Acts 19:14-16: “Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this [attempting to drive out demons by invoking the name of Jesus]. One day the evil spirit answered them. “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” 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.“
In the Book of Mark we read about the first recorded miracle of Jesus. It is the exorcism of a man in the temple of Capernaum who is possessed with an evil spirit.
Just then, a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!” Jesus said sternly, “Be quiet! Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching – and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” – Mark 1:23-27
It’s interesting to note that in the first half of the gospel of Mark (generally believed to be the first gospel of the New Testament) the only ones on the entire earth who knew the identity of Jesus were the demons. The people didn’t yet know Jesus as the Son of Man or Son of God. Although he spoke and taught with authority, they had yet to see the full power of his authority until this moment. And such a mind-blowing moment for the people in Capernaum it was!
Later on in his ministry, Jesus would go on to grant his miraculous power and authority to his disciples, so they too could heal and cast out evil spirits; by His authority alone, of course, and not their own.
But after Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension, there would also be pretenders who would attempt to usurp His power and authority; those who were not apostles but merely imposters. Although they were religious, they had no relationship with God because they didn’t believe in Jesus Christ. As a result, they did not possess the power of the Holy Spirit.
So when the Seven Sons of Sceva entered the house of the possessed man that afternoon, they were in for a rude awakening. We can only imagine the looks on their faces when the demon said to them, “Jesus, I know, and Paul – I’ve heard of him. But who are you?” That was their first sign that things were not gonna go according to plan. And what a botched exorcism it ended up being! They were given the beating of their lives by this possessed man! They ran out of the house naked and bleeding, running for their lives!
If this story had been printed in the newspapers today, the heading would read, “Another Setback for the Naive Followers of Jesus.” But that’s not how the story would’ve been printed in the Ephesian Telegraph back in those times. “Demons are No Match for Paul’s God.”
People in the streets were saying, “Did you hear what happened to those guys who foolishly tried to cast out the demon in Paul’s name? They almost ended up dying! But Paul, he’s a believer in Christ, and says that it’s through the power of God’s Holy Spirit that he does these things! Perhaps we better start listening to Paul!
These sons of Sceva weren’t apostles, they were imposters. And through their botched exorcism we receive two really important lessons:
1) Satan is real, and he can make quick work of even the most religious of people who don’t have a relationship with Christ. 2) There is no higher name, with more power and authority, than the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
Former Blackout Artist 