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Paul in Ephesus, baptism of John's disciples (1–7). Separation of Christians from Jews (8–10). Paul's miracles and their influence (11–20). Paul's plans for his further journey (21–22). Rebellion in Ephesus against Christians (23–40) Acts 19:1. While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper countries, arrived at Ephesus and, finding some disciples there, “Having passed through the upper countries” - the mountainous countries that lay above Ephesus and the low-lying seashore on which it was located; these are obviously the interior provinces of Asia Minor, by the way – Phrygia and Galatia, which Paul visited during this journey (Acts 18:23). If during his 2nd journey Paul was forbidden by the Spirit to preach in proconsular Asia (Acts 16, etc.), and only on the way back did he stay briefly in Ephesus (Acts 18, etc.), now, straight from Phrygia, having passed through proconsular Asia, he arrived in Ephesus and remained here for quite a long time (Acts 19:10). "Some students...". From what follows it is clear that these were actually John’s disciples, and not Jesus’s, whom the writer primarily calls “disciples.” Baptized only in the “Baptism of John,” these “disciples and” believed in the coming Messiah preached by the Baptist, but did not have a complete understanding of Him, like Apollos, until the time; however, as those who were sufficiently prepared for faith in Christ, they could be called Christians, or “disciples” of Christ in the broad sense of the word. These disciples were, in all likelihood, Jews who had recently settled in Ephesus, where they joined the Christian community, so that Paul himself considered them Christians (v. 2: “having believed”). Acts 19:2. He said to them, Have you received the Holy Spirit when you believed? They said to him: We have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit. “Have you heard if there is a Holy Spirit?” The answer is strange and not even entirely understandable and polite if taken literally. Of course, they could not help but know that the Spirit of God spoke through the prophets and through John, but they did not know the basis of the new economy of God, in which the Holy Spirit is promised and given to everyone in Jesus Christ, as the only agent of the regeneration of souls. Thus, here we are not talking about whether the Holy Spirit exists or has existence, but about whether the Messiah appeared, who was supposed to baptize people with the Holy Spirit, whether the grace-filled gifts of this Holy Spirit appeared and began to dwell on earth among people? It is precisely in this sense that the answer must be understood: “we have not even heard whether the Holy Spirit already exists,” that is, in his gifts on earth, among people? (cf. John 7:39). Obviously, they simply did not know anything about the events in Jerusalem since the death of the Baptist, living in some corner of the world where rumors about these events had not yet penetrated, and only now, in Ephesus, they began to learn about everything in more detail, but before meeting the apostle, due to the recentness of their stay in Ephesus, they did not have time to learn about everything more precisely from anyone else. Acts 19:3. He said to them: What were you baptized into? They answered: at John's baptism: The perplexed answer of the “disciples” evokes a new perplexed question from the Apostle: “What were you baptized into?” . What and about whom teaching did you accept and seal with your baptism? A simple and brief answer to those questioned: in “John’s Baptism” - opens the eyes of the apostle, who is perplexed at the sight of these strange “disciples.” They were baptized into that which was the purpose of John's baptism and the confession of which was required at this baptism. This gives the apostle a reason to briefly and concisely, but very meaningfully characterize the essence of John’s baptism and its relationship to Christ. Acts 19:4. Paul said: John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in him who should come after him, that is, in Christ Jesus. “Baptism of repentance” (Mark 1:4; cf. Matt. 3:11, etc.) as a sign of a good change in the way of thinking and life, as a sign of a firm intention, through repentance and confession of sins, to renounce the former sinful life and wrong way of thinking and begin a life pleasing to God, in readiness to enter the Kingdom of the Messiah. According to the interpretation of blessed. Theophylact “The Forerunner preached the baptism of repentance so that people, having repented and accepted Christ, would receive remission of sins.” Why was this baptism not enough, and those who were baptized “in the baptism of John” were again “baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus”? Because the first baptism did not provide positive content for the spiritual life of the baptized, and the second, imparting the grace of remission of sins, had the meaning of a real and significant rebirth of the spiritual nature of the baptized. In relation to the second, Christian, the first, “John” baptism had a preparatory meaning, disposing and preparing for faith in the Lord Jesus, baptism in Whom, however, had a completely independent and final meaning. Acts 19:5. