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While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper country, came to Ephesus and found certain disciples.
Verse 1. Disciples. These were apparently disciples of Saint John the Baptist, who believed in Christ from his testimony, and had received no farther instruction, nor any baptism but John’s. Calmet.
He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They said to him, “No, we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
Verse 2. Saint Paul first inquires of them, if they have received the Holy Ghost by confirmation. Their answer is probably not to be interpreted with rigour; since they must have heard something of the holy Spirit, so often mentioned in the Old Testament, by whom the prophets are said to speak, and so forth They meant, they did not know there was in the Church, any means of communicating this Spirit to the faithful. Idem.
He said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.”
Paul said, “John indeed baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Christ Jesus.”
NU omits Christ.
When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Verse 5. Baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, so called to distinguish it from the baptism of John; and that of Christ was given in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, according to the command of Christ himself. Witham.
When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they spoke with other languages and prophesied.
Verse 6. Imposed his hands on them, by which imposition of hands, was given the Holy Ghost in the sacrament of confirmation. Witham.
They were about twelve men in all.
He entered into the synagogue and spoke boldly for a period of three months, reasoning and persuading about the things concerning God’s Kingdom.
But when some were hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and separated the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.
This continued for two years, so that all those who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
God worked special miracles by the hands of Paul,
so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out.
Verse 12. Aprons. It is likely such as he used in working, cured diseases, and cast out devils. What wonder, then, if God work miracles by the relics of martyrs and saints, to testify the sanctity of his servants, and to encourage others both to give them a reasonable honour, and to imitate their lives? Witham.—Thus was fulfilled the promise which Christ had made his disciples, that is that they should perform greater miracles than he himself had done. S. Chrysostom repeats more than once, that these clothes raised the dead, and that the apostles’ shadow chased away all maladies, and triumphed over death. Perhaps the unprejudiced reader may observe in this verse some reason for paying due regard to the relics, or whatever has belonged to the saints.
But some of the itinerant Jews, exorcists, took on themselves to invoke over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.”
Verse 13. The Jewish exorcists. Among the Jews were some, who by calling upon the name of the true God, sometimes cast out evil spirits. But these sons of Sceva seeing Saint Paul cast out devils, by calling upon the name of Jesus, thought fit to do the same, though they did not believe in Jesus Christ. And God punished them in this manner, as it is here related, at least two of them. Witham.—It is uncertain whether the Jews really possessed the power of exorcising demoniacs. From the 12th chapter of Saint Matthew, one would be inclined to the affirmative opinion, as our Saviour seems to mention it as a thing well attested. The Jews pretended they received their exorcisms from Solomon. On the other hand, neither the Old nor New Testament ever approve of this power in them nor is it any where mentioned in Scripture that Solomon was the author of any such things. The old law was particularly severe in condemning every kind of enchantment. It is certain, that they, in the time here spoken of, added much superstition and magic to these rites. Tirinus et alii.—Josephus mentions remarkable instances of their power in exorcisms performed in his own presence, and in that of the emperor Vespasian, and his whole army. Lib. ii. chapter 25. De Bello.—Extraordinary things might possibly be performed by magic and collusion between these impostors and the demons. That this power of expelling devils, resides in the Church, every page of primitive ecclesiastical history, testifies. Scripture is also equally explicit on this subject. The exorcisms, says S. Cyprian, are the spiritual torments and scourges of the demons. Ep. ad Demetrium.—It was for this reason the Jews, on this occasion, used the name of Jesus; a name terrible to the infernal spirits, to add power to their imprecations. Tertullian urges facts of this power in the Christians, with much energy and eloquence, in his Apology. Prudentius has recorded the same, with equal elegance, in his verse—
—— Torquetur Apollo
Nomine percussus Christi, nec fulmina verbi
Ferre potest. Agitant miserum verbera linguæ.
There were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did this.
The evil spirit answered, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?”
The man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
This became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived at Ephesus. Fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
Many also of those who had believed came, confessing and declaring their deeds.
Verse 18. Confessing and declaring their deeds, as penitents do in the sacrament of penance, and not only in general declaring or confessing themselves sinners. See Matthew 3:6. Witham.
Many of those who practiced magical arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. They counted their price, and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.
