111 Acts 19:13-20 CERTAIN EXORCISTS EXPOSED AND ATTACKED Introduction: An exorcist is a person who seeks to cast demon spirits out of a demon possessed person. In our previous text the Apostle Paul, in the name of Jesus, commanded demon spirits to come out of the people whom they possessed and physically afflicted. At Paul’s command the demons immediately came out and the afflicted persons were cured of their physical afflictions (See V. 11-12). . In our text today certain other men tried to do the same thing. They, too, in the name of Jesus, commanded demons to come out of a man and by doing so they got into serious trouble. The demons did not come out. Instead they caused the man to attack those who tried to cast them out. I. Their attempt to do as Paul had done V. 13, “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.” Luke says that the guilty party was made up of certain vagabond Jews. That is, they roamed about from one place to another and did not make any certain city or place their home. Luke also says that they were exorcists by profession. That is, by means of sorcery and magical formulas they sought to cast out demons. This was their trade. This was the way they made their living. For a price they would seek by sorcery and magic formulas to cast demons out of the people in whom they dwelt. It is also probable that they used their sorcery to do such things as placing spells and curses upon the enemies of their customers and seeking to bring good health and great wealth to their customers. To them it was a profession, a means of gaining wealth for themselves. These sorcerers saw the quick and easy way in which the Apostle Paul could cast out demons and it appeared so enticing to them. Paul did not have to mix and cook any magic formulas like the witch’s brew using such things as the entrails of a frog or the heart of a pigeon. He did not have to chant any magical formula of words over and over again. All Paul had to do was to speak and command the demons in the name of Jesus to come out of the person and immediately the demons came out and the afflicted person was healed. Man! Were they impressed! This was something great. They could see great possibilities for themselves. They could make a fortune with this kind of power! So they found them a man who was demon possessed and proceeded a test case. They spoke aloud to the demons which were within the man and they commanded them in the name of Jesus to come out of the man. V. 14, “And there were seven sons of [one] Sceva, a Jew, [and] chief of the priests, which did so.” Luke tells us that these exorcist Jews were the sons of a Sceva, whom Luke describes as one of the high priests of Israel at Jerusalem. Now listen! The sons of a high priest of Israel should know better than to get mixed up with witchcraft and sorcery. The Law of Moses strictly forbid witchcraft and sorcery in Israel. Either that high priest sadly neglected to teach his family the way of God or else, his seven sons all rebelled against him and his teachings. Those sons of Sceva were not just dabbling in witchcraft and sorcery, they had made it their chief work. Their profession. Being the sons of a priest they themselves were priests and yet they were head-over-heels in sorcery. II. The response of the demon spirits V. 15, “And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?” One of the demon spirits responded and answered the sorcerers. He apparently exercised control of the mouth of the man and, therefore, the voice was the voice of the man. But the words were the words of the demon within the man. The demon said, “I know Jesus.” That is, “I recognize that Jesus is Deity God. He is the Second person of the Trinity. He is the Son of God. When He speaks I will obey. I must obey.” The demon also said, “Paul I know.” That is, “I recognize Paul as a holy Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. I know that Jesus has given Paul authority over us. I obey the voice of Paul because Jesus sent Him. But who do you think you are to give me orders? You are not God. Neither are you sent with authority from God as Paul was.” V. 16, “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.” Then the evil demon spirit caused the man in whom he dwelt to attack those seven men and give them the thrashing of their lives. He must have pounded them with his fist. He ripped their clothes right off them. He wounded all seven of them. He left them bruised and bleeding. They took off like scared rabbits out of the house where the attempted exorcism had taken place. IV. The name of Jesus magnified V. 17, “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.” The failure of the seven sons of Sceva traveled like wildfire throughout the city of Ephesus. It was the talk of the town. The whole city was struck with reverence and awe toward the name of Jesus. It became obvious to all that Jesus has the power to cast out demons. It also became obvious that Jesus has complete authority concerning who can cast out demons in His name. It became obvious that Paul had authority from Jesus to cast out demons and that the seven sons of Sceva did not have authority from Jesus to cast out demons. Paul was of God and the sorcerers were not of God. The sons of Sceva were thoroughly exposed. They were exposed before the public that they were fakes. They were frauds. They claimed to speak for Jesus, but they did not speak for Jesus. They were also exposed physically. The demon possessed man tore their clothes off of them and left them exposed and shamed before all who were present. Luke does not tell us what happened to them after that incident, but I imagine that they gathered up their belongings and quietly left town. They moved on to some other city to work their sorcery. But I would venture to say that wherever they went they did not try to cast out demons in the name of Jesus. On the other hand, the name of Jesus was exalted throughout the city of Ephesus. The ministry of the Apostle Paul and his fellow disciples was verified and the cause of Christ was advanced. V. 18, “And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.” Many people came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and were saved. They came forth openly confessing their sins and confessing Jesus as the Christ. V. 19, “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.” Many of the people of the city of Ephesus had also been involved in the practice of magical arts. It had been a part of their religious life before they were saved. But now that they were saved, they discarded their books of magical arts and burned them all. Luke tells us that the money value of those books was 50,000 pieces of silver. That was a lot of money. They could have sold the books and regained the money which they paid for them --- or at least part of it. But they now understood that those magical arts were not of God. They were of the Devil and they did not want to put them in the hands of somebody else. They were willing to suffer the financial loss in order to do the will of God. They burned them all. V. 20, “So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.” The failure and exposure of the Jewish sorcerers was a great victory for the word of God. People started paying a lot more attention to what Paul and the other disciples had to say. Many more people were saved and the church at Ephesus became a mighty witness for Christ. V. Some lessons which we learn from this passage We learn that the Devil’s crowd never gives up. They are always at work trying to work against the cause of Christ. They would have people to believe that the Devil can do anything that God can do and that he will do as much for those who follow him as Jesus does for those who follow Him. But the Devil can never do as much as God can. God and God alone is Almighty. We learn that the Devil’s crow often claims to speak for God, but they do not. Those impostors commanded the demons to come out of the man in the name of Jesus, but they did not speak with authority from Jesus. Even so there are a lot of religious people in the world today who claim to speak for Jesus, but they do not do so. They take the Bible, the word of God, and twist it and make it seem to mean all manner of things which God’s word has never taught. They take the word of truth and twist it to make it seem to teach the Devil’s lie. We learn that all false religion and all false preachers and teachers will someday be exposed. Jesus is going to return to this world. Some day all of the false religionists and false teachers will be exposed for what they are. We learn that those who refuse the Lord Jesus Christ and who teach falsehoods will not only hurt others, but they hurt themselves also. Those sons of Sceva got hurt badly in the whole affair. They not only failed to advance their wealth and reputation, but they were exposed to all as frauds and they were physically battered, bruised and bleeding. Anybody who rejects the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior and anybody who rejects the truths of God’s holy word hurt a lot of people, but they hurt themselves worst of all. We learn that the name of God and the word of God will stand the test of time. Some men may reject the Christ of God and the precious truths of God, but the Christ will prevail in the long run. The truths of God will prevail in the long run. The cause of Christ will prevail in the long run. We learn that those who are saved should come forth publicly and lay aside their old sinful ways. Just as the Ephesian Christians brought their magical books and burned them, even so every Christian should put away the sinful practices of his past life and live a godly life for Jesus Christ. Conclusion: Are you who are unsaved ready to call upon Jesus and trust Him to save your soul? Are you who are saved ready to take a stand for the truths of God? Are you ready to join this church and glorify the Lord by the way that you live? Are you ready to turn from the sinful things in your life and live for Jesus?