More Pasta That Comes From Acts 19...

It seems like a long time since we met. Missing a week makes a bigger difference in my mind that I would have guessed! Anyway, I wanted to "ramp us up" by looking back at where we left off on the Sunday before Easter, and taking a quick peek at some things coming up for this Sunday.

The last thing we talked about was Acts 19: 13-20, where we hear Luke's account of the seven sons of Sceva and their attempts to drive out demons in the name of Paul. They apparently had experienced some success with driving out demons and other magical pursuits. Verse 13 says they "went around driving out evil spirits...". But they were pretty taken with the things that were happening in association with Paul, (things like people being healed by touching one of Paul's handkerchiefs or aprons), and they were now trying to drive out demons "in the name of Jesus who Paul preaches."

I mentioned this in class, but I absolutely LOVE the reaction of the demon. "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" (Acts 19:15)

You know, some names are just powerful. Think about it. If Barack Obama gets up in the middle of the night and says to someone in the White House, "I want a large Italian Combo from Quiznos", then you better believe that someone is going to have a large Italian Combo in front of him about as quickly as it can be made to happen. On the other hand, if I got up in the middle of the night and shook Mel and said, "I want a large Italian Combo from Quiznos", I think I would get a response somewhere in the neighborhood of "You know where Quiznos is buddy- knock yourself out." Hmm... what's the difference? Must be that name- that title, "POTUS".

To bring the idea to an even more familiar level... let's say you are sleeping in on a Saturday, (whatever that means for you- 6:00, 7:00, 10:00, whatever.) Through your blissful sleep you hear the phone ring, and in spite of your hopes and prayers otherwise you hear someone, (wife, child, whoever) say, "Its for you!" Now I am not going to make you show hands or anything here, but let's face it- for many of us the first question would be, "Who is it?". And exactly how you feel about getting up and and answering the phone depends on the answer to that question. Come on, you know its true! There are certain names that would get you out of that bed in zero-point-nothin and you would be on the phone sounding all awake and chipper. Then again, there are other names that would do little to even make you open your eyes. Now I am not going to go into any detail about who's name is on which list for me, but I will just say that NONE of you are on the "eyes closed" list.

Names don't get to that "powerful" state unless there is value or truth to back them up. What we have in Acts 19 is another incident where the very name of Jesus, and in this case Paul as well, had authority and truth behind it. Even the evil spirit in the story acknowledged that power of the name of Jesus. (And I am guessing that, in general, evil spirits are not really fans of Jesus- but they still see and understand the authority and truth behind his name.)

The chapter continues in verses 21 through 41 to tell about Paul's plans for the future and about a riot that breaks out in Ephesus. There are a few interesting things about the account of the riot...

Luke used the term "great disturbance" (NIV) to describe what happened, so it seems as though it was no small thing. The people involved in the situation draw an interesting comparison to today, and help us see God's sovereignty.

It all starts with Demetrius- a silversmith who made shrines of Artemis. The bottom line here is that this "one god" stuff being preached by Paul was hurting business! But, just like many people we see today, Demetrius tried to make it out to be all about the integrity of the great goddess, Artemis! Look at verse 27- "There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself.... will be robbed of her divine majesty." Nothing like appealing to a basic issue of integrity for the purpose advancing your own agenda, right? Nice try Demetrius, but I don't think for a minute that you really give a rip about Artemis. You're worried that you might need a government bail-out if this "one god" talk continues. Hmm... sound like anything that happens now? People going on and on about this issue or that issue in order to advance their own agenda? Some things never change!

Anyway, Demetrius stirs things up enough to start a riot and the crowd works its way to the theater where Paul has been teaching. Here is where I think we see God's sovereignty. Paul's friends see that there is no use in Paul addressing the crowd, so they intervene. We see Alexander, a local Jewish official try to step forward, but he is shouted down by the crowd. Alexander would likely agreed with Paul that there is one God, but the crowd did not want to hear that. Then comes the city clerk. The city clerk appears as a voice of reason, saying that "these men" (Paul and his companions), have done nothing wrong. They have not broken the law, they have not blasphemed Artemis, they have done nothing. The crowd dispersed, went their way, and Paul and crew live to continue their work.

Here is what I find interesting- in this matter, when the crowd was angry enough to kill, God intervened and used a person who wasn't even "on God's side" to defuse the situation. Think about it- This city clerk... was he a believer? No. Was he really even trying to defend Paul or the cause of Jesus Christ? No. But God used him in this instance to His (God's) purpose. Now some may say that God is nothing but a big manipulator- He just uses people like pawns in His big game. I guess that is one way to look at it. But for me, it goes back to the power of the name. God is sovereign. He created all things. There is no purpose greater than His. To become indignant at God's working in the world is to somehow think that our "rights" and our "purposes" have an equal or greater standing than His. They don't. They just don't. There is no other way about it. God's purpose always has and always will "survive".

I find that thought reassuring.

Coming Up...

We really have got to bring this study of Acts to an end. I have enjoyed it, and I apologize if I have dragged it out, but it is time to bring it down to a close. This week we will take a look at some of the highlights from Acts 20 and 21. If you get a chance you might read through those chapters to re-familiarize yourself with the material there, and we will try to move along in these next few weeks.

Just keep swimming.....

Jon