Overcoming Spiritual Darkness | Acts 19
This message was preached at Sherwood Community Friends Church on January 14, 2024. You can watch the video in full by clicking below.
Through the book of Acts, we’ve seen the multiplication of disciples, exactly as Jesus instructed at the end of Matthew in the Great Commission. This has not been without turmoil and persecution along the way. But the disciples knew what they were in for because Jesus told them what to be on the lookout for in John 15.
“If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you.”
We are going to pick up our Acts journey in chapter 19, verse 8.
THE CASE FOR PUBLIC SQUARE TEACHING
“Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, arguing and persuading them about the kingdom of God.”
Why did Paul go to the synagogue? This was the usual any time any of them went into a new place.
When Paul arrived in Thessalonica in Acts 17, verse 2.
“As usual, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures.”
When Paul arrived in Corinth in Acts 18, verse 4:
“He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and tried to persuade both Jews and Greeks.”
The opening move for Paul, and any of the disciples when they entered a new mission field was to go to the synagogue and start preaching the the Kingdom of God there.
But why always go to the synagogue and to the Jews? Hasn’t it been clear that the message of the Way was for the Gentiles too?
Well, Paul and the others followed Jesus’ model and instruction. Jesus also regularly taught in the synagogue. And this was Jesus’ original strategy to the twelve disciples when he sent them out in
“Jesus sent out these twelve after giving them instructions: ‘Don’t take the road that leads to the Gentiles, and don’t enter any Samaritan town. Instead, go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim: “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you received, freely give.’”
Why prioritize the Jews’ salvation? Well, I think that answer is pretty simple. They were entrusted with the Old Testament. They knew Creation and the Fall. They knew the redemption God promised, all the prophecies about the Christ that would set the captives free. In fact, they knew the redeemer would come from their bloodline! God wanted to give them the first right of redemption because he sent that same redemption through them.
So, when we read that Paul was arguing with them and persuading them about the kingdom of God, he was wrestling through the Old Testament scriptures with the Jews to prove to them the case for Christ.
What Paul is doing here is engaging in apologetics, or the intellectual defense of the truth of the Christian faith. He engaged for 3 months with opposers in the synagogue, similar to what the persecuted Gentile Christians were going through when Peter addressed them in his first letter.
“But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear them or be intimidated, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. Yet do this with gentleness and reverence, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame.”
So, Paul is engaged in these respectful theological conversations in the synagogue for 3 months and then in verse 9:
“But when some became hardened and would not believe, slandering the Way in front of the crowd, he withdrew from them, taking the disciples, and conducted discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
This went on for two years, so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.”
Don’t miss this! I can’t tell you how many times I read through the book of Acts and had not fully picked up on the significance of these verses nor the full implications.
Paul was engaging in this match back and forth with the Jews. But when they made vocal and public slander of the Way and opposed the fullness of the Gospel, Paul had to adjust his strategy. He couldn’t be too far ahead of the game. His plans had to be flexible and he had to rely on the Holy Spirit to guide his next step.
So what was Paul’s next move?
He didn’t continue to argue. He moved on. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Paul do this - in Acts 13:51, Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet in Antioch when Jews incited persecution against them.
And this is also exactly as Jesus instructed.
“If anyone does not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that house or town.”
Paul and the others he was with shook the dust from their feet from that synagogue and they went next door to the hall of Tyrannus, which was a general meeting hall that was either owned by Tyrannus or he was a well-respected philosopher that frequently taught there.
Do you think those who owned the hall just let Paul come there and speak for free? Maybe once or a handful of times, but this went on every day for two years. It’s likely that Paul paid rent to speak there!
Where did this money come from? The text doesn’t tell us. We do know that Paul and the other disciples who were with him were tentmakers. Could it be that they worked outside of teaching hours to pay for usage of the hall, rather than storing their money for a rainy day or retirement? Did they cancel their Hulu and Netflix subscriptions? Could they have collected donations from those who came to hear?
Regardless of the funding, because of this switch from inside the synagogue (hear “church building”) to outside the synagogue into the town square (hear “where people are”), an enormous impact was made. Paul’s reach during these 2+ years is an estimated 2 million throughout Asia Minor, and the long-term ramifications are still felt around the world. Would this effect have happened if the message had stayed in the synagogue? Likely not. Let’s pick it up in verse 11.
SPIRITUAL WARFARE & MANIFESTATIONS
“God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands, so that even facecloths or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them.”
Note the miracles of God were not done by Paul. They were done by God THROUGH Paul. This was with the same authority that Jesus gave to his followers that we read about in Matthew 10 earlier - Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, drive out demons. These miracles were to prove the legitimacy of Paul’s authority, as demonstrated in the following verses.
