SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP SERVICE, 17 May 2026
Sermon Series: “The Acts of the Apostles” (#30)
Sermon Text: Acts 19:11-20
Main Points:
Introduction
I. Christ’s authority revealed through apostolic signs (vs. 11-12)
II. Power without truth exposed and collapsed (vs. 13-17)
III. The triumph of the Word in repentance and transformation (vs. 18-20)
Conclusion
As we move toward the middle of the year, the rains become more frequent here in Perth compared to the summer months. I’ve always found something beautiful about rainy days as much as sunny ones. A gentle rain – not a storm – has its own charm. Everything seems fresher, greener, vibrant.
But when winter rain lingers for weeks, the ground becomes saturated, and moss begins to grow across hard surfaces. I often notice this in the backyard of the manse. On rainy days, it looks peaceful and alive, but toward the end of the season, the limestone is covered with a layer of moss. The stone beneath it looks darker and its beauty muted.
When spring comes, the sun returns. And slowly, the moss fades. The sunlight does not only dry it – it breaks it down, weakens its grip and clears it away. What was covered is revealed again in its original shape and colour.
That image helps us understand Acts 19:11-20. God’s Word is like the sun. It does not merely coexist with darkness; it exposes it and breaks its grip. No matter how deeply false powers have taken hold, the light of Christ’s Word reaches in and dismantles them. Where the Word of the Lord shines, spiritual ‘moss’ disappears. What remains is humanity restored to its true identity – that is, living in worship of God through Jesus Christ.
God’s Word reveals His authority through true power, unmasks counterfeit claims, and brings repentance that transforms lives. We see this in Acts 19.11-20.
I. Christ’s Authority Revealed Through Apostolic Signs (vs. 11-12)
Luke begins this section in v. 11: “God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul.” An example given is that people even took handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched Paul and laid them on the sick, and diseases left them. Even evil spirits departed from those who were possessed. It is an astonishing scene.
Paul had already performed mighty works earlier in the book of Acts. In ch. 13, at Paphos in Cyprus, Elymas the sorcerer was struck blind because of his deliberate opposition to the gospel. In Acts 14, Paul healed a man who had been lame from birth. But what we see here in Ephesus is intensified and unusual – the power of God is displayed even through items associated with Paul, apart from his direct involvement.
And yet, this is not entirely unfamiliar in Scripture. We see something similar in the ministry of our Lord Jesus. A woman suffering from chronic bleeding came behind Jesus and touched the fringe of His garment, and she was immediately healed. Earlier in Acts 5, people laid the sick along the streets, hoping even Peter’s shadow might fall upon them. And throughout the OT, God displayed mighty signs through His servants like Moses, Elijah, and Elisha.
So, what took place in Ephesus belongs to that same pattern of divine activity in redemptive history. These were not magical acts, nor were the objects themselves powerful. The handkerchiefs had no inherent power. Rather, God was displaying His own authority through His appointed servant.
That raises an important question: what is the true nature and purpose of biblical miracles?
Scripture teaches that miracles are fundamentally revelatory and redemptive acts of God. They reveal God’s authority, confirm His Word, confront false powers, and point toward the coming fullness of His kingdom.
In other words, miracles in the Bible are not random religious phenomena scattered across history. They’re concentrated at decisive moments in God’s unfolding plan of redemption.
We see this especially in key periods of Scripture. During the Exodus, God authenticated Moses and revealed the Lord’s supremacy over Egypt through mighty signs and wonders. In the days of Elijah and Elisha, miracles appeared during a time of covenant apostasy, confirming that the Lord alone is God. Then, in the earthly ministry of Jesus, miracles reached their fullest expression as the Son of God announced the arrival of His kingdom. And after Christ’s resurrection and ascension, miraculous signs accompanied the apostles as the gospel spread and the church was established.
So, the miracles in Acts are not ends in themselves. They are signs that authenticate the apostolic witness to the risen Christ. That’s exactly what is happening in Ephesus. Christ is declaring His authority through His apostle – over disease, over demons, and over every competing spiritual claim. Paul is not the source of the power; he is the instrument through whom Christ confirms His Word. The risen Lord is making His kingdom unmistakably clear: His authority reigns, and His Word cannot be resisted. And here in Ephesus, Christ confirms His authority through apostolic signs.
II. Power Without Truth Exposed and Collapsed (vs. 13-17)
Seeing the authority of Christ clearly revealed, some attempted to imitate that same spiritual power without truth – without faith, without relationship, and without submission to Jesus, the very source of that authority.
Luke introduces them as seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva. They tried to perform exorcisms in the name of Jesus, but notice carefully how they frame it in v. 13: “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” They do not say, ‘Jesus whom we know,’ or ‘Jesus whom we follow,’ but “the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” In other words, they attempt to borrow spiritual authority second-hand.
