Acts 19:11-22

Magnifying Jesus' Name

God caused some great miracles to be worked through Paul. Even pieces of cloth, like a handkerchief or apron, which had touched his body could be placed on the body of the sick and diseases or evil spirits went out. Some wandering Jewish exorcists, who apparently had previously been unsuccessful in casting out demons, tried to capitalize on the power of God they had seen at work through Paul. Particularly, the seven sons of Sceva attempted to cast out an evil spirit by calling on the name of Jesus' whom Paul preached. The spirit recognized both Jesus and Paul but caused the possessed man to leap on, overpower and strip them, so that they ran away wounded and naked (Acts 19:11-16).

Since an irreverent use of the name of Jesus precipitated this attack by the evil spirit, both Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus were moved to reverent awe for the authority of Jesus. Many Christians, along with others, then confessed their previous involvement in the magical arts. Books costing some 50,000 pieces of silver were publicly thrown into a pile and burned. From that point forward, the gospel grew in a great way and conquered the hearts of many in the region. At the end of this great period of growth, Luke reported that Paul mapped out plans to go through Macedonia and Achaia on the way to Jerusalem. Then, he wanted to go on to Rome. He sent Timothy and Erastus on to Macedonia while personally staying on in Asia (Acts 19:17-22).