Acts
19
- 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.
- 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 into
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 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 I know about Paul, 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.
- Many of those who believed now came and openly
confessed their evil deeds.
- 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.
- 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.
- About that time there arose a great disturbance
about the Way.
- A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver
shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen.
- He called them together, along with the workmen
in related trades, and said: "Men, you know we receive a good income
from this business.
- And you see and hear how this fellow Paul
has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in
practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man-made gods are no
gods at all.
- There is danger not only that our trade will
lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis
will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout
the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty."
- When they heard this, they were furious and
began shouting: "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians
!"
- Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The
people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia,
and rushed as one man into the theater.
- Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but
the disciples would not let him.
- Even some of the officials of the province,
friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.
- The assembly was in confusion: Some were
shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why
they were there.
- The Jews pushed Alexander to the front, and
some of the crowd shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in
order to make a defense before the people.
- But when they realized he was a Jew, they
all shouted in unison for about two hours: "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians
!"
- The city clerk quieted the crowd and said:
"Men of Ephesus, doesn't all the world know that the city of Ephesus
is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which
fell from heaven ?
- Therefore, since these facts are undeniable,
you ought to be quiet and not do anything rash.
- You have brought these men here, though they
have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess.
- If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen
have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls.
They can press charges.
- If there is anything further you want to
bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly.
- As it is, we are in danger of being charged
with rioting because of today's events. In that case we would not be able
to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it."
- After he had said this, he dismissed the
assembly.
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