As in most major cities, many Ephesian citizens held political or economic power. Some also sought to exercise a more mystical kind of power, through the dark arts of sorcery or magic. But a greater power—the greatest power—had come to town. Luke wrote, “The Lord’s word grew abundantly and strengthened powerfully.” One sign was that people who believed Paul’s message then got rid of sorcery scrolls worth roughly 50,000 days’ wages!

• Jesus often stood what seems to us like economic “common sense” on its head (cf. Matthew 6:25-34, Luke 19:1-10). There’s no hint that the Ephesian believers thought of re-selling their sorcery texts to others, despite their great value in a world where scrolls were hand-copied rarities. Have you ever had to “burn” anything of value in order to follow God faithfully? If so, was it worth whatever the economic cost?
• Ephesus (and the whole Greco-Roman world) had limited medical expertise, even less emotional awareness, and served a pantheon of fickle gods who seemed to harm humans more than they helped. Finding Jesus’ power, many of them broke cleanly from their past. Scholar William Barclay wrote, “It is all too true that many of us hate our sins but either we cannot leave them at all or we do so with a lingering and backward look. There are times when only the clean and final break will suffice.” Is there any place in your life where you need to make a clean, final break from something hurtful and wrong?