Jesus Christ Magnified

As a kid at church, I always enjoyed hearing the testimonies of people who had come to Christ.  It was an opportunity to know a fellow Christian better, hear the way God revealed Himself to them, and how God was working in their life currently.  There were many testimonies I heard which had a large emphasis on a life before Christ and various sinful activities they pursued.  It was rare for someone to open the Bible and read verses God had used to change their minds, Scripture that lead to the realisation of their sinfulness and need for salvation.  Had God's word always been proclaimed in those testimonies perhaps they would have been exponentially more spiritually fruitful!

An intriguing situation occurred in the book of Acts when seven Jewish men (sons of Sceva a Jewish leader of the priests) worked as traveling exorcists and took it upon themselves to command demons to depart in the name of Jesus whom Paul preached.  Acts 19:15-16 reads, "And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" ¹⁶ Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded."  The evil spirit knew Jesus the Son of God and Paul His servant, but these sons of Sceva had no part in Christ's kingdom:  they simply applied a formulaic approach based on their observations of Paul.  Without the protection and power of Jesus Christ, these imposter exorcists were overcome and beaten up by the demon possessed man.  Rather than the demon leaving the man he possessed, the hireling exorcists ran naked from the house--their weakness, folly and unbelief exposed for all to see.

When the story spread through Ephesus, Acts 19:17-20 explained the massive impact it had on the hearers:  "This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. ¹⁸ And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. ¹⁹ Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. ²⁰ So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed."  Fear fell on all those who heard of what happened, and the name of the LORD Jesus was magnified who has authority and power over all spirits.  Not once was Jesus beaten up or unable to cast out a demon with His word alone, for He is truly the LORD of all.  What is amazing is how Jewish and Gentile Christians came confessing their deeds, for they had been involved in occultic practices that employed demonic power.  Not only did they testify publicly their deeds but they brought their books containing their incantations and burned them.

The failure of the sons of Sceva to drive out the demon resulted in Christians fearing God and purging the church of sin when people confessed, repented of their sin and burned their books once and for all in public.  The power of sin that was strong in secret was overcome in public view by the fear of God.  The confessing of sin and burning of the magic books showed how "the word of the LORD grew mightily and prevailed."  Reading and studying God's word is vital for the Christian, and when we submit ourselves to God's word through faith and obedience great strides can be made in personal purity and being a godly witness.  It seems while Christians kept their secret books and the Scripture the power of God's word remained dormant in their lives, but when they confessed their demonic dabbling and destroyed their books, God's word grew mightily and prevailed.  May it be through our lives and testimony the name of the LORD Jesus is magnified, and by our confession of sin and reformation the word of the LORD will grow mightily and prevail.