@Ac 19:1-41. SIGNAL SUCCESS OF PAUL AT EPHESUS.
1-3. while Apollos was at Corinth--where his ministry was so powerful
that a formidable party in the Church of that city gloried in his type
of preaching in preference to Paul's (@1Co 1:12 3:4), no doubt from
the marked infusion of Greek philosophic culture which distinguished
it, and which the apostle studiously avoided (@1Co 2:1-5).
Paul having passed through the upper coasts--"parts," the interior
of Asia Minor, which, with reference to the seacoast, was elevated.
came to Ephesus--thus fulfilling his promise (@Ac 18:21).
finding certain disciples--in the same stage of Christian knowledge as
Apollos at first, newly arrived, probably, and having had no
communication as yet with the church at Ephesus.
2. Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?--rather,
"Received ye the Holy Ghost when ye believed?" implying, certainly, that
the one did not of necessity carry the other along with it
(see on Ac 8:14-17). Why this question was asked, we cannot tell;
but it was probably in consequence of something that passed between them
from which the apostle was led to suspect the imperfection of their
light.
We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost--This
cannot be the meaning, since the personality and office of the Holy
Ghost, in connection with Christ, formed an especial subject of the
Baptist's teaching. Literally, the words are, "We did not even hear
whether the Holy Ghost was (given)"; meaning, at the time of their
baptism. That the word "given" is the right supplement, as in
@Joh 7:39, seems plain from the nature of the case.
4. Then said Paul, John . . . baptized with the baptism of repentance--water unto repentance.
saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should
come after him--that is, who should baptize with the Holy Ghost. The
point of contrast is not between John and Christ personally, but between
the water baptism of John unto repentance, and the promised
baptism of the Spirit from the hands of his coming Master unto
new life. As to all the facts, or at least the significancy, of this
baptism, which made the whole life and work of Christ another thing from
what it was conceived to be before it was vouchsafed, these simple
disciples were unenlightened.
5-7. When they heard this--not the mere words reported in @Ac 19:4,
but the subject expounded according to the tenor of those words.
they were baptized--not however by Paul himself (@1Co 1:14).
in the name of the Lord Jesus--into the whole fulness of the new
economy, as now opened up to their believing minds.
6. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them . . . they spake with tongues, &c.--See on Ac 10:44,45.
8-10. he went into the synagogue and spake boldly for . . . three months, &c.--See on Ac 17:2,3.
9. when divers--"some."
were hardened, &c.--implying that others, probably a large number,
believed.
spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed--from the
synagogue, as at Corinth (@Ac 18:7).
and separated the disciples--withdrawing to a separate place of
meeting, for the sake both of the converts already made, and the
unsophisticated multitude.
disputing--"discoursing" or "discussing."
daily in the school--or lecture hall.
of one Tyrannus--probably a converted teacher of rhetoric or
philosophy.
10. this continued . . . two years--in addition to the former three
months. See on Ac 20:31.
But during some part of this period
he must have paid a second unrecorded visit to Corinth, since the one
next recorded (see on Ac 20:2,3)
is twice called his third visit
(@2Co 12:14 13:1).
See on 2Co 1:15,16,
which might seem inconsistent with this.
The passage across was quite a short one
(see on Ac 18:19)--Towards
the close of this long stay at
Ephesus, as we learn from @1Co 16:8, he wrote his
FIRST
EPISTLE TO THE
CORINTHIANS; also (though on this opinions are divided) the
EPISTLE TO THE
GALATIANS. (See Introduction
to First Corinthians, and Introduction
to Galatians). And just as at Corinth his greatest
success was after his withdrawal to a separate place of meeting
(@Ac 18:7-10), so at Ephesus.
so that all they which dwelt in--the Roman province of
Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks--This is
the "great door and effectual opened unto him" while resident at Ephesus
(@1Co 16:9), which induced him to make it his headquarters for so
long a period. The unwearied and varied character of his labors here are
best seen in his own subsequent address to the elders of Ephesus
(@Ac 20:17, &c.). And thus Ephesus became the "ecclesiastical
center for the entire region, as indeed it remained for a very long
period" [BAUMGARTEN]. Churches arose at Colosse, Laodicea, and
Hierapolis eastward, either through his own labors or those of his
faithful helpers whom he sent out in different directions, Epaphras,
Archippus, Philemon (@Col 1:7 4:12-17 Phm 1:23).
11, 12. God wrought special--no ordinary
miracles by the hands of Paul--implying that he had not been accustomed
to work such.
12. So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, &c.--Compare @Ac 5:15,16, very different from the magical acts practiced at Ephesus. "God wrought these miracles" merely "by the hands of Paul"; and the very exorcists (@Ac 19:13), observing that the name of Jesus was the secret of all his miracles, hoped, by aping him in this, to be equally successful; while the result of all in the "magnifying of the Lord Jesus" (@Ac 19:17) showed that in working them the apostle took care to hold up Him whom he preached as the source of all the miracles which he wrought.