“Now some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches!” Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this. The evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul — but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them, overpowered them all, and prevailed against them, so that they ran out of that house naked and wounded.“
Why did the demons know Jesus’ name and Paul, but not these guys? What was the difference? The demons knew Paul because he was a familiar opponent. Paul regularly showed up in battle against them and he was firmly planted in the authority of God himself through the authority of Jesus Christ. This was by his foundation in Scripture, prayer, and engagement in evangelism. These fools couldn’t even stand on the name of Jesus themselves. They said, “I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches!”
We’ve seen this before many times throughout the Bible, where people chase the manifestations and the things of God but they don’t chase God himself.
This started in the Garden with Eve who chased the wisdom and likeness of God through the shortcut of a piece of fruit
The Babylonians tried to make a name for themselves above God by building a tower to the sky
When manna fell from the heavens for the Israelites in the wilderness, they were instructed to not keep any extra. Yet they did not listen. Instead, they opted to hoard God’s blessing, which rotted the next day.
King Saul rushed through sacrifice before a battle so he would have the Lord’s blessing, rather than waiting for the Lord’s timing
After the Transfiguration, Peter wanted to stay on the mountain and build shrines to Jesus, Elijah, and Moses to attest to what they had witnessed
Simon the Sorcerer wanted the power of God so badly he was willing to trade it for money
There are times when we experience the absolutely stunning power of God Almighty, and these times are to be remembered as a testament of God’s faithfulness to dwell with us, just as he dwelt with the Israelites in the wilderness.
But when I chase God’s power, peace or provision apart from him, I am no better than these itinerant Jews.
So what was the effect on the people who observed this scene of this demon-possessed man beating up the Jews to the point of nakedness? Verse 17
“When this became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, they became afraid, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high esteem. And many who had become believers came confessing and disclosing their practices, while many of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them in front of everyone. So they calculated their value and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver. In this way the word of the Lord spread and prevailed.”
How much is fifty thousand pieces of silver? In Ephesus, this was the equivalent of a day of earnings for an agricultural laborer. 50,000 pieces of silver or drachma, depending on your translation, would be the equivalent of approximately 160 man-years labor.
Those who both witnessed and heard about this interaction recognized there is only one God who is to be revered. This reverent fear of God caused them to be so compelled to both confess and disclose their practices of magic, abandoning their pursuit of the multitude of spirits for the ONE Holy Spirit, to follow the ONE Jesus, and to worship the ONE God. This confession and conversion resulted in the collective burning of their magic books that cost approximately, if calculated today at minimum wage, about
This was a costly sacrifice! It’s costly to follow Jesus. But make no mistake, the abandonment of the old life, no matter the cost, is how the word of the Lord flourished and prevailed throughout Ephesus. Our culture today would like to have us believe that we can hang onto the old parts of our old life. But that is one of many lies the enemy will tell us to keep a foothold inside of us to disrupt our purpose and calling.
RIOT
So what happened next? Verse 21
“After these events, Paul resolved by the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem. “After I’ve been there,” he said, “It is necessary for me to see Rome as well.” After sending to Macedonia two of those who assisted him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.
About that time there was a major disturbance about the Way. For a person named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, provided a great deal of business for the craftsmen. When he had assembled them, as well as the workers engaged in this type of business, he said, “Men, you know that our prosperity is derived from this business. You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this man Paul has persuaded and misled a considerable number of people by saying that gods made by hand are not gods. Not only do we run a risk that our business may be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be despised and her magnificence come to the verge of ruin — the very one all of Asia and the world worship.”
Let’s be clear. Demetrius was not concerned about the faith of people throughout Asia. His concern was about his dipped profits from the declining sales of his shrines of Artemis, “the Great Mother.” His conviction against the Way is entirely money motivated.
“When they had heard this, they were filled with rage and began to cry out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” So the city was filled with confusion, and they rushed all together into the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions. Although Paul wanted to go in before the people, the disciples did not let him. Even some of the provincial officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent word to him, pleading with him not to venture into the amphitheater. Some were shouting one thing and some another, because the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. Some Jews in the crowd gave instructions to Alexander after they pushed him to the front. Motioning with his hand, Alexander wanted to make his defense to the people. But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours, ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!’”
Demetrius knew how to rile up people. He leaned into their pain points - targeting both financial loss and reminding them of the loss of their faith practice in Artemis. In fact, when I was studying this passage in my CSB Study Bible, I was struck by this note on verse 28:
“Demetrius played to the crowd’s worst fears effectively. Fear of loss is often a choice weapon against God’s truth and the life of discipleship.” (p1755)
Fear is a very effective tool of the enemy’s attacks.
