[2] This section covers Paul's long stay in Ephesus, lasting 3 years,[3] where he encountered "some disciples" of John the Baptist and confronted the influence of magic and occult in that city.

[9] Loveday Alexander notes that Luke's emphasis on God as the worker of miracles is not typical of his narrative: he sees it as important to appreciate that Paul's spiritual power does not come from himself but is a direct divine endorsement of his mission".

[11] Methodist writer Joseph Benson suggests that as Paul stayed longer in Ephesus than elsewhere on his journeys, the miracles wrought through him would have stood out both in number and in wonder.

[15] Sorcery and exorcism are mentioned several times in Acts: Simon Magus and Elymas Bar-Jesus, and divination is illustrated by the girl at Philippi.

[18] The amount of money in the scroll-burning incident (verse 19) must have stirred many people, whose livelihood (that is dependent on the selling of religious objects) is threatened by the successful growth of the Christian church, and now is bolstering a serious opposition.