ACTS 19
Bible Study Notes Rev. Betsy Perkins
The Third Missionary Journey
- What beliefs or practices have you encountered in other Christians that you found odd or strange?
Ephesus (19:1-10)
- Paul’s third journey begins again from Antioch in 18:23. Locate Paul’s travel on the map from Antioch in Syria to Ephesus in ‘Asia’ (modern day Turkey).
- What does Paul discover about the disciples he meets in Ephesus that seems odd?
- What is the difference between the baptism John offered his disciples and the baptism Jesus taught?
- What happens when the disciples in Ephesus are baptized in Jesus’ name?
- What is ‘the Way’ that some of the members of the synagogue in Ephesus started to oppose?
- How did Paul respond to the opposition?
- On his second missionary journey Paul had visited Ephesus for a short time (18:18-21). How long does he stay there on this third missionary journey?
Paul had spent a day or two in each of the Galatian churches. He had stayed a few days in Philippi, a few weeks in Thessalonica, a day or two in Berea, a few days in Athens. Then he had spent 18 months in Corinth; and now, as a kind of climax to his work, he was in one of the major centers of the Mediterranean world, Ephesus itself, a great city at the hub of the trade routes of the world, full of culture and money and temples and politics and soldiers and merchants and slaves. And power. Everything we know about Ephesus indicates that it was a place where not only social and civic power, but also religious and spiritual power, were concentrated. Perhaps that, too, is why Luke has begun his account of Paul’s work there with a story about a fresh outpouring of the Sprit. There must be nothing second-hand about the Spirit’s power when you are faced with the powers of the world. N.T. Wright
Power in the Name (19:11-22):
- What are the powerful things Paul is doing in Ephesus? How is it different than magic?
Here is a vital principle, which Luke has emphasized already in chapters 8 and 13: the gospel does indeed provide power, but it is not ‘magic’. Magic attempts to gain that power without paying the price of humble submission to the God whose power it is. But to reject the power, as some do, because you are afraid of magic, is to throw out the teapot with the old teabags. N.T. Wright
- Who else tries to use this power? What happens?
- What power do the evil spirits recognize?
- How do the people in Ephesus respond to this display of power?
- What is the final result (read 19:20 in several different translations)?
- Interestingly, another result is that out of his experience with power in Ephesus, Paul will write in 2 Corinthians “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us,” (4:7) and “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” (12:9) Read 2 Corinthians 1:8-9. What do you think may have happened to teach Paul this lesson about power? (spoiler alert: it could have something to do with the next part of the story, or not…)
- What plans does Paul make for the next steps in his journey?
Joe Boyd, Bible Experiment – Acts of the Apostles (RightNowMedia), 1:22:50 – 1:23:45
Another Riot (19:23-41):
- Have you ever been a part of a loud and emotional crowd? What do you think Paul’s friends Gaius and Aristarchus may have experienced?
- Who started the riot? What was it about?
- Why do you think Paul was so keen on joining the crowd in the amphitheater (capacity 25,000!)?
- Does the Gospel today make an impact on the vested interests of worldly power? If not, how could it, how should it?
In light of this passage and our discussion, what one truth about God and about yourself stand out as something to “take to heart” this week?
Are there steps you will take, by God’s grace, to more fully apply it to your life?
Resources: NIV Zondervan Study Bible, 2015
N.T. Wright, Acts for Everyone, Part 1 2008
Max Lucado, Life Lessons from Acts: Christ’s Church in the World, 2018
Kay Arthur, The Holy Spirit Unleashed in You: Acts, 1994
Joe Boyd, Bible Experiment – The Acts of the Apostles (RightNowMedia), 2014
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