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, “Having heard this” - that is, about the coming of the Messiah preached by John and about the insufficiency of John’s baptism - “they were baptized” with Christian baptism (see Acts 2 and Matthew 28:19) and, after Paul laid hands on them (see Acts 8:15-17), they received the Holy Spirit, as a result of which they immediately began to “speak in other tongues” (see to Acts 2:4, 10:44–48) “and prophesy” (see Acts 11:27; cf. Acts 13:1; 1 Cor.14). It is necessary to note here the unfoundedness of the false teachings of the ancient heretics and the newest sectarians (Anabaptists and Mennonites), who based their second baptism on this place in the Acts. To see the complete falsity of the support of the defenders of crossing, it is enough to point out the inconsistency of the analogy they establish in such a case. This verse of Acts speaks of a new baptism of John’s disciples, which is significantly different from what they had previously accepted. First they were baptized with John's baptism of repentance, so that they might believe in the One who comes according to John. The Christian baptism they received in Ephesus was baptism in the name of the Messiah who had already come, Jesus Christ. Meanwhile, among the newest defenders of rebaptism, both baptisms are Christian, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Here, therefore, the repetition of the same Christian baptism is insisted upon. Acts 19:6. and when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they began to speak in other tongues and prophesy. Acts 19:7. There were about twelve of them all. Acts 19:8. Arriving at the synagogue, he fearlessly preached for three months, talking and confirming about the Kingdom of God. “He preached fearlessly.” A silent indication that the apostle's preaching had significant opponents who were ready to show their opposition to the great harm of the apostle; however, this did not deter his jealousy. "About the Kingdom of God". Under the name of the Kingdom of God here we mean the Christian Church with all the benefits that it bestows on its true members, both in the present life and in the future. This kingdom, in contrast to the kingdom of the prince of this world, is the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of holiness and truth, the kingdom of eternal life in unity with Christ (see Matthew 3:2; John 3:3, 5). Acts 19:9. But as some became hardened and did not believe, slandering the way of the Lord before the people, he left them, separated the disciples, and preached daily in the school of a certain Tyrannus. “Breaking the way of the Lord” - cf. Acts 18:25–26. "In the school of a certain Tyrannus". Judging by the name, it was some kind of Greek rhetorician or philosopher who had a school for teaching those interested in philosophical or oratory; it is difficult to say whether he was a pagan or a proselyte. It is also believed that he was a Jewish teacher who had a private synagogue (bet midrash) in his home, where they usually taught traditions and their interpretation. In the school of this rabbi, apparently disposed towards Christianity, who willingly offered his services to Paul, the latter could more safely and with greater benefit (daily) engage in the inculcation of Christian truths among not only Jews, but also Greeks. Acts 19:10. This continued for up to two years, so that all the inhabitants of Asia heard the sermon about the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. "Everyone in Asia has heard". A great multitude of both Jews and Greeks, proselytes and pagans constantly flocked to the flourishing commercial Ephesus from all the provinces of Asia Minor, so that a “great and wide door” was truly opened for Paul here (1 Cor. XVI: 8-9). If not personally from Paul, then from strangers who personally heard him, indeed, more or less all of proconsular Asia could be filled with rumors about Christ Jesus preached by the Apostle. Acts 19:11. God performed many miracles through the hands of Paul, Acts 19:12. so that handkerchiefs and aprons from his body were placed on the sick, and their illnesses ceased, and evil spirits came out of them. “Many miracles” - more precisely, Greek and Slavic texts: δυνάμεις τας τυκούσας - “forces are not simple”, i.e. considerable, extraordinary, extraordinary “miracles”, not only in quantity, but mainly in quality. "By the hands of Paul". This expression of the writer in itself does not oblige us to believe that all the miracles performed by St. himself. Paul, were performed by him precisely through his hands. This turn of phrase is common in the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament to denote the performance of miracles by a famous person. The very possibility of such a metaphor (διά τῶν χειρῶν Παύλου) forces, however, to admit that St. The apostle actually performed some of his miracles with his hands, through the laying on of hands, pronouncing, probably, short prayerful and permissive sayings, mentioning the name of the Lord Jesus. This technique of the apostle forced others, in imitation of him, to place parts of his clothes on the sick, which was accompanied, by the grace of God, by the same miraculous power. Acts 19:13. Even some of the wandering Jewish exorcists began to use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying: We conjure you by Jesus, whom Paul preaches. "Some of the Wandering Jewish Exorcists". Something like modern healers, hypnotists, who used the use of certain secrets and forces of nature, unknown until now in the fullness of their meaning for man (cf. Acts 13, etc.; Flav. Archaeol. VIII, 2, 5; “On the War of Judas.” I, 1, 2; Matt. 12:27). Noticing the extraordinary effects of the name of the Lord on the lips of Paul when healing the sick, some of these exorcists began to use this name in their charlatan formulas and, not knowing or believing in the Lord Jesus, added: “Whom Paul preaches,” that is, this particular Jesus, and not another. “They did all this out of covetousness. Look: they didn’t want to believe, but they wanted to cast out demons with this Name” (Chrysostom). Acts 19:14. This was done by some seven sons of the Jewish high priest Sceva.: "The Seven Sons of Skeva". Who this Sceva was and in what sense he was