Knowing Jesus
Acts 19:13-17
13 Then
certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which
had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus
whom Paul preacheth. 14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a
Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. 15 And the evil spirit
answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? 16 And
the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and
prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17
And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus;
and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
Introduction:
“A New Testament
scholar of the present day has compared Luke’s literary style to “a lecture
with lantern-slides; the pictures are shown one after another illustrating the
story the lecturer wants to tell while he makes the transition from one plate
to another by some general remarks”. Nowhere in Acts is this analogy more apt
than in the account of Paul’s Ephesian ministry (Acts 19:1-41).” [1]
Outline:
I. The Strange
Case of a Failed Attempt at Exorcism (19:13-14)
II. The Demonic Responses to the Attempted Exorcism (19:15-16)
III. The Extensive Effects of the Failed Exorcism (19:17)
Transition:
The reputation of
Ephesus worked its way into Shakespeare!
“Antipholus of Syracuse. Upon
my life, by some device or other 260
The villain is o'er-raught of all my money.
They say this town is full of cozenage,
As, nimble jugglers that deceive the eye,
Dark-working sorcerers that change the mind,
Soul-killing witches that deform the body, 265
Disguised cheaters, prating mountebanks,
And many such-like liberties of sin:
If it prove so, I will be gone the sooner.
I'll to the Centaur, to go seek this slave:
I greatly fear my money is not safe.” 270 [2]
The villain is o'er-raught of all my money.
They say this town is full of cozenage,
As, nimble jugglers that deceive the eye,
Dark-working sorcerers that change the mind,
Soul-killing witches that deform the body, 265
Disguised cheaters, prating mountebanks,
And many such-like liberties of sin:
If it prove so, I will be gone the sooner.
I'll to the Centaur, to go seek this slave:
I greatly fear my money is not safe.” 270 [2]
I. The Strange Case of a Failed Attempt at Exorcism
(19:13-14)
13 Then
certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which
had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus
whom Paul preacheth.
14 And
there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did
so. [3]
1. The Identities of the Exorcists (19:13a-b; 14)
2. The Statement of the Exorcists (19:13c-e)
1. The Identities of the Exorcists (19:13a-b;
14)
13 Then
certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists,….14 And there were seven
sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
vagabond - “itinerant”
(ESV, HCSB), “who went from place to place” (NASB), “traveling from town to
town” (NLT)
Sceva?
chief of the
priests?
2. The Statement of the Exorcists (19:13c-e)
took upon them to call over them which
had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus
whom Paul preacheth. [4]
adjure (KJV,
NASB, ESV) - “command” (HCSB, NIV, NLT)
II. The Demonic Responses to the Attempted Exorcism
(19:15-16)
15 And
the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are
ye?
16
And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame
them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and
wounded.
1. The Audible Response to the Exorcists (19:15)
2. The Physical Response towards the Exorcists
(19:16)
1. The Audible Response to the Exorcists
(19:15)
And the evil spirit answered and said,
Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
1) The Recognition of Jesus
2) The Recognition of Paul
3) The Lack of Recognition of the Exorcists
1) The Knowledge
of Jesus
And the evil spirit answered and said,
Jesus I know
Jas. 2:19 - Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the
devils also believe, and tremble.
2) The Recognition
of Paul
and Paul I know
Two different words are used in this verse for the
demon’s familiarity with Jesus and Paul.
|
Trans
|
Acts 19:15
|
|
KJV
|
And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and
Paul I know; but who are ye?
|
|
NASB
|
And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize
Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”
|
|
ESV
|
But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and
Paul I recognize,
but who are you?”
|
|
HCSB
|
The evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus, and I recognize
Paul—but who are you?”
|
|
NIV
|
One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know,
and Paul I know
about, but who are you?”
|
|
NLT
|
But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit
replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?”
|
There is a significant point being made here about the
connection to the authority for the use of Jesus’s name, and the delegated
authority to His Apostles. This should not only serve as a warning to any and
all who would attempt to employ the Name of Jesus as some sort of magical incantation,
as well as any pretenders to Apostolic authority or lineage.
Acts 8:9-24 (Simon the magician); and 13:6-11 (Elymas the
Sorcerer)
3) The Lack of
Recognition of the Exorcists
but who are ye?
Ask the question! Who are you?
2. The Physical Response towards the Exorcists
(19:16)
And the man in whom the evil spirit was
leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they
fled out of that house naked and wounded.
1) The Exercising of the Exorcists
2) The Exit of the Exorcists
1) The Exercising
of the Exorcists
And the man in whom the evil spirit was
leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them
2) The Exit of the
Exorcists
so that they fled out of that house
naked and wounded
“…a ‘reverse exorcism’…” [5]
III. The Extensive Effects of the Failed Exorcism
(19:17)
And this was known to all the Jews and
Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the
Lord Jesus was magnified.
1. The Public News of the Failed Exorcism
2. The Psychological Impact of the Failed Exorcism
3. The Positive Testimony of the Failed Exorcism
1. The Public News of the Failed Exorcism
And this was known to all the Jews and
Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus
2. The Psychological Impact of the Failed
Exorcism
and fear fell on them all.
