We see in the above focus that sometimes God moves in mysterious ways to bring people to the knowledge of Jesus Christ as redeemer of all mankind from their sin. After the seven sons of Sceva were overcome by the demon they tried to exorcise, a revival broke out in Ephesus. The demon within the man acknowledged the names of Jesus and Paul and their power to cast him out, but he would not relent to these sons of the high priest. He knew they had no power to exorcise him from this man’s body. “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. We can assume that this demoniac was well known in Ephesus because the Sceva sons failure to cast out the demon in him caused men and women to reevaluate the Good News that Paul taught. They now understood that Paul and Jesus contained power over the ether world, the unseen principalities and spirits that harassed men and women by possessing their souls. They were aware that Paul’s ministry was accompanied by great power over demons and sicknesses. God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. (Acts 19:11-12) We do not know the reasons why the sons of Sceva were in this spiritual endeavor, or if they were attached to some cultish behavior, but we do know that Ephesus was a place of worshipping other gods, participating in cultish beliefs. These beliefs tend to suggest that the people who practice them have power over the spiritual entities. The high priest's sons were using the names of Paul and Jesus as a power source to defeat demonic activity. However, when the people of Ephesus saw that these men were not only defeated by the demon but brutalized too, they realized their belief in cultish power was not enough to defeat some demons. As with many in the occult world, charms, amulets and talismans are worn for protection. These items are not only worn for protection, but also to have influence over the spirits of the unseen world. Whether the Sceva sons wore these items or not, they had no power over the demoniac. Their attempt of exorcising the demon from this man went horribly wrong, exposing the feebleness of their power over evil. We do not know the extent of the Sceva sons' belief in the cultish world, but we do know that their failure to drive out this demon caused the community in Ephesus great fear. The Ephesians began to reconsider their dark practices and the power of their spiritual belief over evil. When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. In comparison to their cultish ideas and idol worshipping, the name of Jesus and his power became well known and honored. Many became followers of Jesus and renounced their former devilish activities. As a result of their repentance, they destroyed any vestige of their former cultish lifestyle. The sorcerers brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. We also can assume that all charms, amulets and talismans in their possession were destroyed too, cleansing them completely of their former lifestyle of spiritual darkness. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, our whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters. (Matthew 6:22-24) Christians are to be a lamp placed on a stand so all can see its brightness, exposing the darkness in any community, city are neighborhood to the cleansing light of God.
The sons of Sceva’s activity of exorcising demons maybe spawned from their desire to be remunerated with money. As sons of the high priest, they had been immersed in the idea that there is only one God, so they were doing good by driving out demons who possessed the souls of people. But if they were exorcising demons for any kind of remuneration, they were wrong in this activity. “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. (Matthew 6:24) Today, anyone who is exercising the power of God before people with the intent to earn something from people, even prestige, is doing it for the wrong reasons. Jesus says that you cannot serve your selfish desires and God too. John puts this dichotomy in succinct words. Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17) Jesus describes people who are using the power of God for their own personal reasons. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23) Why such a strong description of such people who serve God for their own gratification: evildoers? The world is lost in a hopeless condition of darkness, under the bondage of sin. The light of the world: Jesus Christ, is a man of power. His light penetrates the darkness because He comes with power, not just words. His power is like lightning flashing through the darkest clouds of a storm. He allows people to see supernatural miracles, see visions or dreams that change their attitude about God. Through these marvelous activities, He penetrates the darkness that surrounds humans in their daily lives. People are awakened from their lifeless stupor when God touches them with his light through supernatural activity. However, when people engage in a counterfeit activity that opposes God, it sows confusion and wrong desires, deserving the strong title of evildoers. This kind of discordant activity sows weeds in a community that God desires to reach. A self-oriented and self-willed life that wishes to win this world for himself or herself, will give the new believer the wrong idea of life. Although good words might be said by ministers, their lifestyles will reveal the truth of their salvation. Are they sold out to the world, desiring to win a materialistic life, gathering the goodies the world produces. Jesus describes this kind of ministering as evil, not focused on heavens but on the earth. The sons of Sceva were using the names of Paul and Jesus for themselves, to achieve their own ends in life. They might have coveted, as the Pharisees did in Jesus’ time, the large crowds that followed Jesus. Maybe now these sons of the high priest, coveted the large crowds that gathered around Paul. However, the demon had another idea about their pursuits. He stripped them naked and bloodied their bodies. Demons are not powerless but are strong and vicious; they do not bow down to frail men. As we see with Legion, Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places. (Luke 8:30)
This failure of the sons of Sceva brought fear on the Ephesians, but also the reality of the message Paul was preaching. The word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. But as with Jesus, he was to move on ministering to other communities. He would not stay in Ephesus and minister there the rest of his life; he would keep moving from one city to the next. Jesus told his disciples that He would not stay in Capernaum where a revival was taking place, but move on to other cities. We must go to other Jewish communities for this is my assignment that my Father has given me; his will is to be done. Now we see Paul fulfilling God’s calling on his life, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.” He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer. As Jesus went from community to community spreading the Good News that He is the Redeemer sent from God to deliver the Israelites from their sins, so now we see Paul doing the same thing but in the communities of the Gentiles. He could not tarry very long in these communities, for he had an assignment to reach as many Gentiles as he could in his short life. He came to these communities with not just words but with the power of God. Jesus talked about Paul and many others who would carry out his commission. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (John 14:12-14) What is meant by greater, maybe that Paul’s handkerchiefs and aprons carry the power of God in them, maybe the healing power of Peter’s shadow as he walked through the streets, maybe the speaking of tongues of those who were baptized with power. Who knows? But God’s power has been evident in communities down through the ages; the message of Jesus has hit every dark corner in the world. The name of Jesus has been honored in all the continents on earth. However, because of the miraculous spread of the gospel throughout the world, we also see many deceivers amongst the believers too. Wolves have come to devour the believers. People like the Sceva brothers contaminate the Good News for their own benefit. As with the Old Testament, false prophets enter the sheepfold, leading many astray. Jesus told his followers, Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. (Matthew 7:15-16) They always come identifying themselves as sheep, but their purposes are devious, and you see their fruit of their lives by the acquisition of the world’s goods. Their intentions are aways the same: to win the world. But praise God, we are not of the world. At Lazarus death scene, Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26) Martha responds just as Peter under the power of God responded to Jesus when he asked Peter, who do you think I am? “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” (John 11:27) Martha believed who Jesus really was, the Messiah. Jesus is telling Martha, you will live for eternity with my Father God. Dear friend do you really believe the truth as Martha and Peter proclaimed. If you do believe from the bottom of your heart, you presently have eternal life--you shall not die. As Jesus said about Lazarus, he is merely asleep. At the tomb, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out! (John 11:43) Breakfast companions, put your name in place of Lazarus’ name, for surely you will hear the voice of our Lord and the grave clothes will be unwrapped as you enter into eternity. Hallelujah!
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