Acts 19 explained: Two Years in Ephesus and a Riot

Twelve followers of John (vv. 1-7)

These men knew only John the Baptist's baptism, a washing that marked turning from wrongdoing and pointed ahead to someone still coming. Paul told them that someone was Jesus, and after they were baptized in his name and he laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit (God's own presence) came on them and they spoke in other languages and prophesied.

Teaching and healing (vv. 8-12)

Paul argued in the synagogue, the Jewish meeting place, for three months, then moved to the lecture hall of a man named Tyrannus when some turned against him. Over two years the message spread through the Roman province of Asia, today's western Turkey, and even cloths that had touched Paul were linked to healings, which the text credits to God.

Jesus' name is not a spell (vv. 13-20)

Traveling exorcists, men who claimed to drive out evil spirits, tried using Jesus' name like a magic word and were beaten and stripped by the very man they meant to free. As word spread in a city known for magic, many believers confessed their old practices and publicly burned their spell scrolls, worth fifty thousand silver coins.

Plans for Jerusalem and Rome (vv. 21-22)

Paul decides to pass through Greece, go on to Jerusalem, and afterward see Rome. This sets the direction for the rest of Acts, where he does reach Rome, but as a prisoner.

Demetrius stirs a riot (vv. 23-34)

Demetrius made small silver shrines of Artemis, whose great temple in Ephesus was famous across the ancient world, and he warned that Paul's teaching against man-made gods threatened both trade and the goddess's honor. The crowd filled the theater chanting for two hours, and when local Jews pushed forward a man named Alexander, for reasons the text leaves unclear, he was shouted down.

The city clerk restores order (vv. 35-41)

The clerk, a senior city official, said Paul's companions had neither robbed temples nor insulted the goddess, and that any complaints belonged in the courts. He warned that the city could be charged with rioting, since there was no good reason for the uproar, and then sent everyone home.

Key verse: Acts 19:20

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on whether verses 1 to 7 show that receiving the Holy Spirit can be a separate experience after first believing, as many Pentecostal churches hold, or describe a one-time situation for people who had only known John's message.

Something to think about

How much do you think the way people earn a living shapes which ideas they are willing to hear?