Paul spent a great deal of time in Ephesus. As a major trade center, the city gave him the chance to meet people from all over the world. When those people accepted Jesus as their Savior, they could share God’s love wherever they lived and worked.
Ephesus was also the third-largest city in the Roman Empire, with a population of about 200,000. Paul knew that investing his time there could make a meaningful difference.
The good news of Jesus, together with the power of the Holy Spirit, had a dramatic impact on Ephesus. Its effect was so powerful that many people who practiced magic turned away from it and publicly burned their books.
A number of those who practiced magic collected their books and burned them publicly; when the value of these books was calculated, it was found to come to fifty thousand silver coins. (Acts 19:19)
Upsetting Business
The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus was one of the wonders of the ancient world, and people traveled from far and wide to worship there. When the good news of Jesus challenged the religion at the heart of Ephesus, it upset both the goddess’s followers and the businessmen who made money selling idol-related goods.
Demetrius was a silversmith who earned his living making silver shrines of Artemis. He gathered his fellow craftsmen to discuss what Paul and his followers were doing.
“Men, you know that we get our wealth from this business. You also see and hear that . . . this Paul has persuaded and drawn away a considerable number of people by saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 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 will . . . be deprived of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her.” (Acts 19:25-27)
Demetrius and the other silversmiths likely cared about the devotion people showed Artemis at her temple, but they cared even more about their business and their income.
Today we can find many examples of businesspeople who use religion for personal gain, or who oppose it when it threatens their business model. I’ll leave the application of that truth to you.
A Riot in Ephesus
Demetrius and his group stirred up a riot, seized two of Paul’s companions, and dragged them into the theater, where their lives were in danger. The mob mentality would be humorous if it weren’t so serious.
Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. (Acts 19:32)
Alexander tried to calm the crowd and reason with them, but that only made matters worse.
But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours all of them shouted in unison, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” (Acts 19:34)
Think about sporting events or political rallies, where people stand for hours cheering for their favorite team or candidate. That will give you an idea of what was happening in Ephesus.
You may know the expression “Follow the money.” In Ephesus, everything that happened was driven by businessmen who feared losing their income.
When someone tries to push us into a mass movement, we should step back and follow the money. Is there a financial motive behind what they want us to do?
Who benefits when we’re encouraged to bet on a sports team, buy jerseys, or attend an event? Who benefits when we support a particular political candidate? Who benefits when an effective ad campaign persuades us to buy something?
All of this may be harmless, but we should step back and ask ourselves, “Where is God in this?” Once we answer that question, we can better understand which behavior we should encourage.
Watch Out
The silversmiths of Ephesus represent the world’s system, which always opposes God. They stirred up the crowd and drew people to their side, even though most of them didn’t understand what was happening. This kind of manipulation is characteristic of the world’s system.
We know that we are God’s children and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one. (1 John 5:19)
Let’s remember that the world’s system is not our friend. It is under the control of the evil one, who stands against God’s purposes.
When we face mass manipulation, the best choice is not to follow the crowd. Let’s keep Jesus’ words about the narrow gate in mind whenever we hear the world’s claims.
“Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed Acts 19:21-41 on YouTube today.
