Encountering Those In Ephesus (Part 2)

[SLIDE 1] Introduction

Read Acts 19:11-22

Acts 19:11–22 ESV

11 And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. 13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” 14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. 15 But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” 16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. 18 Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. 19 And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily. 21 Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.

Illustration

Today’s text is sort of bizarre, at least to the modern mind. In North America, we may not be used to the idea of exorcism or demon possession.

My closest experience with this was back in 2014 when I was housing-sitting with a friend.

One night, my friend was attending his church. He called me and asked if he could bring home a man who just got a demon driven out of him.

Now, I’m not sure if you can imagine my initial reaction when I heard the news that this man was demon possessed. Certainly, I was not comfortable with that idea, but I just went along with the ride.

Thankfully, my friend returned home with another friend and with the man who was not possessed by a demon, and all was good.

Truth be told. I was not physically present when they were casting a demon out of him, so I did not have direct experience.

Nonetheless, Scripture is our authority and not experience. Our statement of faith teaches that Scripture is “the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds and opinions should be tried.”

What does the Scripture teach about demons, demon possession, and Christians’ involvement with exorcism?

Biblical Theology

First of all, we must understand that demons are evil spiritual forces.

The Bible uses different terminologies to refer to demons, such as evil spirits, deceiving spirits, harming spirits, lying spirits, and what Paul would describe in Ephesians 6 as authorities, cosmic powers, and spiritual forces of evil.

Second, both the Old and New Testaments talk about demons, but it’s mentioned a lot more in the New than the Old.

When reading through the gospels, Jesus and the Apostles had multiple interactions with demons and demon-possessed people.

Third, demons aren’t more powerful than God AND born-again Christians.

The demons cannot do anything apart from the sovereignty of God. God allows the demons to do their work for the purpose of accomplishing His sovereign plan. (See 1 Sam 16:14-16).

Furthermore, demons do not have power and authority over any followers of Jesus Christ. It is impossible for demons to possess any believers in the Lord.

Why is that? It is because we have God the Holy Spirit living in us.

1 John 5:18 ESV

18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

What about Christians’ involvement with exorcism? Should we be casting out demons in our day? Well, you would have to pay attention as I’ll answer that question somewhere in the sermon.

CONTEXT

Luke packs this passage with a lot of interesting topics and themes. Not only does he talk about demons, but also magic. This is the 3rd time in the book of Acts that Luke records for us the concept of magic.

Acts 8 tells us about the man by the name of Simon the Magician. He was supposedly practicing magic in Samaria, and he wanted to offer the Apostles money to purchase the power of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 13 was the beginning of Paul’s 1st missionary journey, and he went to the island of Cyprus. And there, he encountered another magician by the name of Bar-Jesus or Elymas.

Now, as Paul is in Ephesus, sorcery and wizardry were more pervasive in this city. Why is that?

Last Sunday, I explained the history and significance of Ephesus, so allow me to give you furthermore cultural background of Ephesus.

Ephesus was also known for its magnificent temple of Diana or Artemis. This temple will be explained even further when we get to Acts 19:23-41.

What you should know is that the temple was a center of much superstitious religion and cult prostitution.

So, magic arts, exorcism, paganism, occultism, and incantation are not uncommon in Ephesus. It is a normal part of their life.

One scholar notes, “Of all ancient Graeco-Roman cities, Ephesus, the third largest city in the Empire, was by far the most hospitable to magicians, sorcerers, and charlatans of all sorts.”

[SLIDE 2] With that in mind, Paul has already encountered three groups of people in Ephesus earlier in the chapter.

1. The obliviousness of the disciples. (vv.1-7)

2. The obstinacy of the Jews. (vv.8-9a)

3. The open-mindedness of the crowd. (vv.9b-10)

Now, we’ll learn two more groups of people in Ephesus.

Exposition

[SLIDE 3] 4. The occultism of the Jewish exorcists. (vv.11-16)

Luke describes something odd in verses 11-12.

It says that God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul. These miracles were so odd to the point that even handkerchiefs or aprons that touched Paul’s skin would be carried away and cure the citizens who were suffering with diseases and posession of evil spirits.

But notice that Luke says, “extraordinary.”

This word can literally be translated as “miracles not experienced or obtained.”

Unusual miracles happen in the Bible, but they’re very rare, usually a one-off event. Here are two examples of extraordinary miracles:

Mark 5:28-30 - the woman was healed by touching the fringe of Jesus’ garment.

2 Kings 13:20-21 - a dead man was thrown into the grave of Elisha. As soon as he touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.

Sometimes, this led to superstitions. In the case of Acts 5, the Apostles were performing signs and miracles to the point that people carried the sick into the streets and think that Peter’s shadow would somehow heal them.

