Bible Commentaries
Acts 19

Verses 1-41

1 Paul came by an upper road to Ephesus, passing by those of Colosse and Laodicea (Colossians 2:1), who never saw his face in the flesh.

2 These disciples, like Apollos, seemed to know nothing of the ministry of the Lord and the twelve apostles, and of the gifts of the holy Spirit which were not given until after our Lord's ascension. They possessed none of these gifts and had not so much as heard of them. John's baptism was for the repentant, to prepare a people for the Messiah Who should come after him, Who would baptize in holy Spirit.

5 This verse is usually taken to indicate the act of the twelve disciples, rather than Paul's statement concerning those who heard John the Baptist. But the change in the tense of the verb is against such a rendering. Paul uses the indefinite "baptizes" (4), "hearing" (5) are baptized, of the acts or John and those he baptized, but it is changed to the present, at placing, when speaking of Paul's acts, and to the past when speaking of its effects. This is not so apparent in the English version as in the Greek, but suggests that the apostle followed his usual course, for Christ had not sent him to baptize but to preach the evangel (1 Corinthians 1:17). The gifts followed the imposition of his hands, not their baptism.

8 Once more Paul pursues his usual plan of proclaiming Christ in the synagogue of the principal city of a province.

9 In Ephesus the previous visit of the apostle and the testimony of Apollos, as well as his own bold proclamation in the synagogue, won many adherents among the Jews, so that in this case, it was not some who believed, but some who opposed. After three months matters come to a crisis and Paul leaves the synagogue and brings the believing disciples with him, making his headquarters in the school of Tyrannus, where he discourses daily. Besides this, as he reminds the elders in his affecting farewell at Miletus, he supported himself by his own hands (Acts 20:34), possibly workIng at his trade with Aquila and Priscilla, going about the homes as well as teaching publicly (Acts 20:20), and healing many of diseases, and casting out wicked spirits.

13 The Jews had fallen so low that many of them became sorcerers and magicians who used incantations in their attempts to overcome evil spirits. Finding that Paul's formula was so effective they do not hesitate to profane the name of the Lord, by using it in their exorcisms. But the evil spirits were not deceived by this means, as the sons of Sceva found to their sorrow.

15 The spiritual tendency of Paul's ministry and his authority over the spirit world is here impressed upon us by one of the spirits themselves. The special word used of Paul is a very strong term denoting that they were very well acquainted with him. But they refused to recognize those who would not have the Messiah for their Saviour and Master, yet thought to make capital out of His name and power. Throughout Paul's course he drew nearer and nearer to the spiritual powers until, in his final ministry, he recognized them alone as the real object of attack (Ephesians 6:12).

17 This incident had a marked effect on those who practiced such arts. The demons whom they feared had acknowledged both the Lord and His servant as worthy of their obedience. No wonder that they were filled with fear and magnified the Lord Jesus.

18 Many believers still clung to their old practices, but when they found that the Lord was greater than the demons whom they feared, they abandoned their false arts. They gave up the scrolls which taught them, and burned up nearly ten thousand dollars' worth.

21 The words "as these things were fulfilled" mark the central crisis in Paul's ministry. We have long passed Jerusalem, Antioch has held its place as the base for his missionary journeys, and his correspondence was connected with Corinth, but now we look forward to Rome. In epistles written at this juncture Paul declares that he has fully preached the gospel of Christ in these parts (Romans 15:19) , that there is to be a change in his ministry, especially in the evangel he was proclaiming. He had gone about proclaiming Christ as Israel's Messiah, "after the flesh," yet henceforth he would do so no longer. He would recognize no man after the flesh. He would proclaim the conciliation, which does away with the distinction between the Circumcision and Uncircumcision (2 Corinthians 5:14-21; Romans 5:12-21). His gospel to the nations had been based on the promise to Abraham that all the nations of the earth should be blessed through His Seed. Now he preaches to all mankind because of a common descent from Adam. As this ministry is not in line with the kingdom to Israel, which is the subject of Acts, it is not recognized in this scroll The apostle's ministry in the synagogues is at an end, for the Jews among the nations have rejected their Messiah even as those in the land had done. All that now remains is his testimony before kings and in Rome. Ephesus was the religious as Rome was the political center of the world. Paul gave a larger part of his ministry to the church there than to any other.

23 The disturbance in Ephesus was no doubt caused by the opposition of the evil spirits, or demons, who are the real objects of worship in idolatry. It served God's purpose as well, for the apostle's ministry had come to a crisis which required him to leave Ephesus.

24 The impelling motive of Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen was the loss of trade, just as in the case of the Pythoness at Philippi. Money moves the nations. It was an ancient custom to use portable images or shrines, which were modeled after celebrated temples or other objects of worship. They were used for various purposes, either as household gods or for religious processions, or even on journeys or military expeditions. Some were of wood, others of gold or silver. It can easily be seen how a profitable trade in such images could spring up in Ephesus, for the temple of Diana was world-renowned. Worshipers from afar would want a shrine to take with them to their homes. The reason why shrines or temples of Diana were made, rather than images of the goddess may lie in the fact that the temple was most magnificent, while the image it contained was rude indeed. It was not an image of Diana the Huntress, which is the usual character in which she is now represented, but a many-breasted female figure above and a shapeless block below, carved out of wood. Nevertheless, she was the object of the most fanatical veneration.

33 This Alexander may be that coppersmith who had done much evil to the apostle (2 Timothy 4:14). If so, it shows the shameless lengths to which the Jews went in their hatred of Paul. They would not wish to be implicated in this matter, though it was well known that they also were opposed to idolatry. If this was the coppersmith he might have some influence with craftsmen of a like occupation, and he would clear his fellow countrymen of any association with Paul. But the mob knew he was a Jew and the mob was in no humor to tolerate anyone who was not a worshiper of their goddess.

35 To be the janitor or sexton of the temple of some great divinity was considered a high honor by the cities of the ancient world.

35 The "scribe" is called by the same name as the well-known class among the Jews. He was a high city official, and, in this case, a man of tact and judgment. He appeals to them at their weakest point, and calms them before showing the groundlessness and danger of their mad uproar.

38 After showing them that the men they had led to the theater were not guilty of any overt act against the temple or goddess he reminds them that there are legal means of redress for any wrong which they may have committed.

39 We have purposely retained the uniform rendering ecclesia here, for it gives us a true idea of its meaning in ordinary Greek. It was a town council before which any matter such as this might be brought for settlement. A select portion of the population convened for public business was so called.

40 The Romans would not tolerate any disorderly assemblage, and would soon recall any liberties and privileges accorded to a city if disorders were not promptly suppressed. Thus God overrules to deliver Paul from "so great a death" even though the spiritual powers of evil, the avaricious mob, and the Jews were all combined against him. As in Corinth, he uses the power of Rome to protect him from false brethren and fanatical idolaters led on by his unseen spirit enemies.