Burnt Offering

Acts 19:1-22

Good morning, everyone!  We are going through the first portion of chapter 19 in the book of Acts today.  It’s a change of location, and the end of chapter 18 has a lot of movement, too.  So let’s talk through it briefly.

At the beginning of chapter 18, Paul is in Corinth.  That is in the southern part of Greece.  Paul ministered there for a year and a half.  Then, after that, Paul leaves Corinth and makes a brief stop in Ephesus on his return to Syria.  Priscilla and Aquila stay at Ephesus.  Though Paul’s visit in Ephesus is brief, he still goes to the synagogue and reasons with the Jews.  These Jews ask Paul to stay with them for a while.  Paul declines their invitation but tells them he will return there if it is the Lord’s will.

Paul then goes by ship to Caesarea on the coast not too far from Jerusalem.  He goes to visit the church in Jerusalem, and then returns to Antioch in Syria.  After a stay in Antioch of some time, Paul then journeys by land through the length of Asia Minor or modern-day Turkey.  He travels to the churches he had previously planted and strengthens the disciples there.

Remember, Paul had left Priscilla and Aquila there in Ephesus where they had met Apollos.  While Apollos was already speaking boldly about Jesus, he did learn more adequately from Priscilla and Aquila about the way of God.  Apollos then goes on to Corinth, encouraged by the disciples in Ephesus and supplied with their introduction.  And in Corinth, Apollos was a great help to the believers.

That brings us to the beginning of chapter 19.  So, let’s pray and jump into our passage.

Heavenly Father, thank You for sending people to us to share the good news that Your Son Jesus is the Savior of the world.  Teach us how to be lights to those around us.  Help us to point other toward You.  Encourage Your saints from Your Word in Jesus’ Name, we pray, Amen.

Acts chapter 19 beginning in verse 1 …

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?” “John's baptism,” they replied. – Acts 19:1-3

Ephesus was the leading city of the province of Asia which was on the eastern coast of modern day Turkey.  Population estimates go into the low six figures, so 100,000 inhabitants perhaps more.  For antiquity, it was a major city.

It’s not clearly stated how these disciples had come to faith.  Perhaps, they had an incomplete understanding because they had their message from disciples of John the Baptist since we see that they mention John’s baptism.  Or, they had received their teaching from Apollos during the time he had an incomplete understanding of the way of God.  We know that in chapter 18 Apollos only knew of the baptism of John before Priscilla and Aquila explained the way of God to Apollos more adequately.

We don’t even know why Paul was prompted to ask them about the Holy Spirit.  This is the only time that we see Paul frame this question.  Something or Someone had alerted Paul to ask.  When I say Someone, it has it’s a capital “S” Someone in my notes.  The Lord may have prompted Paul to ask.

Paul said, “John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all. – Acts 19:4-7

John the Baptist was a contemporary of Jesus.  In fact, John was Jesus’ cousin.  John was executed before the crucifixion.  However, John did have followers, disciples.

John’s message was not a bad message.  It was a message of hope.  There is one coming after me.  He is much greater than me, so great that I am not even worthy to behave as His servant.  I’m not even worthy enough to take off His shoes. (Matthew 3:1-12)

John did proclaim Jesus, and when John saw Jesus, he told the people there who had come out to see John at the Jordan River, he told them that Jesus was the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and that Jesus is the Son of God. (John 1:29-36) At that time, John also told his listeners that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit.

And yet, these twelve that Paul met have believe in Jesus, but have not received the Holy Spirit.  But they are ready to receive.  This is another key moment where the Holy Spirit is given separately with the laying on of hands.  This working of the Spirit is similar to Pentecost and to Cornelius’ household.

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. – Eph. 5:18

God always wants us to go deeper. We tend to sip where we could drink deeply; we drink deeply where we could wade in, and we wade in where we could plunge in and swim. Most of us need to be encouraged to go deeper and further into the things of the Holy Spirit.

Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. – Acts 19:8-9

Paul makes good on his commitment to the Jews during his first visit there in Ephesus.  Perhaps because of his invitation or perhaps because of the larger size of the city or perhaps both, Paul spent the longest time teaching in the synagogue of Ephesus of any city.  In other cities, Paul only taught for a few weeks.  Still though similar to the other cities, opposition arises in the synagogue and Paul moves on to another location in the city.

