Don’t trust in every miracle you see. Although we often see supernatural events that happen through the power of Christ . . . sometimes counterfeits arise. Such happened with the seven sons of Sceva in Acts 19.
They’d witnessed the apostles casting out demons in Jesus’ name and decided to give this power a spin. Unfortunately for them, it backfired eventually.
Today’s article will talk about the seven sons of Sceva, how they managed to cast out demons without the Holy Spirit living in them, and how it didn’t go too well for them in the end.
Who Were the Seven Sons of Sceva in the Bible?
We meet the seven sons of Sceva in the middle of Acts 19.
We aren’t told a ton of details about them. The passage simply says Sceva is a Jewish priest. This makes it likely they resented Christianity and felt it was displacing what had given their family income and stability.
Whatever their feelings about Christianity (jealousy, fear they needed to compete with this “new thing”), they observed Christians casting out demons in Jesus’ name. Then, they decided to follow their example.
They go up to demon-possessed people and say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.”
Now, the passage doesn’t say why Sceva’s sons start to drive out demons. Perhaps they felt threatened by the followers of “the Way” (as Christians were first called), this new religious group that presented a different way of following God. After all, their father was a chief priest. Christianity presented a power challenge to the old ways. Maybe they felt they had to compete with this new thing that had come along.
Perhaps they did it for money purposes, getting people to pay them to heal their demon-possessed relatives.
Perhaps they did it for fame and acclaim.
Or perhaps they didn’t want the Christians doing all the miracles.
Regardless, their plan appears to work at first. But it has consequences they didn’t expect.
Where Did the Seven Sons of Sceva Live?
These seven sons lived in Ephesus.
We know that the city was a major port city with many pagan practices running rampant. The detail may help to explain why they became in demand as exorcists—perhaps the town was a hub for demonic activity. It may also underline why the seven sons of Sceva would have been jealous of Christianity or craving attention: Jewish priests were probably in the minority in this Greek city-state.
For a time, they became famous in Ephesus. Until they encounter a very powerful evil spirit.
What Happened to the Sons of Sceva When They Met a Powerful Demon?
A rather chilling twist to the story happens in Acts 19.
The seven sons encounter a very powerful spirit inside a house. They try to cast it out, as they’d always done. They invoke the name of Jesus, whom Paul preached, for the demon to leave.
Something bizarre happened. Let’s look at the exact words of the passage to get an idea.
“Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?”
The demon then proceeds to overpower all of them, beat them, strip them naked, and send them bleeding from the house.
Yikes. If that doesn’t ripple goosebumps on your skin, I don’t know what will.
The demon could tell who had the Holy Spirit indwelling them. It recognized Paul, after all, who had converted several chapters prior.
Why Did the Seven Sons of Sceva Have Mixed Success?
Jesus’ name is very powerful. But when it comes to casting out demons, one needs to have the power of the Holy Spirit inside of them, especially when it comes to powerful spirits.
Various biblical passages refer to angelic beings having types—the cherubim, seraphim, etc.—and classes with different amounts of authority and power—most notably the archangels.
Since demons are fallen angels, they likely have a similar structure. Some have more power than others. It would appear that until this point, the seven sons of Sceva had encountered demons with less power, who were intimidated just by hearing someone use Jesus’ name. But this time, they encountered quite a powerful demon.
How Did Ephesus Respond to the Seven Sons of Sceva Incident?
Word about the failed exorcism spread like wildfire throughout Ephesus.
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Fortunately, people didn’t respond with awe that a demon defeated the men. Instead, people respect the name of Jesus and the power behind it.
The news sets a chain reaction. People come forward and admit to sorcery practices. They burn their witchcraft charms and papers publicly and renounce them.
Although this allows for the word of God to be spread throughout the land, we can imagine the terror the seven sons of Sceva experienced.
The passage never tells us whether or not they converted to Christianity after this. Church history doesn’t seem to say anything about them, so we can sadly presume they didn’t follow the Way after this event.
Luke likely included them in Acts because he was reportedly known for including the names of eyewitnesses. He did this so people could go directly to the source and ask them what happened. Although the experience was likely humiliating, they probably would explain that they could not exorcise this powerful demon through their actions alone.
With this in mind, what lessons do the seven sons of Sceva have to teach us?
What Can We Learn from the Seven Sons of Sceva?
The seven sons of Sceva are both a cautionary tale and a witness to the true power of the Holy Spirit. It saddens me that after this encounter with the demon, they likely did not convert to Christianity. Or if they did, we don’t have any record of this happening.
The passage, however, tells us a lot about exercising discernment when casting out demons. After all, the chilling “depart from me” passage in Matthew 7 shows that sometimes even people without the power of the Holy Spirit can do “miraculous things.” Think of the magicians in Egypt. They could replicate the plagues to a certain degree.
With this in mind, let’s uncover three life lessons from the sons of Sceva.
Jesus’ Name Has Power
You can’t exorcise a demon without Jesus’ name. They tremble at the sound of Jesus’ name. Why? Jesus conquered death and is God incarnate. That name alone can drive out demons to a certain degree.
With that said, someone needs the Holy Spirit indwelling them to protect them from demonic attacks. The dangers are literal as well as spiritual. The demon in this passage starts whamming the seven sons of Sceva.
Demon-possessed people can turn violent. Especially against witnesses who don’t know the Lord. People need to make sure they truly know Jesus before going toe-to-toe against evil forces.
Beware Counterfeits
Just because someone can do miracles or can exorcise demons does not mean they are of Christ. Counterfeits pop up everywhere.
Although the spirit can empower Christians to do this, it’s not always a tell-tale sign that they know Jesus. Listen to the Holy Spirit; if you feel alarm bells around someone, it is probably best to steer clear.
Jesus Can Use Anything for Good
Because of the sons of Sceva, word spread throughout Ephesus. People knew that the power to remove demons for good came from the Holy Spirit. Because of this, people gave up their ways of sorcery and turned to Jesus. Revival broke out.
All because the sons of Sceva could not exorcise a powerful demon.
Jesus has the power to move amid counterfeits, too. When certain “Christians” are outed for being false teachers, don’t fear. Jesus could be pruning or working to show the differences between a fake Gospel and the true one.
To tell the difference, commit your life to Christ, read the Bible, and ask him to help you test the spirits.
Photo Credit: © Getty Images/Likozor
Hope Bolinger is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, and the author of almost 30 books. More than 1500 of her works have been featured in various publications. Check out her books at hopebolinger.com for clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids.
This article is part of our People of Christianity catalog that features the stories, meaning, and significance of well-known people from the Bible and history. Here are some of the most popular articles for knowing important figures in Christianity:
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