acts chapter 19 expository thoughts and considerations

Acts Chapter 19

Expository Thoughts and Considerations

• Verse 1 -- While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples

•To set the timeframe, Luke tells us that while Apollos is in Corinth, Paul travels to Ephesus.

•He was last in Galatia and Phrygia and now travels through the highlands to reach Ephesis.

•He had promised to return there when he left Aquila and Priscilla there a year earlier.

•Now he meets some disciples of the Lord who are in need of some additional instruction.

Verse 2 -- and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.“

•Some will immediately suppose that Paul is asking about the empowering of the Holy Spirit. That is not the case.

•Paul is asking the most logical question to determine if they have received Christian baptism. Anyone taught Christ by a fully aware Christian would know that the Holy Spirit is received to indwell the believer at the point of baptism.

•Whoever taught the disciples was obviously not fully versed in the facts of Christian baptism.

•These disciples have never even heard of the Holy Spirit.

•Those taught by John or one of his disciples prior to the resurrection of Jesus would not have baptized with any mention of the Holy Spirit, since the Spirit had not yet been sent until the glorification of Jesus was completed.

•Is it possible (probable?) that these disciples were taught by Apollos? Certainly he had taught in Ephesus prior to the coming of Paul.

•Verse 3 -- So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?" "John's baptism," they replied.

•This clarifies that Paul was concerned with their baptism and the subsequent indwelling of the Holy Spirit. If they do not know of the Holy Spirit, then they have not been baptized into Christ.

•His question is clear: “What baptism did you receive.” Their conversation has revealed that they were baptized, but Paul has to be sure into whom they were baptized.

•We now know for certain that they were baptized into John’s baptism – which was a baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins. However, since Christ had arisen, it was no longer a valid baptism.

•This, of course, tells us that to be legitimate, baptism must now be into Christ and must include the information of the reception of the Holy Spirit to indwell.

•It is easy for Paul to ascertain that they have not, in fact, received Christian baptism, so will have to be baptized into Christ for salvation.

•Verse 4 -- Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus."

•To correct their misconception, Paul reminds them that John’s baptism always looked beyond himself to the coming Messiah.

•Jesus is the Messiah, so baptism must now be in His name to be valid.

Verse 5 -- On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.

•Having learned of a superior baptism, and that the baptism they had received was null because it came after the institution of true Christian baptism, they are immediately baptized.

•This baptism is “into the name” of the Lord Jesus. The indication is that Christian baptism enters the recipient into salvation offered by Jesus.

Verse 5 , cont.

•There are at least two views on the relationship of John’s baptism and Christian baptism concerning those who were baptized by John but lived to see the coming of the New Covenant and the day of Pentecost.

•One view (Barnes, Reese, et.al) holds that those who were baptized first by John had to be baptized into Christ once the day of Pentecost arrived. Under that view, the apostles themselves were baptized with Christian baptism.

•Given as support of that view is the statement in Acts 2:38 which did not exclude those who had already been baptized by John. Peter could then have said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you not already baptized by John.” Such, of course, was not the case.

•It is interesting, however, that there is not one mention of the apostles being baptized except for their baptism by John. The exception, of course, is Paul, who came to the Lord after John’s baptism was no longer valid.

The second view, held by those such as F.F. Bruce and J.W. McGarvey, is that John’s baptism was valid right up until the resurrection and glorification of Jesus. From the day of Pentecost on, then, only Christian baptism into the name of Jesus would suffice.

•Under this view, the apostles nor anyone baptized by John were baptized into Christ, because they were already of the body of the saved.

•As for Acts 2:38, it was a general statement which would have then been interpreted individually for those already baptized by John.

•In the end, it is a matter only for speculation, because there no longer remain any persons baptized legitimately by John. Today, only Christian baptism is valid.

•Only baptism that reflects the “one baptism” of Ephesians 4 is valid.

Anything else taught in any other way than for remission of sins, into Christ, will suffice for New Testament baptism.

•It is, therefore, curious as to why so many reject the necessity of baptism when Paul so obviously insists on its necessity here.

