An Ephesian interlude (12): a reflection for Day 21 of Lent
“While
Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to
Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive
the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even
heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Then he said, “Into what, then, were
you baptized?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.” (Acts 19.1-3, NRSVUE)
Acts
19 begins with this fascinating episode of Paul finding 12 disciples of John
the Baptist in Ephesus (cf. Ac. 19.7; Lk. 5.33; 7.18; 11.1). Of course, there were twelve…this is
the last time that John the Baptist is mentioned in Luke-Acts. There seems to be something “definitive”
going on here. This is the final phase
of the transition from John to Jesus, a transition that John had himself alluded
to (Lk. 3.15-17; cf. Ac. 1.4-5). These “disciples”
had most probably been converted to John’s baptism by Apollos (cf. Ac. 18.24-25).[1] Other elements in this episode identify it as
being highly significant. Paul laid his
hands on these men, they received the Holy Spirit, and they spoke in tongues
and prophesied (Ac. 19.6).[2] By depicting Paul doing this, Luke has placed
him alongside Peter and John, who had laid their hands on Samaritan converts so
they could receive the Spirit (Ac. 8.14-17).
Peter and John had been “sent” from the Jerusalem church to evaluate the
results of Philip’s preaching in Samaria.
This is a recurring theme in Acts – once the gospel is proclaimed beyond
Jerusalem, delegates from the “mother church” are sent to verify the validity
of the preaching and its “fruit” (cf. Ac. 11.19-26; 11.1-18). Luke here shows Paul as having the same
apostolic authority as Peter, John, and other “apostolic delegates”, such as Barnabas.
When the
Holy Spirit came upon these twelve men, they “spoke in tongues and prophesied”. This is reminiscent of the effect of the
outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem near the
beginning of the narrative (Ac. 2.1-4). The
other occasion in Acts where the reception of the Spirit is accompanied
by speech in other languages is the conversion of the Roman Cornelius and his
family in Caesarea (Ac. 10.34-48).
Interestingly enough, this is the first mention of Gentiles receiving
the Spirit, and it is Peter, the apostle “to the Jews” (cf. Gal. 2.7-9), who is
the instrument of the gospel. In
Ephesus, it is Paul, the apostle “to the Gentiles”, who baptizes this group of
12 Jews and enables their reception of the Spirit. So, in chapter 19, Paul finds himself to be the
instigator of an “Ephesian Pentecost”.[3] This is a watershed moment, and marks the
fulfillment of the words of John the Baptist himself (cf. Lk. 3.15-17), as the “renewed
Israel” that he had worked to bring into being – represented symbolically by this
group of twelve of his followers (like the 12 apostles of Jesus, they represent
the 12 sons/tribes of Jacob/Israel) – is now completely renewed by the
Spirit of the risen Messiah Jesus and thus incorporated into the new covenant of
which the in-filling of the Spirit had been foretold as both the cause and the effect
(cf. Ez. 36.25-28).
Also, and
importantly, once the members of this renewed-Israel-in-nuce receive the
Spirit, they prophesy. In the
book of Acts, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of prophecy. This is clear in the story of Pentecost, as –
in fulfillment of Joel’s oracle – God pours out his Spirit on the disciples and
they speak of “God’s deeds of power” (Ac. 2.11, 14-18). The gospel is proclaimed through Spirit-inspired
speech, i.e. prophecy. Hence, the
constant refrain in Acts that the word of God “grew, prevailed,
multiplied” (cf. Ac. 6.7; 12.24; 19.20; cf. also Lk. 3.2; 5.1; Ac. 4.31; 8.14;
11.1, etc.). The followers of Jesus in Acts
speak the word of God, as did the prophets of old. As Joel had foretold, God is pouring out his
Spirit “on all flesh” so the whole earth will hear the good news of God’s
mighty act of salvation accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus. “The testimony to Jesus is the Spirit of
prophecy” (Rev. 19.10).
Once these
twelve men had received the Spirit, not only did they represent the
(completely) renewed people of God of the diaspora, but they also constituted a
local “church”, a “living temple” of the living God (cf. 1 Cor. 3.16; Eph.
2.19-22; 1 Peter 2.4-10). The Creator had
begun to build his “temple” in Ephesus, a city replete with temples consecrated
to the emperors, to Artemis, as well as countless other “gods”. The Creator was reclaiming his world, and
continues to do so, through you and I – through his entire “household”, the
Church of Jesus Christ. Amen.
[1] Cf. M.R. Fairchild, Christian
Origins in Ephesus & Asia Minor, Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2017,
p. 33.
[2] Did Priscilla & Aquila do
something similar with Apollos (cf. Ac. 18.26)?
[3] Interestingly, when Paul
leaves Ephesus 3 years later, it is in order to get to Jerusalem in time to
celebrate Pentecost there (cf. Ac. 20.16).
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