Papyrus 38

Date: Late Second or Early Third Century A.D.

Discovered: Purchased in Cairo, Egypt in 1924; probably from Fayum, Egypt.

Location: Ann Arbor Michigan, University of Michigan Library

Contents: Acts 18:27-19:6, 12-16

 

Acts 18

²⁷ When he had determined to pass over into Achaia, the brothers encouraged him, and wrote to the disciples to receive him. When he had come, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; ²⁸ for he powerfully refuted the Jews, publicly showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

 

Acts 19

 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper country, came to Ephesus and found certain disciples. Paul was desiring according to his own plan to journey to Jerusalem, but the Spirit said to him, “Return into Asia.” Having passed through the upper sections, he appeared inside Ephesus.  ² And he said to the disciples them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed in the existence of the Only One of the Lord?”

They said to him, “No, we haven’t received or even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

³ He Paul said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?”

They said, “Into John’s baptism.”

⁴ Paul said, “John indeed baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.”

⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. ⁶ When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they spoke with other languages and prophesied.

[..]

¹² so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out. ¹³ But some of the itinerant Jews, exorcists, took on themselves to invoke over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” ¹⁴ There were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did this. Among them were also sons of Judah, a certain chief priest, wanting to do this, having a custom to exorcise those. And entering towards a demon-possessed man, they began to call upon the name, saying, “We charge you by Jesus whom Paul the apostle preaches to come out!”

¹⁵ The evil spirit answered, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?” ¹⁶ The man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.