13. vagabond Jews--simply, "wandering Jews," who went from place to
place practicing exorcism, or the art of conjuring evil spirits to
depart out of the possessed. That such a power did exist, for some time
at least, seems implied in @Mt 12:27. But no doubt this would breed
imposture; and the present case is very different from that referred to
in @Lu 9:49,50.
We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth--a striking testimony to
the power of Christ's name in Paul's mouth.
14-17. seven sons of . . . Sceva . . . chief of the priests--head, possibly, of one of the twenty-four courts.
15. the evil spirit answered, Jesus I know--"recognize."
and Paul I know--"know intimately," in contrast to them, whom he
altogether disowns.
but who are ye?
16. And the man in whom the evil spirit was--Mark the clear line of
demarcation here between "the evil spirit which answered and said"
and "the man in whom the evil spirit was." The reality of such
possessions could not be more clearly expressed.
leaped on them . . . so that they fled . . . naked and wounded--This
was so appalling a testimony at once against those profane impostors and
in favor of Paul and the Master whom he preached, that we wonder not
that it spread to "all the Jews and Greeks at Ephesus, that fear fell on
them," and that "the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified."
18-20. many that believed came and confessed . . . their deeds--the dupes of magicians, &c., acknowledging how shamefully they had been deluded, and how deeply they had allowed themselves to be implicated in such practices.
19. Many of them . . . which used curious arts--The word signifies
things "overdone"; significantly applied to arts in which laborious but
senseless incantations are practiced.
brought their books--containing the mystic formularies.
and burned them before all--The tense, here used graphically,
expresses progress and continuance of the conflagration.
counted the price . . . and found it fifty thousand pieces of
silver--probably about $10,000 (presuming it to be the drachma).
From their nature they would be costly, and books then bore a value
above any standard we are familiar with. The scene must have been long
remembered at Ephesus, as a strong proof of honest conviction on the
part of the sorcerers and a striking triumph of Jesus Christ over the
powers of darkness. The workers of evil were put to scorn, like Baal's
priests on Carmel, and the word of God mightily grew and prevailed
[HOWSON].
21, 22. After these things were ended--completed, implying something
like a natural finish to his long period of labor at Ephesus.
Paul purposed . . . when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to
go to Jerusalem . . . After I have been there, I must also see
Rome--Mark here the vastness of the apostle's missionary plans. They were all
fulfilled, though he "saw Rome" only as a prisoner.
22. So he sent into Macedonia . . . Timotheus and Erastus--as his
pioneers, in part to bring "them into remembrance of his ways which were
in Christ" (@1Co 4:17 16:10), partly to convey his mind on various
matters. After a brief stay he was to return (@1Co 16:11). It is
very unlikely that this Erastus was "the chamberlain of the city" of
Corinth, of that name (@Ro 16:23).
he himself stayed in--the province of
Asia for a season--that is, at Ephesus, its chief city. (Asia is
mentioned in contrast with Macedonia in the previous clause).
23. the same time--of Paul's proposed departure.
about that--"the"
way--So the new religion seemed then to be designated
(@Ac 9:2 22:4 24:14).
24-26. silver shrines for--"of"
Diana--small models of the Ephesian temple and of the shrine or chapel
of the goddess, or of the shrine and statue alone, which were purchased
by visitors as memorials of what they had seen, and were carried about
and deposited in houses as a charm. (The models of the chapel of
our Lady of Loretto, and such like, which the Church of Rome
systematically encourages, are such a palpable imitation of this heathen
practice that it is no wonder it should be regarded by impartial judges
as Christianity paganized).
gain to the craftsmen--the master-artificers.
25. Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation--rather, "with the workmen (or fabricators) of such articles," meaning the artisans employed by the master-artificers, all who manufactured any kind of memorial of the temple and its worship for sale.
26. ye see and hear--The evidences of it were to be seen, and the
report of it was in everybody's mouth.
that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul
hath . . . turned away much people--Noble testimony this to the extent
of Paul's influence!
saying that they be no gods which are made with hands--The universal
belief of the people was that they were gods, though the more
intelligent regarded them only as habitations of Deity, and some,
probably, as mere aids to devotion. It is exactly so in the Church of
Rome.
27. So that not only this our craft is in danger . . . but, &c.--that
is, "that indeed is a small matter; but there is something far worse."
So the masters of the poor Pythoness put forward the
religious revolution which Paul was attempting to effect at Philippi,
as the sole cause of their zealous alarm, to cloak the self-interest
which they felt to be touched by his success (@Ac 16:19-21). In
both cases religious zeal was the hypocritical pretext; self-interest,
the real moving cause of the opposition made.
also the temple of the great goddess Diana . . . despised, and her
magnificence . . . destroyed, whom all Asia and the world
worshippeth--It was reckoned one of the wonders of the world. It was
built about 550 B.C., of pure white marble, and though burned by a
fanatic on the night of the birth of Alexander the Great, 356 B.C., was
rebuilt with more splendor than before. It was four hundred twenty-five
feet long by two hundred twenty broad, and the columns, one hundred
twenty-seven in number, were sixty feet in height, each of them the gift
of a king, and thirty-six of them enriched with ornament and color. It
was constantly receiving new decorations and additional buildings,
statues, and pictures by the most celebrated artists, and kindled
unparalleled admiration, enthusiasm, and superstition.