The author, Luke, who was a physician in training and experience did not discount or dismiss extraordinary miracles. He faithfully recorded for us what happened.

Paul did not have the power to do the miracles; only God did, and Paul would have performed miracles in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Furthermore, Paul was so filled with the Holy Spirit that when handchiefs or aprons had physical contact with him, sickness, diseases, and evil spirits went out of people.

And I would think that the Apostle Paul did not even know that those materials that touched his skin somehow cured people.

Why was God particularly doing extraordinary miracles in Ephesus?

Even though the text does not explicitly state the reason, one possible reason is because Ephesus was a city known for its paganism and magic arts and superstition.

So, God was doing EXTRAORDINARY miracles through Paul to confirm his message as an Apostle.

In God’s wisdom, it might also be that these miracles may have been necessary to appeal to such a superstitious city like Ephesus.

It was also to show that the God whom Paul preached is the true God who can sovereignly perform miracles, instead of trusting in the Jewish exorcists and the magic arts.

[SLIDE 4] Now, in verses 13-14, Luke introduces us to the itinerant Jewish exorcists.

You may have heard the word, “exorcism.” It means driving out evil spirits by invoking the name of a more powerful spirit being.

For example, an exorist would say to the demon possessed person, “The power of Christ compels you.”

Luke does not offer us the names of these Jewish exorcists, but he does identify seven of them who were sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva.

We don’t know too much about Sceva since he’s only mentioned here.

It is more likely that he has no connection to the high priestly family in Jerusalem since Ephesus was so far away.

Instead of being a high priest, he might have been a chief priest in Ephesus.

These 7 exorcists, however, were fake and charlatans. They’re itinerants that go from place to place, wandering around the region of Asia minor.

In the ancient world, they did not perform exorcism for service, but for profit / gain.

Much like many of those so-called faith-healers of our day like Benny Hinn and Todd White.

They claim to be healing people from sickness, but they fail to provide evidence from medical documents. Those who were supposedly healed were stage actors, not the real sick people.

You have to be very careful of those who claim to be healers and claim to know Jesus, but in reality they’re spiritual con artists.

These Jewish exorcists must have observed that Paul casted out evil spirits in the name of Jesus. So, they were trying to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, those who were possessed by demons by saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.”

However, when examining what they said, there seems to be two mistakes that these exorcists made:

First, this verb, “adjure,” means to ask someone to promise that they are telling the truth or that they will do what they are asked to do.

In other words, they are to take an oath.

It’s not surprising that these exorcists used the word, “adjure,” because the word, “exorcism,” derives from the word, “oath.” So, they’re trying to bind this demon with an oath.

So, what’s the problem? Jesus and the Apostles never used this language to cast out demons. So, what makes them think that they have power and authority by using that language.

Second, you need to notice that there is what grammarians call the definite article.

They said, “THE Jesus,” not just Jesus.

It’s as if they’re using “The Jesus” as a magic word or formula with the addition of “whom Paul preaches” in order to cast out demons.

They’re using the name of Jesus not because they knew Him, but because they think they can get something out of it. Remember, their motivation is not to offer service, but to receive some sort of gain.

Simon the Magician who tried to gain power by buying the Holy Spirit. So, in a similar way, they tried to tap into the power of Jesus’ name when they have yet to truly believe in Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

Some folks who go to church may be similar to the sons of Sceva. They treat God as a means to an end. They treat Him in a way to benefit their lifestyle and satisfy their selfish desires.

They treat the name of Jesus or Christian accessories as a lucky charm or a talisman that would bring good luck, health, and prosperity.

Let me also briefly speak to the children, youth, or young people in this church.

Are you a Christian? If so, why are you a Christian?

Are you a Christian just because your parents are Christians?

Are you a Christian just because you attend a Christian school?

Are you a Christian just because you go to church?

Imagine you were these exorcists and you said: “I adjure you by the Jesus whom my parents proclaim and believe.”

It doesn’t work like that.

You cannot borrow your parents’ faith in Jesus when facing spiritual warfare.

Your faith in the Lord Jesus is an individual experience because it’s a relationship with Him. You have to trust Him as your Lord and Saviour.

[SLIDE 5] So, how does the evil spirit respond to the exorcists? Let’s take a look at verses 15-16.

We recall that the exorcists attempted to cast out multiple evil spirits. But there is THE single evil spirit that responded. This is probably the leader of the group of demons.

He said to them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?”

In other words, the demon knew who their enemies were: Jesus and Paul.

He was were well aware of Jesus’ power.

And he was aquainted with the Apostle Paul because Paul received authority from the Lord Jesus Christ.

However, while the exorcists may have been able to fool the gullible Ephesians, but they cannot fool the demon for he questioned them, “but who are you?”

The 7 sons of Sceva were no threat to a single demon. He did not even know them. They’re nobodies to him. In fact, they’re nobodies to us because we don’t even know their names.