called the Jewish high priest is unknown. Perhaps it was one of the leaders of the priestly lines (Matthew 2:4), whose sons moved out of Judea and traded in sorcery. Acts 19:15. But the evil spirit answered: I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you? “I know Jesus, and I know Paul.” With these words, the demon acknowledges his power and authority over himself, the Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostle, and with the expression “who are you?” – expresses contempt and his power over these abusers of the Name of Jesus. Acts 19:16. And a man in whom there was an evil spirit rushed at them, and, having overcome them, took such power over them that they, naked and beaten, ran out of that house. Acts 19:17. This became known to all the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. Acts 19:18. Many of those who believed came, confessing and revealing their deeds. “They came confessing and revealing their deeds,” that is, their sins, under the influence of a sense of fear and the greatness of the Name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 19:17). This was especially the case for former exorcists who had abandoned their craft and turned to Christ: repentance was a consequence of their faith and determination to join the Christian society, which was then sealed by their baptism. Acts 19:19. And quite a few of those who were engaged in sorcery, having collected their books, burned them in front of everyone, and added up their prices, and it turned out to be fifty thousand drachmas. “Having collected their books,” in which the methods of performing various sorceries and spells were written down, the spellcasters betrayed them to a public ceremonial burning. This original bonfire for the crowd was the best sermon about the power of Christ, especially in view of the value of what was burned - 50,000 silver. The writer does not indicate with what coin this amount was calculated. But, undoubtedly, in the Greek trading city they then considered “drachm oh” 20–25 kopecks. Therefore, more precisely, this amount was about 10,000–12,500 rubles in our money. Acts 19:20. With such power the word of the Lord grew and became powerful. Acts 19:21. When this was done, Paul decided in spirit, having passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying: Having been there, I must see Rome also. “Having passed through Macedonia and Achaia, go to Jerusalem.” From the epistles of the apostle (1 Cor. 16, etc.; 2 Cor. 8; Rom. 15, etc.) it is clear that this path of the apostle was accompanied by collecting mercy for the Palestinian Church, which he further pointed out in his speech (Acts 24:17). "I must see Rome too". The Lord later approved this intention of Paul Himself, as being consistent with His will (Acts 23:11). Acts 19:22. And, having sent two of those who served him, Timothy and Erast, to Macedonia, he himself remained for a while in Asia. “Sending Timothy and Erastus” (2 Tim. 4:20), probably to favor the Macedonians both for the collection of alms and for the collection itself. Acts 19:23. At that time there was a considerable rebellion against the way of the Lord: “Rebellion against the way of the Lord” - against the preaching of the apostle and against Christianity in general (cf. Acts 18:25–26). Acts 19:24. for a certain silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver churches of Artemis and brought considerable profit to the artists, “Silver worker... Demetrius, who made silver churches” (i.e., models of them) of “Artemis,” the goddess of Ephesus, for sale to travelers and pilgrims of the city. The cult of Artemis was very widespread in Asia Minor. The church of this goddess in Ephesus, burned by Herostratus on the birthday of Alexander the Great, was rebuilt with such splendor that it was considered one of the seven wonders of the world. Small models of this church and figurines of Diana were in great use among the worshipers of this goddess: they decorated rooms, served as amulets when traveling, etc. Naturally, Demetrius’s craft was very profitable, and his factory provided considerable profit to the artists and artisans under his charge and service, who were so easy to rebel. Acts 19:25. having gathered them and other similar artisans, he said: friends! you know that our well-being depends on this craft; Acts 19:26. Meanwhile, you see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul, with his convictions, seduced a considerable number of people, saying that those made by human hands are not gods. Remarkable here is the testimony of the success of Paul's preaching from the lips of his enemies, confirming what was said above (Acts 19:10). “Saying that those made by human hands are not gods.” A remarkable expression of a pagan, showing that the pagan people identified the statues of gods with the gods themselves or imagined that the gods lived in these statues (cf. Acts 17:29; 1 Cor. 8:4, 10, etc.). Acts 19:27. And this threatens us with the fact that not only our craft will come into contempt, but also the church of the great goddess Artemis will mean nothing, and the greatness of her, whom all Asia and the universe reveres, will be undermined. “Look,” says Chrysostom, how idolatry is everywhere supported by greed: not because (they rebel) because their worship of God was in danger, but because they were deprived of the opportunity to profit... For this (the words of Demetrius) means almost the same thing as: “we, with our craft, are in danger of dying of hunger.” “All of Asia and the universe,” i.e., the entire Greco-Roman world. Acts 19:28. Having heard this, they were filled with rage and began to shout, saying: Great is Artemis of Ephesus! “They were in such a state as if with their cry they wanted to restore her veneration