CHAPTER 19

(A.D. 58)

EPHESUS

¹And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth (pertains to Acts 18:27), Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus (refers back to Acts 18:23): and finding certain Disciples (they were followers of Christ, but deficient in their understanding),

²He said unto them, Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed? (In the Greek, this is literally, having believed, did you receive? We know these men were already Saved because every time the word Disciples is used in the Book of Acts, it refers to individuals who have accepted Christ. Paul could tell that these individuals, although Saved, had not yet been baptized with the Holy Spirit.)And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Spirit (doesnt mean that they didnt know of the existence of the Holy Spirit, but they were not aware that the Age of the Spirit had come, and that Believers could literally be baptized with Him; at Salvation, the Holy Spirit baptizes Believing sinners into Christ; at the Spirit Baptism, Jesus baptizes Believers into the Holy Spirit [Mat. 3:11]).

³And he said unto them, Unto what then were you baptized? (After asking about the Holy Spirit Baptism, Paul was met with a blank stare, so to speak.) And they said, Unto Johns Baptism (this was the Baptism of Repentance).

⁴Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the Baptism of Repentance (which, in effect, was all that could be done at that particular time), saying unto the people, that they should believe on Him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus (proclaims John the Baptist lifting up Jesus as the Saviour of mankind).

⁵When they heard this (no doubt, Paul said much more; however, the evidence is they instantly believed and accepted what Paul said, and they then desired what he said), they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus (means, by the authority of the Lord Jesus; the only Baptismal formula in the Word of God is Mat. 28:19).

⁶And when Paul had laid his hands upon them (constitutes a Biblical principle [Acts 8:17; 9:17-18]), the Holy Spirit came on them (refers to them being baptized with the Holy Spirit); and they spoke with tongues, and prophesied (proclaims Tongues as the initial physical evidence that one has been baptized with the Holy Spirit; sometimes there is prophesying at that time, and sometimes not [Acts 8:17; 9:17; 10:46]).

⁷And all the men were about twelve (it seems that no women were involved at this particular time).

THE SYNAGOGUE

⁸And he (Paul) went into the Synagogue, and spoke boldly for the space of three months (it seems that he lasted longer here than he had in most Synagogues), disputing and persuading the things concerning the Kingdom of God (he would have brought reasonable proofs from the Old Testament Scriptures to show that the Kingdom [ruled authority] of God is revealed in Jesus, Who is now Ascended to the Right Hand of the Father and seated at the Fathers Throne [Acts 2:30-33]).

THE CHURCH

⁹But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spoke evil of that way before the multitude (they rebelled against the Gospel of Christ), he departed from them, and separated the Disciples (proclaims the break with the Synagogue), disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus (is thought to be the Lecture Hall of a Greek Philosopher).

¹⁰And this continued by the space of two years (probably referred to most every night and, at times, during the day as well; he spent a total of three years in Ephesus [Acts 20:31]); so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the Word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks (does not refer to every single person, but rather to people from all walks of life, and from all surrounding areas).

MIRACLES

¹¹And God wrought special Miracles by the hands of Paul (the Lord did these things, not Paul):

¹²So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons (there is no indication in the Text that he purposely sent these things out, although he definitely may have, but rather that people on their own simply picked them up; they took them to the diseased or demon-possessed, evidently placing the cloth on the person, with them receiving healing and/or deliverance), and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them (it was not the pieces of cloth which did this, but rather the Power of God using these cloths as a point of contact regarding Faith).

¹³Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists (speaks of individuals who practiced divination, and who were not of God, but rather of Satan), took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus (apparently these people had heard Paul minister and observed him praying for the sick and casting out demons; they evidently noted that he used The Name of Jesus, which had a powerful effect), saying, We adjure you by Jesus Whom Paul preaches (seems to be their own formula or incantation they cooked up by observing Paul).

¹⁴And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and Chief of the Priests, which did so (infers that this man may have been a member of the Jewish Council at Ephesus).

¹⁵And the evil spirit answered and said (points to a man who was demon-possessed, and that some or all of these seven sons had been hired to exorcise this spirit), Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you? (This represents two different and distinct Greek verbs regarding the word know. Referring to Jesus, it implied fear! Referring to Paul, there was much less action.)

¹⁶And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them (probably involved all seven sons being soundly whipped by the demon-possessed man), so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded (the Greek Text indicates that they suffered wounds severe enough to effect them for a while).

¹⁷And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus (all does not mean every single person, but rather quite a number); and fear fell on them all (they now knew not to trifle with the Name of Jesus), and the Name of the Lord Jesus was magnified (presents the constant idea of the Holy Spirit that Jesus will always be Glorified [Jn. 16:14]).

