And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:
Paul's work to which this verse belongs was at Ephesus, the capital of the Roman province of Asia and a busy commercial center whose people and visitors made it a promising field for missionary work, yet a stronghold of heathenism with the great temple of Diana. Its setting was prepared when Jews who had heard John the Baptist proclaim Jesus as the Promised One spread that news throughout the world. Its immediate context was Paul rebaptizing about twelve disciples of John's baptism in the name of Jesus, with the Holy Spirit coming upon them with tongues and prophecy.
After three months of bold synagogue preaching ended in hardening and evil speaking, Paul separated to dispute daily for two years in the school of Tyrannus so that all in Asia heard the word, and then God worked through him at Ephesus. God through the Spirit gave Paul special, unusual, extraordinary miracles and signs of divine favor and power, as the needs of the gospel and the honor of God's name required. The apostles could not work miracles whenever they chose.
Handkerchiefs or aprons from Paul's body were brought to the sick, so that many were healed of physical maladies with diseases departing and evil spirits going out. Done in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, the miracles were God's chosen way to reach a people given to curious arts under the influence of magicians. They were to show that the God of heaven is more powerful than the magicians who served Diana and all powers of sorcery and superstition, magnifying the name of Jesus rather than Paul's and exalting Paul immeasurably above even the most powerful magicians.
The manifestations were far more potent than ever before witnessed in Ephesus and could not be imitated by the skill of the juggler, the enchantments of the sorcerer, or magicians' tricks. For the power belonged to God and not to a magical method or to the name used as a charm. Vagabond Jewish exorcists, including the seven sons of Sceva, tried to imitate Paul by using the name of Jesus in sorcery, but the evil spirit confessed Jesus and Paul and not them. Then he fell upon them and beat and bruised them so they fled naked and wounded, showing the sacredness of Jesus' name and the danger of invoking it without faith in Christ's divine mission and proving that sorcery and the power of God cannot mix.
Fear came on Jews and Greeks, the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified, believers were moved to confess and burn books of curious arts valued at fifty pieces of silver, the word of God grew mightily and prevailed in conversion, and a large church was established. The experience recorded in Acts 19 corroborates the present experience of receiving the promised blessing, when the promised power comes and believers speak in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance.
Paul's work to which this verse belongs was at Ephesus, the capital of the Roman province of Asia and a busy commercial center whose people and visitors made it a promising field for missionary work, yet a stronghold of heathenism with the great temple of Diana. Its setting was prepared when Jews who had heard John the Baptist proclaim Jesus as the Promised One spread that news throughout the world. Its immediate context was Paul rebaptizing about twelve disciples of John's baptism in the name of Jesus, with the Holy Spirit coming upon them with tongues and prophecy.
After three months of bold synagogue preaching ended in hardening and evil speaking, Paul separated to dispute daily for two years in the school of Tyrannus so that all in Asia heard the word, and then God worked through him at Ephesus. God through the Spirit gave Paul special, unusual, extraordinary miracles and signs of divine favor and power, as the needs of the gospel and the honor of God's name required. The apostles could not work miracles whenever they chose.
Handkerchiefs or aprons from Paul's body were brought to the sick, so that many were healed of physical maladies with diseases departing and evil spirits going out. Done in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, the miracles were God's chosen way to reach a people given to curious arts under the influence of magicians. They were to show that the God of heaven is more powerful than the magicians who served Diana and all powers of sorcery and superstition, magnifying the name of Jesus rather than Paul's and exalting Paul immeasurably above even the most powerful magicians.
The manifestations were far more potent than ever before witnessed in Ephesus and could not be imitated by the skill of the juggler, the enchantments of the sorcerer, or magicians' tricks. For the power belonged to God and not to a magical method or to the name used as a charm. Vagabond Jewish exorcists, including the seven sons of Sceva, tried to imitate Paul by using the name of Jesus in sorcery, but the evil spirit confessed Jesus and Paul and not them. Then he fell upon them and beat and bruised them so they fled naked and wounded, showing the sacredness of Jesus' name and the danger of invoking it without faith in Christ's divine mission and proving that sorcery and the power of God cannot mix.
Fear came on Jews and Greeks, the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified, believers were moved to confess and burn books of curious arts valued at fifty pieces of silver, the word of God grew mightily and prevailed in conversion, and a large church was established. The experience recorded in Acts 19 corroborates the present experience of receiving the promised blessing, when the promised power comes and believers speak in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance.