Acts 19 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Acts 19 in 5 Minutes

WHEN:

• Paul’s 3rd mission trip likely occurred between 53-57 A.D.

CHARACTERS:

• Paul (Saul) – An Apostle who was working in the Mediterranean area planting churches.

• 12 Disciples – Paul taught these men about the baptism of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

• Sons of Sceva – 7 brothers who tried to cast out demons in the name of Jesus.

• Timothy – A disciple from Lysta or Derbe, Paul sent him ahead to Macedonia while he remained in Ephesus.

• Erastus – One of Paul’s helpers. He accompanied Timothy to Macedonia (verse 22).

• Demetrius – An Ephesian silversmith who caused trouble for Paul.

WHERE:

• All the major events of chapter 19 occurred in the city of Ephesus.

OUTLINE:

• PAUL TRAVELS TO EPHESUS (19:1-7):

  • After travelling through Galatia and Phrygia, Paul arrived in Ephesus.

  • He met 12 disciples who knew about John the Baptist but not about Jesus.

  • They were baptized in the name of Jesus and the Holy Spirit was given to them.

• TEACHING THE CITIZENS OF EPHESUS (19:8-10):

  • Paul spent 3 months teaching in the synagogue at Ephesus.

  • When the Jews became stubborn, He changed locations to the hall of Tyrannus.

  • He taught for 2 years in the hall of Tyrannus and “all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord.”

• PAUL’S MIRACLES AND SCEVA’S SEVEN SONS (19:11-17):

  • God was performing many miracles through Paul, including healings and the casting out of evil spirits.

  • Some of the Jewish exorcists decided to try to use the name of Jesus to cast out spirits like Paul.

  • Seven sons of a Jewish priest named Sceva attempted this on one occasion, but they failed to cast the evil spirit out of its host.

  • The man with the spirit leaped on Sceva’s 7 sons, beat them up, and sent them running from the house “naked and wounded.”

• BOOK BURNING AND A REJECTION OF PAGAN MAGIC (19:18-20):

  • Many of the believers who had once practiced the magic arts brought their books together and burned them.

  • The value of the books was approximately 50,000 pieces of silver.

• A CONTENTIOUS SILVERSMITH CAUSES A RIOT IN EPHESUS (19:21-41):

  • There was a magnificent temple in Ephesus dedicated to the god Artemis.

  • A silversmith named Demetrius who made “silver shrines” of Artemis (Diana), gathered his fellow silversmiths and warned them about Paul’s message.

  • Paul was encouraging people to give up devotion to other gods, including Artemis. 

  • If devotion to Artemis decreased, their profits were destined to decline.

  • The silversmiths caused a riot in the city.

  • Paul wanted to address the mob, but the believers prohibited him.

  • More than 2 hours later, the town clerk was finally able to stop the chaos and dismisses the crowd after warning them they were in danger or angering the authorities.  

APPLICATION:

• God will guide those with good intentions.

• Apollos, who we met in the last chapter, and the 12 disciples at the beginning of this chapter, both had honest and pure intentions, but they were missing something important.

• Paul had good intentions, even when he was persecuting the Church.  

• God knew these men wanted to do what was right and He provided a way for each of them to learn what they needed to know.

• If our hearts are pure, we can trust God to guide us out of our mistakes and ignorance, and to lead us into alignment with His will.