We don’t know who Tyrannus was or where his lecture hall was located within the ancient city of Ephesus.  Tyrannus was likely a philosopher or an orator of rhetoric, a kind of teacher.  My study bible tells of an early Greek manuscript that says Paul taught in the middle of the day and early afternoon which would have been the hottest part of the day.  Tyrannus would likely have used his hall in the morning when it was cooler.  However, people would be less busy during the hottest time of the day.  So there was a sort of trade off which likely benefited the spread of the gospel.

This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. – Acts 19:10

Two years of daily teaching.  It’s literally thousands of hours of teaching.  It’s no wonder that people all throughout the region were exposed to the gospel as a result.

This is the longest stay in one missionary location that Luke records.  As mentioned at the beginning of the message, this area of Asia refers to the western half of the area of modern-day Turkey.  Ephesus served as a center from which the gospel could flow out either by new believers carrying the message with them or the people in the surrounding regions coming to Ephesus on business for a variety of reasons and hearing the gospel there.

This also happened at Pisidian Antioch in chapter 13 (v. 49) that the message went out to the whole region as a result of their teaching at a major city.

God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. – Acts 19:11-12

Some translations have the word unusual instead of extraordinary.  I don’t think there is any such thing as an ordinary miracle.  But the miracles that happened at Ephesus had some “extra” or special quality to them.  Nothing quite like it had happened before.

Handkerchiefs here would be like sweat bands today.  Aprons were the dirty working garments possibly belonging to Paul, but more likely to the people who had come to hear Paul.  Humble articles.  Nothing that would be associated with power or majesty.

God was doing a mighty work there in Ephesus.  We don’t know for sure why there were so many miracles, but as we will read in a moment, there was a lot of weird, dark spiritual activity in Ephesus from sorcery to idol worship.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that believing wrong things makes miracles more likely.  But, it seems that there was a need for miracles among the people of Ephesus that perhaps were not needed in Corinth, for example.  The people of Ephesus were in a spiritual bondage where such miracles were needed.

And, in the midst of a need, there are always ones looking to take an advantage for themselves whether monetarily or for notoriety and fame or for power.

Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?" Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. – Acts 19:13-17

The opening phrase gives the impression that these itinerant exorcists were successful at least to some degree.  The fact that they are Jews or claim to be seems strange, but then if you look back to chapter 13, we met Elymas and he is described as a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet.  What in the world is a Jewish sorcerer?

Obviously, they weren’t completely satisfied with whatever they were doing because they decide to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus to increase their success.  Perhaps this even had worked or appeared to work and even more than once.

But, one day.  One day the evil spirit answered!  That had to be terrifying.  It’s also fascinating what the evil spirit said.  It knew Jesus.  And, it knew about Paul.  Jesus is the Son of God.  That demon knew that.  God’s might working through Paul was also known to this demon.  But these other self-proclaimed mystics, they are nothing to this evil spirit.

Then, it gets crazy.  These mystics likely had very ostentatious robes and clothing so that they would look very important, so that they would look the part.  Of course, there was no power in their clothing, and we could even say costumes.  One man beating seven and then the seven having to flee naked demonstrates their utter lack of control of the situation.

Naturally, the people of Ephesus are impacted by this dramatic event.  If there were ones who wanted to disregard the spiritual, it would be hard to do that in light of this.  For others who dabbled with spiritual forces, it was suddenly no longer a game.  At least, it wasn’t something that they could believe they could control anymore.

And through it all, God is glorified.  Jesus’ Name is held in high regard as a result.  Jesus is God.  He has all power, all authority.

Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. – Acts 19:18-20

Take note that the many here are believers.  These “many” come from the church of Ephesus.  They heard about what happened to the unbelieving sons of Sceva.  And they come forward in confession and repentance.

We see sorcery was one thing that they were attached to.  That was an area of weakness and sin among these new believers, but I am sure it was more than that.  Luke doesn’t provide a list here.  He says only that they confessed what they had done.

