The Difference Jesus Makes: Transformational Power – Acts 19:11–20

PRAY & INTRO: 

We know our lives have been truly transformed by the Spirit when our whole life’s aim has become exalting Christ. -when it is God who is working in us and through us, and it is Christ we long to exalt, and it is the word of God that increases and prevails mightily (in us and out from us)

When was the last time you stood up and took notice of the transformation in your life because of Jesus, and the change in others around you who belong to him? Do you long to see him do so more and more?

In our text today, Luke draws out a particular episode, a specific set of events while Paul ministers in Ephesus for a lengthy time on his third missionary journey, to make this point: Spiritual power for changing lives comes not from us trying to wield God for our purposes but from God wielding us. And the difference is yielding to and exalting Jesus.

Acts 19:11–20 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.

Rather than trying to use God’s power for our own purposes, true evidence of the Spirit’s power is lives changed by exalting Christ.

God is the one doing the work, and he is not to be used for our own selfish purposes. Rather, through Christ we are to submit to God and allow him to change us and use us as he sees fit. And as we do that, our lives are transformed and God’s word prevails mightily in us and out from us.

Let’s start at the beginning with what is foundational to all of this.

Who is the  hero  of the story? (vv. 11-12)

“And God was doing extraordinary miracles (works of power)…”

-God is. God is the hero of this story, God is the hero of the biblical story, and God is the hero of history. (How can he not be? He is before and beyond history. He created it and he will bring it to a completion according to his plan. From our perspective, He is writing the story, and from his eternal perspective, He has already written history.)

Acts is written in the style of the time to describe the works of great men, only the most appropriate name for this work is Acts of the Holy Spirit through the Apostles, because even though mighty deeds are done through the likes of Peter and Paul, the true hero is God—Father, Son, and Spirit.

Unfortunately there are many in a world today who have been given a Spark Notes version of the Bible, and it’s not an accurate summary. It has twisted the plot and the main characters such that we are the heroes and God is beholden to us.

And there are those who do read the Bible but who refuse to submit to God’s authority in it, and therefore the transforming power of it is not penetrated their hard hearts. 

God is the hero. Paul is simply an authorized instrument of God’s power.

There is intentional mirroring of the work of the Spirit through Paul that reminds us of Jesus’ miracles and those performed through Peter. The woman who was healed (from twelve years of bleeding) by simply touching the hem of Jesus’ robe, while he was on his way to Jairus’s house to heal his daughter (and ends of raising her from the dead). (Luke 8:40-48, and Mt 9 and Mk 5) Also in Matthew 14:34-36, many at Gennesaret are healed by touching the fringe of his garment. Then there were the people in Jerusalem who hoped to be healed merely by Peter’s shadow falling on them as he passed by (Acts 5:15). 

So here evidently Paul’s work clothes, his headband (sweat rag) and apron (or outer cloak) while making tents, are carried of to the sick and demon-possessed. Even though this is a reflection of a city in which too much is made of magical and mystical beliefs (which has pagan roots), yet God is pleased by his Spirit to heal these people to draw attention to the gospel that Paul preaches. - But the point of the miraculous is certainly not to elevate Paul, except to recognize the authority granted him by Jesus and the work of the Spirit through him. (Note too that it doesn’t say anywhere that Paul promotes this practice. Nor does he make a show out of the miraculous… nor did Peter, and certainly not even Jesus.)

These miracles demonstrate God’s common grace to mankind in that there is benefit to some who may not specifically believe in Jesus for salvation, at least not immediately. And it also shows unequivocally the unlimited, sovereign power of God… over all created things, and to show mercy and to restrain evil and even reverse the effects of evil when and how he chooses.

To summarize, the transformational power of the Spirit is at work in us when we realize that God is the hero and we are his instruments to use as he pleases. It’s wrongheaded and dangerous to think ourselves the hero and try to use Christ’s power for our own purposes.

That where this episode in Ephesus goes next.

As God works wonders through Paul, why are the sons of Sceva  impotent ? (vv. 13-15)

Traveling (Jewish) exorcists -trying to use (invoke the name and power) of whatever spirit might be more powerful than the spirit they seek to cast out.

