Chapter 19
[Acts 19:2] -- And he said to them: Did you receive the Holy Spirit upon believing? This means, Did you receive the laying on of hands, by which the Holy Spirit is usually given, after baptism?
[Acts 19:4] -- John baptized with the baptism of repentance. This baptism, he says, could not grant the remission of sins but could teach only repentance. For just as the sign of circumcision was a seal of the faith which they carried in the patriarchs, so this washing was accepted by the repentant people as a singular sign of their devotion: Yet this same thing was figuratively showing also the baptism of Christ, by which remission would be granted.
[Acts 19:5] -- Having heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. A question is frequently discussed, whether those who, perhaps due to ignorance, were baptized by some who were not themselves baptized, yet were of the right faith, ought to be baptized again; which matter, I think, is explained in this chapter. For what difference does it make whether someone is baptized before the beginning of Christ's baptism or now without its succession, since even John himself, whom he baptized in faith and in the name of Christ, though it was to come, had baptized, said they should be baptized again, saying: "I baptize you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit" (Matt. III)? For if now, such people could be remedied sufficiently by participation in the body and blood of Christ alone, as some assert, it might have sufficed then too; nor would it have been necessary for those whom John baptized with water to be baptized by Christ's disciples, but merely to be confirmed by sharing in the blood.
[Acts 19:7] -- All the men were about twelve, etc. But the judgments of God are a great abyss. Behold, recently deemed unworthy of the visitation of the apostles, Asia is now consecrated by the Apostolic number and elevated by the prophetic gift. And it should be noted that the Holy Spirit also here showed the signs of his coming upon the twelve disciples, and above upon the one hundred and twenty, which is the number twelve multiplied by ten, that sign in Jerusalem, this in Ephesus, which is a city of the Greeks. I believe to show that whether a person believes from among the Jews or the Gentiles, they only who communicate with the unity of the Catholic and Apostolic Church are fulfilled.
[Acts 19:13] -- However, certain itinerant Jewish exorcists attempted to invoke over those who, etc. Josephus reports that King Solomon devised and taught his people modes of exorcism, that is, adjurations, by which unclean spirits, once expelled from a person, might not dare to return. This sometimes happens even through reprobates, either for the condemnation of those who do such things or for the benefit of those who see and hear, so that although men may despise those who perform the signs, they nevertheless honor God, at whose invocation such great miracles are performed.
[Acts 19:14] -- However, there were some seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva, who were doing this. It is better read according to the Greek: However, there was of a certain Sceva. Since even Satan himself transforms into an angel of light (II Cor. XI), he does not fear to color his ministers with the same pretense. Hence, since the grace of the Holy Spirit is usually designated by the number seven, in which figure the Lord, after the resurrection, feasts with seven disciples, and seven brothers come to Cornelius to baptize him with the Holy Spirit, the sons of Sceva are reckoned as if they are to expel evil spirits in the number seven. Since they invoke the name of Christ and the apostles, not believing, but testing, they are deservedly condemned not only by God but also by the very demons for their deceitful falseness. They are well called the sons of Sceva, which translates to "little fox crying out." This animal, very crafty and deceitful, shows Jews, Gentiles, and heretics always lurking against the Church of God and chattering with a garrulous voice. Concerning whom it is commanded by the guardians of the same Church: Catch for us the little foxes that ruin the vineyards.
[Acts 19:15] -- Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize. About this verse, Arator says, Know your madness, enemy race, the demon admits to reigning, Whom you deny has come, and you are convicted by this very fact, By the one who drives you to ruin.
[Acts 19:19] -- And many of those who had followed curious arts brought their books, etc. He calls curious arts the industry of magical arts, whose followers justly burn their books, valued at a great price, when they see the very demons they served honoring Jesus Christ the Lord and his apostles.
[Acts 19:19] -- They found the sum to be fifty thousand silver coins. And in the Gospel's debtors under the number of fifty denarii, debts are forgiven. I believe that subsisting in this life with the five senses of the body, we transgress the precepts of the Decalogue. Here, however, due to the enormity of the magic crime, the number of a thousand is also added. Otherwise, the number fifty often refers to penance and the remission of sins, whence the Fiftieth Psalm of Penance, and the fiftieth year is one of remission.
[Acts 19:22] -- Sending two of his ministers to Macedonia, etc. He sent disciples ahead to prepare alms, which he was to bring to Jerusalem, so that collections would not be made when he came himself.
[Acts 19:24] -- A certain Demetrius, a silversmith, etc. This Demetrius, who tries to disturb the way of the Lord, fulfills his name by his actions. For it means "excessive persecutor." Hence, accordingly, the temples he makes for Diana are built of nothing else but silver metal since silver in the Scriptures is usually indicated by eloquence, just as gold signifies understanding. And the cunning gentiles try to defend their religion not with any reason of understanding but with the mere elegance of words.
[Acts 19:27] -- Not only, however, will this part of our work be in danger of coming into disrepute, but also the temple of the great Diana will be considered as nothing, and be destroyed, etc.; that is, not only will our works be found vain and unworthy of reward, but our religion will also be dishonored, if Paul's teaching prevails, that idols are not gods. And the foolishness of the Gentiles is astonishing, who are not ashamed to worship those whom they know can be built or destroyed by humans.
[Acts 19:28] -- And they cried out, saying: Great is Diana of the Ephesians. When Demetrius said Diana would perish, they, on the contrary, marvel at her greatness.
[Acts 19:29] -- And they rushed with one accord into the theater. The theater is a place having the shape of a semicircle, where people standing inside watched scenic plays. Hence, it received its name in Greek, from the spectacle. Therefore, as Arator says: The merit and cause of Diana deserved no other than to be treated lasciviously in the market forum, the base area of the ugliness of the assembly's work.