Acts 19:21-41
21 Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while. 23 About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. 25 These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26 And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.” 28 When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s companions in travel. 30 But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. 31 And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater. 32 Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky? 36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 40 For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
A friend of mine in this church asked me last week which period of time I would want to live in if I could choose any period of time in which to live. I replied that I thought maybe the period of the early Church because it would have been so amazing to see the events of the book of Acts unfold. He then asked me if I thought I would have been a preacher had I lived back then…so I determined inwardly that I no longer liked this member!
I jest!
In all seriousness, that is a pretty tough question to answer, and a painful one. It is painful because it made me ask myself that question: “Would I have been a preacher back then?” If the question is, “Do you hope you would have been a preacher back then,” then the answer is “Yes!” I certainly hope I would have. But, “Would you have been a preacher back then,” is different. Would I have been the type of person – and am I now the type of person – who would be willing to suffer and die and stand in the furnace of the first century and preach the gospel of Christ?
Ouch! That will humble you to ask yourself that question!
The fact of the matter is that the first century Church faced unbelievable trials and persecutions. The type of people who walked with Jesus in that time were, by definition, sold out to Christ and His gospel. They had to be. We cannot really say if we would have been preachers at that time because we cannot imagine what that would have cost. I very much hope we would have been. I very much hope that all of us are walking with Jesus in such a way that you could pick us up, drop us in the first century, and we would not miss a beat. But is that so? Do we possess the courage and grit and determination it would have required to stand in the crucible of the first century and preach Christ?
The gospel at that time was often met with outrage and violence, unlike in our day when it seems to be met with indifference (in western Europe and the United States anyway). Consider what it meant to follow Jesus at that time. Consider, for example, what happened in Ephesus when Paul stayed and preached and planted churches and followed Jesus there. Want to know what happened? The place rioted!
Acts 19:21-41 tells of a riot that broke out in Ephesus as a result of the Church’s and, specifically, Paul’s efforts at spreading the gospel throughout the world. Let us consider this passage and what it tells us about the nature of the Church and devotion to Christ.
The Church has the power to transform whole communities, cities, and regions.
The most glaring truth of this passage is that the Church has the power to transform whole communities, cities, and regions! Let us work through the text, making comments as we go, so we can understand what is happening in this fascinating scene.
21 Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while. 23 About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen.
These details about Demetrius are most helpful for they enable us to understand the economic, religious, and social dynamics of Ephesus at this time. First of all, he was a silversmith. Interestingly, A.T. Robertson says that there “is on an inscription at Ephesus near the close of the century a Demetrius called neopoios Artemidos a temple warden of Artemis (Diana).”[1] Second, he provided silver to craftsman. Third, he and the craftsmen shaped the silver into objects of devotion for the goddess Artemis. F.F. Bruce has provided some most helpful information about Ephesian Artemis.
The cult of Ephesian Artemis was of earlier date than the Greek settlement at Ephesus; the name Artemis is non-Greek. Artemis was traditionally venerated as the protector of wild creatures. This association with wild creatures survives, in an altered form, in her worship on the Greek mainland as the “queen and huntress, chaste and fair” of Ben Jonson’s poem; Ephesian Artemis, on the other hand, seems to have acquired some of the features of the great mother-goddess venerated from time immemorial in Asia Minor. Her temple, replacing an earlier one which was destroyed by fire in 356 B.C, was reckoned one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It covered an area four times as large as that of the Parthenon in Athens; it was supported by 127 pillars, each of them sixty feet high, and was adorned by Praxiteles and other great sculptors of antiquity. It stood about a mile and a half northeast of the city which Paul knew. All knowledge of its whereabouts had been forgotten for centuries, when its foundations were discovered on the last day of 1869. The great altar, west of the main building, was discovered in 1965.
The worship of Diana dominated first century Ephesus. Ephesian Artemis (as distinct from the Greek Artemis, the sister of Apollo), was the goddess of fertility and she was highly revered. One inscription found at Ephesus refers to her as he megiste theos, “the greatest god.”[2] What was happening, then, was an entire guild of merchants were profiting off of this great devotion to Diana. Archaeologists have found “silver reproductions of her image and terra-cotta [clay] models of her temple.”[3]
Now that we know the lay of the land, we can begin to understand the source of the trouble in Ephesus.
25 These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26 And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”
Ah! So there is the rub! The expansion of Christianity into what was then called Asia was disrupting the commercial aspect of pagan worship. It was not the first time that Christianity came into conflict with market forces, nor would it be the last. As more and more people came to know Christ there was less and less demand for the silver trinkets of Diana worship. Thus, the sellers of these goods were incensed. Their foundational objection was likely economic, but the mob quickly dressed it up in spiritual language. They whipped themselves into a frenzy, the crowd grew, and they seized two Christians, dragging them into the theater of Ephesus. Watch:
28 When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s companions in travel. 30 But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. 31 And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater.