Verse 6, -- When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

•Here we can see that the earlier discuss had to do with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and not the empowering.

•These men do not receive the empowering until Paul lays his hands upon them. That happens after their baptism and not as a result thereof.

•The Holy Spirit manifests Himself by empowering them to prophesy and speak in tongues.

Verse 7 – There were about twelve men in all.

•All twelve, apparently, were enabled to perform the miracles of prophesy and speaking in tongues.

•Perhaps this is a good place to remind ourselves that the only time we see Holy Spirit power given to anyone except the apostles, was at the laying on of the apostles’ hands.

•And, we never see an example of anyone so empowered being able to empower someone else.

Verse 8 – Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.

•Compared to most places, Paul is allowed a lengthy stay amongst the Jews at Ephesus. Three months are allowed before they begin to become obstinate.

•Kingdom of God is again synonymous with the gospel message and Jesus as the Christ.

Verse 9– But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

•These are the Jews becoming obstinate.

•They begin trying to stir up trouble against the church and against Paul.

•The church is here referred to as The Way.

•Paul leaves the synagogue, but does not leave Ephesus. He goes to the Hall of Tyrannus.

Verse 9– cont. -- … He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

•Tyrannus was a name often given to freedmen or former slaves. It is possible this meeting place belonged to someone in that category who had come to Christ and let the church meet there.

•Paul taught there daily, even on the Sabbath, which would have continued the separation of the church from the synagogue.

Verse 10 -- This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.

•Paul stayed in Ephesus from the fall of 54 A.D. to the spring of 57 A.D., not quite three whole years. The two years comes at the end of the earlier mentioned three months.

•Ephesus was the capital city of the Roman province of Asia (minor) – and travelers from all over the province would come to Ephesus and would hear the gospel preached.

Verse 11-- God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, …

•To prove the validity of the preached word, the Lord worked powerful miracles through Paul.

•The Greek reads, “no common works of power” which indicates that while all miracles were great works of power, these miracles topped them all.

•These would have easily bested the magical arts practiced by the wicked magicians in Ephesus and proven the power of the gospel.

Verse 12-- so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

•Handkerchiefs refers to small towels used to wipe sweat from the brow.

•Aprons were much like today’s variety, used to protect the clothing of artisans while they worked.

•These could have been Paul’s own belongings or some brought by those wishing to heal someone.

Verse 12-- cont. … and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

•It was, of course, not Paul’s power that was making these things possible. The power was God’s.

•Part of their healings were for various diseases. Remember that Luke is a physician.

•Others are demon-possessed. It is common today to attribute demon possession in the Bible to unexplained illness. Luke differentiates between the two.

Verse 13-- Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out."

•Wherever there is power, there are those who wish to wield power. So there are those wanting what Paul has in Ephesus.

•They try to duplicate what Paul does – but without the Holy Spirit power necessessary.

Verse 13-- …cont.

•Notice these are Jews trying to cast out demons.

•They invoke the name of Jesus (whom they have rejected) in the hopes of hitting upon the “magic formula”.

•The invoke the name of “Jesus whom Paul preaches” and attempt to cast out demons.

Verse 14 – Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.

•These particular men are mentioned because of the curious results of their attempts at exorcising demons.

•In what capacity Sceva was a chief priest is a matter of debate. He is known only here in any extant history.

Verse 15 – (One day) the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?“

•Whether or not they ever actually cast out a demon is unknown, but we have recorded a time when the evil spirit did not take kindly to being trifled with in the name of Jesus.

•The spirit knows Jesus and knows about Paul, which shows the degree of the knowledge of evil spirits and the affairs of men.

Verse 16 – Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.

•The seven sons of Sceva soon give flight, as they are overpowered by the evil spirit.

•We are reminded of the Gadarenes demoniac and his superhuman strength, as this demon overpowers, beats bloody and strips naked his victims.

Verse 17 – When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.

•Word of things like this spread very quickly.

