Reading for August 10th

 Read Acts 19.1-20. In verses 1-7: The distinctive messianic baptism of the Way is again (see comment on 18.24-25) contrasted to other Jewish washings or baptisms of repentance, including John's. Baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus is accompanied by the laying on of hands and confirmed by the Holy Spirit as "the repentance that leads to life" ( 10.45-48; 11.15-18). In verses 8-10: This brief summary reports two years and three months in Ephesus. The stubborn refusal in the synagogue is another prophetic diagnosis of hardening (7.51; 14.2; 28.26-28), explaining the move to the non-Jewish lecture hall of Tyrannus without recounting the argument there. In verse 11; Miracles are powerful acts displaying divine presence (2.22; 4.33; 6.8; 8.13; 10.38). In verse 12: The use of physical means for healing was common Hellenistic practice ( 5.15-16;). In verses 13-14:The itinerant Jewish exorcists were probably not well regarded in the synagogues (13.6); their use of the name of the Lord Jesus was not informed by faith, and there is no record of a legitimate high priest named Seceva. In verse 15: The evil spirits were known for sassy talk (Lk 4.34; 8.28). In verses 18-19: The apostles' powerful acts are again sharply distinguished from magic (8.4-25; 13.4-12). In verse 20: The power that triumphs in the story is not the apostles' own but the word of the Lord. Comments or Questions..