[:en]Paul in Ephesus (vs. 1-22)
Ephesus was the capital and leading business center of the Roman pro=vince of Asia (Part of present day Turkey) and one of the great cities on the Mediterranean Sea. Paul stayed in Ephesus for more than 2 years and wrote a letter to the Ephesian church while being imprisoned in Rome.
The early Christians only knew about John’s baptism. They needed further knowledge about the message and ministry of Jesus Christ and the filling of the Holy Spirit.
Paul laid his hands on his disciples and they received the Holy Spirit to prophesize in tongues. He also preached in the synagogue and discussed with the disciples at the lecture hall of Tyrannus. They spread the Good News throughout the land. God did extraordinary miracles through Paul. Many illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them by touching Paul’s handkerchiefs and aprons. Some Jews also wanted to imitate Paul’s power by using the name of Jesus to drive out evil spirits. The evil spirit jumped up and overpowered them beating them as they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. As this happened, many were seized with fear and the name of the Lord was held in high honor. The word of the Lord spread rapidly and grew in power. Later, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem and visit Rome.
The Riot in Ephesus (vs. 23-41)
There was a silversmith named Demetrius who made silver shrines of Artemis. Because the preaching of Paul had threatened his profits, he stirred up a riot. His strategy was to appeal to his fellow workmen’s love for money and encourage them to hide their greed behind the mark of patriotism and religious loyalty. The rioters could not see the selfish motive for their rioting, but only as heroes for the sake of their land and belief.
The people seized Paul’s traveling companion Gaius and Aristarchus and rushed them into the theater. They pushed Alexander to settle the dispute. Alexander dismissed the case because Gaius and Aristarchus neither robbed temple nor blasphemed their goddess. He told Demetrios and his fellow craftsmen to settle their disputes in the legal assembly.[:]