With over 2 million people impacted by the Gospel and millions of dollars worth of magic paraphernalia burned, the Way of Jesus was advancing and taking massive ground. How many of you know when the Kingdom of God advances, the enemy combats us even more aggressively?
This is one of many reasons we read through the Bible. We know we read through the Bible so that we can understand how to hear the voice of God. And that is reason enough! But, if you’ve been reading our Bible plan in Genesis, you know that the people in the Bible didn’t always act in accordance with God’s direction
In fact, there are many, many times we can identify how the enemy interferes with our relationship with God because he knows the only victory he can have is to distract us from the mission God has given to us, through Jesus and with the Holy Spirit. And these spiritual attacks are alive and well today.
Note how the enemy was attacking the Way in this passage. The word CONFUSION is mentioned twice.
The first use of the word is the word in verse 29 is σύγχυσις syn-chry-sis - this is appropriately understood as disorder resulting from a failure to behave predictably.
The second use of the word in verse 32 is συγχέω syncheō - this is more of a bewilderment or confusion as we might think of it.
So if we relook at these verses, it may read something like this:
“When they had heard this, they were filled with rage and began to cry out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” So the city was filled with unruly conduct and disorder, and they rushed all together into the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus…Some were shouting one thing and some another, because the assembly was in bewilderment, and most of them did not know why they had come together.
Paul’s companions Gaius and Aristarchus were dragged into the mob of disorder, and Paul wanted to go before the people who were disorderly. This can seem like a selfless sacrifice, but Paul adhered to the wisdom of the other disciples and even the public officials who had come to know Paul enough to respect him.
Notice that Paul not only had people around him but he heeded their wisdom! Paul was prepared because he did not keep himself in isolation. Instead, he engaged regularly with other workers in Christ, providing him with exactly what he needed at this moment.
So what happens?
“When the city clerk had calmed the crowd down, he said, “People of Ephesus! What person is there who doesn’t know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple guardian of the great Artemis, and of the image that fell from heaven? Therefore, since these things are undeniable, you must keep calm and not do anything rash. For you have brought these men here who are not temple robbers or blasphemers of our goddess. So if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a case against anyone, the courts are in session, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. But if you seek anything further, it must be decided in a legal assembly. In fact, we run a risk of being charged with rioting for what happened today, since there is no justification that we can give as a reason for this disturbance.” After saying this, he dismissed the assembly.”
It feels a bit anti-climactic, doesn’t it? The city official comes into the scene and tells everyone to calm down and go home. No one dies. No one is injured. No one gets saved. No one is arrested. But Paul and his companions were saved from harm. It reminds me of
Exodus 14:14, “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.” (NRSV)
Or Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God!” (NRSV)
Or Deuteronomy 20:4, “for it is the Lord your God who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to give you victory.” (NRSV)
God delivered them from harm that day. This wasn’t for their sake though. Whether our circumstances turn out favorable or unfavorable in our minds is regardless of God’s goodness or his deserving of all glory and fame. Our lives hold one purpose: that in all things we declare his glory.
CONCLUSION - A CALL FOR DELIVERANCE
As we’ve been working through the text today, we’ve discussed all kinds of clutches the enemy keeps us in to decommission us from the purpose and mission that God has for each of us. It’s time to name what is holding us back from that mission and finally declare some victory over it.
Are we bold like Paul to go to the public places and teach the Word of God that transformed our lives? Today God might be nudging you that it’s time to be bold. Take the fear that keeps you tongue-tied and ask God to remove that fear.
2 Corinthians 5: 20 - “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, ‘Be reconciled to God.’”
Earlier when we read about those who burned their magic scrolls, some of you had something that came to mind that is representative of your life before Christ’s work. Maybe you even dismissed the thought when it came to you. But this may be God’s invitation for you to rid something from your home or life that is not glorifying to him.
When we read about the burning of the magic scrolls, your spirit was nudged. Something came to your mind that you know must be destroyed in order for you to put your full allegiance and surrender to you. It might be:
A physical item - could be a book, statue, image, jewelry, clothing
Alcohol or another drug substance
Mindless entertainment
Inappropriate videos
Video games
Isaiah 43:18-19 - “Do not remember the past events; pay no attention to things of old. Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.
And we know there is an enemy who attacks. He knows exactly where to target his attacks too. He knows our weak points. He targets them. This is all the more reason why we need to identify and name the attacks of the enemy and then share this with another person so they can stand and fight with you.
Confusion
Isolation
Entitlement
Physical ailments
Fear
Lies of unworthiness or value
Ephesians 5:13-14 - Everything exposed by the light is made visible, for what makes everything visible is light. Therefore it is said: Get up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
