Acts 19–20

TWELVE DISCIPLES OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

19While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions and came to Ephesus. He found some disciples^{n 2}and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”^o

“No,” they told him, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”^p

³“Into what then were you baptized?” he asked them.

“Into John’s baptism,” they replied.^q

⁴Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance,^r telling the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.”^s

⁵When they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶And when Paul had laid his hands on^t them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in tongues^C and to prophesy.^{u 7}Now there were about twelve men in all.

IN THE LECTURE HALL OF TYRANNUS

⁸Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, arguing and persuading them about the kingdom of God.^{v 9}But when some became hardened and would not believe, slandering the Way in front of the crowd, he withdrew from them, taking the disciples, and conducted discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.^{w 10}This went on for two years, so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks,^x heard the word of the Lord.^y

DEMONISM DEFEATED AT EPHESUS

¹¹God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands, ¹²so that even facecloths or aprons^D that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them.^z

¹³Now some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches!”^{aa 14}Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this. ¹⁵The evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul—but who are you?” ¹⁶Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them, overpowered them all, and prevailed against them, so that they ran out of that house naked and wounded. ¹⁷When this became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, they became afraid, and the name of the Lord Jesus^a was held in high esteem.^b

¹⁸And many who had become believers came confessing and disclosing their practices, ¹⁹while many of those who had practiced magic^c collected their books and burned them in front of everyone. So they calculated their value and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver. ²⁰In this way the word of the Lord spread and prevailed.^d

THE RIOT IN EPHESUS

²¹After these events, Paul resolved by the Spirit^A to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem. “After I’ve been there,” he said, “It is necessary for me to see Rome as well.”^{e 22}After sending to Macedonia two of those who assisted him, Timothy and Erastus,^f he himself stayed in Asia for a while.^g

²³About that time there was a major disturbance about the Way.^{h 24}For a person named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, provided a great deal of business for the craftsmen. ²⁵When he had assembled them, as well as the workers engaged in this type of business, he said, “Men, you know that our prosperity is derived from this business. ²⁶You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this man Paul has persuaded and misled a considerable number of people by saying that gods made by hand are not gods.^{i 27}Not only do we run a risk that our business may be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be despised and her magnificence come to the verge of ruin—the very one all of Asia and the world worship.”

²⁸When they had heard this, they were filled with rage and began to cry out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” ²⁹So the city was filled with confusion, and they rushed all together into the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius^j and Aristarchus,^k Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions. ³⁰Although Paul wanted to go in before the people, the disciples did not let him. ³¹Even some of the provincial officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent word to him, pleading with him not to venture^B into the amphitheater. ³²Some were shouting one thing and some another,^l because the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. ³³Some Jews in the crowd gave instructions to Alexander^C after they pushed him to the front. Motioning with his hand, Alexander wanted to make his defense to the people.^{m 34}But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵When the city clerk had calmed the crowd down, he said, “People of Ephesus! What person is there who doesn’t know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple guardian of the great^A Artemis, and of the image that fell from heaven? ³⁶Therefore, since these things are undeniable, you must keep calm and not do anything rash. ³⁷For you have brought these men here who are not temple robbers or blasphemers of our^B goddess. ³⁸So if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a case against anyone, the courts are in session, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.^{n 39}But if you seek anything further, it must be decided in a legal assembly. ⁴⁰In fact, we run a risk of being charged with rioting^o for what happened today, since there is no justification that we can give as a reason for this disturbance.” ⁴¹After saying this, he dismissed the assembly.

PAUL IN MACEDONIA

20After the uproar was over, Paul sent for the disciples, encouraged them, and after saying farewell, departed to go to Macedonia.^{p 2}And when he had passed through those areas and offered them many words of encouragement, he came to Greece ³and stayed three months. The Jews plotted against him when he was about to set sail for Syria, and so he decided to go back through Macedonia.^{q 4}He was accompanied^C by Sopater son of Pyrrhus^D from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy,^r and Tychicus^s and Trophimus^t from the province of Asia. ⁵These men went on ahead and waited for us in Troas,^{a 6}but we sailed away from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread.^b In five days we reached them at Troas, where we spent seven days.

EUTYCHUS REVIVED AT TROAS

⁷On the first day of the week, we ^A assembled to break bread.^c Paul spoke to them, and since he was about to depart the next day, he kept on talking until midnight. ⁸There were many lamps in the room upstairs where we were assembled, ⁹and a young man named Eutychus was sitting on a window sill and sank into a deep sleep as Paul kept on talking. When he was overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was picked up dead. ¹⁰But Paul went down, bent over him, embraced him, and said, “Don’t be alarmed, because he’s alive.”^{d 11}After going upstairs, breaking the bread, and eating, Paul talked a long time until dawn. Then he left. ¹²They brought the boy home alive and were greatly comforted.

FROM TROAS TO MILETUS

¹³We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul on board, because these were his instructions, since he himself was going by land. ¹⁴When he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went on to Mitylene. ¹⁵Sailing from there, the next day we arrived off Chios. The following day we crossed over to Samos, and^E the day after, we came to Miletus.^{e 16}For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, because he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, for the day of Pentecost.^f

FAREWELL ADDRESS TO THE EPHESIAN ELDERS

¹⁷Now from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and summoned the elders of the church. ¹⁸When they came to him, he said to them, “You know, from the first day I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time,^{g 19}serving the Lord with all humility, with tears, and during the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews.^{h 20}You know that I did not hesitate to proclaim anything to you that was profitable and to teach you publicly and from house to house. ²¹I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward Godⁱ and faith in our Lord Jesus.^j

²²“And now I am on my way to Jerusalem, compelled by the Spirit,^A not knowing what I will encounter there,^{k 23}except that in every town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions are waiting for me.^{l 24}But I consider my life of no value to myself; my purpose is to finish my course^B and the ministry^m I received from the Lord Jesus,ⁿ to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.

²⁵“And now I know that none of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will ever see me again. ²⁶Therefore I declare to you this day that I am innocent^C of the blood of all of you,^{o 27}because I did not avoid declaring to you the whole plan of God.^{p 28}Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock^q of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers,^r to shepherd the church of God,^D which he purchased with his own blood.^{s 29}I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. ³⁰Men will rise up even from your own number and distort the truth to lure the disciples into following them.^{t 31}Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I never stopped warning each one of you with tears.^u

³²“And now ^G I commit you to God and to the word of his grace,^v which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance^w among all who are sanctified. ³³I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.^{x 34}You yourselves know that I worked with my own hands to support myself and those who are with me.^{y 35}In every way I’ve shown you that it is necessary to help the weak by laboring like this and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, because he said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

³⁶After he said this, he knelt down and prayed…