¹⁸And many who believed came (speaks of those who had trusted the Lord for Salvation, but as of yet had not given up particular sins), and confessed, and showed their deeds (concerns the Holy Spirit now leading these Believers to Holiness and Righteousness, even as He had led them to Salvation previously).

¹⁹Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men (curious arts refers to the practicing of magic; so the Holy Spirit was mightily working in peoples lives, just as He desires to do always; if we will allow Him, He will clean us up; He does it through our Faith in Christ and the Cross [Rom. 8:2]): and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver (it must have been many, many books, etc., for the amount in 2003 dollars would be approximately $2,000,000).

²⁰So mightily grew the Word of God and prevailed (it doesnt say that the Church grew mightily, but rather the Word of God...).

²¹After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the Spirit (refers to the Holy Spirit), when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem (he wanted to be there for the Feast of Pentecost [Acts 20:16]), saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome (the Greek Text indicates a Divine Hand laid upon Paul).

²²So he sent into Macedonia two of them who ministered unto him, Timothy and Erastus (concerned preparations they would make in the Churches for Pauls visit a short time later); but he himself stayed in Asia for a season (stayed in Ephesus a little longer, maybe two or three months).

EPHESUS

²³And the same time there arose no small stir about that Way (that Way is the Pentecostal Way, which characterizes the entirety of the Book of Acts).

²⁴For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith (he was probably the guild-master of the silversmith guild or trade union), which made silver shrines for Diana (speaks of miniatures of the Temple of Diana with the goddess in the middle of the Temple background), brought no small gain unto the craftsmen (speaks of those who made their living by this particular craft);

²⁵Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation (whom Demetrius called together), and said, Sirs, you know that by this craft we have our wealth (tells us that their chief concern was not really the worship or the honor of this goddess, but their own prosperity).

²⁶Moreover you see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia (presents a powerful Testimony, from an enemy no less, to the power and effectiveness of Pauls labors and his Message), this Paul has persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands (proclaims that which Paul had preached, and which many people had come to believe, and rightly so):

²⁷So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought (follows the idea that it would fall in disrepute); but also that the Temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worships (there was quite a bit of exaggeration here).

²⁸And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath (the accusations of Demetrius had the desired effect), and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians (actually, the great wealth and prominence of the city of Ephesus were largely due to its great Temple of Diana, but it was basically localized to that city).

²⁹And the whole city was filled with confusion (the mob is forming): and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Pauls companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre (recognizing these two men as Pauls associates, they dragged them into the amphitheater).

³⁰And when Paul would have entered in unto the people (Paul was determined to go into the theater and address the mob), the Disciples suffered him not (these were the Believers who were a part of the Church at Ephesus, and who knew the danger that awaited Paul).

³¹And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends (these were men of high rank and great wealth, which presents another striking proof of the enormous influence of Pauls preaching in Asia), sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theatre (seems to me that they sent Paul word, but did not come to him in person).

³²Some therefore cried one thing, and some another (presents the actions and mannerisms of a mob): for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together (means that a few were agitating the many).

³³And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward (exactly as to who this Alexander was is not clear). And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people (presents that which is to no avail).

³⁴But when they knew that he was a Jew (proclaims the reason for their outburst which followed), all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians (despite all of this, history records that the Gospel, which Paul preached, had such an effect that the worshipers of the goddess Diana came in ever fewer numbers, while the Church in Ephesus continued to flourish).

³⁵And when the townclerk had appeased the people (presents an office of influence), he said, You men of Ephesus, what man is there who knows not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter? (The idea is that Ephesus is the proud possessor of this goddess, of which no other city in the world could boast.)

³⁶Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against (appeals to the pride of these individuals, as to Diana being so great), you ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly (represents good advice, although coming from a heathen).

³⁷For you have brought hither these men (speaking of Gaius and Aristarchus), which are neither robbers of Churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess (means that Paul had not directed attention to this particular idol, but had, no doubt, referred to idols made by mens hands [Vs. 26]).

³⁸Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open (reflects the common sense of the town clerk), and there are deputies: let them implead one another (he was saying that if Demetrius really had a case against Paul and those with him, he should pursue it in open Court).

³⁹But if you inquire any thing concerning other matters (in effect, is saying, if there are other complaints against Paul than that mentioned, it should be addressed correctly, and not by mob action), it shall be determined in a lawful assembly (open Court).

⁴⁰For we are in danger to be called in question for this days uproar (refers to Roman peace being disturbed for no good reason), there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse (proclaims the town clerk wondering how this mob action could be explained to Roman authorities, if called to account).

⁴¹And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly (common sense prevailed, and Gaius and Aristarchus were released forthwith).