This is how they make their living. (now if that doesn’t raise your eyebrows - spiritual influence to make money)

We can tell they have a wrong posture towards Jesus by the way they seek to cast out demons: “I adjure you” - which is to authoritatively bind someone to an oath (they seek to authoritatively bind them to come out)

“by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” Can you spot the clear wrongheadedness of this? -I don’t really know this Jesus, and I’m not particularly certain as to why he is so powerful of a being, but I can tell by Paul’s works that there must be some great power associated with this Jesus that Paul preaches (announces/heralds). 

The sons of Sceva are powerless because rather than submitting to God (through repentance and faith in Christ), they desire to use the name of Jesus for their own purposes.

So…

They lack authority.

And their unauthorized use of the name of Jesus is proven by the reaction of one particular evil spirit. -Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize (the first know is to know experientially, and the second know (recognize) means to be cognizant or aware of due to specific facts and information. So this demon has clear knowledge of who Jesus is, and is aware that God has been using Paul for his purposes…

“But who are you?” Who are you to think that you have any power and authority over me? (And then he proceeds to prove that they do not.)

It is wrongheaded, even dangerous, to use Jesus to exalt oneself.

Now in our text, this is proven by the result of this demonic encounter for these Jewish exorcists, and then also in the way that it impacts others.

What is the significant result of the  embarrassment  of these ‘exorcists’? (vv. 16-17)

First, what is the embarrassing result of this unauthorized attempt at using Jesus’ name? The man with the evil spirit masters them and overpowers them, he dominates them and proves his strength over them—one against seven. He gives them such a thrashing that they must flee/escape the house, already having their clothes torn from them and being wounded (seriously injured, often resulting in scarring or other permanent marking - traumatizo in Gk).

They will not soon forget, and neither will others who witness it and hear about it.

It becomes known in Ephesus: (known - ascertained with certainty) that…

Jesus is not merely a means to an end. He is the exalted Lord.

The sons of Sceva wanted to wield Jesus for their own purposes, but that cannot be allowed, because us ruling our own lives, even in fact ruling over Jesus, is NOT the Gospel. God can’t be both the Lord of the universe who is perfect and eternal and at the same time bow to the whims of creatures. God can’t be your Santa Claus, the name of Jesus your magic wand, who just wants to make you prosper in ways that you see fit, in the ways that you demand. No, Jesus is Lord, and you bow to him. Yahweh is God, and there is no other.

But the result of this fear of God that is put into the people is that the name of Jesus is extolled. (to increase honor, magnify: to cause someone to be held in greater esteem, conceived of as physically enlarging) … and this to oneself and others.

Jesus is the means to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, but the name of Jesus is not a magic wand. He is the exalted Lord.

What is the  evidence  of the people exalting Christ and submitting to Him? (vv. 18-19)

Changed lives—the great impact of faith on the lifestyle of those who believe.

Rightly exalting Jesus transforms lives.

There was a whole lot of magical nonsense that was pervasive in the lives of these Ephesian people. According to the IVP Bible Background Commentary, “Ephesus was widely reputed for its trade in magic and the need for exorcisms and protection against evil spirits.” What’s more, these magical papyri, little scrolls with incantations, “were so common in Ephesus that rolls of these formulas are called Ephesia grammata, or Ephesian writings, in other Greco-Roman literature.”

Many who were now believers (as a result of responding to Jesus when Paul proclaimed the gospel), came confessing and disclosing their deeds, their activities, their past transactions and business in the magical arts (bc of a new fear of God brought even further to their attention, as opposed to this wickedness and trickery). If they were now bringing these things to light and confessing them, what is it that they now believe to be true about this magic? That they are false or evil, or likely both.

To prove their repentance of such things, they take these books (scrolls of magical incantations and instructions), and they build a bonfire out of them as a way to repudiate the contents. They do it so everyone can see, and somebody evidently spearheaded accounting the value of all that was burned, and it’s equivalent to 50,000 days’ wages for an average worker. If you tried to modernize the concept in American currency, as the ESV Study Bible does in a footnote, “At $15 (U.S.) per hour, or $120 per day, 50,000 drachmas would equal approximately $6 million in today’s currency.”

The point about the overall amount/value is to reinforce the dramatic change brought about in peoples lives. …God’s power changing Christ’s people.

Evidence of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in your life is change—ongoing repentance and submission to Christ.

