Miracles, Mimics & Madness
Notes
Transcript
11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul,
We have to understand that God was doing some unusual things here through Paul. These miracles are labelled as “Unusual” or “special”. These types of miracles were not normal.
12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.
These miracles were so amazing that even garments that had touched the body of Paul were able to be used for healing and restoration.
27 When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.
56 Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well.
14 And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,
15 so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them.
13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.”
14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”
16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
17 This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
The power in the name of Jesus comes by way of belief in the name of Jesus.
It seems as if these Jewish priests sought to exploit the name of Jesus for their own personal gain. Notice when they attempted to perform the exorcism, they did not say, “In the name of Jesus”. Rather, they exclaimed, “by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.”
These Jewish priests had no personal connection with Jesus themselves. They were attempting to work these “unusual miracles” as Paul had done simply by quoting the name of Jesus.
There is great danger in meddling with evil spirits apart from the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and these Jews were about to find that out.
Evil spirits are aware of the presence of God. “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Do not think that you can command me simply because you know the name. I too know the name. Matter of fact, I know more about Jesus that you can even fathom.
The result of this altercation was the exact opposite of what they were hoping for. They made a name for themselves, but not in the way they were hoping for. They ended up being known for the ones “who thought they could work the miracles of Paul”, which in turn probably left them in a position far worse than they were in to begin with.
We are told that, “This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.” Even though these men suffered loss regarding their reputations, the name of Jesus was magnified through this altercation. This goes to show that God will use every situation for the glory of His name and His Kingdom, regardless of the intentions driving the situation.
18 And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds.
19 Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.
20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.
The result was true revival in their midst. Many of those “who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds.” IN other words, it seems as if many closet Christians came out of the closet. Many others who “practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all.” This too was a public declaration of their faith in the Lord Jesus. The dollar amount of these books that were burned is said to have been in the millions of dollars.
All of this brought about the most amazing thing: “the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.” Not only did the awareness of God’s miracle working power become more popular, it says that it prevailed. In other words, the Word of god brought about real change in the lives of these people. They were transformed by it. The Word of God tore down strongholds, broke addictions, and overpowered the other religious ideologies of the area. There was true revival amongst the people in Ephesus.
21 When these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”
22 So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time.
So Paul sends Timothy and Erastus into Macedonia but it says that “he himself stayed in Asia for a time.”
1 To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:
23 And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way.
24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen.
25 He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade.
26 Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands.
27 So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.”
Here we see what Christians used to be known as. They were called those of “The Way”. Paul had stirred up quiet the commotion in Asia. Demetrius actually admits that Paul had caused commotion “not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia.” This is a testament to Paul. Paul had wasted no time spreading the Gospel of Christ. He went throughout almost the entire region preaching and teaching the Gospel. Demetrius says that “this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands.”
As a result of so many people turning to Christ, Demetrius and many of those “workers of similar occupation” had suffered loss. He was “a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana”. These other men would have also been of a similar trade: sculptures, those who worked with metals (bronze, silver, gold, etc.), builders, and other occupation that would have profited from the building, shaping, or making of idols. It tells us that Demetrius had “brought no small profit to the craftsmen.” These men had made a killing building these statues and idols for the public, but now they were losing much of their business because of the crusades of Paul and the message he spoke. It was bad enough that he says, “this trade of ours is in danger of falling into disrepute.” Something had to be done about this man named Paul before they lost everything.
When the Spirit of God sweeps through the land and many begin to turn to Him, the world begins to look a lot different. People repent and turn away from their sin, but this affects the entire community. A lot of businesses would go under today if the majority of the population turned to God and forsook their sinful lifestyles.
28 Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”
29 So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s travel companions.
30 And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples would not allow him.
31 Then some of the officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater.
32 Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together.
33 And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people.
34 But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”
Demetrius’s ploy was successful. All of those who had come to listen to what he had to say were now in an uproar. They began to scream out, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” They moved from their private setting into a much larger venue, the theatre. On their way there, they seized Gaius, Aristarchus, and some Macedonians, all of whom were Paul’s travel companions. Their hopes, no doubt, was to cause such an uproar that resulted in these men being punished, or at the very least, run out of town. These men were responsible for turning their world upside down, and someone needed to pay.
The problem was that “the whole city was filled with confusion”. Naturally, when the uproar began, everyone in the vicinity rushed in to see what was going on, but many of those there had no clue as to what was happening. “Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together.”
Paul also tried to go into the theatre, but “some of the officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theatre.” They were afraid of what might happen if he went inside. He was after all the focus of this riot in the first place. Knowing this, they persuaded Paul to stay outside.
In an attempt to calm the crowd, Alexander was placed before them. We do not know much of this Alexander, but it is possible that he is the same Alexander that Paul spoke of in his letters to Timothy.
14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works.
19 having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck,
20 of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
If this is indeed the same Alexander, it is possible that this man was a prominent member in the Jewish community and well respected among them. In the case of this outrage, he thought that there might be chance he could calm the crowd, at least enough to see what was going on. What they did not know is that if their problem truly lay with Paul, Alexander would have no doubt helped them, seeing that he did not agree with the teachings of Paul either.
Unfortunately, this predominantly Gentile crowd were in no mindset to hear the words of any Jew. Jews did not believe in their gods and goddesses, so regardless of what was to be said, it was in their opinion no use to them. All they wanted in this moment was for Diana to be recognized and anyone or thing that opposed the worship of her to be gone. Therefore, they cried out even louder, “for about two hours, ‘Great is Diana of the Ephesians!’”.
35 And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Zeus?
36 Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly.
37 For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess.
38 Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.
39 But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly.
40 For we are in danger of being called in question for today’s uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering.”
41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
Finally, the city clerk was able to speak among them. In his address, he offered sound reasoning to them and persuaded them to handle things a different way.
His rationale: “what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess Diana,”? In other words, every person alive knows that here in this city, we worship Diana. Her temple is regarded as one of the greatest wonders of the world. People travel from all over the globe to see its beauty and wonder. Regardless of what is being said and done by others, that is not going to change. “Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly.”
He continues by offering sound reason concerning the men they had seized as well. “You have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples not blasphemers of your goddess.” In other words, you have no lawful reason to hold these men. In this city, everyone worshipped something different. It was a cesspool of pagan worship. These men have obviously been preaching a different message than that of what you believe, but they have not damaged your temples or done anything worthy of this treatment.
He takes it even a step further when he says, “For we are in danger of being called in question for today’s uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering.” This outburst had disrupted just about everything and if word got to the wrong people, explanation would be demanded for what was going on and someone would have to answer for it. “Therefore, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.” Let this be “determined in the lawful assembly.”
His words sufficed the mob, and once he was done speaking, “he dismissed the assembly.”
For now, it seems as if Paul and his men were safe, but we know that this will not last long.
