Acts 19:1-22
Q.1. Why did Paul quiz the disciples at Ephesus? To Whom did these followers belong? How did Paul minister to them? How was the Gospel confirmed? – (Acts 19:1-7)
John the Baptist was the forerunner and herald of the coming Messiah. It would not have taken long for Paul to realise that there was something missing from the lives of these disciples of John. He asked – … “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”(Acts 19:2). Paul explained that the role of John was to prepare for and point to Jesus (Acts 19:4). The moment these people confessed Christ through baptism – when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying (Acts 19:6). This was the same phenomenon that accompanied the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost – … we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God (Acts 2:11 c.f. Acts10:46; 11:15).
Q.2. How well was Paul received at the synagogue? Why did he set up the school of Tyrannus? What impact did Paul’s ministry have? – (Acts 19:8-10)
The synagogue received Paul eagerly for some three months. However, after that some of the Jews spoke evil of “The Way”, another description of Christians (c.f. Jn.14:6; Acts 11:26). Consequently, Paul & Barnabas established the school of Tyrannus, where they followed up converts over a period of – … two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks (Acts 19:10). In the ancient world, Ephesus was a centre of travel and commerce. Situated on the Aegean Sea at the mouth of the Cayster River, the city was one of the greatest seaports of the ancient world. This explains why the school of Tyrannus made such a significant contribution to the whole region.
Q.3. How did God confirm Paul’s message? Did Satan’s attempts to undermine Paul succeed? How did the converts reveal they really believed? – (Acts 19:11-20 c.f. Acts 5:14-16; Heb.2:3-4)
The Lord used the location, but also confirmed the truth of Paul’s message as – 11 God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out (Acts 19:11-12). Invariably, where there is truth, there will be counterfeits. Satan tried to take attention away from Paul’s message, using seven Jewish exorcists, the sons of a chief priest named Sceva (Acts 19:13-14) But – 15 the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” 16 And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded (Acts 19:15-16). This brought a holy fear upon the church and gave greater attention to the power of the Gospel. The transformation of the Ephesian converts was dramatic – 18 Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing, and disclosing their practices. 19 And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver (Acts 19:18-19). God’s work went from strength to strength.
Q.4. What was Paul final destination? Where was he led to go first? How did Paul establish the churches of Macedonia? – (Acts 19:21-22 c.f. Acts 21:1-14)
Paul was convinced he would go to Rome (Acts 19:21 c.f. 21:13; 23:11). However, firstly he was intending to return to Jerusalem (Acts 19:21 c.f. Acts 18:18; 21:17-26). It becomes obvious when reading about his journeys, that Paul rarely travelled alone. He had left Priscilla and Aquila to minister at Ephesus. He then sent Timothy and Erastus to minister in Macedonia (Acts 19:22 c.f. Acts 18:18-19). He was constantly looking after the welfare of the church (2 Cor.11:28).