Notice the sheer bravery of Paul. He wants to rush into a theater full of people, many of whom want to kill him, but he is restrained by his friends. In the Texas Rangers Museum of Waco, Texas you will see the motto, “One Riot, One Ranger.” That comes from an apocryphal story about a Texas Ranger who arrived at a town in which a riot had broken out. When the city fathers met the Ranger and asked, “They only sent one Ranger?” he responded, “There’s only one riot, isn’t there?” I cannot help but think of that when I observe Paul’s desire to plunge into this dangerous scene. Where his friends saw almost certain death, Paul undoubtedly saw an opportunity to preach the gospel!
32 Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
This is a most interesting development. First, notice the nature of the rioting crowd: there is confusion about why they are there and what they are upset about. Some have no idea at all! Finally, a Jewish man named Alexander steps forward to speak. Almost certainly what is happening here is Alexander is attempting to speak as a representative of the Jewish community of Ephesus so that this community might distance themselves from the early Church. Again, we must remember that outsiders likely saw the early Christians as simply a strange branch of Judaism. Thus, the Jews had a motive in distancing themselves so that they could shield themselves from the anger of the crowd. Regardless, Alexander was never given the chance to speak for the crowd refused to let him do so. Instead, they began a chant of, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” that lasts, Luke tells us, “about two hours.”
This chanting is significant for some early pagans would enter into elongated corporate chanting in an effort to reach a state of spiritual frenzy. Undoubtedly that happened here. Imagine this large, raucous crowd chanting this over and over again until they slipped into a kind of corporate hypnosis! Finally, the crowd was dispersed by a most unlikely source.
35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky? 36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 40 For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
Once again, God chooses to work through a non-Christian government official to shield His Church from harm. Our God is the God who uses most unlikely means to His own ends, and He does so here.
This is frankly a fascinating episode in the life of the early Church, and one that is undergirded by a simple but profound truth: the Church has the power to transform whole communities, cities, and regions. We simply must reclaim this fact in our day of Christian retreat!
We have been given the Holy Spirit. The Lord God is with us and for us. Christ Jesus has risen from the dead! We are the stewards and heralds of the most revolutionary message every voiced or heard in human history! We do indeed possess the power to change whole communities, cities, and regions.
I wonder if we still believe this? Do we still believe that the crime rate of North Little Rock could actually be lowered because we are here? Do we still believe that the divorce rate could go down because we are here? Do we still believe that we could win so much of our community to Jesus Christ that it would literally change the landscape of where we live?
The early Church understood what they had and they went forth into the darkness committed to be light everywhere! They had a vision for the expansion of the Kingdom of God all over the earth and, as a result, God moved and worked through their tireless efforts!
Church: we could change the world!
A single Christian sold out to Jesus has the power to transform whole communities, cities, and regions.
But there is something even more obvious in our passage. It is related to the first point, but is more pointed and poignant: a single Christian sold out to Jesus has the power to transform whole communities, cities, and regions.
Did you hear Demetrius’ complaint?
26 And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”
It was the Church, yes, but it was specifically Paul, the champion of the gospel of Christ! Paul’s preaching was so powerful and his efforts so relentless and his courage so undaunted that the entire foundation of pagan goddess worship in first century Ephesus was being eroded! Unbelievable!
Specifically, Paul was “saying that gods made with hands are not gods.” Indeed he was saying this for a Christian can so no other. We must proclaim that the God of heaven and earth cannot be contained in either a glorious temple or a silver trinket. He simply cannot be contained by anything we can make! In saying that “gods made with hands are not gods,” Paul was expressing what Jaroslav Pelikan vividly described as “the unanimous disgust and consistent horror of Jewish and Christian monotheism at the sight of idolatry and polytheism.”[4]
A.T. Robertson makes the interesting point that “there had long been a Jewish colony in Ephesus, but their protest against idolatry was as nothing compared with Paul’s preaching.”[5] He raises a great question: if Jews and Christians alike both abhorred idolatry, then why had a long-established Jewish population in Ephesus been so inept at combating it? Clearly the answer is that they held their convictions within the walls of their own synagogues and did not challenge the predominant culture on the point. They were not missionaries. But Paul, driven by the reality of the resurrected Christ – a reality rejected by the Jewish community – could not help but challenge the spiritual darkness of the region. So that is what he did.
Paul was a mighty weapon in the hands of God! Ernst Haenchen has written that “in the final analysis the only thing heathenism can do against Paul is to shout itself hoarse.”[6] Indeed! Indeed!
Church: one person can make a difference.
Just one.
Consider John Geddie.
John Geddie was a Canadian missionary to the New Hebrides Islands in the mid-1800s. When he arrived, he came face to face with a tribe of cannibals, considered to be one of the most dangerous groups of people in the world at that time. Violence, thievery, and murder were very common among this barbaric tribe. In 1849, early in his work, he wrote these words in his journal: “In the darkness, degradation, pollution, and misery that surrounds me, I look forward in faith to the time when some of these poor islanders will unite in the triumph song of ransomed souls.”…
Geddie died just before Christmas 1872. Inscribed on his gravestone was this testimony, “In memory of John Geddie. When he landed in 1848 there were no Christians here. When he left in 1872 there were no heathen here.” One man made an eternal difference simply because he believed it could happen.[7]
Oh my! “When he landed in 1848 there were no Christians here. When he left in 1872 there were no heathen here.”
