It was Terry Brown who helped me to see the humour in this event. His laughter rings in the air to this day as I remember his gleeful retelling of the story of the hapless exorcists of Ephesus (Acts 19). These seven sons of a Jewish chief priest decided to try something new in their demon extrication routine. The apostle Paul had been in Ephesus for more than two years and the name of the Lord Jesus was bearing fruit. God was doing extraordinary miracles through Paul (v.11). Sicknesses were healed and evil spirits were cast out (v.12). By the time that they had shut themselves in a room with one particular demon-possessed man the Sceva-seven had already started using the name of Jesus in their exorcisms. They would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out” (v.13). This is where things turned comical:“One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”” (v.15).These seven con-men were suddenly and completely exposed for what they were—charlatans. This demon, one of the sons of ‘father of lies’ himself, wasn’t about to be cast out of someone by seven men who were of the same nature as himself. So, he dealt to them:“Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding” (v.16).This could not escape public notice in Ephesus. “They were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honour” (v.17).The name of Jesus is all powerful. The seven scamming sons of Sceva were blessed to escape with their lives. It is ironic that it was the devil who had to beat the truth into these guys. johnstaiger1@gmail.com
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