A number of men near the city of Ephesus had been baptized by John the Baptist, but when Paul asked them (in Acts 19:1-7) if they had received the Holy Ghost, they seemed confused and responded that they were not even familiar with such a thing. Paul then laid hands on them and they manifested signs of receiving the spirit of Christ.
Q: How many men did Paul lay hands on that day?
A: 12
In Acts 19:1-7 we read: "And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, he said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?
"And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized?
And they said, Unto John's baptism.
"Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
"And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. And all the men were about twelve.
Tidbit: The key is that they had not yet believed in Christ. They did not know about Jesus’ saving work (or the Holy Spirit’s indwelling) until they met Paul. A careful reading of the first part of Acts 19 reveals several facts about this group of twelve men: 1) They were “disciples”—but not of Christ. Rather, they were self-identified disciples of John the Baptist (verse 3). 2) They were not believers in the risen Lord Jesus Christ—Paul’s question about their conversion experience reveals that they knew nothing of the Spirit or His power (verse 2). 3) They had taken the first step—repentance of sins—but they had not taken the corresponding step—faith in Christ.
*In short, the “Ephesus Dozen” were still living under the Old Testament economy. They saw the need of repentance and were still awaiting the Messiah. They did not know the Christian message.
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