Acts 19:1a| Apollos| Acts 18:24
Acts 19:1b| Ephesus| Acts 18:19
Acts 19:21| receive
| See note 387, par. 2, in ch. 2.
Acts 19:22a| not| cf. Acts 8:16
| This was the deficiency in the result of Apollos’s ministry, a ministry which lacked a complete revelation of God’s New Testament economy. See note 252 in ch. 18.
Acts 19:31a| John’s| Acts 18:25
| This is the last mention of John the Baptist in the New Testament. “Here at last, he wholly gives place to Christ” (Bengel). There was in John’s disciples a thought of rivalry between John and Christ (John 3:26). John’s ministry was to introduce Christ (v. 4). Once Christ had been introduced, John’s ministry should have ceased and been replaced by Christ. John should have decreased, and Christ should have increased (John 3:30).
Acts 19:4a| baptism| Luke 3:3;| Acts 13:24
Acts 19:4b| after| Matt. 3:11;| John 1:15
Acts 19:51| into
| See notes 383, point 2, in ch. 2 and 162 in ch. 8.
Acts 19:61a| laid| Acts 6:6
| See notes 171 in ch. 8 and 471 in ch. 10.
Acts 19:6b| Spirit| Acts 10:44;| 11:15
Acts 19:62| upon
| See note 174 in ch. 2.
Acts 19:63| spoke
| See note 461 in ch. 10.
Acts 19:6c| tongues| Mark 16:17;| Acts 2:4
Acts 19:6d| prophesied| Acts 2:17-18;| 21:9
Acts 19:81| entered
| See note 51 in ch. 13.
Acts 19:82a| synagogue| Acts 13:5;| 17:1, 10;| 18:4
| See note 21 in James 2.
Acts 19:8b| persuading| Acts 28:23
Acts 19:83c| kingdom| Acts 1:3;| 20:25
| See note 34 in ch. 1.
Acts 19:9a| speaking| Acts 13:45
Acts 19:91b| Way| Acts 19:23;| 18:26
| See note 21 in ch. 9.
Acts 19:92| Tyrannus
| He might have been a teacher, and Paul might have rented his school and used it as a meeting hall, apart from the opposing Jews’ synagogue, to preach and teach the word of the Lord to both Jews and Greeks for two years (v. 10).
Acts 19:10a| two| cf. Acts 20:31
Acts 19:10b| Asia| Acts 20:18;| 2|Cor. 1:8;| 2|Tim. 1:15
Acts 19:10c| Greeks| Acts 18:4
Acts 19:111| works
| See note 431 in ch. 2.
Acts 19:11a| hands| Acts 5:12;| 14:3
Acts 19:121a| body| cf. 2|Kings 4:29;| Acts 5:15
| Referring to the surface, the skin, of the body. A medical term used at that time. Luke, the author, was a medical doctor.
Acts 19:122| spirits
| See note 231 in Mark 1.
Acts 19:12b| went| Acts 8:7;| 16:18
Acts 19:13a| exorcists| Matt. 12:27
Acts 19:13b| name| Mark 9:38
Acts 19:17a| fear| Acts 2:43;| 5:5, 11;| Luke 1:65
Acts 19:17b| name| 2|Thes. 1:12
Acts 19:181a| confessing| Matt. 3:6
| Confessing and making known denotes the most thorough and most open confession.
Acts 19:182| practices
| This word has also the technical meaning of magic spells, and that may be the meaning here.
Acts 19:191| burned
| This was to clear up their past life, which was sinful and demonic.
Acts 19:192| pieces
| Each piece was approximately a day’s wage.
Acts 19:201| Thus
| Or, Thus, by the might of the Lord the word grew and was strong.
Acts 19:20a| grew| Acts 6:7
Acts 19:211a| purposed| Rom. 1:13
| [ par. 1 2 ]
Acts 19:211 [1]| The purpose was to carry out Paul’s loving concern for the need of the poor saints in Jerusalem. At that time Paul was in Ephesus on his third ministry journey, busy with a heavy burden to carry out his ministry in Asia (1|Cor. 16:8-9) and in Macedonia and Achaia (1|Cor. 16:5-7; Acts 20:1-3). Nonetheless, he still had a burden to spare part of his time for the needy saints in Jerusalem. When he arrived in Corinth, he wrote his Epistle to the saints in Rome, expressing the purpose of his trip and begging them to pray for him concerning this purpose (Rom. 15:25-31). Although he was an apostle set apart by God for the Gentiles (22:21; Gal. 2:8), Paul was still concerned for the Lord’s interest among the Jews. His primary concern was for the Body of Christ universally, not merely for his part of the New Testament ministry among the Gentiles.