and destroy everything that Paul had done” (Chrysostom). Acts 19:29. And the whole city was filled with confusion. Having seized the Macedonians Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's companions, they unanimously rushed to the spectacle. "Seizing the Macedonians...Pavlov's companions". Paul, as can be seen from this and from what follows, was not found by the rebels. One of these companions - Gaius, it seems - should be distinguished from Gaius the Dervian, mentioned later (Acts 20:4); the other - Aristarchus from Thessalonica - is the one mentioned in Acts 20:4, 27:2. “They rushed to the spectacle...” - to the premises of the city theater, which usually served as a place for large public meetings. Acts 19:30. When Paul wanted to enter the people, the disciples did not allow him. Acts 19:31. Also, some of the Asian leaders, being his friends, sent to him and asked him not to appear at the spectacle. “Some of the Asian leaders” were elected from the cities to organize ceremonial games in honor of the gods and the emperor. These elected members elected ten members-managers and leaders of the games from among themselves. Some of them, finding themselves personally disposed towards the apostle, although not yet Christians, begged Paul “not to appear at the spectacle,” fearing, like his disciples, for his life from the rebellious crowd. The apostle himself showed in this case the great courage and strength of spirit of a true warrior of Christ, who rushed towards the crowd enraged against him. Acts 19:32. Meanwhile, some shouted one thing, and others another, for the meeting was disorderly, and most of those gathered did not know why they had gathered. “Some shouted one thing, and others another... and most of them did not know why they had gathered” - a characteristic image of the stupidity of such rebellious crowd gatherings. More or less everyone knew that something was happening in the theater against Paul and his companions (“with one accord” – Acts 19:29, “with one voice” – Acts 19:34); but what exactly and why it was necessary to gather here, the “most part” did not even understand. Acts 19:33. At the suggestion of the Jews, Alexander was summoned from among the people. Having given a sign with his hand, Alexander wanted to speak to the people. “At the suggestion of the Jews, Alexander was summoned from among the people.” Why - “at the suggestion of the Jews”? for what purpose? Who is this Alexander and what did he mean to say? – the explanations are not the same. It is believed that this Alexander, a Jew by origin and religion (Acts 19:34), was exposed by the Jews out of fear that in this popular indignation against Christians they would confuse the Jews with them and subject the latter to the same punishment as Christians, especially since the Jews were also known as enemies of idols. The trick failed, and only served to the detriment of the Jews; the people did not even want to listen to the speeches of the Jew, expressing their complete contempt for the Jews in general. Others believe, however, that this Alexander was a Jewish Christian who intended to speak in defense of Paul and the Christians; He was summoned at the suggestion of his insidious and malicious fellow tribesmen only to make him a victim of the people's rage. Saint Chrysostom also expresses a guess that Alexander the Jew wanted to speak in order to inflame even more the rage of the people against Christians. If so, then here too the Jews quite deservedly paid for their treachery with the contempt of the crowd expressed towards them. Acts 19:34. When they found out that he was a Jew, they all shouted with one voice, and for about two hours they shouted: Great is Artemis of Ephesus! Acts 19:35. The guardian of order, having calmed the people, said: Men of Ephesus! What person does not know that the city of Ephesus is the servant of the great goddess Artemis and Diopetus? Acts 19:36. If there is no dispute about this, then you need to be calm and not act rashly. Acts 19:37. And you brought these men who neither robbed the church of Artemidin, nor blasphemed your goddess. Acts 19:38. If Demetrius and other artists with him have a complaint against someone, that is, there are judicial assemblies and there are proconsuls: let them complain against each other. Acts 19:39. And if you are looking for something else, then it will be decided in the legal assembly. Acts 19:40. For we are in danger of being accused of indignation for what has happened now, since there is no reason by which we could justify such a gathering. Having said this, he dissolved the meeting. “The guardian of order” is actually a scribe or scribe - γραμματεύς, - something like a city secretary (γραμματεύς ο τῆς πόλεως), whose duties included drawing up official papers, promulgating public affairs, reading them in public assemblies or reporting, storage of all kinds of written documents, etc. In his speech to the people, this “secretary” indicates, first of all, that the cult of Artemis is firmly established in Ephesus and Paul’s companions, taken by the people, cannot be accused of directly insulting him (35–37). In the absence, so to speak, of a crime, one must also take into account the fact that there are legitimate authorities and a certain procedure for dealing with legitimate complaints (38–39). Finally, if all these conditions are not met, the people themselves risk finding themselves in the position of being accused of indignation (40). Such reasonable, skillful arguments cooled the ardor of the meeting, and it dispersed without any incident. "Diopetus" - fallen from Zeus. This name refers to the statue of Artemis in the Church of Ephesus, since, according to popular legend, it fell from the sky - from Zeus. You might be interested in: