Trust The Lord Amid The Spiritual Battle (Acts 19:8-41)
The past two sermons have been concerned with the beginnings of the Church at Ephesus. And as we look at this portion of the Book of Acts, it is easy to understand the major concerns of the Book of Ephesians.
Ephesians begins discussing the glorious salvation that we have in Jesus Christ. He is addressing this to a group of people, many of whom were pulled out of the Gentile world and brought into the faith.
Paul’s concerns don’t end there though. In Ephesians 2 and then again in Ephesians 4, Paul has great concerns about the unity of the Church. There were Jews who converted to Christ, we assume this to be the 12 that were saved last in the sermon last week and others that may have been associated with them. So, the church at Ephesus was truly a mixed church that needed to understand well that both Jew and Gentile were united in Jesus Christ.
This also explains why the Book of Ephesians goes into more detail than most discussing, in broad strokes, the Christian life. These are Gentiles that don’t know what it means to walk as a Christian should walk. They don’t have a Jewish background to look back on. Most of this church has been pulled out of the Gentile way of thinking and into the Church.
And our journey through Ephesus in the Book of Acts also explains to us why Paul would discuss spiritual warfare more here than in any of his other writings. It was evident that this is what was happening in Ephesus. So, he desired the people of the Way, Christians, to be prepared for what was going on all around them.
This does not hold less significance for us today in America. In fact, I would argue that it is more difficult for us to convince people today of the reality of spiritual warfare than it would’ve been the people of Ephesus. If anything, I must strike this drum more, not less than Paul did.
In Ephesus, magic and sorcery were practiced. And we will see this in the text today. Magical incantations are not an insignificant thing. These are invoking the power of a spirit, demon, or other powerful being for help. This was widespread enough in Ephesus that the people had books of incantations in their homes. It is a wicked practice that is often called such in Scripture. And that is no different today. It’s a practice that can open people up to demonic activity, as has been attested to for thousands of years. In our modern times, we like to act like it doesn’t happen. But the spiritual does exist, and we should not take this lightly. But it was a practice that the expansion of the gospel interfered with in a major way.
You see, the magic found in movies and stories today is not how magic has been practiced historically. Magic has been a tool for telling good vs evil stories by different authors for a long time. J.R.R. Tolkein, with Lord of the Rings, used evil and dark magic to tell a story. The same thing happens in C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia as well as other popular books. But that is not magic as we see practiced by cults such as Wicca, nor is it what has gone on at other times. Witchcraft has been the calling upon of dark and evil powers for help. It is a calling upon the supernatural for aid. And the history of magic, both in Scripture and in history lets us know that it was not used for good.
“”When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God, for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do this.” (Deuteronomy 18:9-14 ESV)
Witchcraft was an abominable practice that God’s people were not to participate in. And it is also something we are not to participate in today.
In Ephesus lay the temple of Artemis, which plays a big role in our text today. It was one of the 7 Wonders of the World. And the worship of Artemis was so popular in Ephesus that it was a big commercial business that the Church’s growth interrupted in a major way.
In the pantheon, Artemis was the daughter of Zeus. Hunting, wildlife and chastity were associated with her. She was thought of as a protective deity for the women and girls. And, though Artemis was worshipped throughout the Greek and Roman world, it was especially the case in Ephesus her temple lay.
There is a similarity to both practices in Ephesus that help us to understand what is happening in Acts 19. And it is that demonic powers are behind magic and behind idol worship. This idea is found in both the Old and New Testament.
“They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods; with abominations they provoked him to anger. They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded.” (Deuteronomy 32:16-17 ESV)
“No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.” (1 Corinthians 10:20 ESV)
Today we don’t think a lot about demonic activity. And that’s too bad because it seems that we are surrounded by a lot of it. As I’ve mentioned in sermons past, even practices such as Wicca are on the rise. The New Age Movement openly speaks in pagan ways and is similar to the activity we are discussing here today.
As Christians we don’t believe that the world we can see is all that there is. We believe that God created angelic beings as well as human beings. We believe that God created more than what we can touch, feel, see, and hear. Yet, so many people today scoff at a discussion like this as being constrained to a time when people had less understanding.
We must understand that we are in the middle of a spiritual war with an unseen but very effective enemy. And the evidence of that are everywhere around us. And because I have, on occasion, put forward evidences of these things. In the past we have looked at the drug and vision fueled beginning of Planned Parenthood here in America. We’ve looked at how closely related abortion is to offering children to the altar of Molech, the promise given has always been prosperity in exchange for the child. We’ve looked at the trust people are putting in stones. Today, I will appeal to you in a different way.
