: Paul leaves Antioch on the third journey with no mention of
companions, going overland this time on a route including Tarsus, his
hometown, Derbe (now for the 3rd time), Lystra (also for the 3rd
time), Iconium (3rd time), Antioch of Pisidia (3rd time), and then
Ephesus as promised. He baptized believers in Ephesus who had been
won through the teaching of Apollos, and spent three months preaching,
first in the synagogue, and then in a rented hall. The usual
happened. Some believed, but others became obstinate, hostile and
abusive to Paul, who left the synagogue and took his ministry of
preaching in the Hall of Tyrannus with some disciples as assistants,
where he lectured for two years. During this time God did many
miracles of healing and exorcism through Paul. According to the
judgment rendered in Haley’s Bible Dictionary, Paul did the most
marvelous missionary work of his life in Ephesus in the years 54-57
A.D.

People we encounter in Acts 19: 1- 22.
• Sceva, a Jewish priest who tried to cast out demons in the name of
Jesus. He and his seven sons were beaten by a possessed man so badly
that they ran from the house naked and bleeding badly.
• Timothy, the young man Paul recruited in Lystra on his 2nd
missionary journey.
• Erastus, who was sent , with Timothy to Macedonia to preach and
teach.

CHAPTER 19: 1- 22

verses 1-7 Paul had progressed on his 2nd journey while Apollos was
working in Corinth. He arrived in Ephesus in fulfillment of his
earlier promise to return. The Christians he encountered there may
have been converted by followers of John the Baptist or perhaps by
Apollos himself while he was in Ephesus, or by Priscilla and Aquilla.
Paul baptized them in the name of Jesus. We are told that there were
12 men, but there may have been women with them. As soon as they
received the Spirit in baptism,they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
We know that Paul would not have allowed it unless they had an
interpreter. ( see 1 Corinthians 14: 27,28 )

verses 8-10. Paul again went to the synagogue despite his
announcement to the synagogue in Corinth that he would go exclusively
to the Gentiles (see 18:6). For three months Paul preached in the
synagogue, but as we have seen, the Jews were repeatedly divided over
Jesus and His Word ( see John 7: 40-43; 9:16, 10:19-21), and here they
are again. Paul finds another venue for instruction, the Hall of
Tyrannus. We don’t know the purpose of this Hall or its origins. We
do know that instruction of this sort was usually done in the early
morning hours to escape the midday heat, whereas Paul used the hours
from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., according to one ancient manuscript.
Paul may have used these hours because of the availability of the Hall
at that time, or because he wanted to gather his audience during the
typical midday break from business in these climates. Evidently,
Paul’s lectures gained a substantial audience over a two year period,
inasmuch as their fame and content spread throughout the region. Here
we see an another example of Paul’s dedication to evangelism through
preaching and his use of whatever means available to accomplish that
purpose.

verses 11,12. Through Paul, God did extraordinary miracles of healing
and exorcism. Some of these miracles were effected by merely taking
objects of Paul’s person, e.g. handkerchiefs, to those afflicted.
Perhaps this is the origin of the Medieval church’s fascination with
relics, such as Joseph’s trousers or the shroud of Turin. We must
conclude that the occurrence of miracles, with or without such
artifacts, did not persist beyond the time of the apostles on the
earth. Even in the case of these handkerchiefs and aprons, it must
have been the accompanying Word of God that effected the result.

verses 13-16. We remember in connection with these verses, the case of
Simon the sorcerer (see Acts 8: 9-24). The desire of soothsayers,
magicians, and fortune tellers to copy the feats of the apostles was
very strong. This man Sceva who says he was a Jewish chief priest –
there is no record of any chief priest of that name – was not aware of
what risks he was taking by his misrepresentation.

verses 17, 20. The spread of the news about Sceva and his seven sons
had its salutary effect. For many it showed the divine hand behind the
preaching and teaching of Paul and his associates. For those
practicing the black arts, it put great fear in their hearts, lest
they succumb to the same fate as Sceva or worse. The monetary value
of the scrolls, alleged to have recipes for these magical
performances, was based on this and not on any intrinsic value. Here
we have another example of how God intervened in the ministries of the
early missionaries to facilitate their success. We should never stop
praying that he would facilitate ours in these latter days of the 21st
century.

verse 21, 22. Paul is planning ahead. Although he still had much
distance to cover on this 3rd missionary journey, he wanted to go the
Jerusalem again. He also stated his conviction that he had to get to
Rome. At this time he did not know the conditions under which his
final journey, to Rome, would take place. In the meantime, he sent
Timothy and Erastus to Macedonia while he stayed in Ephesus a little
longer. Erastus had been an important figure in Corinth where he had
been the director of public works (see Romans 16:23). Now he is
returning to Corinth via Macedonia along with Timothy. Paul is now
using the men he has trained to be “trouble shooters’” in the
congregations he has established. It is significant that Luke
includes the statement by Paul that after he would visit Jerusalem
again, he would have to go to Rome. Where that insight came from we
cannot say. After later events that took place in Jerusalem, God came
to him at night and told him that he would have to testify for Him in
Rome (Acts 23: 11), but at the time recorded in chapter 19 he had not
yet received that divine instruction.

Study Questions for Chapter 19:
1-22.

1. In verse 1 of Acts we read that when Paul returned to Ephesus he
found people identified as disciples of Jesus, but only through the
teaching of John and/or his disciples. Their understanding of the
faith was poorly developed and Paul had to rectify their ignorance.
Can you draw any parallels between this limited understanding of the
Christian faith and similar situations in Christianity today?

2. In spite of the incomplete nature of the teaching of John’s
disciples, what value do you think if had in preparing these people of
Ephesus for the full gospel. Consider this in the context that John’s
baptism was one of repentance.

3. This stay at Ephesus of two years and three months was the longest
one that Luke records in Acts. To what extent do you think the
availability of the Hall of Tyrannus contributed to the length of this
stay? What guidance does this pattern give us in ministry?

4. Paul Maier states, in his book “The First Christians” that Ephesus
“was a rich commercial center like Corinth, yet it also sheltered the
wildest collection of pagan priests, exorcists, magicians, religious
prostitutes, cultists and charlatans in the Roman Empire.” Do you
suppose that this is why God aided Paul’s work in such a city by His
direct intervention with so many miracles?