THE INADEQUACY OF MAGIC
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Opening Prayer
Father in Heaven, open my heart to receive life-changing truth from your Word today. Change me in ways that reflect the grace and mercy your Son Jesus offers me.
Read ACTS 19:13–22
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” 16 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.
17 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. 18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. 19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.[a] 20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
21 After all this had happened, Paul decided[b] to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.” 22 He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer.
Footnotes
- Acts 19:19 A drachma was a silver coin worth about a day’s wages.
- Acts 19:21 Or decided in the Spirit
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘Spirit of holiness, wisdom and faithfulness, / wind of the Lord, blowing strongly and free … Spirit of God, bring your fullness to me!’1
In the Western world, many people would say they don’t really believe in magic or the supernatural—but they are still fascinated by it. As Christian adherence declines in the West, there is an interest in alternative spiritualities that have nothing to do with the Holy Spirit. In many other parts of the globe, such spirituality is deeply embedded in the culture and rituals of the local community. We are all wise if we are alert to the kind of power we might be calling upon.
We noted yesterday how the Holy Spirit worked through Paul in Ephesus. Of course, when God works, the devil is also active in producing spurious miracles. Some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists tried using the name of Jesus over those who had evil spirits. The seven sons of Sceva the priest were doing this, but their misguided efforts backfired. It is clear that they had no personal faith in Jesus, except perhaps some knowledge of the power associated with his name. They hoped to capitalize on the use of Jesus’ name, but failed.
The result in superstition-ridden Ephesus was powerful. Luke explains that when this event became known to the Jews and Greeks there, they were seized with fear and honored the name of Jesus, burning their valuable magic scrolls.
This turning toward Jesus and reliance on the Holy Spirit lent divine power to the work in Ephesus, which was a center for magic in the Roman world. Are there things in our lives that we should relinquish? Things that hold us and fascinate us more than they should, or maybe things we have just never thought about? Let us burn our scrolls (cf. v. 19) and commit ourselves to the Lord and his work.
Apply
Where in your community are there people or things that would try to draw you away from what you know to be true in the gospel?
Closing prayer
Holy Spirit, I ask that you give me guidance and power as I live my life in Jesus and seek to serve him.
1 ‘Spirit of Holiness’, Christopher Idle1975
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