•The fact that the sons of Sceva could not use Jesus’ name as a charm has the result of impressing people all the more as the contemplate the real power shown by Paul as illuminated by the false power attempted by the exorcists and thwarted by the demon.

Verse 18 – Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds.

•So impressed are they that they come in an attitude of repentance, hoping to find help and salvation in Jesus.

•The Greek reads that they “kept coming” which could indicate that even though they are now Christians, they continue to struggle with past things from their pagan backgrounds.

Verse 19– A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.

•Now they’ve seen true power, they realize the fallacy of their own false power.

•The Greek PERIERGA speaks of such things as telekinesis, levitation and other smoke and mirror types of occult practices.

•Drachmas is not in the Greek. The Greek simply says “pieces of silver” – total value enormous.

Verse 20 -- In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

•As even the sorcerers and other spirit mediums come to the Lord, the power of the Lord becomes more and more apparent.

•It is not only the miracles that are impressive, however. The word of God is also recognized for its authority and holiness. In all, Christianity is making tremendous inroads into Asia Minor as a result of the reception it receives in Ephesus.

Verse 21 -- After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. "After I have been there," he said, "I must visit Rome also.“

•Paul now sets his mind on going to Rome. The Greek says his “spirit” is set to go to Rome. Some think the Holy Spirit is in view here. Others that it is Paul’s personal spirit.

•Either way, Paul is being directed by the Holy Spirit, so it is obvious that the Holy Spirit is directing Paul toward Rome.

Verse 21 -- … Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. "After I have been there," he said, "I must visit Rome also.“

•He first intends to go to Jerusalem. In his epistles, Paul explains his primary purpose in going at this time to Jerusalem was to take monetary relief to the church there.

•Passing through Macedonia e.g. is Luke’s way of saying Paul spent precious time with each of the earlier established churches in those places.

Verse 21 -- … "After I have been there," he said, "I must visit Rome also.“

•The remainder of the book of Acts is the record of Paul’s journey to arrive at Rome.

•So Luke will record in Acts 28:14, “And so we came to Rome.”

•Much else will happen prior to that arrival, but the remainder of the epistle will focus on Paul’s journey to Rome.

Verse 22 -- He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer.

•The two missionaries go into Macedonia to raise the necessary money to send to Jerusalem.

•Timothy accompanied Paul during the planting of many of these churches. We haven’t heard from him since his taking the letter to the Thessalonians, but he has since joined Paul in Ephesus.

Verse 22 -- … Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer.

•Erastus is possibly the treasurer of the city of Corinth, mentioned in Romans 16:23 and 2 Timothy 4:20.

•“…who is the city’s director of public works.”

•“…Erastus stayed at Corinth and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus.”

•However, Erastus was a rather common name and could be another person.

Verse 22 -- cont.

•It was after these two left for Macedonia that Paul receives a troubling letter from Corinth.

•Chloe’s people send a letter to Paul of the disturbing division in the church there. Since Timothy is on his way to Corinth, Paul forwards the first epistle to the Corinthians to instruct them and to prepare them for Timothy’s arrival (1 Corinthians 16:10-11).

•When Timothy returns later to Ephesus, he apparently reports that things are not going well.

Verse 22 -- cont.

•Paul, then, makes another trip to Corinth, not recorded in Acts. Evidence for this trip is recorded in 2 Corinthians 12:14 and 13:1. How long he stays or exactly when he goes is uncertain, but all this apparently happens in the spring of 57 A.D. It all happens before the riot at Ephesus recorded next.

•Paul fails in his trip to Corinth to bring harmony, and finally sends Titus, with the second epistle to the church, to try and accomplish unity.

Verse 23 -- About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.

•Paul is waiting in Ephesus for the coming of Pentecost. Prior to that time, the yearly festival in honor of Artemis (Diana) comes to Ephesus.

•This would have been during the timeframe of our month of April, in the month of Artemision in the Ephesian calendar.

•A great multitude of pilgrims worshipping Artemis would come to Ephesus for the event.


•Artemis was supposedly the

daughter of Leto and Zeus.

