Day 268: Acts 19:11–20

This became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. Then fear fell on all of them, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified (v. 17).

My oldest daughter, Amanda, was very frightened of storms when she was little. Loud peals of thunder sent her into near panic, even when we were in the safety of our home. One day when the sky seemed to be falling, I held her in my arms and said, “Honey, the heavens are just displaying the glory of God (see Ps. 19:1). They are showing us how mighty He is.” Her little forehead furrowed as if she were really thinking over what I had said. Some weeks later, she was upstairs playing when a storm hit. I heard her feet scurry like lightning down the stairs. Then she yelled at the top of her lungs, “Mommy! God’s really showing off today!”

God seemed to work overtime on Paul’s stop in Ephesus as He revealed His power in extraordinary ways. God used special demonstrations to authenticate His ambassadors and persuade belief. More than anywhere else in the apostolic era, it was a time when God chose to display His power. The accent of Acts 19 appears in verse 11: “God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands” (hcsb).

One reason God showed His marvelous power to such a degree in this particular city was because Ephesus was a renowned center for magical incantations. In his book Paul the Traveller, Ernle Bradford wrote, “Ephesus was the centre of occult studies, indeed it has been called ‘The Home of Magic.’” He also tells us, “Ephesus was full of wizards, sorcerers, witches, astrologers, diviners of the entrails of animals, and people who could read one’s fortune by the palm of the hand or the fall of knucklebones.”59 Many of the Ephesians were neck deep in the occult, but virtually the entire population was extremely interested in supernatural phenomena and the powers of the unseen world. This is one reason Paul was most outspoken to them about spiritual warfare in his letter to them, the book of Ephesians. While Paul was in their midst, God intentionally got their attention by surpassing anything they had ever seen.

I believe God revealed His power there to make true repentance obvious. The activity of the Holy Spirit in Acts 19:18–19 is perhaps my favorite of those that God performed in Ephesus—only slightly more awe-inspiring than the power in Paul’s facecloths and work aprons, or the hilarious story of the seven sons of a Jewish priest named Sceva in verses 14–15. (I can hardly read that story without laughing. I’m sure God has a great sense of humor. This account makes me wonder if the devil may even have one.) Some works of God are more subtle but not necessarily less supernatural. According to John 16:8, one of the most important activities of the Spirit is to “convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment” (hcsb). Matthew 3:8 tells us to “produce fruit consistent with repentance” (hcsb). And when the new converts burned their sorcery books, they brought forth some impressive fruit!

God can reveal Himself through both natural or supernatural means. Both are at His complete disposal. Although God also worked in subtle ways, He apparently chose to reveal Himself through several phenomenal means while Paul was in Ephesus. Why did He make His activity so obvious among the Ephesians? Because Satan had made his work so obvious there. Satan is powerful, but he is no match for the Almighty God.

Sometimes I am completely perplexed by God’s willingness to humor us. His mercy knows no bounds. When He wanted to lead the Magi to the Christ child, He did not lead them by a mark in the sand. He led them through a star because they were stargazers—then He went beyond anything they had ever seen. In the same way, when God wanted to lead the Ephesians to the Savior, He did not lead them through a cloudy pillar. He got their attention through supernatural phenomena, because that’s where they were looking. God wants to be found. He does not will for any to miss Him, and He is so gracious to show up right where we are looking—so He can take us beyond anything we’ve ever seen.

God sometimes reveals Himself to a homeless man hiding under a bridge through a blanket brought to him by a caring minister. He sometimes reveals Himself to a drunk through a servant who cares for him and offers him Living Water. He sometimes reveals Himself to a prostitute through a godly police officer who tells her Christ can set her free.

If we’re waiting for the needy to walk through our church doors, we may wait a long time. God doesn’t wait for people to come to Him. He goes to them and desires to intervene right at the point of their need. He’s looking for a few brave people, like the apostle Paul, who are willing to go rather than wait for them to come. He’s not looking for show-offs. He’s looking for people through whom He can show off His Son. May we be some of those people. We might end up agreeing with Amanda: “God’s really showing off today!”