Acts 19

This chapter, in the latter part of Acts, covers Paul's ministry in Ephesus during his third missionary journey. It picks up from the end of chapter 18, where Apollos leaves Ephesus and crosses over to Achaia.

Outline

• Verses 1–7 In Ephesus, Paul meets about twelve disciples who had received only John's baptism. They are baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, and when Paul lays his hands on them, the Holy Spirit comes upon them, and they speak with tongues and prophesy.
• Verses 8–10 Paul reasons in the synagogue for three months. Meeting opposition, he moves to the school of Tyrannus and teaches there daily for two years.
• Verses 11–20 People are healed through handkerchiefs and aprons brought from Paul. The seven sons of Sceva, who attempt to imitate this, are overpowered by a man possessed by an evil spirit, and those who had practiced magic burn books worth fifty thousand pieces of silver.
• Verses 21–22 Paul plans to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and then go to Jerusalem and Rome, and he sends Timothy and Erastus ahead of him.
• Verses 23–41 The silversmith Demetrius incites his fellow craftsmen, setting off a great uproar in the theater, until the town clerk calms the crowd and dismisses the assembly.

Key Verses

• Acts 19:2 "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" — This verse is frequently cited in discussions of the relationship between faith and receiving the Holy Spirit.
• Acts 19:20 "So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed." — This is one of the statements with which Acts summarizes the spread of the gospel.

People and Places

• Paul: Ministers in Ephesus for more than two years.
• The seven sons of Sceva: Sons of Sceva, a Jewish priest, who come to grief when they use the name of Jesus as an incantation.
• Timothy and Erastus: Paul's helpers, sent ahead to Macedonia.
• Demetrius: A silversmith who made shrines of Artemis (Diana).
• Gaius and Aristarchus: Macedonians traveling with Paul, who are seized during the uproar.
• Alexander: A man put forward by the Jews. Whether he is the same person as Alexander the coppersmith is uncertain.
• The school of Tyrannus: The lecture hall where Paul taught daily.
• The temple of Artemis: The temple devoted to Artemis (Diana), the goddess of Ephesus.

Points for Reflection

Interpretations of verses 1–7 differ. The Pentecostal tradition reads the passage as grounds for a baptism in the Holy Spirit received separately, after one has believed. Many other traditions, including the Reformed tradition, regard it as a transitional event that occurred because these men were disciples of John who did not yet fully know Jesus. This debate is also connected with cessationism and continuationism.

Regarding the miracle of the handkerchiefs in verse 12, many interpreters note that the text describes these as "special miracles" wrought by God (verse 11), and they caution against practices that attribute power to the objects themselves.

Paul is understood to have written 1 Corinthians during this stay in Ephesus (1 Corinthians 16:8).

In the Korean Church

The publisher Duranno takes its name from the school of Tyrannus (Korean: Duranno) in verse 9. Verses 1–7 are often used in sermons on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit and at Holy Spirit gatherings, and verses 18–19 in sermons on repentance and breaking with one's former way of life.