Verse 19. Curious arts. By which are here meant books of divination and magic art, to which study the Ephesians were much addicted. The price of the books burnt, amounting to a great sum, even computing the 50,000 denarii, each of them at sevenpence half-penny English money. Witham.—The value of the books here destroyed might have amounted to £1000 sterling. The Christian emperors, Constantine the Great, Valentinian, Theodosius, Marcian, and Justinian, have made laws not less strict for destroying, than those of the Church for proscribing, the use of wicked books, where danger is likely to ensue. The danger of reading them is set forth by Eusebius, l. vii. chapter 6; by Saint Augustine, l. iii. de bap. chapter 14; by Saint Gregory, l. v. ep. 64.—Such baneful productions should be destroyed; for although they may possibly produce no bad effect during the life of the present possessors, no one can pretend to say into what hands they will afterwards fall, nor what evil they may hereafter occasion.
The 50,000 pieces of silver here probably referred to 50,000 drachmas. If so, the value of the burned books was equivalent to about 160 man-years of wages for agricultural laborers
So the word of the Lord was growing and becoming mighty.
Now after these things had ended, Paul determined in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”
Verse 21. I must also see Rome. It is what Saint Paul earnestly desired, and what the Spirit now revealed to him. See Romans 1. Witham.
Having sent into Macedonia two of those who served him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.
About that time there arose no small disturbance concerning the Way.
Verse 23. About the way of the Lord; that is, about Christian faith, and religion. Witham.—A great source of these troubles that ensued, was the preaching of the gospel.
For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen,
Verse 24. Who made silver temples for Diana. [1] Perhaps figures of Diana’s temple in silver; or boxes and shrines, in which was the statue or figure of Diana. Witham.
whom he gathered together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, “Sirs, you know that by this business we have our wealth.
You see and hear that not at Ephesus alone, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are no gods that are made with hands.
Not only is there danger that this our trade come into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be counted as nothing and her majesty destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worships.”
Verse 27. In danger of being vilified, and Diana of losing her reputation. They ought to have reflected, says Saint John Chrysostom (hom. xlii) that if such a poor man, as Paul, could destroy the worship, and the majesty of this great goddess, whom, as they say, all the world adored, how much greater and worthy of adoration must the God be, by whose power Paul could do this? Witham.
When they heard this they were filled with anger, and cried out, saying, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
Verse 28. Great is Diana of the Ephesians. This they shouted out without intermission for about two hours, though the greatest part knew not why they had met together. A true representation of an unthinking rash mob. Witham.
The whole city was filled with confusion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel.
When Paul wanted to enter in to the people, the disciples didn’t allow him.
Certain also of the Asiarchs, being his friends, sent to him and begged him not to venture into the theater.
Verse 31. Some also of the rulers of Asia. They are called friends to Saint Paul, but it is uncertain whether they were Christians, or others, who favoured him, and wished him well. Witham.
Some therefore cried one thing, and some another, for the assembly was in confusion. Most of them didn’t know why they had come together.
They brought Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. Alexander beckoned with his hand, and would have made a defense to the people.
But when they perceived that he was a Jew, all with one voice for a time of about two hours cried out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
When the town clerk had quieted the multitude, he said, “You men of Ephesus, what man is there who doesn’t know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great goddess Artemis, and of the image which fell down from Zeus?
Verse 35. The town-clerk, and so forth Lit. the scribe, or the recorder of the city.—Jupiter’s offspring. [2] His daughter, according to the poets. The Greek text seems to signify a statue, or figure of Diana, which was pretended to have fallen from heaven, and from Jupiter. Witham.—Is a worshipper. Νεωκορον ουσαν; the word Νεωκορος is found in this sense in the Arundelian marbles, and more frequently on ancient coins and inscriptions. Its derivation is from νεως, a temple, and κορη, a virgin, or rather κορειν, to cleanse and decorate; as if this city were especially destined to ornament the Diana of Ephesus, which the people supposed came to them not by the work of man, but a present from heaven.
Seeing then that these things can’t be denied, you ought to be quiet and to do nothing rash.
For you have brought these men here, who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess.
Verse 37. Nor of blasphemy against your goddess. Saint John Chrysostom takes notice, that to calm the people, he says more than was true. Witham.
If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a matter against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them press charges against one another.
But if you seek anything about other matters, it will be settled in the regular assembly.
For indeed we are in danger of being accused concerning today’s riot, there being no cause. Concerning it, we wouldn’t be able to give an account of this commotion.”
When he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.