Today's reading allows us to see more clearly another aspect of spiritual life that is extremely important to us. It is about the incident with certain Jewish exorcists. Of course, the situation these people found themselves in was far from ordinary. But in it, as in a drop of water, was reflected that which...
Today's reading allows us to see more clearly another aspect of spiritual life that is extremely important to us. It is about the incident with certain Jewish exorcists (19:13-16). Of course, the situation these people found themselves in was far from ordinary. But in it, as in a drop of water, was reflected that which concerns everyone, regardless of whether one has to deal with the possessed or not. As can be seen, the exorcists mentioned by Luke decided to use the name of "Jesus, Whom Paul preaches". Most likely, they had only heard of both Paul and Jesus, not knowing either of them personally. But they may have seen with their own eyes that, to use modern language, the method works. And, apparently, they decided to reproduce what Paul was doing. The result, judging by the evangelist's testimony, turned out to be sad and, it seems, unexpected for the experimenters themselves. They probably counted on the mere mention of the name of Jesus working, but, obviously, nothing of the sort happened.
At first glance it might seem that this is about an attempt to use the name of Jesus as the most ordinary magical incantation. But things were hardly that simple, because it was still a matter of believing Jews, of Judeans who knew all too well about the prohibition imposed by the Torah on everything somehow connected with magic and corresponding practices. Perhaps it would be more correct to see in what happened a practice quite common in the Jewish milieu during the Gospel era of casting out demons through the invocation of the name of God. There also existed certain prayer formulas which, it was believed, allowed one to achieve the desired result with a greater degree of probability. Most likely, the exorcists mentioned in the story decided that Paul too uses some special, secret prayers to cast out demons from the possessed, allowing him to achieve success where others suffer defeat.
Not knowing the essence of Christianity as a teaching about the resurrected Messiah and about the messianic Kingdom entering the world, they seem to have taken it for some new method of exorcism. And they were severely put to shame: for the deliverance of the possessed from the power of dark forces through Paul's prayers happened not because his prayers were somehow special, but because he himself lived the life of the Kingdom, to which others also joined through his prayers.
Christianity is not a spiritual or prayerful practice that gives its adherents some special abilities or reveals to them some secrets of the universe inaccessible to the uninitiated. It is simply life in the Kingdom. A life that can and should be accepted, and, having been accepted, shared with others.
19
19:1 Having passed through - Galatia and Phrygia, which were termed the upper parts of Asia Minor. Certain disciples - Who had been formerly baptized by John the Baptist, and since imperfectly instructed in Christianity.
19:2 Have ye received the Holy Ghost? - The extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, as well as his sanctifying graces? We have not so much as heard - Whether there be any such gifts.
19:3 Into what were ye baptized - Into what dispensation? To the sealing of what doctrine? Into John's baptism - We were baptized by John and believe what he taught.
19:4 John baptized - That is, the whole baptism and preaching of John pointed at Christ. After this John is mentioned no more in the New Testament. Here he gives way to Christ altogether.
19:5 And hearing this, they were baptized - By some other. Paul only laid his hands upon them. They were baptized - They were baptized twice; but not with the same baptism. John did not administer that baptism which Christ afterward commanded, that is, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.