Authentic Power and Its Pathetic Imitators Text: Acts 19:11-20
Introduction: A Tale of Two Kingdoms
We come now to the city of Ephesus. And we must understand that Ephesus was not some sleepy backwater town. It was a major metropolitan hub of the Roman Empire, a center for commerce, philosophy, and religion. But more than anything, Ephesus was a spiritual cesspool. It was the world headquarters for the cult of Artemis, or Diana, whose temple was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. This was a city saturated in the occult. Magic, sorcery, astrology, and demonic activity were not on the fringes; they were the very air the people breathed. It was a place where the kingdom of darkness was deeply entrenched, well-funded, and openly worshipped.
Into this spiritual darkness, God sends the apostle Paul. And when the kingdom of God collides with the kingdom of darkness, you do not get a polite debate or a quiet accommodation. You get a power encounter. You get a confrontation. What happens in this chapter is a stark and necessary reminder for our own soft and secularized age. We tend to think of Christianity as a set of ideas, a moral code, or a therapeutic program. But the apostolic faith is a declaration of war. It is the announcement that a new King, Jesus, has been enthroned, and that His royal power is now invading enemy-occupied territory.
This passage presents us with a dramatic contrast between two things: the authentic, world-altering power of the risen Christ, and the cheap, pathetic, and dangerous imitation offered by the world. We will see genuine miracles, followed by a farcical attempt at exorcism. We will see the fear of God fall on a city, followed by a bonfire of repentance. This is not a story about how to make your life a little better. This is a story about the name of Jesus being magnified over every other power, principality, and name that is named, whether in this age or the age to come.
The Text
And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that cloths or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out. But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to invoke over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, "I implore you by Jesus whom Paul preaches." Now seven sons of one named Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. And the evil spirit answered and said to them, "I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them, subdued all of them, and utterly prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. Also, many of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and were burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.
(Acts 19:11-20 LSB)
Authentic Divine Power (vv. 11-12)
We begin with the work of God through His chosen instrument.
"And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that cloths or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out." (Acts 19:11-12)
The first thing to notice is the subject of the sentence. Who was doing the miracles? God was. Luke is careful to state that this was not the "Paul show." Paul was not a magician with an innate power. He was a conduit. The power belonged entirely to God, who was pleased to work "by the hands of Paul." This is the fundamental truth of all Christian ministry. We are nothing. He is everything. Any power, any fruit, any success is from Him, through Him, and to Him.
And these were not ordinary miracles; they were "extraordinary." The Greek is even stronger, signifying miracles that were not of a common sort. God was turning up the volume in Ephesus. Why? Because the background noise of demonic power was so loud. In a city steeped in superstition and magic, God demonstrated His supremacy in a way the people would understand. This brings us to the business with the handkerchiefs and aprons.
This is a detail that makes modern, respectable Christians a bit squeamish. It sounds too much like the medieval trade in relics. But we must not read our own baggage back into the text. This was a sovereign, unique act of God for a specific context. God was condescending to the worldview of the Ephesians to show them where the real power was. They were used to magic charms, amulets, and incantations. They believed power could be transferred through objects. So God says, in effect, "You want to see power in an object? I'll show you power." The power of God was so overflowing in Paul that even his work clothes, his sweat rags, became instruments of healing. This was not a normative practice to be imitated, but a divine exclamation point. It demonstrated that the power of Jesus was so far superior to their magic that it could work at a distance, through the most mundane objects, utterly overwhelming both disease and demons.
Counterfeit Demonic Power (vv. 13-16)
As always, wherever God's true power is on display, you will find charlatans trying to counterfeit it for their own gain.
"But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to invoke over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, 'I implore you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.'" (Acts 19:13)
Enter the sons of Sceva. These were itinerant Jewish exorcists, which was a recognized trade at the time. They saw that Paul had a new, powerful name in his arsenal, the name "Jesus," and they wanted to add it to their bag of tricks. They treated the name of Jesus like a magical formula, an incantation to be recited. Notice their phrasing: "Jesus whom Paul preaches." They had no personal relationship with this Jesus. They were trying to borrow Paul's authority. They were attempting to wield a sword that they did not own, on behalf of a king they did not serve.
This is a picture of all second-hand religion. It is the religion of those who know about Jesus, who grew up in the church, who can recite the catechism, but who do not know Him. They have the words, but not the music. They have the form, but deny the power thereof.