3. The Positive Testimony of the Failed
Exorcism
and the name of the Lord Jesus was
magnified
cp. also verses 18-20!
Conclusion:
Do you know Jesus? Do you really know him any better than
the demon did?
Are you familiar with Paul?
Who are you in relation to Jesus and Paul?
Complete outline:
I. The Strange
Case of a Failed Attempt at Exorcism (19:13-14)
1. The Identities of the
Exorcists (19:13a-b; 14)
2. The Statement of the
Exorcists (19:13c-e)
II. The Demonic Responses to the Attempted Exorcism
(19:15-16)
1. The Audible Response
to the Exorcists (19:15)
1) The Knowledge of Jesus
2) The Recognition of Paul
3) The Lack of Recognition of
the Exorcists
2. The Physical Response
towards the Exorcists (19:16)
1) The Exercising of the
Exorcists
2) The Exit of the Exorcists
III. The Extensive Effects of the Failed Exorcism (19:17)
1. The Public News of the
Failed Exorcism
2. The Psychological Impact
of the Failed Exorcism
3. The Positive Testimony
of the Failed Exorcism
[Sermon preached 16
NOV 2014 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown,
PA.]
*****************************************************************************
Resources on Acts:
G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, eds., Commentary on the New Testament Use of
the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), pp. 513-606.
Paul Barnett, The
Birth of Christianity: The First Twenty Years, After Jesus, Vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 2005).
Darrell L. Bock, Acts,
Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New
Testament, eds. Robert W. Yarbrough and Robert H. Stein (Grand Rapids:
Baker Academic, 2007).
F. F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text
with Introduction and Commentary, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co., 1951, 1952).
Dennis E. Johnson, The Message of Acts in the History of
Redemption (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1997).
I. Howard Marshall, Acts:
An Introduction And Commentary, Vol. 5 in Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. Leon Morris (Downers
Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1980; 2008 reprint).
David G. Peterson, The
Acts of the Apostles, in The Pillar
New Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009).
John B. Polhill, Acts,
Vol. 26 in The New American Commentary,
gen. ed. David S. Dockery (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, Publishers,
1992).
Eckhard J. Schnabel, Acts,
Vol. 5 in the Zondervan Exegetical
Commentary on the New Testament, gen. ed. Clinton E. Arnold (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2012).
W. C. van Unnik, “The ‘Book of Acts’ the Confirmation of
the Gospel,” in Novum Testamentum 4:1
(OCT 1960), pp. 26-59; reprinted in The
Composition of Luke’s Gospel: Selected Studies from Novum Testamentum,
compiled by David E. Orton, Vol. 1 of Brill’s
Readers in Biblical Studies (Leiden: Brill, 1999), pp. 184-218.
William H. Willimon, Acts,
in Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for
Teaching and Preaching, series ed. James Luther Mays, New Testament ed.
Paul J. Achtemeier (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010).
*****************************************************************************
Resources on Paul:
Kenneth E. Bailey, Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes: Cultural
Studies in 1 Corinthians (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2011).
F. F. Bruce, Paul:
Apostle of the Heart Set Free (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 1977).
D. A. Carson, The
Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1996), pp. 496-501.
W. J. Conybeare and J. S. Howson, The Life, Times and Travels of St. Paul, 2 vols. in 1, unabridged
American ed. (New York: E. B. Treat U Co., 1869); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=Bn1CAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 12 FEB 2013].
Adolf Deissmann, Paul:
A Study in Social and Religious History, 2nd ed., trans. William E. Wilson
(New York: Harper Torchbooks, n.d.).
F. W. Farrar, The Life
and Work of St. Paul (New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., 1889); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=RB2KeCSM6KsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 12 FEB 2013].
Bruce N. Fisk, “Paul: Life and
Letters”, in The Face of New Testament
Studies: A Survey of Recent Research, ed. Scot McKnight and Grant R.
Osborne (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004), pp. 283-325.
Richard B.Gaffin, Jr.,
"Acts and Paul", 46 lectures (MP3 format), WTS Resources Media Center
on Westminster Theological Seminary
at http://wts.edu/resources/media.html?paramType=audio&filterTopic=5&filterSpeaker=10&filterYear=2005 [accessed 20 MAR 2013].
Frank J. Goodwin, A
Harmony of the Life of the St. Paul According to the Acts of the Apostles and
the Pauline Epistles (New York: American Tract Society, 1895); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=YgpEAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 12 FEB 2013].
Richard N. Longenecker, The
Ministry And Message Of Paul (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1971).
Richard N. Longenecker, Paul,
Apostle Of Liberty (New York: Harper & Row, 1964).
Richard N. Longenecker, ed., The Road From Damascus : The Impact Of Paul's Conversion On His Life,
Thought, And Ministry (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997).
Richard N. Longenecker, Studies
In Paul, Exegetical And Theological (Sheffield : Sheffield Phoenix Press,
2004).
