Acts 19:11-15

God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands,  so that when even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his body were brought to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.  But some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were possessed by evil spirits, saying, “I sternly warn you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.”  (Now seven sons of a man named Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this.)  But the evil spirit replied to them, “I know about Jesus and I am acquainted with Paul, but who are you?”

The Kingdom of God is about relationship. The miraculous surrounds Paul because Jesus has chosen him to be one of His apostles. Jesus knows Paul, and Paul is committed to relationship with Jesus. Paul lives differently because of Jesus and is obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Today’s verse introduces us to pretenders who are trying to deal with evil spirits by invoking the name of Jesus, someone who they do not really know. The man who had the evil spirit overpowers these men, and they run out of the house beaten and bleeding. The aftermath includes a rush of fear in Ephesus that causes many who believe to confess sins and leave the ways of sorcery, burning their scrolls. The name of Jesus is above every name. It is He alone who saves and by His name alone that holds authority on this earth. Seek first His Kingdom…