And then, comes one of the most striking reversals in the NT narrative. The evil spirit responds: “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognise, but who are you?” The irony is sharp. The one they attempt to command refuses to recognise their authority at all. The spiritual world is not impressed by borrowed language or borrowed formulas. The situation quickly turns into public humiliation as the man overpowers them, leaving them wounded and exposed.
This is not recorded for entertainment, but for revelation. Luke is showing a decisive moment where counterfeit spiritual authority is unmasked and collapses in the presence of the true authority of Christ.
What we’re witnessing is a contrast that runs through the entire passage. On the one hand, God is doing extraordinary works through Paul – healing the sick, delivering the oppressed, confirming the gospel. On the other hand, those who attempt to replicate spiritual power apart from Christ are exposed as powerless. The real issue here is authority rooted in Christ verses authority detached from Him.
This confrontation also speaks into the wider spiritual world of Ephesus. The city was one of the major religious centres of the ancient world, dominated by the worship of Artemis (Roman Diana). The great temple of Artemis – among the most significant religious structures of antiquity – was deeply woven into the identity, economy, and religious mindset of the city. Ephesus was not a neutral environment; it was saturated with competing spiritual claims and practices.
In that sense, Ephesus functions as a mirror of many modern cities shaped by counterfeit forms of spirituality – where religion is driven by experience, success, or personal benefit, and where Jesus is treated less as Lord and King, and more as a source of usable spiritual power.
Into that setting, Luke places this encounter deliberately. The sons of Sceva represent more than individual failure – they embody the collapse of a whole category of spirituality: religion without truth, innovation without faith, and power without submission to Christ.
The result is decisive. What appears to be spiritual authority is exposed as empty before the reality of Christ’s reign. In that sense, this moment of Sceva’s seven sons functions as a turning point in Ephesus. It is a visible unmasking of false spiritual confidence before the true authority of Christ.
III. The Triumph of the Word in Repentance and Transformation (vs. 18-20)
After the humiliating collapse of the sons of Sceva, vs. 17 tells us: “this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks.” In other words, the entire city hears that counterfeit spiritual authority has been exposed before the authority of Christ. The illusion has shattered. And the result is not amusement, but fear, as the rest of v. 17 says, “fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.”
My fellow believers, this fear is not mere terror or superstition. It is the awakening recognition that Jesus Christ truly reigns. His name is no longer treated casually, magically, or manipulatively. It is honoured, reverenced, exalted.
But, even that is not the final goal. God’s purpose is not admiration of Christ’s power, but submission to Christ’s lordship. Not fascination, but repentance; not amazement, but transformation.
And that is exactly what begins to happen in Ephesus. V. 18 says: “Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices.” Their repentance is public, and concrete. They did not merely say, ‘We believe.’ They openly confess the practices tied to their former spiritual life. Hidden things are brought into the light. Their repentance becomes visual.
Then, Luke tells us in v. 19: “And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all.” This is astonishing! In the ancient world, books were rare and extremely valuable. In modern terms, the value Luke estimates as fifty thousand pieces of silver amounts to many millions of dollars.
Think about what that means. These people are not casually tidying up their lives. They are renouncing an entire spiritual world. They are severing ties with practices, identities, and systems that once governed them. And notice carefully: they burn the books publicly!
Why? Because repentance is not merely feeling sorry. It is the renunciation of anything that rivals Christ’s authority. The believers in Ephesus understand that they cannot cling to occult practices while confessing allegiance to Jesus. This is not private spirituality hidden behind closed doors. The gospel is publicly reordering lives.
So, a mighty movement of repentance sweeps through the city. People turn from magic, false worship, and spiritual bondage to submit themselves to the lordship of Christ. Then, Luke closes with one of the most important summary statements in the book of Acts – that is, “So the Word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.”
This is the climax of the passage. Not miracles, not humiliation of the exorcists, not even the public burning of the books. The climax is the triumph of the Word of God.
Everything in this passage moves toward this conclusion. The true miracle is sinners brought to repentance and transformed by the Word of God under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
Today’s passage from Acts 19 brings everything into a single line of sight – that is, Christ’s authority is real, counterfeit power cannot stand, and the Word of the Lord prevails. What begins with extraordinary signs ends with exposed deception and transformed lives.
The handkerchiefs, the exorcists, and the burning of the books all point in the same direction – that is, Jesus Christ reigns, and His Word cannot be resisted or reduced. Where His authority is present, false power collapses and hearts are brought into the light.
And even now, we stand as living testimony that the Word of the Lord continues to prevail! ***
St Columba's Presbyterian Church 