Yechezel 3 wrote:
I was doing some research on another topic and got to reading again Acts 19. This part has always bothered me, but I can't put a clear finger on it, hope someone has some insight.

Acts 19:11 And God did extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick, and diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. 13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches." 14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. 15 But the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" 16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, mastered all of them, and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 And this became known to all residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; and fear fell upon them all; and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. 18 Many also of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices.

compare to

Mark 9:38 38 John said to him, "Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us." 39 But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me. 40 For he that is not against us is for us.
Excellent question. First, the business of 'handkerchiefs and aprons' healing the sick always worried me, as it smacks of sorcery. Where was Yeshua in this? Didn't it instead glorify Paul? How much did he charge for this strange 'ministry'?

Second, there is no evidence that that the man was delivered, even by Paul. If this had occurred, then Paul (being Paul) would certainly have instructed Luke to write about it. However because he didn't, one can only conclude that the man remained demonized.

Third, The 'Jesus whom Paul preached' was not the real Yeshua, but the lawless Jesus invented by Paul. The difference is crucial. Therefore the demon was under no compulsion to come out of the man, and instead caused havoc. Upon seeing what happened, the people must have realised they'd been fed a false Jesus in whom there's no power, because according to Luke they 'confessed'. However whereas he worded it to make us assume they repented of unbelief, from the context it's more likely they repented of the lawlessness they'd received from Paul. Remember this was Ephesus, home to the Nicolaitans, the congregation _base_d on Paul's teachings led by Nicolas of Antioch (c.f. Acts 6:5).

Fourth, as for the demon 'knowing' both Yeshua and Paul, this is as meaningless as saying "the President I know and the garbageman I know". The fact that we might know both of them does not mean they are in the same category, any more than Yeshua and Paul were in the same category.

Finally, as for Mark 9:40 "he that is not against us is for us", Galatians 2 makes it clear that Paul opposed the apostles. Therefore he is exempt from Yeshua's commandment to allow him to continue (Mark 9:39).

Although Acts 19 was worded to make it sound like a huge victory for Paul, a close reading shows it was actually a huge defeat where he lost followers en masse.

Luke was a fantastic spin-doctor, who by leaving key information out, could make the most negative situation sound positive for Paul. During his travels with Paul he did this time and again, and Paul utilised Luke's gift to the hilt.

I could say more about Luke and how he later came to righteousness, but that is off topic and best handled elsewhere.

Shalom