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Disciples, Exorcists, and the Power of God: Reading Acts 19:1-20 As a Literary Unit

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Disciples, Exorcists, and the Power of God: Reading Acts 19:1-20 As a Literary Unit Abilene Christian University Digital Commons @ ACU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Electronic Theses and Dissertations Fall 12-2015 Disciples, Exorcists, and the Power of God: Reading Acts 19:1-20 as a Literary Unit Matthew R. Anderson Abilene Christian University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd Part of the Biblical Studies Commons Recommended Citation Anderson, Matthew R., "Disciples, Exorcists, and the Power of God: Reading Acts 19:1-20 as a Literary Unit" (2015). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 5. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at Digital Commons @ ACU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ ACU. ABSTRACT Scholars have read Acts 19:1-20 as a combination of stories serving different thematic interests. This has led to much confusion over several details in the text, and readings that follow this pattern miss the larger point Luke is making in this section. Acts 19:1-20 serves as the final scene in a three-part contest between believers and magicians (Acts 8:4-25; 13:4-12; 19:1-20). When one takes Acts 19:1-7 as a part of the larger narrative structure in 19:1-20, one can read the Ephesian disciples as the literary foils of the sons of Sceva. This reading highlights Luke’s overall message about magic in Acts. He does not simply use these scenes to argue that the believers are not magicians. Rather, he shows that the Way is a fundamentally different approach to divine power, characterized by submission and focus on the glory of God. This study surveys the connection of magic in Acts to ancient understandings of magic. I argue that Luke does not include magic in his narrative for a purely apologetic reason. Luke’s concept of magic simply does not fit into the life of the believers. The theme of magic is also closely tied to Judaism in the narrative, showing a concern for the proper understanding of the divine. I then turn my attention to the literary features of Luke’s style, specifically his reliance on parallelism to make comparisons and contrasts between characters in order to convey meaning. He employs this method throughout the narrative. This feature figures prominently in the first two scenes of the contest with magic, but most scholars have not seen its vital role in the third scene. Luke creates parallels between the Ephesian disciples and the sons of Sceva to highlight their disparate approaches to divine power. By highlighting the parallels between the two groups in Acts 19:1-20, I argue that this final scene ultimately shows two examples of approaching power from God, one positive and one negative. This theme relates to the larger Lucan theme of confronting and overturning the power structures of this world in favor of the power structure that relies on God. Disciples, Exorcists, and the Power of God: Reading Acts 19:1-20 as a Literary Unit A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Graduate School of Theology Abilene Christian University In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in New Testament By Matthew Robert Anderson December 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................. iv INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. v A Brief Overview of Scholarship on the Passage ................................................... v The Literary Context of the Ephesian Disciples ......................................... v The Identity of the Ephesian Disciples ...................................................... vi The Identity of Sceva and His Sons .......................................................... vii The Significance of Numbers .................................................................. viii Synopsis of the Project........................................................................................... ix I. MAGIC ACCORDING TO LUKE ........................................................................ 1 Luke’s Concept of Magic ........................................................................................ 2 Terminological Relativism: One Man’s Trash… ....................................... 2 Magical Accusations: Luke as Inept Apologist .......................................... 4 Distinguishing Miracle from Magic in Luke’s Writings ............................ 7 The Three-Part Contest: Magic vs. the Power of the Believers ................ 15 The Magicians: Those Who Should Know Better? .................................. 21 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 24 II. LUKE AND THE USE OF PARALLELISM ...................................................... 26 Parallelism and the Unity of Luke-Acts ................................................................ 26 Parallelism and Complexity .................................................................................. 28 Parallelism and Textual Distance.......................................................................... 31 Parallelism and Layering ...................................................................................... 34 A Triple Parallel: Aeneas, Tabitha, and Cornelius ................................... 34 Parallels as Positive and Negative Examples: Ananias, Sapphira, and Barnabas .................................................................................................... 36 Parallelism and the Theme of Magic .................................................................... 36 Philip in Samaria ....................................................................................... 37 Structural-Functional Reversalism: A Different Kind of Parallel ............ 39 Paul in Paphos ........................................................................................... 40 Parallels between the Scenes Dealing with Magic ................................... 41 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 43 III. READING ACTS 19:1-20 AS A LITERARY UNIT........................................... 45 Numerology and Luke-Acts .................................................................................. 45 The Number Seven in Luke-Acts: Demons, Brothers, Deacons, and More ................................................................................................... 46 The Number Twelve in Luke-Acts: Disciples, Apostles, Years, and More ................................................................................................... 50 Completion Put Another Way: the Twelve Create the Seven................... 51 Acts 19:1-20 as a Literary Unit ............................................................................. 53 Modern Treatments of Twelve in Acts 19 vs. Acts 1 ............................... 53 Six Criteria for Establishing Comparison ................................................. 56 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 80 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................... 81 Magic as a Power Structure .................................................................................. 82 Moving Forward ................................................................................................... 84 More than Apology: Highlighting the Misunderstanding of Divine Power ............................................................................................ 84 Judaism and Magic ................................................................................... 85 Power to the People .................................................................................. 86 REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 87 LIST OF TABLES 1.1. δύναμις in Acts ...........................................................................................................10 1.2. The Name of Jesus in Acts..........................................................................................12 2.1. The Ends of Two Ministries .......................................................................................32 2.2. Two Angelic Visitations .............................................................................................33 2.3. Two Miracles and the Cornelius Conversion ..............................................................35 2.4. Parallels between Philip and Simon ............................................................................38 2.5. Parallels between Paul/Saul and Bar-Jesus/Elymas ....................................................40 3.1. Seven in Luke-Acts .....................................................................................................47 3.2. Twelve in Luke-Acts...................................................................................................51 3.3. ἀμφότερος in Luke-Acts .............................................................................................61 3.4. Parallels and Reversals between the Ephesian Disciples and the Sons of Sceva .......70 iv INTRODUCTION Acts 19:1-20 has been the source of much consternation to interpreters,
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