Acts 19:1-12
The men Paul found in Ephesus had an incomplete Christianity. They had not even grown a conviction that the Spirit exists let alone received it. They had heard of the Holy Spirit by the teaching of John. These brethren had been baptized into John’s baptism and learned his message pointing to Jesus.
Paul was leading the group questioning their understanding and opening the subject of imperfect obedience to the message of Jesus. He was preparing them for his message of the good news of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit.
John’s preaching was pointing the way for Jesus. His preaching was an awakening to the coming of the Messiah. John’s preaching differed from Jesus in that it was a threat. You’d better be watching because Jesus is coming. Jesus message was good news. There is hope of salvation through the Savior. See more in Matthew 3 and Luke 3 about John’s preaching.
Note that the Word says that God did these things through the hands of Paul. He was working and teaching in the temple. He was very busy and God kept him strong and awake to keep up with this physical work and his teaching work. Both were very taxing to body and emotions. Paul was eager to teach and Christians were eager to learn because they went to ‘class’ to learn more about Christianity instead of resting during the heat of the day like most people did. Next is the seven sons of Scevea calling attention to the evil of the magical arts. How does this apply to us today?
Have a Great Week!
Brad
