'So Mightily Grew the Word of God and Prevailed'

Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. - Acts 19:13-20

    Sometimes it appears that the cause of Christ is failing, that Satan and the powers of darkness are triumphant; but that is never the case (Matt. 16:18; Isa. 55:11; 1 Cor. 15:58). In the end all things will show forth the praise of our God and Saviour, all of God's elect will be saved, every purpose of God will be accomplished and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God. Things are not as they seem. Our great Saviour is sovereignly ruling this world from his heavenly throne, accomplishing his will every where by his omnipotent power and grace. The instrument by which Christ prevails over the hearts of men is the gospel of his free and sovereign grace. The church of God is a conquering army and the weapon, the only weapon, of her warfare is the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, the gospel of Christ.

    Nowhere is this fact so vividly displayed as in the book of Acts. In Acts 19, when Paul came to the city of Ephesus, he found twelve men who believed God. They began meeting together in a little room in a schoolhouse to worship God and preach the gospel. From the beginning they met with opposition. The Jewish zealots, the idolatrous worshippers of Diana, the businessmen and even the Jewish gypsies who passed through town were all united in their opposition to the band of God's saints who met at the school of Tyrannus. Satan did everything he could to stop the spread of the gospel in Ephesus. But Paul and his little band went right on preaching Jesus Christ and him crucified. They had no regard for the religions of the people, the opinions of the people, or the power of the people. Their only concern was for the glory of God and the truth of God. God always honours people like that (1Sam. 2:30). In less than three years' time that little band of believers had become a large, influential congregation, well grounded in the doctrine of Christ. By the end of three years of faithful preaching the church at Ephesus was so large that it required several elders to oversee its ministry (Acts 20: 17).

    This phenomenal growth came about without the use of puppet shows, musical recitals, Sunday school contests, sports teams, or the testimonials of famous film stars, athletes or politicians. Without gimmickry or political influence, the naked truth of God, preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, in the simplicity of everyday language, had done its work. 'So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed' (19:20). Four things in verses 13-20 are set before us by God the Holy Spirit for our learning and admonition.

    1. An example of men who make merchandise of the gospel (19:13-16)

    The sons of Sceva were vagabond Jews, gypsies who travelled from city to city practising witchcraft in the name of God! They claimed to tell men's fortunes by astrological signs, cast evil or good spells on people, conjure up the spirits of the dead and cast out demons. To give some credibility to their work they claimed that their magic was passed on from one generation to another since the days of Solomon. These demonic people were active in our Lord's day (Matt. 12:27). They were active in Paul's day. And their successors are active today. Beware of the occult. Do not toy with witchcraft, astrology, etc. God commands us to have nothing to do with such people (Lev. 19:31; 20:6; Deut. 18:10-11).

    These men did whatever they had to do to make money and to gain influence. When they saw the power Paul possessed by the name of Christ (19:11-12), they decided to imitate his power and tried to cast out demons by the name of 'Jesus whom Paul preacheth' (19:13). They had no regard for the honour of Christ, his Word, or the souls of men. But if it could get them gain, they were willing to prostitute anything, even the things of God. We have many like these sons of Sceva today in pulpits, on radio and on television. Like the wilfully ignorant multitudes in Ephesus, multitudes today follow them, send them money and keep them in business. Those charlatans are money-grubbing, self-serving false prophets who willingly prostitute the gospel of Christ and the glory of God for their own interests (Jer. 5:30-31; 6:13-14; Isa. 56:10-11). Like self-serving politicians, the preachers of this age keep their ears to the ground and say exactly what people want to hear (2 Tim. 4:3-4; 2 Cor. 11:14-15). They will do or say whatever they have to to get a name for themselves, a crowd to follow them and money in their coffers. Have nothing to do with the religious hullabaloo of this age. God is not in it (2 John 10-11). As the sons of Sceva were exposed, even by the demons of hell, God will expose the modem sons of Sceva, if not in this world, in the world to come (Matt. 7:21-23).

    2. An example of God's overruling providence (19:17)

    When these sons of Sceva went running out of the house, beaten and naked, everyone in Ephesus heard about it. The demon in that man, being forced by the Son of God to do so, confessed his subjection to Christ and to his servant Paul by the power of Christ's name (19:15). Thus the evil the sons of Sceva thought to do was overruled by our sovereign Lord for the glory of his own great name. We worship a God who is absolutely sovereign (Ps. 76:10). No creature in heaven, earth, or hell can wiggle a finger without his decree, permission and direction. 'The Most High ruleth!' (Dan.4:32; Ps.115:3; 135:6; Isa. 46:9-11; Lam. 3:37). Even the evil that men do, he turns to good!

    3. An example of true repentance (19:18-20)

    As a result of what happened to the sons of Sceva the curiosity of many was aroused, and they came to hear Paul preach the gospel of Christ. When they heard the gospel, God saved many and gave them faith in Christ (Rom. 10:17). Here are three marks of true repentance which were displayed in these people.

    Firstly, they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ (19:18). They trusted his righteousness, his redemption and his rule. They trusted Christ alone for all their salvation (1 Cor. 1:30).

    Secondly, they publicly confessed their faith in Christ (19:18). This was not a confession of sin in Paul's ear, as though he were a Catholic priest, but a public confession of faith in Christ by believer's baptism (Matt. 3:6; Rom. 6:3-6).

    Thirdly, they publicly denounced their former religion of works, superstition and will-worship (19:19). Being saved by God's free grace in Christ, they publicly denounced the religion that had held them in bondage for so long. They did so by making a bonfire to bum their books of false religion and witchcraft.

    Why did they go to such extreme measures?

    To show their indignation and contempt for their former religion.

    To show their determination never to return to it.

    To put as great a distance as they could between them selves and those who continued in the ways of darkness.

    To prevent others from being led astray.

    To show their complete allegiance to Christ and his gospel.

    4. An example of Christ's conquest by the gospel (19:20)

    I cannot help thinking that above all else, this incident at Ephesus is recorded here by inspiration to encourage God's church and his servants to go on preaching the gospel. Luke is saying, 'Carry the gospel of Christ into the field of battle and make war against the gates of hell. As you preach the grace of God, the Son of God rides forth on his white stallion, conquering and to conquer. Thus the mighty Word of God will prevail!'