Acts 19:4-5

19:4 Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, ¹  that is, in Jesus.” 19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus,

Acts 19:18

19:18 Many of those who had believed came forward, ²  confessing and making their deeds known. ³ 

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¹ sn These disciples may have had their contact with John early on in the Baptist’s ministry before Jesus had emerged. This is the fifth time Luke links John the Baptist and Jesus (Acts 1:5; 11:16; 13:25; 18:25).

² tn Grk “came”; the word “forward” is supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning and to conform to the contemporary English idiom.

³ tn Or “confessing and disclosing their deeds.” BDAG 59 s.v. ἀναγγέλλω 2 has “W. ἐξομολογεῖσθαι: ἀ. τὰς πράξεις αὐτο'ν make their deeds known Ac 19:18.”

sn Making their deeds known. Ephesus was a major pagan religious center with much syncretistic “magical” practice. Coming to Jesus changed the lives and attitudes of these believers, creating a social impact.