•Hera, Zeus’ wife was furious

at his infidelity and forbade

anyone to shelter Leto, who

was to deliver twins: Artemis

and Apollo.


•Artemis was usually associated with various animals, and was deemed the goddess of fertility and fecundity.

•Reese assumes that Ephesian Artemis was different from the Greek Artemis or the Roman Diana. He equates her more with Cybele, the mother goddess. There is a great deal of disagreement among scholars on the exact identification of this goddess.

Verse 23 -- cont.

•Reese records that the worship of Ephesian Artemis was presided over by a high priest called MEGABYZOS.

•Additionally there were priests called Essenes (king bees) and priestesses called Melissai (honey bees).

•The worship was a huge orgy with frenzied dancing and ritual prostitution, and even involved human sacrifice.


•Because of the effectiveness of the church in winning souls, the church came into conflict with the worshippers of Ephesian Artemis during the annual festival.

•Notice the church is here referred to again as “The Way”.

•Again the Greek is negative: “No small disturbance”

Verse 24 -- A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen.

•It is possible this is the same Demetrius mentioned in 3 John 2, but that is not certain.

•He most likely made small silver replicas of the temple of Artemis, with the goddess inside.

•Worshippers would buy these small figurines and place them in special places in their houses or would wear them as amulets or carry them along when they traveled.

Verse 24 -- … brought in no little business for the craftsmen.

•It is possible the craftsmen mentioned here were laborers for Demetrius.

•Or they could be likewise employed in making various items for the worship of Artemis.

•Either way, it appears this particular event was poorly attended and didn’t bring in the money that it was usual to expect during this festival.

Verse 25 -- He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said: "Men, you know we receive a good income from this business.

•In addition to silver, the shrines and statuettes were cast in gold, bronze, clay and other materials. Clay models have been unearthed by archaeologists in Ephesus.

•These craftsmen depended upon the proceeds of the festival to provide much of their annual income. Their livelihood is at stake.

Verse 26 -- And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.

•By “Asia” is meant the Roman province of Asia (minor).

•Paul is accused of “leading astray” the worshippers of Artemis.

•the final statement is laughable.

Verse 27 -- There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty."

•Demetrius primarily fears for his trade. It is the money that he cares most about.

•The temple of Artemis has a rich history worthy of some mention.

Verse 27 -- … but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited…

•Demetrius primarily fears for his trade. It is the money that he cares most about.

•The temple of Artemis has a rich history worthy of some mention.


•The temple is located in modern day Turkey.

•It has been built and rebuilt several times at the same site.

•Of import was the building erected in 570 B.C. during the reign of Servius Tallus.

•A second building was completed around 540 B.C., but was partially burned on the same day Socrates was poisoned in 400 B.C.


•In 356 B.C. it was more completely destroyed by a philosopher Herostratus, who admitted under torture that he had done so to immortalize his name. (On the birthday of Alexander the Great)

•Historian Pliny tells us that the next structure took 220 years to complete. It was the building standing when Paul was at Ephesus.


•The temple was:

•377 feet long

•180 feet wide

•Had 117 marble pillars 60 feet high

•36 pillars were richly carved, the rest smooth

•Each pillar is estimated to have contained 150 tons of marble, including its base.


•In comparison:

• The Lincoln Memorial is 188 ft by 118 feet with 36 pillars only 44 ft. tall


•In fame:

•“I have seen the walls and Hanging Gardens of ancient Babylon, the statue of Olympian Zeus, the Colossus of Rhodes, the mighty work of the high Pyramids and the tomb of Mausolus. But when I saw the temple at Ephesus rising to the clouds, all these other wonders were put in the shade.


•The fall of the temple of Artemis

•Nero robbed the temple of many of its art treasures for his Golden House at Rome

•Trajan stole its doors and gave them in tribute to the temple at Byzantium.

•The Goths burned it and it was rebuilt in 263 A.D.

•It was finally completely destroyed in 401 A.D. by John Chrysostom.

Verse 27 -- … and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty."

