…God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul. (Acts 19:11)
A miracle is always special, so what does Luke mean here when he speaks of special miracles? Other versions of the Bible translate this word as “unusual,” “extraordinary,” or “uncommon.” Since by definition a miracle is always something unusual, extraordinary, or uncommon, this verse is almost a play on words: “God wrought ‘special special’s’ ‘extraordinary extraordinaries,’ unusual unusuals’ by the hands of Paul.”
the thing that made these particular miracles so “special” was the geographic location in which Paul was ministering when they were performed. In New Testament days, the two cities most widely known for their total degeneracy and depravity were Corinth and Ephesus. Biblical scholars tell us that these two towns were open sewers of dissolution and debauchery. Yet they were the very areas God chose in which to perform the greatest miracles recorded in the book of Acts. Why?
There is a spiritual tense that says….. where sin abounded grace did much more abound (Rom. 5:20). Paul could well have been speaking of these two cities when he made that statement. The greater the presence of darkness, the greater the provision — and power — of God’s redemptive light.
That should encourage us today. Perhaps none of our modern-day cities compares in wickedness with Corinth and Ephesus, but God still has “special” miracles for each of them. Claim the “special” miracles of divine deliverance the Lord has for you and your hometown.