As Christians, we know that demons exist. And we know that because the Scriptures tell us this is so. We know that there is something going on in around us that we cannot see, touch, smell, feel, or hear. But in our modern world, it seems that we are being convinced that these things don’t exist.
In his book, The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis imagines the advice a high ranking demon would give to a low ranking demon in how Satan would have them deal with humans. In the first chapter we read of his advice to have the demon think of materialism, the only things that exist are the matter around us, as what will dominate the future.
“Don’t waste time trying to make him think that materialism is true! Make him think it is strong, or stark, or courageous—that it is the philosophy of the future. That’s the sort of thing he cares about.”
Don’t make them think about whether it is true, but about how strong it is, how many scientists believe it, etc. How many times do you hear the argument, “Scientists believe…” with no look at the facts their selves? How often do you hear people argue that there is a consensus of scientists on this matter? How often do people look at the facts of the matter?
And later in that chapter he goes on to say,
“Thanks to processes which we set at work in them centuries ago, they find it all but impossible to believe in the unfamiliar while the familiar is before their eyes. Keep pressing home on him the ordinariness of things. Above all, do not attempt to use science (I mean, the real sciences) as a defense against Christianity. They will positively encourage him to think about realities he can’t touch and see. There have been sad cases among the modern physicists. If he must dabble in science, keep him on economics and sociology; don’t let him get away from that invaluable ‘real life’. But the best of all is to let him read no science but to give him a grand general idea that he knows it all and that everything he happens to have picked up in casual talk and reading is ‘the results of modern investigation’. Do remember you are there to fuddle him.”[1]
This book was written in 1941. And it looks like Lewis understood what was happening and continues to happen today. People are being convinced that there is nothing outside of the material world. And so, even among Christians, eyes go blank as we discuss such matters. The demonic go unnoticed, because we’ve been convinced by demonic forces not to see their activity.
Again, as Christians, we know it exists. But we have been convinced, somehow, not to see it.
We don’t have a temple to Artemis or people attempting to do magical incantations in the square. But the activity is there. And we are in the middle of a spiritual warfare whether it’s immediately obvious to us or not.
In Ephesus, we see a picture of a spiritual battleground. But it’s a picture that should give us confidence and hope as we approach this dark world. For in it we see that Jesus is stronger than any power on this Earth and that He will build His Church.
In Ephesus we see two things picture for us that are taught repeatedly in the Scriptures. Jesus is building His Church. And Jesus is sovereign over the affairs of the world, and that includes the evil in this world.
Jesus Overcomes The Wickedness Of Human Opposition To Build His Church (Acts 19:8-10)
Paul, and we assume the 12 that just received the Holy Spirit, are now preaching boldly in the synagogue and persuading people of the truth of the gospel. These would be Jewish people worshipping in synagogues that are hearing the truth of the gospel.
As has been the case at other times, and is often the case today, the direct preaching of the gospel inspired opposition. Some of the listeners were becoming hardened, disobedient, and even speaking evil of the Way. The Way is a term used to describe Christians. Remember, he opposed the people of “the Way”. And now he is preaching and teaching as one of these people.
Before things got bad Paul decided that the opposition meant that he should change strategies. So, he rented out a school, the school of Tyrannus, and taught during the hours the school was not in session. This probably meant that Paul was teaching during the Ephesians siesta.
Something akin to a siesta was practiced in Ephesus a this time. And because of this, it was said that more people would be out on the streets at 1AM than 1PM. And I tis very likely that people were skipping these siestas to hear Paul preach and teach. And this became so popular that Christianity expanded mightily in Asia.
If you put all of this together than a rather interesting picture begins to develop. The wicked speech of those that opposed God’s people actually led to the expansion of Christianity in Ephesus and the surrounding area.
When we say that God is in control and that Jesus is building His Church, we mean it. Time and time again the gospel has advanced in the face of much opposition. In fact, the opposition itself seems to be used to advance the gospel.
“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church” is a very well-known quote for a good reason. People have repeatedly sought to destroy Christianity. But, as it turns out, the very places that go so far as to kill the Christian witnesses end up being places where Christianity expands in a major way. God is in control, Jesus is building His Church, and even in the face of such severe opposition the gospel goes forth.
The opposition is less powerful than they believe themselves to be. They think they are going to overcome Christianity, but the reality is that Christianity expands and conquers new lands over and over again.