Acts 19:211 [2]| Besides this, his purpose in going to Jerusalem at this juncture might also have been to fellowship with James and the other apostles and elders in Jerusalem regarding the Judaic influence on the church there. According to Paul’s teachings in the Epistles to the Galatians and the Romans, the decision made by the conference of the apostles and elders in ch. 15 to resolve the problem concerning circumcision must not have been fully satisfactory to him. This undoubtedly troubled him because of his concern for God’s New Testament economy, which is to build up the Body of Christ. James’s word in 21:20-22, after Paul had arrived in Jerusalem (21:17-18), and his proposal that Paul participate in the four Jewish believers’ Nazarite vow (21:23-24) seem to confirm this view.
Acts 19:212| spirit
| Since the Lord the Spirit dwelt in Paul’s spirit (2|Tim. 4:22; Rom. 8:10-11), Paul must have purposed according to the leading of the Lord the Spirit. See note 161 in ch. 17.
Acts 19:21b| Macedonia| Acts 20:1;| Rom. 15:26;| 1|Cor. 16:5;| 2|Cor. 1:16;| 8:1;| 9:2
Acts 19:213| go
| Paul did go to Jerusalem (21:17), and he did see Rome (28:14, 16).
Acts 19:21c| Jerusalem| Acts 20:16, 22;| Rom. 15:25;| 1|Cor. 16:3
Acts 19:214d| see| Rom. 1:13;| 15:24, 28
| This desire of Paul’s was fulfilled by the Lord when He brought Paul to Rome through his appeal to Caesar (23:11; note 111 in ch. 25).
Acts 19:22a| served| Acts 13:5
Acts 19:22b| Timothy| 1|Cor. 16:10;| Acts 18:5;| 20:4;| Rom. 16:21;| 2|Cor. 1:1
Acts 19:221| Erastus
| A city treasurer of Corinth (Rom. 16:23; cf. 2|Tim. 4:20), of high rank, who probably had been converted by Paul’s preaching in Corinth (cf. 18:8) and had become an attendant to Paul.
Acts 19:222| stayed
| It was at this time, in Ephesus, that the apostle wrote his first Epistle to the church in Corinth (1|Cor. 16:3-10, 19, and note 81; 4:17; cf. Acts 19:20-23, 8-10, 17; 20:1).
Acts 19:23a| disturbance| Acts 19:40
Acts 19:231b| Way| Acts 19:9
| See note 21 in ch. 9.
Acts 19:241| Demetrius
| Not the Demetrius in 3|John 12.
Acts 19:242| made
| A dirty and demonic trade. Those who practiced such a trade cooperated with the demons to possess and usurp people for Satan’s evil kingdom (Matt. 12:26).
Acts 19:243| Artemis
| Artemis was the Ephesian goddess. To the Romans she was the goddess Diana (Latin).
Acts 19:251| assembled
| Behind the idol worship were demons, who instigated the uproar against the apostle to disturb and frustrate the preaching of the gospel. This was Satan’s fighting against God’s spreading of His kingdom on the earth.
Acts 19:252| Men
| See note 261 in ch. 7.
Acts 19:25a| prosperity| cf. Acts 16:19
Acts 19:26a| hands| Deut. 4:28;| 2|Kings 19:18;| Psa. 115:4;| Rev. 9:20;| Isa. 44:10-17;| Jer. 10:3-5
Acts 19:27a| great| Acts 19:28, 34;| cf. Acts 8:9-10
Acts 19:291| Gaius
| See note 12 in 3|John.
Acts 19:29a| Aristarchus| Acts 20:4;| 27:2;| Col. 4:10;| Philem. 24
Acts 19:29b| companions| 2|Cor. 8:19
Acts 19:311| Asiarchs
| Principal persons of the province of Asia.
Acts 19:32a| crying| Acts 21:34
Acts 19:331| Alexander
| Probably not because Alexander was a convert of Paul’s preaching. (This Alexander was not the one in 1|Tim. 1:20 and 2|Tim. 4:14.)
Acts 19:33a| motioning| Acts 12:17
Acts 19:34a| Great| Acts 19:27-28
Acts 19:351| Men
| Lit., Men, Ephesians. More dignified and solemn than simply “Ephesians.”
Acts 19:352| fallen
| I.e., fallen from heaven.
Acts 19:35a| Zeus| Acts 14:12;| 28:11
Acts 19:37a| robbers| Rom. 2:22
Acts 19:38a| proconsuls| Acts 13:7
Acts 19:391| legal
| Or, regular assembly.
Acts 19:40a| insurrection| Acts 19:23
Acts 19:411| dismissed
| This was the sovereignty of the Lord; it preserved His apostle from the demonic uproar.