The demon knew the spiritual condition of the exorcists. He knew that they were charlatans for they did not have the right and power to use Jesus’ name nor did they have the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit with them.

So, the exorcists were opened to an attack by the demon possessed man. There are three verbs to describe his attack, and every verb is pointing to a goal.

He leaped on them, which means he rushed and jumped on them suddenly.

He mastered all of them, which can also be translated as domineering. And it carries the idea of subduing them and making them inferior.

Finally, he overpowered them. After leaping onto them and subduing them, they are then in control over them.

Another thing you want to know about someone who is demon possessed is that he carries extraordinary strength.

We recall a story in Mark 5:3-4 where no body could bind the demon possessed man with a chain. Even when he is chained, he is able to break the shackles in pieces and no one had the strength to subdue him, except our Lord Jesus Christ.

What came out of this is quite humourous in some sense.

They fled out of that house naked and wounded. They were humiliated. They brought themselves much shame as a result of their action, which also underscores their complete lack of success.

The Jewish exorcists unsuccessfully attempted to drive the demon out, but the demon was successful in driving them out of the house.

This story is a clear example of the risks associated with individuals who take on messianic or apostolic powers and attempt to deal with demons and Satan without fully understanding the consequences of meddling in the supernatural realm.

So, we have learned the fourth group that Paul encountered in Ephesus: The occultism of the Jewish exorcists. (vv.11-16)

However, despite what happened to the sons of Sceva, it led to an unusual result as this news spread to all the residents of Ephesus. This is the final group that Paul encounters:

[SLIDE 6] 5. The overcoming of the residents of Ephesus (vv.17-20)

Now, what I mean by overcoming is that it brought some kind of revival. And a definition for revival means a spiritual reawakening in the life of a believer where he/she was lacking in spiritual growth and spiritually dormanted (i.e. not growing at all). We’ll see just what that is in this section of the passage.

The embarrassing news of what happened to the sons of Sceva made headline in all the residents of Ephesus - both Jews and Greeks - through word of mouth and eye witness account.

When they heard the news, fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled, magnified, or exalted.

Now, it’s unlikely that there was a mass conversion in all the residents of Ephesus.

It’s more likely that there was an awareness and recognition to the power of the name of Jesus that Paul personally proclaimed.

They probably recognized that the name of Jesus was not to be used in an irreverent manner.

In verses 18-19, many people (including believers) were shaken by what happened.

So, the believers in verse 18 repented by openly confessing and divulging / disclosing their practices like their magic arts.

And then in verse 19, we also have a number of people bringing their books together (I suppose books that taught magic) and burned them in the sight of all.

And the value of those books would come to 50,000 pieces of sliver.

It might have been equivalent to about 50,000 days’ wages of an average worker.

Since Ephesus is located in Turkey, let’s calculate the current minimum wage of Turkey and convert that to Canadian dollar.

45 TRY/hour, which would be $3 per hour Canadian.

So, that’s roughly at least $1 million Canadian.

That’s a lot of books in value.

How come the believers were still practicing magic arts?

Assuming that they were new believers, it was not strange that many of them to still practiced magic.

Perhaps it was something that was hard for them to let go as a new believer.

Perhaps they were unknowingly adopting some form of syncretism.

Syncretism means blending or mixing of different religious practice and beliefs. It’s somewhat pervasive with the interfaith movement or dialogue and the new age movement.

Religious buffet.

But biblical Christianity teaches and demands our undivided loyalty to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

And these believers were willing to repent of their practices, which demonstrates a genuine mark of a born-again believer.

Think about that.

When was the last time you openly confessed your sins and actually show what sin you were actually committing?

I wonder if there are still idols and sins in your life that you are still holding onto. Are you also flirting with demonic spirits?

There is a popular personality test known as “Enneagram.” It is possible that you have heard of it. It is a personality test that helps you to understand your own human behaviour and motivation by describing 9 distinct personality types.

But you must be careful with it for it has some form of demonic origin.

You must do this also today, removing books, images, computer files, statues, idols, charms, games, or whatever else might have connection with demonic spirits. They should also destroy them so they are of no use to others.

In verse 20, thus, since the believers gave up their paganism and magic arts, the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

The evil one thought he prevailed by overcoming the Jewish exorcists, but the gospel prevailed all the more mightily.

These believers were going to grow and the gospel would continue to spread in Ephesus. And the gospel continues to have the power to prevail over those who were living in bondage to demonic powers.

And Jesus continues to triumph over the devil by using this situation in Ephesus to advance the gospel and sanctify His people.

[SLIDE 7] So, after what happened in Ephesus, Paul make plans for his future travel in verses 21-22.