Finally,

How is the word of the Lord  central  to God’s power at work? (v. 20)

(v. 20) “So in controlling power did the word of the Lord keep increasing (growing, spreading) and becoming strong (healthy and sufficient for the task)”

It would be pushing our context onto their context too much to think of this as these other books, now burned, versus this book, the Bible. The compilation of these writings together was as yet incomplete because these NT authors, in apostolic authority, were still composing some of them.

But the emphasis is on the impotence and idolatry in these magical incantations, now being where they belong (on the burn pile), versus the perfect and enduring word of God’s message to mankind, which is what the Bible is about.

God’s glory to save some through submission to Jesus is the central message.

“Luke continues to give glory to God and his word rather than to any human skill, knowledge, or effort.” (The ESV Study Bible)

-Even the miracles of the Apostles are for the purpose of gaining a hearing for the gospel, the word of the Lord. And it is the word of the Lord that people must hear, and repent and believe to be saved. And it is word of the Lord that God uses to bring us into growing dependence, maturity, and usefulness.

The word remains central to God’s ministry through the church. (which is Christ’s people) 

The word of the Lord (the gospel) prevailing is the power that changes people. We are most aligned with God’s work when we are most submissive to his word.

The problem is trying to stand in authority over God’s word instead of humbly kneeling under God’s authority. And that wrong posture is revealed in our text by the behavior particularly from the son of Sceva. By contrast, Paul, and those who submit to the Jesus Paul proclaims, exalt Christ in their hearts and make it their aim to exalt Christ before others.

[transition to conclusion]

God is the HERO of the biblical story.

The work of the Spirit is not to elevate us but to elevate Christ.

And the goal is for the word of the Lord to prevail mightily in people’s hearts and lives.

Conclusion: The Hero & the Fruit

The three most significant lines in this episode in Ephesus are these: And God was doing extraordinary miracles. And the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

The hero of the story is clearly God, God working mightily through his Spirit so that Christ will be exalted in us and out from us.

So a right versus a wrong response to Jesus reminds me that Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruit.” Mt 7:16 - Of false prophets he meant that the fruit of their lives will ultimately expose them. And your fruit will expose you, as either truly belonging to Christ, or merely trying to use Jesus while it suits your purposes, without true submission.

Examine your heart and life:

Is Jesus the hero of your story?

Even if no other person around you figures out your falsehood, the Bible says that God sees even our thoughts and motives. God knows falsehood, and his knowledge of you is the only one that counts.

2 Corinthians 13:5 ESV

⁵ Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

Beware for your own heart, and beware of others who would use Jesus for their own purposes, but are not truly submitting to his Lordship through personal faith. 

Beware of Charlatans:

What are the characteristics that mark the false followers and false teachers?

What are some of the warning signs of charlatans?

-Why do they make a deliberate show of the signs they are doing?

(Do the Apostles (& did Jesus) ever perform miracles in such a way as to make a big show? -was Paul making an effort to sensationalize this in any way, or is this simply the degree to which God was working?)

-Why is there an emphasis on giving to their ministry specifically to receive God’s blessing?

(The false want to use Jesus’ name as a talisman, as a means to their own end. They want to use the work of the Spirit for personal gain.)

-Why do they frequently band together with other people of questionable theology?

(What if they are well-intentioned?) Do not ignore red flags. Whether they are immature believers in an elevated leadership role, or whether they are masquerading unbelievers and empowered by the forces of evil, we should find and follow servant leaders who are exalting Christ and not themselves. 

Can Christ bear substantial fruit through me?

Of course he can. The question is whether you will submit your will for God to use you as he sees fit.

We cannot be the Apostles Peter and Paul, but we do have the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, to change our lives and to use us to exalt Christ.

When we recognize Jesus as the hero, our lives change in submission to him. Those with no true faith in Jesus cannot claim his authority over the spiritual forces of evil. But true believers are known by their fruit: they yearn to exalt Christ.

PRAY

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Questions for Further Discussion:

Who is the only one with authority over the spiritual forces of evil?

Why doesn’t God always immediately expose charlatans this way?

How does selfish ambition ultimately play into Satan’s hands?

When we sin, whom have we elevated in our hearts? Whose short-term desires, whose priorities?

Where does magic belong in the lives of Christ’s people? (on the burn pile)

How do true believers respond to Christ?