Here is the list from Galatians 5:19-21.  Paul describes these as the works of the flesh:  sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Any of these are a barrier between us and a right relationship with the Lord.  They are sin.  What is sin?  I John 3:4 tells us, “Sin is lawlessness.”  Sin is a disregard for God’s commands.  In II Corinthians 3, Paul contrasts the Old Testament Law as ministry of condemnation.  He talks of the new covenant, the New Testament, as a ministry of righteousness.  

The people of Ephesus confess the unrighteous things they were still holding on to.  The most outwardly obvious thing they did was to burn their scrolls of sorcery in public.  We don’t know how many people brought scrolls, but back then paper was not cheap.  Today, there is paper everywhere.  We have paper in our bathrooms!  That was not the case back then.

Luke gives us the value of the scrolls because it shows how serious the believers in Ephesus were.  The value of the silver alone in today’s money would have been above $150,000.  Considering that money sometimes represents more than its material value, some estimate the value of these scrolls above a million dollars in today’s money.

Regardless, that’s a stunning burnt offering.  It reminds you of Jesus’ words.  In Mark 9:43-47, Jesus said, “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.  And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.  And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell.”

I don’t often think in those terms.  Jesus doesn’t even say sin here.  He just says what causes you to stumble.  Do you think about what causes you to stumble?  How do you respond to it?  Do you cast it out?  Do you try to get as far away from it as possible?  Or do you keep it in the closet or on your computer or under your bed?

Paul wrote to Timothy, admonishing him, “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.”  There are several verses that talk about fleeing from different particular sins.  I Corinthians 6:18 says, “Flee from sexual immorality.”  That’s the one I remember as a young believer in college.  Whenever there would be something inappropriate, one of the guys would say, “You gotta flee!”

But I think I am in good standing when I say, “Flee from sin.”  And in Paul’s words, “all this” captures all the things which are opposed to righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.  

I’m not trying to put a guilt trip on you or bring about needless fear.  I’ve seen some odd things done like where people got rid of their stuffed animals from when they were kids because they “might” be idols.  And I suppose in some rare case that might be needful, but it seems highly unlikely.

At the same time, I have thrown away and even burned things in the past because they were causing me to stumble.  I’m sure that the believers in Ephesus could have sold their scrolls and gotten some if not all of their investment back.  But that’s the point, they weren’t going to give the things that caused them to stumble to someone else.

I will leave it with you.  Please think on the things that are causing you to stumble.  Are their things you need to get rid of?  Are their things you need to flee from, to stay away from?

After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. "After I have been there," he said, "I must visit Rome also." He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little  longer. – Acts 19:21-22

Paul is planning to go to Jerusalem.  However, he’s going by way of Macedonia and Achaia.  And, it turns out, he’s going to come back through those places as well before heading down to Jerusalem and on to Rome, but perhaps not getting to Rome the way he first expected.

We know of Timothy who joined Paul in Galatia in Acts 16 and has traveled with Paul to Macedonia and Athens and Corinth and now Ephesus.  Timothy is now heading out on his own, but not alone.  Rather than following behind, Timothy is sent ahead.  Timothy is growing in maturity and leadership.

Erastus is an interesting figure.  He only appears in scripture 3 times and each mention is rather brief.  Here, we learn he was a helper of Paul.  He also travels as a missionary and companion of Timothy.  He next appears in Romans 16 where we get another piece of background information which says that he was the director of public works or the city manager, literally the steward of the city there in Corinth.  Then, Paul mentions Erastus in II Timothy.  Paul wrote II Timothy from prison in Rome.  He only says of Erastus that he had stayed in Corinth.  In other words, he was not with Paul at Rome.

These little bits of information help us realize the diversity of the early church.  All sorts of people from different backgrounds come to Christ and are transformed.  Erastus had a varied experience as an administrator and a helper of Paul.  Luke likewise was a physician and a key author and helper in the early church.  God works through everyone He has called, never doubt that for a moment.

That’s the end of our passage, but not the end of Paul’s visit to Ephesus.  Paul’s time in Ephesus really goes out with a bang.  That will be our focus next week.  But we’ll close here for today.  Let’s pray.

Father God, we thank You that You are the God who is able to keep us from stumbling and to make us stand in your presence blameless and with great joy.  I pray that You would help each of us to make right decisions to walk in a blameless way before You now.  Help us to eliminate or separate ourselves from things that make us stumble.  In everything, we pray that You would be glorified.  Amen.