Acts 19:19

Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. Acts 19:19

The verse more precisely reads, “And many of those who had practiced the meddlings, having collected the books, were burning them before all. And they calculated the prices of them and found them five myriads of silver” (CG).

The previous verse noted that many who had believed came and confessed by telling their deeds. Now, along with confession, personal deeds of repentance are noted by Luke, beginning with, “And many of those who had practiced the meddlings.”

The word translated as “meddlings” is a plural adjective, periergos. It comes from two words signifying “all around” and “work.” It is only found here and in 1 Timothy 5:13 where it is translated as “busybodies.” Of this word, HELPS Word Studies says, “properly, worked all-around, which describes "over-doing" – i.e. spending excessive time (effort) where it doesn't belong (or should not happen).”

Further, it denotes types of things requiring care or skill. Thus, it was applied to the arts of “magic, jugglery, and sleight of hand” (Barnes). Today we might see it in fortune tellers, palm readers, horoscopes, feng shui, exorcists, séance folks, Tarot readers, and the like.

It is variously translated as curious arts, magic(al) arts, witchcraft, etc. The Worsley New Testament uniquely says, “inquisitive arts.” To keep it as a single adjective in the plural number, using “meddlings” gets the point across. These people had been spending time prying into matters where they did not belong. Of these people, it next says, “having collected the books.”

They each had their own books of spells and incantations by which they pursued these forbidden arts, using them to tell the future, cast spells, drive out demons, or whatever the books were purposed for. Of the word translated as “books,” Vincent’s Word Studies says –

“Containing magical formulas. Heathen writers often allude to the Ephesian letters. These were symbols, or magical sentences written on slips of parchment, and carried about as amulets. Sometimes they were engraved on seals.”

Realizing that they were meddling in areas that they should not be a part of, especially now that they had received Jesus, they collected them together and “were burning them before all.”

The words are in the imperfect tense, giving the graphic idea of throwing book after book on a burning pile. The idea we are to get from this verse is that they openly practiced pagan arts and so now they are openly avowing Christ and disavowing their past lives.

They made an open and public pronouncement of their commitment to Christ and their renouncement of their old way of life through this act. To most, it probably never dawned on them that what they were doing, or the books they had been keeping, were not acceptable. They had a new life and a new direction, but they had not taken the time to consider how that had replaced their old way of life. Paul’s words to the Corinthians match the new attitude of these people –

“For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:14-19

Of these books that were brought and burned, Luke next records, “And they calculated the prices of them.”

Here is a word found only this one time in Scripture, sumpséphizó. It is a compound word signifying “to count together” and thus to calculate. As the word “prices” is plural, one can see them tossing the books on the burning piles and saying, “Well, there goes $900.00. Here goes another $750.00.” They added up the total as they went, “and found them five myriads of silver.”

This is a literal translation, but it would signify five ten thousands and thus fifty thousand of argurion, or silver. It is a word used many times in the gospels, however, it is improbable that it is Jewish equivalent of money being referred to here. Thus, it is an unknown amount. However, if it is comparable to a drachma, it would still be a whole heap o' money. Many thousands of dollars would not be unlikely. Marvin R. Vincent (1834-1922), who authored Vincent’s Word Studies, notes, “If reckoned in Jewish money, about thirty-five thousand dollars; if in Greek drachmae, as is more probable, about nine thousand three hundred dollars.”

Life application: Think of what has happened in this and the previous verses and consider it in relation to the salvation of man, especially considering Paul’s words of 2 Corinthians cited above. These were saved believers. They had been saved by faith in the work of Christ and had entered into the New Covenant in His blood.

The blood is a covering and a mark of propitiation for the sins they committed. And yet, they had continued an indeterminate amount of time in pursuing forbidden arts. As noted above, they could be comparable to fortune tellers, palm readers, horoscopes, feng shui, exorcists, séance folks, Tarot readers, and the like.

Did they know they were doing wrong? Apparently not. They had not yet received instruction to tell them that God does not approve of such things. In seeing the events of the Jewish exorcists, they had come to realize more fully the power of Christ, the holiness of God, and the utterly futile state of the nutty things they were involved in.

Now suppose these people had gone to a Billy Graham crusade in 1977. They heard the message, they believed it, and they were saved – having been sealed with the Holy Spirit at that time. From there, one went back to his house and started reading the Bible he bought on the way home. He quickly realized that reading the daily horoscope was bad juju and so he immediately gave that up.

The next started going to the already apostatizing Episcopal church on his island that conducted palm readings at their annual church fair. One went back to his farm that didn’t even have a telephone and he had little contact with anyone outside of his little town, a town with no church at all. They all practiced divining and séances each Saturday.

Eventually, the guy at the Episcopal church went on vacation and attended a Baptist church. He realized that palm reading is not something he should be involved in. He started reading his Bible and left that crummy Episcopal church. He didn’t like the new female priest anyway. In reading his Bible, he found other things the Episcopal church was doing wrong, like having a female priest to lead them.

The guy on the farm got a new truck in 1994 and it had a radio in it. While listening to Moody Radio, he found out that the things he was doing were not right. He remembered when he was saved, recommitted his life to Jesus, started reading the Bible and listening to Moody preachers each day. Further, he told every single person in his town about Jesus and became the town’s pastor.

Which one of these people who continued in his inappropriate lifestyle had lost his salvation? Which one of these men had earned his salvation? The answer to both is, “None of them.” Whether the change came immediately, after a year, or after 20 years – or if it never came – the matter of his salvation was one category. The matter of his doctrine and conduct was another completely separate category. Remember Paul’s words “that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them.”

They were under the blood of the New Covenant. It is not they that are required to perform for salvation. Rather, it was Christ who saved, and it remains Christ’s obligation to bring it to its fruition. Their salvation is not in question. Instead, their life in Christ is one that must come with proper instruction and active pursuit of what God expects. Remember this lesson and know that your life in Christ began the moment you believed. That will never change. Now, it is up to you to apply yourself in the pursuit of what will be pleasing to Him.

Lord God, may we learn to keep our categorical boxes concerning our life in You straight. You are the One who saves based on our act of faith. We are to then live out that salvation to Your glory, rejoicing in the fact that we were saved and continue to be saved by Your grace. Thank You, O God, for having saved us unto eternal life. Amen.