One person, Church! One!
Consider William Wilberforce. Wilberforce was a devout Christian who was determined to end the slave trade in England. He said:
So enormous, so dreadful, so irremediable did the [slave] trade’s wickedness appear that my own mind was completely made up for abolition. Let the consequences be what they would: I from this time determined that I would never rest until I had effected its abolition.
So Wilberforce determined that he would make a difference whether or not anybody else would.
…Wilberforce was initially optimistic, even naively so. He expressed “no doubt” about his chances of quick success. As early as 1789, he and Clarkson managed to have 12 resolutions against the slave trade introduced—only to be outmaneuvered on fine legal points. The pathway to abolition was blocked by vested interests, parliamentary filibustering, entrenched bigotry, international politics, slave unrest, personal sickness, and political fear. Other bills introduced by Wilberforce were defeated in 1791, 1792, 1793, 1797, 1798, 1799, 1804, and 1805…
…Wilberforce—dubbed “the prime minister of a cabinet of philanthropists”—was at one time active in support of 69 philanthropic causes. He gave away one-quarter of his annual income to the poor. He fought on behalf of chimney sweeps, single mothers, Sunday schools, orphans, and juvenile delinquents. He helped found parachurch groups like the Society for Bettering the Cause of the Poor, the Church Missionary Society, the British and Foreign Bible Society, and the Antislavery Society….
…His antislavery efforts finally bore fruit in 1807: Parliament abolished the slave trade in the British Empire. He then worked to ensure the slave trade laws were enforced and, finally, that slavery in the British Empire was abolished. Wilberforce’s health prevented him from leading the last charge, though he heard three days before he died that the final passage of the emancipation bill was ensured in committee.[8]
Just one person, Church! Just one person determined to give all for Jesus Christ!
Consider Lottie Moon.
Moon began her career as a missionary in China in 1873…She became an expert in the language and cultural graces of China. She adopted a Chinese form of dress and came to love the people and culture. In 1885, a group of men walked 300 miles to beg her to come “teach truth” to them. Moon heeded their call, making a four-day mule journey to settle in the city of Pingdu. She was thought to be the first woman of any foreign mission group in China to live alone among the Chinese people, beyond the reach of U.S. government protection. She was also one of the first women to establish a church in China. She did everything but baptize the new converts in Shaling (Saling) Village, just outside of Pingdu. She usually taught women only. Yet she was glad when men listened outside the paper-covered windows, or at the edge of the threshing floor where women learned while they worked. One of her male converts was the famed Pastor Li Shou-ting. He became a highly regarded evangelist and was credited with baptizing over 10,000 people.
In almost 40 years of service, she welcomed the first Southern Baptist missionary doctor, nurse, hospital, women’s college, social work institutions, and high-level theological seminary. A terrible number of missionaries fell into depression, insanity, or disputes. Many died from common diseases and dangers of the times. By her charm, wit, and wisdom, she became a tower of stability and a help to new missionaries…
During her life, Moon wrote hundreds of letters to Baptist periodicals, churches, and women…Her letters were a major force in the formation of the Woman’s Missionary Union of the Southern Baptist Convention (WMU) in May 1888. As their first project, the WMU adopted Lottie Moon’s idea that they take an offering at Christmastime each year…When news of her self-sacrificial death reached America, it gave new urgency to the WMU’s annual Christmas offering. In 1918, the WMU renamed the foreign mission offering in honor of the one who first proposed it. Now known as the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions, this offering provides 50 percent of the funding for over 5,500 Southern Baptist missionaries today. Baptist churches gave $150.4 million to the annual Lottie Moon offering in 2007. No other annual offering can match this record in longevity and amount…
…In Pingdu region, Christians from about 30 surrounding villages formed local congregations. They united under the umbrella of one city church, which claims a congregation of more than 4,000. A new building seating 1,500 was dedicated in May 2006.[9]
Paul.
John Geddie.
William Wilberforce.
Lottie Moon.
You?
You?
Yes, you.
[1] A.T. Robertson, Acts. Word Pictures in the New Testament. Vol.III (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1930), p.322.
[2] Bruce, F.F. (1988-06-30). The Book of Acts (New International Commentary on the New Testament) (p. 373-364). Eerdmans Publishing Co – A. Kindle Edition.
[3] Fernando, Ajith (2010-12-21). Acts (The NIV Application Commentary) (p. 470). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
[4] Jaroslav Pelikan, Acts. Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible. (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2005), p.212.
[5] A.T. Robertson, p.325.
[6] Quoted in Stott, John (2014-04-02). The Message of Acts (The Bible Speaks Today Series) (Kindle Location 5676). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.
[7] https://thebaptistvoice.com/categories/ministry-leadership/making-difference
[8] https://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/131christians/activists/wilberforce.html
[9] https://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/bytopic/missionsworldchristianity/thelittlewomanwiththebiglegacy.html