Chapter 19 of Acts deals with Paul's third missionary journey, focusing on his ministry in Ephesus. In this chapter, Paul preaches the gospel in Ephesus and various events that occur in the process are recorded. Below we explain in detail the main content of Acts 19.
Ministry in Ephesus (19:1-41)
- Paul arrives at Ephesus (19:1-7)
- Paul arrives in Ephesus after Apollos leaves Corinth.
- He meets some disciples and asks them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They reply that they have never heard of the Holy Spirit.
- They say they only received John's baptism.
- Paul baptizes them in the name of Jesus, and when they receive the Holy Spirit, they begin to speak in tongues and prophesy. There were about 12 of them in total.
- Teachings in the synagogue and the school of Tyrannus (19:8-10)
- For three months, Paul boldly preached the gospel in the synagogue and discussed the kingdom of God.
- When some people became stubborn and did not believe and openly slandered the gospel, Paul left them and took his disciples aside to discuss daily in the school of Tyrannus.
- This continues for two years, and all the Jews and Greeks living in Asia hear the word of the Lord.
- Paul’s miracles and the conversion of the magicians (19:11-20)
- God performs amazing miracles through Paul's hands. Even just by putting his handkerchief or apron on a sick person, the sick person is cured and the evil spirit goes away.
- When several Jewish sorcerers attempt to cast out demons using the name of the Lord Jesus, they are attacked by a demon-possessed man.
- This incident became known to the Ephesians, and the name of the Lord Jesus was exalted, and many people gathered their magic books and burned them. The value of these books amounts to 50,000 drachmas of silver.
- In this way, the word of the Lord grows and gains strength.
- Demetrius and the Silversmiths' Riot (19:21-41)
- Paul decides to go to Jerusalem through Macedonia and Achaia, and then wants to go to Rome as well.
- He sends Timothy and Erastus to Macedonia, while he stays in Asia for a while longer.
- At that time, a great commotion broke out in Ephesus. Demetrius, a silversmith, was making a huge profit by making and selling silver models of the goddess Artemis.
- Demetrius, concerned that the temple of Artemis would be neglected due to Paul's evangelism and that the prestige of the goddess would fall, gathered silversmiths and related merchants and caused an uproar.
- The crowd rushes into the theater and arrests Paul's companions, Gaius and Aristarchus.
- Paul tries to go out to the crowd, but his disciples and local officials in Asia stop him.
- When the crowd was making an uproar, the chief secretary stepped forward to calm the crowd and told Demetrius and the artisans that if they were dissatisfied with Paul, they should resolve the issue in a designated court.
- The Secretary disperses the crowd before the disturbance escalates further.
summary
Chapter 19 of Acts records in detail the major events that occurred during Paul's preaching of the gospel in Ephesus. Paul performs powerful miracles in Ephesus and preaches at the school of Tyrannus for two years, preaching the gospel to many people. Because of his ministry, many people are converted, renounce witchcraft, and the word of the Lord spreads throughout Ephesus and Asia. However, the silversmith Demetrius and related businessmen, who were concerned about economic losses due to Paul's evangelism, caused an uproar. This incident shows the growth of the early church and how powerful the gospel was.