¹³But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” ¹⁴Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. ¹⁵And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” ¹⁶And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. ¹⁷This became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified.

Common practice in the ancient world was to cast out demons by invoking the name of a greater spirit that would send the lesser one running. And as the Jews spread out in the diaspora, some would combine Jewish traditions with local practices and beliefs. The Jewish exorcists in Ephesus were such an example. They were itinerate and not necessarily attached to the traditional synagogue there. They attempted to mimic Paul’s success in casting out spirits but with markedly different results, in fact, evoking rebuke from the spirits.

Clearly, one of them was the kingpin in the efforts (notice the use of “I”). Further, their efforts were intended to piggyback on Paul’s authority, but to no avail. Exorcism is not about the method or just getting the incantation working right. The spirits’ rebuke made it clear there was a reality taking place, or lack thereof. They recognized and obeyed the authority of Jesus and of Paul, but not of someone who spoke on their behalf. It is not that the spirits didn’t know who these fakes were, but that they felt no controlling power from them. We today must take note that things such as exorcism are not something to be trifled with. Evil spirits are real, but they do not respond to people enamored with the miraculous who seek to show spiritual power where there is none.

The fakes are called “seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest.” Being in Ephesus and a long way from the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, this may simply indicate these were from the Jewish priestly class. Possibly Sceva laid claim to be the most senior of those descendants of the tribe of Levi there. This, of course, speaks to the spiritual weakness of the priestly caste while keeping their titled status despite the absence of the temple.

News of this botched effort along with Paul’s genuine miracles spread with the result that the name of Jesus Christ became well-known. Notice, Luke emphasizes the fame of Jesus and not that of Paul. In fact, this report went beyond the Jewish community, to all of the Ephesian populace.

Lord, may Christ be magnified in all that I do, and may I be less.