"And the evil spirit answered and said to them, 'I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?' And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them, subdued all of them, and utterly prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded." (Acts 19:15-16)
What follows is one of the most terrifying and darkly humorous scenes in all of Scripture. The demon speaks, and in doing so, gives a master class in spiritual authority. "Jesus I recognize, and Paul I know about, but who are you?" The demonic realm is not impressed by religious titles, family connections, or confident bluster. They operate on a strict hierarchy of authority. They know their ultimate master, Satan. And they know the One who crushed their master's head, Jesus Christ. By extension, they even know those who are authentically commissioned by Jesus, like Paul. But these seven brothers? They were spiritual nobodies. They were waving a flag of a country to which they held no citizenship.
The result was not a polite refusal. The demon-possessed man, energized with supernatural strength, physically overpowered all seven of them. He beat them, tore their clothes off, and sent them running into the street, naked and bleeding. This is a vivid picture of the consequences of spiritual presumption. If you try to engage in spiritual warfare without being covered by the blood of Jesus Christ, you will not just fail; you will be utterly humiliated and spiritually savaged. The devil does not play fair, and he does not take prisoners.
The Glorious Aftermath (vv. 17-20)
God, in His providence, used this disastrous failure to accomplish His sovereign purposes.
"And this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified." (Acts 19:17)
The public humiliation of the sons of Sceva had a profound effect on the city. A holy "fear fell upon them all." This was not a servile dread, but a healthy, reverential awe. The people of Ephesus suddenly realized that the spiritual world was real, that power was real, and that the name of Jesus was not some trinket to be played with. It was a name of supreme and fearsome authority. And the result was that the name of Jesus was "magnified." It was lifted up, exalted, and seen for what it was: the name above every other name.
This holy fear produced genuine repentance, particularly among believers who had been hedging their bets.
"Also, many of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and were burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver." (Acts 19:18-19)
The revival that had been simmering now boiled over. Believers who were still secretly dabbling in the occult, holding onto their old magical charms and scrolls "just in case," were convicted to the core. They came forward, publicly confessing and renouncing their specific sins. This is what true revival looks like. It is not just emotionalism; it is deep, costly repentance.
And it was costly. They brought their magic books, their scrolls of incantations and spells, and they had a massive public bonfire. The value was calculated at fifty thousand pieces of silver. A piece of silver was roughly a day's wage. This was an astronomical sum of money. Notice, they did not sell the books to recoup their losses. You do not sell poison to your neighbors. You destroy it. This was a radical, decisive, and permanent break with their pagan past. They were burning the bridges back to the kingdom of darkness. This is the very picture of mortification of sin. You do not negotiate with it; you kill it.
Luke concludes this section with a summary statement of the ultimate result.
"So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing." (Acts 19:20)
In the end, it is the Word that wins. The miracles, the exorcisms, the demonic smackdown, the bonfire, all of it served one ultimate purpose: the advance of the gospel. The Word of God grew in its reach and prevailed in its power over the hearts and minds of the people of Ephesus. The kingdom of God triumphed over the kingdom of darkness, not by adopting its methods, but by proclaiming the truth in the power of the Spirit.
Conclusion
This story from ancient Ephesus has at least three sharp points for us today. First, we must ask ourselves if we are relying on a second-hand faith. Are we, like the sons of Sceva, trying to operate on the basis of our parents' religion or our church's reputation? Do the demons know who you are? Not because you are a spiritual giant, but because you belong to Jesus, and they can smell the blood of the Lamb on you. You cannot confront the darkness with a borrowed light.
Second, what does our repentance look like? Is it a half-hearted sorrow, or is it a bonfire? Are there "magic books" in your life, secret sins, compromises with the world, idols that you refuse to burn? The gospel demands a radical break. It demands that we destroy what is destroying us, no matter the cost. Godly sorrow leads to a repentance that leaves no regret.
Finally, we must remember where the real power lies. It is not in techniques, programs, or personalities. The power that changes cities and transforms lives is the power of the Word of God. "So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing." Our task is to be like Paul, faithful conduits of that Word, proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ, the only name given under heaven by which men must be saved. It is His name that is magnified, His word that prevails, and His kingdom that will have no end.