Essentially, this passage sets an outline for the rest of the book of Acts. If you read on ahead, after Paul leaves Ephesus, he goes to Macedonia, Achaia, Jerusalem, and eventually lands in Rome.

But Paul still has other plans in Asia, so he stays in Ephesus for a bit longer while he sends his two helpers, Timothy and Erastus, ahead of him.

As he stays in Ephesus, we’ll learn that he gets into a lot of trouble, but you’ll have to come back next time when we learn about the riot in Ephesus.

Application

[SLIDE 8] Now, I want to address a theological and practical question: Should Christians be involved in exorcism?

Here’s my short and simple answer: Maybe, but I don’t think you should.

[SLIDE 9] Here’s my long answer for you to consider:

When you look at the gospels and Acts, Jesus and the Apostles had the authority to cast out demons.

You could argue that there was this “someone” (whom the Apostle John took issues with in Luke 9:49) was able to cast out demons.

But the main point wasn’t so much that this “someone” who was a true believer was able to cast out demon. Jesus allowed him to do so for a reason. It was to teach the disciples a lesson on humility and the problem with sectarianism.

In the latter part of the New Testament (from Romans and onward), there is a change in the way that spiritual warfare is discussed.

Now, this doesn’t dismiss the reality of demons roaming in our world. While we acknowledge them as active and present, there is no longer an emphasis on casting demons out of individuals. You would find it difficult to find anything in the letters to the churches that instruct Christians to cast out demons.

Instead, believers are instructed by the Apostles to put on the whole armour of God to resist them (Ephesians 6:10-18; James 4:7), be cautious of their influence (1 Peter 5:8), and not allow them to have a foothold in our lives (Ephesians 4:27). The focus is on standing against them, rather than attempting to cast them out of others.

Furthermore, true spiritual warfare is a fight for the truth against the pervasive lies and falsehood in our world.

Spiritual warfare is also proclaiming the gospel to lost sinners who are enslaved and shackled by their own sins and by the evil one who continues to indoctrinate them with lies through evil and corrupt people.

The book of Ephesians teaches us how to have victory over the forces of evil. It starts with having faith in Christ, which breaks the power of the evil one.

By God’s grace, we are then commanded to put off ungodliness and put on godliness (Ephesians 4:17-24), which involves renewing our minds (Ephesians 4:23).

Afterwards, Paul reminds Christians that we are in a spiritual battle, and so we are given the armour of God. God has given us what we need to stand against the trickery of the demonic world with the armour and the spiritual weapon.

We stand with truth, righteousness, salvation, God’s word, faith, and prayer against the enemies.

Finally, as the Word of God was completed, Christians had more weapons to battle against the spirit world than the early Christians did.

Casting out demons is not emphasized in the NT. Instead, the focus was on evangelism and discipleship through the Word of God.

Now, while the NT letters do not command or emphasize on exorcism, they do not forbid us too, which is why my short answer was “Maybe, but I don’t think you should.”

Since the methods of spiritual warfare in the New Testament don’t seem to involve casting out demons, it is difficult to determine the instructions on how to do such a thing.

For instance, do we simply say, “I cast you out in the name of Jesus?” If so, how many times? Jesus and the Apostles only needed to do it once. What if it doesn’t work the first time?

We’re not called to be “demon slayers.” So, it seems that the best way to “cast out demons” is by exposing individuals to the truth of the Word of God, the gospel, and the name of Jesus Christ.

It is only the gospel of Jesus Christ - His death and resurrection - that can rescue lost wretched sinners from demonic possession and demonic enslavement.

Through His death and resurrection, Jesus disarmed the evil one and triumph over them.

If you trust Jesus Christ, love Him, and obey Him, you are no longer a slave of the evil one, but you belong to our loving and gracious Lord and Master Jesus Christ.

[SLIDE 10] Conclusion

So, in summary, we learned two other groups that Paul encountered in this passage:

The Occultism of the Jewish Exorcists.

The Overcoming Of The Residents Of Ephesus.

[SLIDE 11] This dramatic, albeit almost humorous, story where the demon recognized Paul and Jesus raises an important yet challenging question for you and for us as a church:

Do we walk closely enough with God that even the enemy recognizes us? Will the enemy say, “Jesus I know, Paul I know, and I’m beginning to recognize those Christians at Oakridge Baptist Church.”

Or do we continue to live in a state of spiritual dormant, without making much of an impact on the enemy? Will the enemy say, “Jesus I know, Paul I know, but you do not scare me anyway.”

My concern is that too often Satan is not afraid of local churches and individual Christians because they are not walking closely enough with God.

Brothers and sisters, are you aware of the reality of spiritual warfare? Do you know that the enemy is constantly on the move? Will you pick up the armour of God and stand firm against the schemes of the evil one?

May the Lord bless the preaching of His holy word and may His word teach you His way so that you may walk in His word and unite your heart to fear His name.