Sceva

Seven Sons of Sceva

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• published: 08 May 2015
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Speaker: Jim Powell Date: 5-3-15 Series: The Acts Series At the height of Paul’s ministry he arrives at Ephesus. Here he meets twelve disciples of John the Baptist. John was Jesus’ cousin who proclaimed Jesus coming as the Messiah. Paul asks the disciples if they had received the Holy Spirit and they respond that they had never even heard of the Holy Spirit. Paul further presses them. “Then what baptism did you receive?” They replied, “John’s baptism.” Paul explains to them that John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance that called people to believe in Jesus, while true baptism is based on the actual belief that Jesus is the promised Messiah. The disciples believe Paul’s word and are baptized in the name of Jesus. Upon their baptism the Holy Spirit comes on the men and they speak in tongues and prophesy. It soon becomes apparent why Luke, the writer of Acts, emphasizes the necessity of Christian baptism and the presence and power of the Holy Spirit throughout Paul’s ministry in Ephesus. God had been doing some extraordinary miracles through Paul to the extent that people were being healed and delivered by simply coming in contact with articles of cloth and clothing that Paul had touched. Because of this the seven sons of an unknown high priest named Sceva were emulating Paul’s acts of deliverance without the real power of the Holy Spirit. Their chicanery is soon exposed, however, when they come upon a man possessed by a powerful demon. They command the demon, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” The demon replies, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” The demon possessed man then proceeds to give the men such a beating that the seven sons of Sceva flee naked and bleeding. The news spreads throughout Ephesus, a city renowned for its pagan worship of the Roman deity Diana and whose temple is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The name of Jesus is held in high honor and the people openly confess their evil deeds. Many people who practice sorcery bring their valuable scrolls and have them burned publicly. The value of these scrolls would be equal to nearly a million dollars in today’s economy. Following this, the Gospel of Jesus begins to spread and gain power throughout the region. So what is it about the power of the Holy Spirit? Most of us have probably not found ourselves in the situation where we are about to be beaten to a pulp by a demonized person and left naked and bleeding. But many people, including Christians, are regularly abused by evil spirits that are determined to destroy them. For some of us, like the twelve disciples of John, we need to learn what it means to be sons and daughters of God and all the benefits that come with it. For others of us, like the sons of Sceva, we need to quit playing games with God and pretending to be something we are not, or we are likely to get the beat down of our lives. But for all of us, Luke’s message is clear. If we are going to do this thing called “The Kingdom” we are going to need the power of God living through us.