And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
This took place at Ephesus during Paul's visit, when God worked special miracles by Paul's hands so that diseases departed from people and evil spirits went out from them. The seven men involved were brothers, the sons of Sceva, a Jew described as chief of the priests, and they were present there as wandering or vagabond Jewish exorcists practicing exorcism and magic. They were apostate Jews who secretly practiced sorcery, even though sorcery was prohibited by the law of Moses on pain of death.
The Ephesian magic of their setting involved deceptive mystic voices that did not prove the dead communicate with the living but were a means used by Satan to mislead people and gain control of their minds. It shares the same deceptive spiritual power behind modern Spiritualism and claims of communication with the dead, with modern counterparts in Spiritualistic mediums, clairvoyants, and fortune-tellers. Having seen the wonders worked through Paul and trying to imitate his miracles and claim power like his, they took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits and to use that name in their sorcery. They commanded a demon-possessed man by Jesus whom Paul preached, treating Jesus' name as a charm.
They acted without faith in the divinity of Christ's mission and without following Paul's example of faith and ministry, attempting in effect to mix the power of Christ with sorcery. The evil spirit acknowledged Jesus and Paul but rejected their authority, answering Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye. The possessed man then leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, beating, bruising, and wounding them so that they fled out of the house naked and wounded.
The One to whom all evil spirits are subject and who had given His servants authority over them brought shame and defeat on these despisers and profaners of His holy name. This gave unmistakable proof of the sacredness of Christ's name and of the peril of invoking it without faith in the divinity of the Saviour's mission. Their defeat proves that the power of Christ cannot be mixed with sorcery at all, and it revealed a power above all the powers of the magicians. Their overpowering caused fear to fall on all the Jews and Greeks dwelling at Ephesus and the name of the Lord Jesus to be magnified, followed by believers confessing and showing their deeds and burning their books of curious arts and magic.
This took place at Ephesus during Paul's visit, when God worked special miracles by Paul's hands so that diseases departed from people and evil spirits went out from them. The seven men involved were brothers, the sons of Sceva, a Jew described as chief of the priests, and they were present there as wandering or vagabond Jewish exorcists practicing exorcism and magic. They were apostate Jews who secretly practiced sorcery, even though sorcery was prohibited by the law of Moses on pain of death.
The Ephesian magic of their setting involved deceptive mystic voices that did not prove the dead communicate with the living but were a means used by Satan to mislead people and gain control of their minds. It shares the same deceptive spiritual power behind modern Spiritualism and claims of communication with the dead, with modern counterparts in Spiritualistic mediums, clairvoyants, and fortune-tellers. Having seen the wonders worked through Paul and trying to imitate his miracles and claim power like his, they took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits and to use that name in their sorcery. They commanded a demon-possessed man by Jesus whom Paul preached, treating Jesus' name as a charm.
They acted without faith in the divinity of Christ's mission and without following Paul's example of faith and ministry, attempting in effect to mix the power of Christ with sorcery. The evil spirit acknowledged Jesus and Paul but rejected their authority, answering Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye. The possessed man then leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, beating, bruising, and wounding them so that they fled out of the house naked and wounded.
The One to whom all evil spirits are subject and who had given His servants authority over them brought shame and defeat on these despisers and profaners of His holy name. This gave unmistakable proof of the sacredness of Christ's name and of the peril of invoking it without faith in the divinity of the Saviour's mission. Their defeat proves that the power of Christ cannot be mixed with sorcery at all, and it revealed a power above all the powers of the magicians. Their overpowering caused fear to fall on all the Jews and Greeks dwelling at Ephesus and the name of the Lord Jesus to be magnified, followed by believers confessing and showing their deeds and burning their books of curious arts and magic.