Its very site is now a matter of uncertainty. The little wooden
image of Diana was as primitive and rude as its shrine was sumptuous;
not like the Greek Diana, in the form of an imposing huntress, but
quite Asiatic, in the form of a many-breasted female (emblematic of the
manifold ministrations of Nature to man), terminating in a shapeless
block. Like some other far-famed idols, it was believed to have fallen
from heaven (@Ac 19:35), and models of it were not only sold in
immense numbers to private persons, but set up for worship in other
cities [HOWSON]. What power must have attended the preaching of that
one man by whom the death blow was felt to be given to their gigantic
and witching superstition!
28, 29. Great is Diana of the Ephesians--the civic cry of a populace so proud of their temple that they refused to inscribe on it the name of Alexander the Great, though he offered them the whole spoil of his Eastern campaign if they would do it [STRABO in HOWSON].
29. having caught Gaius and Aristarchus--disappointed of Paul, as at
Thessalonica (@Ac 17:5,6). They are mentioned in
@Ac 20:4 27:2 Ro 16:23 1Co 1:14; and probably @3Jo 1:1. If it was
in the house of Aquila and Priscilla that he found an asylum (see
@1Co 16:9), that would explain @Ro 16:3,4, where he says of them
that "for his life they laid down their own necks"
[HOWSON].
rushed . . . into the theatre--a vast pile, whose ruins are even now
a wreck of immense grandeur [SIR C.
FELLOWES,
Asia Minor, 1839].
30-34. when Paul would have entered in--with noble forgetfulness of
self.
unto the people--the demos, that is, the people met in public
assembly.
the disciples suffered him not--The tense used implies only that
they were using their efforts to restrain him; which might have been
unavailing but for what follows.
31. And certain of the chief of Asia--literally, "And certain also of the Asiarchs." These were wealthy and distinguished citizens of the principal towns of the Asian province, chosen annually, and ten of whom were selected by the proconsul to preside over the games celebrated in the month of May (the same month which Romanism dedicates to the Virgin). It was an office of the highest honor and greatly coveted. Certain of these, it seems, were favorably inclined to the Gospel, at least were Paul's "friends," and knowing the passions of a mob, excited during the festivals, "sent (a message) to him desiring him not to adventure himself into the theater."
33. they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him
forward--rather, "some of the multitude urged forward Alexander, the
Jews thrusting him forward." As the blame of such a tumult would
naturally be thrown upon the Jews, who were regarded by the Romans as
the authors of all religious disturbances, they seem to have put forward
this man to clear them of all responsibility for the riot. (BENGEL'S
conjecture, that this was Alexander the coppersmith, @2Ti 4:14, has
little to support it).
beckoned with the hand--compare @Ac 13:16 21:40.
would have made his defence--"offered to speak in defense."
34. But when they knew he was a Jew, all with one voice, for the space of two hours, cried out, Great is Diana, &c.--The very appearance of a Jew had the opposite effect to that intended. To prevent him obtaining a hearing, they drowned his voice in one tumultuous shout in honor of their goddess, which rose to such frantic enthusiasm as took two hours to exhaust itself.
35-41. when the town-clerk--keeper of the public archives, and a
magistrate of great authority.
had appeased--"calmed."
the people--"the multitude," which the very presence of such an
officer would go far to do.
he said . . . what man . . . knoweth not that the city of the Ephesians
is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana--literally, the neocoros or "warden."
The word means "temple-sweeper"; then, "temple-guardian."
Thirteen cities of Asia had an interest in the temple, but Ephesus was
honored with the charge of it. (Various cities have claimed this title
with reference to the Virgin or certain saints)
[WEBSTER and
WILKINSON].
and of the image which fell down from Jupiter--"from the sky" or
"from heaven."
See on Ac 19:27. "With this we may compare
various legends concerning images and pictures in the Romish Church,
such as the traditional likenesses of Christ, which were said to be "not
made with hands"" [WEBSTER and
WILKINSON].
36. Seeing that these things cannot be spoken against, &c.--Like a true legal man, he urges that such was notoriously the constitution and fixed character of the city, with which its very existence was all but bound up. Did they suppose that all this was going to be overturned by a set of itinerant orators? Ridiculous! What did they mean, then, by raising such a stir?
37. For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of
churches--"temple-plunderers," or sacrilegious persons.
nor yet blasphemers of your goddess--This is a remarkable testimony,
showing that the apostle had, in preaching against idolatry, studiously
avoided (as at Athens) insulting the feelings of those whom he
addressed--a lesson this to missionaries and ministers in general.
38. if Demetrius have a matter--of complaint.
against any man, the law is open--rather, "the court days are being
held."
and there are deputies--literally "proconsuls"
(see on Ac 13:7);
that is, probably, the proconsul and his council, as a court of appeal.
39. if ye inquire--"have any question."
concerning other matters--of a public nature.
40. For we--the public authorities.
are in danger of being called in question--by our superiors.