The Conversion of John’s Disciples and Knowing When to Pack Up and Move On
June 26
Apollos was just one disciple of John who had been baptized under John’s preaching. Paul found a dozen more “disciples” who didn’t know anything about the Holy Spirit. They confessed their lack of understanding to Paul and put their faith in Jesus.
At this point, they were saved; until then, they had been simply disciples of John the Baptizer, but not true Christian disciples. So, these disciples, like Apollos, were not rebaptized; they were simply baptized. Paul administered the Believer’s Baptism to reinforce the order of belief before baptism.
God confirmed their belief through these disciples speaking in tongues. He had done the same with other people groups when they came to faith in Jesus: Jews in Acts 2:1–4; Samaritans in Acts 8:14–19, and Gentiles in Acts 15:8–9. In these cases, tongues followed their conversion to validate God’s work in this new people group.
In yesterday’s Bible reading, we read that the Jews with whom Paul was sharing the Gospel resisted his message and blasphemed. He shook the dust off his clothes and said he was going to minister to the Gentiles. (Acts 18:6) You may remember when Paul was saved, God told him that he was God’s chosen instrument to minister to the Gentiles. (Acts 9:15) Paul embraces his calling again.
We see a similar response in today’s Bible reading where Paul reaches his patience’s limits. Those with whom he was sharing the Gospel hardened their hearts, chose not to believe, and slandered him. Paul took the disciples with him to the lecture hall of Tyrannus, and dialoged with them for two years. This resulted in the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, hearing the word of the Lord. Again, we see Paul’s discipleship ministry for an extended period of time before departing.
Jesus had told His disciples, “Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces,” (Matthew 7:6) thus recognizing that some people will never receive the Gospel message. This also parallels Proverbs 26:4, where the writer basically warns his readers against getting into a mud fight with a pig. It is clear from the Bible that not everyone will be saved. And in these passages, Paul feels God’s leadership to close his discussions with these people and move on.
We see an interesting description of what progressed in Acts 19:11–12. “God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands, so that even facecloths or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them.” (CSB) In these verses, Dr. Luke rightly describes these as extraordinary miracles. However, please note that this was descriptive. There are no instances in the Bible where facecloths and aprons were prescribed as a healing method.
In verse 13, some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to cast out demons in the Name of Jesus. The demons recognized the authority of Jesus and His apostles, but sharply stated that they didn’t recognize the authority of these exorcists. The demons quickly overpowered them and sent them running. (Acts 19:16) As people learned what happened, they realized that Jesus’ Name has great authority and isn’t to be trifled with. And in this, Jesus was glorified.
Ephesus was the center of worship of the goddess Artemis. Craftsmen fashioned idols in her image. Paul had a reputation for sharing the Gospel message and causing people to abandon their idolatry. So, as they saw Paul bringing people to Jesus in Ephesus, the silversmiths and priests of Artemis were afraid of losing their livelihood. The idolaters caused a riot. Although Paul wanted to address the crowds, his friends recognized the potential danger and persuaded him to not engage. Paul agreed that this was not the time or place to give a defense of the Gospel.
Application
It goes against the stereotype of the Christian mission to share the Gospel with lost people. But sometimes, it is best to go against the stereotype. Sometimes it’s best to judiciously follow Jesus’ instruction to be wise in fulfilling our mission. (Matthew 7:6) Not everyone with whom we share the Gospel will believe. We don’t know who these people are. God does. And God commands us to share the Gospel as we go about our daily lives. (Mark 16:15)