We have always faced opposition. And time and time again we have prevailed. Christianity was persecuted in Rome, only to come out on top. Christianity was persecuted as it expanded around the globe, only to conquer people through the preaching of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit.
It’s easy to look in Scripture and in history, but what does that mean for us today?
It means that the Lord is with us today. Even as we look around our country and see the growing opposition to Christianity, the Lord is with us. It means that even as everything seems to be getting more difficult, and there is more rebellion around us, the Lord is with us. The Lord is building His Church. And the Lord will work.
He is a sovereign. He is in control.
Jesus Overcomes Magic And Demons To Build His Church (Acts 19:11-20)
Magic is not as we think of magic today. It seems that modern stories, movies, and cartoons have shaped our view of magic. Magic is not like it is presented in Harry Potter. There is not good magic and bad magic. There is not white magic and dark magic. There is magic and it is evil and demonic.
Modern storytellers have chosen to use magic to tell these stories. And many of these stories are quite good. C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein are two people that come to mind when I say this. I have read their stories and read them to our children. But it does not depict magic as magic is in practice.
Throughout history magic was seen as an evil affair. It is the use of charms or spells to move supernatural beings or, forces as it is often termed, to accomplish something for a purpose. And there was a lot of magic performed in Ephesus. And a lot of it was performed by Jews.
Paul was performing miracle after miracle in Ephesus. Even his handkerchiefs or aprons were being used to heal people. This is extraordinary and it made a lot of people take notice. People are being healed and demons are being cast out. Of course they are noticing.
Some who practiced magic knew that Paul was casting out demons and healing people in the name of Jesus. But rather than turning from sin and trusting in Christ, they just wanted to use the name.
In magic during this time period especially, knowing the secret name was effective and prized. There is some historical evidence that suggests that Jewish people were sought after for their magical arts in Ephesus because they were more likely to know the secret name and to be able to better perform magic. This gives us a little bit of insight into the Sons of Sceva.
Sceva was a prominent leader among the Jews in Ephesus and he had some sons that apparently practiced magic. I’m sure you have many questions at this point, but I don’t have answers as to how this would take place. But what I do know is that they saw what Paul was doing and tried to use the name of Jesus to cast out a demon.
The demon told the Sons of Sceva that he recognized Jesus and Paul but not them. And then the demon possessed man, empowered by and controlled by demons, beat the Sons of Sceva. And they were sent fleeing the house naked and hurt.
Word of this embarrassment spread across town. Of course it did. What a sight that would’ve been! And all the surrounding area heard about this event.
Now, as has already been said, magic was widespread in Ephesus. And now magic was being repented of in a major way. People were bringing their books of spells and incantations to be burned. They were confessing their evil practices and burning their books. There is a gap in our knowledge of the currency described here. So, we can’t quantify the worth of the stuff brought. But it must’ve been significant. Otherwise, Luke would not have made mention of the amount.
As Christians we understand who the spiritual beings that are being called upon in magical rites. It is not mysterious to us, it is demonic. Magic is something that is forbidden repeatedly in the Scripture for this reason. Some of those texts are Deuteronomy 18:10-16, Leviticus 19:26, 31, and Leviticus 20:27.
Magic is associated with all sorts of evil practices. It is demonic in nature. It is supernatural. And one would think that we could never contend with it. And, on our own, we wouldn’t be able to do so.
But this is not about what we can do. It is about what God does. And in our text today, God uses the wicked intentions of the Sons of Sceva for His purposes. God is sovereign. God carries out His plans. God not only conquered the magicians and the demonic in this instance, but He used them to further the glory of His great name.
The Sons of Sceva wanted to use the name of the Lord for their benefit. Their fame. And probably for profit. But the demon defied them and pummeled them in the process. And when word got out there was mass repentance and people came to faith in Christ.
As Christians, we must understand that wickedness will befall us. Hard times will come. There will be plenty of hard times to come. People will speak evil of us. And others will enjoy seeing it happen. But God uses the wicked actions of people and of demons for good.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28 ESV)
God is working all things together for our good. And we must remember that in this life because we live in a fallen world where disappointments surround us daily. And not only that, because we name the name of Christ, the world is opposed to us, demonic forces are opposed to us, the pagan witches are opposed to us somewhere. And we need to realize that in this spiritual warfare, God is our strength and our shield. And Jesus will build His Church.