•Not so much of an exaggeration. F.F. Bruce states that there were temples to Artemis in 33 different places in the world, not to mention the portable shrines carried around the world.

•All that remains today of the temple to Artemis is a single pillar unearthed and erected amidst the rubble at the temple site.

Verse 27 -- … will be robbed of her divine majesty."

•Again, we must laugh at this statement:

•Can the real God be robbed of his majesty?

•If a god cannot defend himself, he is no god.

•The same is true of a goddess.

•A similar statement was made when Gideon destroyed the temple to Baal in Judges 6:31, resulting in the name Jerrub-baal given to him.

Verse 28-29 -- When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia, and rushed as one man into the theater.

•It is not hard to create a riot under such circumstances – exactly the desired result.

•Gaius and Aristarchus – Gaius is a common name and at least four men are so named in the Bible. Aristarchus is found again in Philemon.

Verse 28-29 -- … and rushed as one man into the theater.

•The Greek theater served as a gathering place, whether for entertainment or community gatherings.

•This theater, located next to the temple of Artemis, was the largest theater in the world at that time.

Verse 30 -- Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him.

•Undaunted by the situation, Paul intends to defend the gospel before these pagans.

•He is prevented by the rest of the disciples.

•Paul was also not willing to leave his traveling companions to the will of the mob.

•As things turn out it is a good thing Paul did not go to the theater. The crowd likely would have done drastic things.

Verse 31 -- Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.

•We see that this event took some time, since officials have time to send messages imploring Paul not to go to the theater.

•The word for “officials” here is ASIARCHON – officials who would have overseen Greek games and festivals.

Verse 32 -- The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there.

•As with most riots, only a handful of the people there knew the reason for the beginning of the riot.

•The rest have come along for the purpose of rioting – irregardless of the reason.

•Confusion is the result.

Verse 33 -- The Jews pushed Alexander to the front, and some of the crowd shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people.

•“Confusion” also marks this passage, which is difficult to follow.

•Why Alexander is put forward is never clear. It is hard to tell whether he is considered to be “friend” or “foe” to the crowd.

•Why the Jews are suddenly involved is also not clear.

Verse 33 -- The Jews pushed Alexander to the front, and some of the crowd shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people.

•Who is Alexander? Some think he is Alexander the Coppersmith who caused much trouble for Paul (2 Timothy 4:14).

•Others believe he was a local official somehow caught up in the middle of the riot.

•He is intending, though, to defend the Jews, not the Christians – and delineate the two groups.

Verse 34 -- But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

•When in a mob setting – chant the same thing!

•They chant for two hours. At this point the initial trouble is not even remembered.

•It has turned into something of a pep rally to inflame the senses of the people in favor of their local goddess.

Verse 35-36 -- The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: "Men of Ephesus, doesn't all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to be quiet and not do anything rash.

•Right or wrong, this clerk knows how to restore order.

•He appeals to their civic pride and religious pride as a matter not possible to challenge.

Verse 35-36 -- … and of her image, which fell from heaven? Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to be quiet and not do anything rash.

•The meaning of this phrase is not completely clear. Some think the idea is that the origins of Artemis worship were so old that the beginnings were lost in time.

•Others believe that Artemis worship could have begun wit a meteorite falling from the sky that resembled something worthy of worship.

Verse 37 -- You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess.

•While Paul had opposed pagan worship, he had not specifically, to our knowledge, used derogatory or “blasphemous” speech to describe Artemis.

•No had the Christians taken anything or caused any direct trouble to those worshipping Artemis.

Verses 38-39 -- If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges. If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly.

•Wisely, the city clerk directs their attention to the proper legal system. Let charges be brought against Paul and the Christians, or else let them alone.

Verses 40-41 -- As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of today's events. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.“ After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.

•A riot was a highly negative thing in the Greek world. It was a capital crime to incite to riot.

•Freedoms could also be lost by provinces troubled by frequent rioting. Quartering soldiers there was a possible punishment.

acts chapter 19 expository thoughts and considerations

Documents