SCRIPTURE: ACTS 19
PAUL IN EPHESUS (vs. 1-22)
Apollos was at Corinth while Paul went to Ephesus. There he preached about the Holy Spirit and told the people to believe in Jesus, who is the one coming after John the Baptist. On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.
Paul spoke in the synagogue about 3 months talking about the kingdom of God. Some of them refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and lectured them at the hall of Tyrannus for two years. All the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.
God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest were doing this. One day, the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them, bringing them naked and bleeding. After this event, the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus were all seized with fear and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way, the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
Then Paul decided to go to Jerusalem through Macedonia and Achaia and visited Rome. He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus to Macedonia while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer.
THE RIOT IN EPHESUS (vs. 23-41)
A silversmith named Demetrius was a craftsman who was making silver shrines of Artemis. But when Paul had convinced and led people to believe in Christ, their business was severely affected. So he called in all the silversmiths together and said: “Men, you know we receive good income from this business. And Paul had told a large number of people in Ephesus and the whole province of Asia that man-made gods are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.” (vs. 25-27)
When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” (v. 28). Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus. Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples prevented him begging him not to venture into the theater.
The city clerk quieted the crowd and said, “You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess. If Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges. If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly. As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of today’s events. In that case, we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.” (vs. 37-40). After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
THOUGHTS:
Ephesus was the capital and leading business center of the Roman province of Asia. A hub of sea and land transportation, it ranked with Antioch in Syria and Alexandria in Egypt as one of the great cities on the Mediterranean Sea. Paul stayed in Ephesus for over a little over two years. While imprisoned in Rome, Paul wrote letter to the Ephesian church (The Book of Ephesians)
Many Ephesians engaged in exorcism and occult practices for profit. The sons of Sceva recognized that God’s Holy Spirit was more powerful than witchcraft. So they were calling on the name of Jesus without knowing him personally to drive out demons. No one can tap the name of Jesus like a magic charm to perform miracles. God works his power only through those he chooses.
Ephesus was a center for black magic and other occult practices. The people invented formulas to give them wealth, happiness and success in marriage. Superstition and sorcery were common. If you are a believer in Christ, you must not hold on to the occult, black magic or sorcery because god clearly forbids such practices. Get rid of anything that could keep you trapped in such practices.
Artemis was a goddess of fertility. She was represented by a carved female figure with many breasts. A large statue of her was in the great temple at Ephesus. That temple was one of the wonders of the ancient world. the festival of Artemis involved wild orgies and carousing. the religious and commercial life of Ephesus reflected the city’s worship of this pagan deity.
When Paul preached in Ephesus, Demetrius did not quarrel with his doctrine. But when his preaching threatened his livelihood profits, he convinced his fellow craftsmen to stir up as riot. His strategy was to hide their greed behind the mask of patriotism and religious loyalty. The rioters could not see their selfish motives but saw themselves as heroes for the sake of their land and beliefs.
The main responsibility of the local city leaders was to maintain peace and order. If they failed to control the people, Rome would remove the appointed officials from office and put them under martial law taking away their civic freedoms. That was why the official dismissed the crowd.