Jesus Overcomes The Wickedness Of Idolatry To Build His Church (Acts 19:21-41)
In the third phase of our time in Ephesus we find an upset idol maker named Demetrius. And he was upset because the gospel was expanding and it was hurting his business. As people trusted in Christ they abandoned the worship of idols. And he was furious.
Only after discussing how this hurt his and all the other idol makers in Ephesus did he mention the worship of Artemis. It was the money, not the worship that had Demetrius upset. But we don’t know if that’s the case for everyone that was there. It is quite likely that many were offended that there was a downturn in the worship of Artemis. It was common for people to go and worship Artemis, leave her temple and go buy a statue for their home.
Demetrius was able to rile up a mob. And this mob drug some of Paul’s travelling companions along with them. Paul wanted to be there, but many people talked him out of going.
Mobs don’t think very well. And we see that in this text. In their confusion they beckoned a man named Alexander to speak. But when he came forward they realized that he was a Jew and would likely be against their idolatry as well, so they began chanting “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” This was a riot and a mess. And for Paul’s companions this was very dangerous.
That was when the town clerk showed up. That title doesn’t mean much to us, but he is basically the mayor. And this makes sense because he had so much authority that this riotous mob stopped to listen to him. He was friendly with Paul. We’re not sure exactly what that means, but it was helpful to Paul’s companions. The clerk went on to scold the mob and they went home.
He told them that they were not behaving like good citizens of Rome. This riotous behavior was not becoming of a Roman citizen. And it seems that they took this scolding to heart.
He also told them that if Demetrius wanted to bring charges against these people, then there was a way it was supposed to happen. They were not, however, “robbers…or blasphemers” (Acts 19:37). Apparently Demetrius had a problem with them but they were not law breakers according to the city clerk.
And then he informed the whole crowd that they were themselves liable to the courts for rioting (Acts 19:39-40). If they did decide to bring Paul’s associates to the court, then they might all be facing some sort of punishment. They were rioting.
So, the crowd did the only reasonable thing that they could do. They went home.
The idolatry in Ephesus was strong. As has already been mentioned, the temple to Artemis was there and it was ornate, one of the 7 Wonders of the World. The worship of Artemis was a big business. And, as we’ve seen a few times in the Book of Acts already, demonic forces are behind the idols. They are themselves nothing, but demonic forces are at work deceiving people (1 Corinthians 10:20).
Even though all of this was the case, the gospel advanced. The gospel advanced so much that the idol makers themselves were about to go out of business and they knew it.
This is the center of Artemis worship in the Ancient world. Her temple is here. And there were cults to Artemis aplenty in Ephesus. And the gospel advanced here to the point that those who made the idols believed they were about to go bankrupt.
Idolatry in America does not look the same as it did in Ephesus. But that doesn’t mean that it is non-existent. There are many things that compete for the allegiance owed to God. Demonic forces hold people captive to these false religions. Many of the things we see in our politics today are held to by a religious devotion and fervor that is intense. Devotion to Mother Earth and inner feelings are two of them. Some want to decrease the population of the world for the sake of Mother Earth. And some people follow their inner feelings into such rebellion against the created order that they fight with all the emotion in their being against the very idea of their being two genders.
People will ask, how could such ideas exist? Well, in the same way that the worship of Artemis became big business. There’s something demonic in the devotion.
But what do we notice about the idolatry in Ephesus? Even it was being taken down by the expansion of the gospel. And, we know, it eventually went away.
And we also see that God protected His people. He kept them safe, even in a riotous crowd such as this one.
God is in control. And Jesus is building His Church.
Conclusion
These are three different events, involving three different groups of people, but the moral of the story is the same in all three. God is in control and Jesus will build His Church. People, Satan, and demons all working together cannot keep the Lord from building His Church.
I don’t know about you. But I can sometimes lose sight of this. There are times that I can “lose heart”. I can become devastated by different events that take place. And I can run headlong into a deep dark depression about different circumstances. And this is what I am always to remember.
We are in the middle of a spiritual warfare whether we see it or not. And, as Paul has told us, this war is not against flesh and blood. It is against princes and principalities of this world. It is against demonic forces. But the Lord is with us. He fights for us. He is on our side. And He will be with us as we carry this message of the gospel to a dark world.
R. Dwain Minor
[1][1] C.S. Lewis, “The Screwtape Letters with Screwtape Proposes A Toast”, from “The Complete C.S. Lewis Signature Classics”, Harper Collins Press, 2002, Pp. 127-128.