J. Gresham Machen, The
Origin of Paul's Religion: The James Sprunt Lectures Delivered at Union
Theological Seminary in Virginia (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 1925).
Leon Morris, The
Apostolic Preaching of the Cross (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 1955).
John Pollock, The Apostle:
A Life of Paul, 3rd ed. (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 1969, 2012); also
published as The Man Who Shook the World
(Wheaton: Victor Books, 1972; originally The
Apostle: A Life of Paul, New York: Doubleday, 1969).
Stanley E. Porter, Paul
in Acts, in Library of Pauline
Studies, gen. ed. Stanley E. Porter (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers,
Inc., 1999; 2001 reprint of The Paul of
Acts: Essays in Literary Criticism, Rhetoric and Theology, in Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen
Testament 115, by Mohr Siebeck, Tubingen).
W. M. Ramsay, The
Cities of St. Paul: Their Influence on his Life and Thought (New York: A.
C. Armstrong and Son; London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1908); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=JryEbmKool0C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 13 FEB 2013].
W. M. Ramsay, Pauline
and Other Studies in Early Christian History (New York: A. C. Armstrong and
Son, 1906); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=-1ZJAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 13 FEB 2013].
W. M. Ramsay, St. Paul
the Traveler and the Roman Citizen, 10th ed. (London: Hodder and Stoughton,
1907); on Christian Classics Ethereal
Library (CCEL) at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/ramsay/paul_roman.html [accessed
13 FEB 2013].
W. M. Ramsay, The
Teaching of Paul in terms of The Present Day: The Deems Lectures in New York
University (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1914); on Internet Archive at http://ia600404.us.archive.org/2/items/teachingofpaulin00rams/teachingofpaulin00rams.pdf
[accessed 13 FEB 2013].
A. T. Robertson, Epochs
in the Life of Paul: A Study of Development in Paul's Character (Grand
Rapids: Baker Book House, 1974).
Eckhard J. Schnabel, Paul The Missionary: Realities, Strategies
And Methods (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic,
2008).
Udo Schnelle, Apostle
Paul: His Life and Theology, trans. M. Eugene Boring (Grand Rapids: Baker
Academic, 2003; trans. from Paulus: Leben
und Denken, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co., n.d.).
Thomas R. Schreiner, Paul,
Apostle of God's Glory in Christ: A Pauline Theology (Downers Grove, IL:
IVP Academic, 2001).
James Stalker, The
Life of St. Paul, (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1885; rev. ed. 2010 by
Kessinger Publishing from 1912 ed.); on Google
Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=vT0HAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 7 FEB 2013].
James Ironside Still, St.
Paul on Trial (London: Student Christian Movement, 1923).
End Notes:
[1] F. F. Bruce, Paul:
Apostle of the Heart Set Free (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 1977), pg. 289; citing W. C. van
Unnik, “The ‘Book of Acts’ the Confirmation of the Gospel,” in Novum Testamentum 4:1 (OCT 1960), pg.
35; reprinted in The Composition of
Luke’s Gospel: Selected Studies from Novum Testamentum, compiled by David
E. Orton, Vol. 1 of Brill’s Readers in
Biblical Studies (Leiden: Brill, 1999), pp. 184-218.
[2] William Shakespeare, The
Comedy of Errors (1594?), in First
Folio (1623), Act 1, Scene 2; on Open
Source Shakespeare at http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=comedyerrors&Scope=entire&pleasewait=1&msg=pl#a1,s2 [accessed 15
NOV 2014]; lines 262-267 cited by Bruce
M. Metzger, “St. Paul and The Magicians,” The Princeton Seminary Bulletin
38:1 (June 1944), pg. 27; in the “Special Collections: Digital
Collections” of the Princeton Theological
Seminary Library at http://scdc.library.ptsem.edu/mets/mets.aspx?src=PSB1944381&div=7&img=1 [accessed 15 NOV 2014]; and F. F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free
(Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1977), pg. 291.
[3] On this episode see also:
F.
F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set
Free (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1977), pp. 291-293.
Dennis E. Johnson, The Message of Acts in the History of
Redemption (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1997), pp. 26-27,
178-184, 187.
John
Pollock, The Apostle: A Life of Paul,
3rd ed. (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 1969, 2012); also published as The Man Who Shook the World (Wheaton:
Victor Books, 1972; originally The
Apostle: A Life of Paul, New York: Doubleday, 1969), pg. 144.
A.
T. Robertson, Epochs in the Life of Paul:
A Study of Development in Paul's Character (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House,
1974), pp. 182-183.
[4] On this see especially Bruce M. Metzger, “St. Paul
and The Magicians,” The
Princeton Seminary Bulletin 38:1 (June 1944),
pp. 27-30; in the “Special Collections: Digital Collections” of the Princeton Theological Seminary Library
at http://scdc.library.ptsem.edu/mets/mets.aspx?src=PSB1944381&div=7&img=1 [accessed 15 NOV 2014].
[5] ESV Study Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), pg. 2127, note.
No comments:
Post a Comment