March 20, 2022
Acts 19:23-41
“Riot for Riches”
Service Overview: “In the great cosmic conflict for the souls of people, every intrusion of good is met by the fierce resistance of evil.” (Grant Osborne) Such was the case in Ephesus; where an idol-maker became threatened by the people’s conversion to the Way, and subsequently caused a riot that threatened everyone else.
Memory Verse for the Week:
“Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:4 (NIV)
Background Information:
- In the ancient world, when a meteorite fell to the earth people thought that it was a sign from heaven, and they would see in the figures of these meteorites some kind of form that they could imagine represented a particular deity. Whenever a meteorite fell intact into their laps, they would enshrine it. They saw it as a gift from heaven, and they took responsibility to oversee it. They built a shrine to beat all shrines for the meteorite that fell in Ephesus, as they dedicated the entire temple to the goddess Diana. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 298)
- Artemis was a goddess of fertility. She was represented by a carved female figure with many breasts. A large statue of Artemis (see 19:35) was in the great temple at Ephesus. That temple was one of the wonders of the ancient world. Supported by 127 pillars each six stories tall, the edifice was about four times larger than the Parthenon in Athens. The festival of Artemis involved wild orgies and carousing. Obviously, the religious and commercial life of Ephesus reflected the city’s worship of this pagan deity. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 333)
- The term city clerk (grammateus, lit., “scribe”) does not do justice to this man’s position. Actually he was the chief executive officer of the city. When he appeared, the people listened (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 412)
- The clerk was upset about the mob because it put the city “in danger of being charged with rioting” (or revolution). The Romans used their armies to ensure peace and order. In the Roman rulers’ eyes there would be no reason or excuse for the events of this day; the Ephesians could give no account for this crowd, which the Romans could take as a seditious meeting or a conspiracy. The city risked losing the privileges of self-government that the empire had given it. (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Location 7543)
- The silversmiths at Ephesus were organized into a trade union. They made silver idols of the goddess Artemis, and Paul and his gospel were bad for business. There were so many pagans converting to Christ that nobody wanted to buy their idols anymore. The head of the union was a man named Demetrius. It’s interesting to note that archaeologists have found an inscription bearing the name Demetrius in the ruins of Ephesus. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 259)
The question to answer…
What’s the big takeaway from what Luke is sharing here?
Answer…
That the gospel by nature is powerful, disruptive, and transformative as it confronts the values of a fallen world.
How do we see the disruptive power of the gospel at work in this account?
- As idolatry is confronted.
(vv. 24, 26-28, 34 | Lev. 19:4; Ex. 20:3-6; Ps. 16:4; Isaiah 45:20; Rom. 1:23; 1 Cor. 10:7)
When Paul preached the gospel, a conflict always arose from the confrontation between the truth of Christ and the false doctrine of idolatry. (Sproul, Acts, 296)
- As ill-gotten gains are threatened.
(vv. 24, 25, 27 | Ps. 37:16-17; Ecc. 5:10; Mat. 6:19-24; Luke 12:15; 1 Tim. 6:10; Heb. 13:5)
The gospel became offensive and intolerable to the city’s craftsmen because of the way it was undermining their ability to sell silver idols (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 333)
- As fury and confusion ensue.
(vv. 28-34 | Ps. 37:8; Pro. 14:17, 29; 29:11, 22; Ecc. 7:9; Gal. 5:19-21; James 1:19-20)
[The silversmiths] were alarmed at the fall in the demand for them which the spread of Christianity was causing. When religious devotion and economic interest were simultaneously offended, a quite exceptionally fervid anger was aroused. (F.F. Bruce, Acts, 393)
The craftsmen, and then the mob which they soon attracted, illustrate the superficiality and danger of mere religious sentiment and feeling divorced from careful concern for truth. It was easy to work up a storm of religious frenzy based on the shallowest of religious scruples. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 228)
- But ultimately, as people and cultures are transformed.
(John 15:19; Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 6:10-11; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:22-23)
Within three hundred years as Christianity advanced, idolatry in the ancient world virtually disappeared. This is not the same thing as saying that the world became truly Christian, because it did not. But idolatry vanished. It just ended. This was not a period in which philosophy or education or any of the other things that we look to as evidences of the sophistication of our civilization advanced; none of these things was happening. But Christianity was moving forward. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 328)
Conclusion… How does the gospel continue to disrupt that which it invades?
A. By continuing to confront the idols we create and look to ourselves.
(Ex. 20:3; 1 Sam. 15:23; 1 Cor. 6:9; 10:7, 14; Gal. 4:8; Col. 3:5; Heb. 13:5; 1 John 5:21)
What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give. (Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods, xvii)
To be worshipped as a god, something must be sufficiently good to be plausibly regarded as the rightful center of one’s valuing…. One has a god when a finite value is worshipped and adored and viewed as that without which one cannot receive life joyfully. (Thomas C. Oden, Two Worlds: Notes on the Death of Modernity in America and Russia, 95)
B. By rendering useless that which is antithetical to it.
(John 15:18-20; 1 Cor. 6:10-11; 10:13; 2 Corinthians 5:16-17; Galatians 2:20-21)
Paul had never spoken a word against the religion of Ephesus. He never denounced the temple. He never attacked the pagan superstition of the Greeks. Later, we will hear the city clerk admit that Paul and his fellow Christians have not blasphemed the goddess or desecrated the temple. This is a significant insight into the evangelistic style of Paul. He never faulted or criticized paganism. He simply proclaimed the Christian faith with such power that it was instantly more appealing than the old pagan ways. Christianity displaced paganism not by attacking it but by offering a better way. Christians declared the good news of Jesus Christ, and the people saw that their pagan religion was meaningless by comparison. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 259)
C. By transforming the people, places, and institutions it permeates.
(Mat. 5:16; John 15:14-15; Acts 2:42-47; Rom. 12:2; Gal. 5:19-26; 2 Peter 1:5-10)
Where these marks are present—the preaching of the Word, the administration of the sacraments, the exercise of discipline, and the practice of community—the Church will inevitably transform the culture around it. (Charles Colson, The Faith: What Christians Believe, Why They Believe It, and Why It Matters, 155-156)
Where Christians go forward with the message of the gospel and the Scriptures, the light of God that shines from the pages bursts into the darkness. And even though people are not in every case—perhaps not even in the majority of cases—regenerated or born again, the light of the gospel penetrates so forcefully that many dark practices, like those at Ephesus, simply disappear. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 329)
Gospel Challenge…
What needs to be disrupted as a result of the gospel’s effect on your life?
(Acts 1:8; 24:16; Rom. 5:5; Eph. 4:22-24; 2 Tim. 3:16; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 2:11)
It is significant that Luke uses the name “the Way” when he describes the confrontation of the Christians with the vested interests of the silversmiths. Christianity is a way of life. Following Christ, the Way, frees us of dependence on false, diminutive gods of our culture and provides us with an ethical resoluteness that disturbs practices that contradict the kingdom of God. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 284)
The gospel was pretty much ignored in Ephesus until it began to affect the cash flow of the pagan merchants (19:23-24). Then things got wild! This is always the case. There is a ripple effect as the message of Christ is preached, hearts are touched, and attitudes are changed. Eventually, the gospel results in lifestyle changes. Followers of Christ no longer find within themselves a desire for worldly things. And if enough people turn to Christ, the repercussions can be felt all across a society. If we are ignored by our culture, it may be because we are not having an impact. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 333)
Spiritual Challenge Questions…
Reflect on these questions in your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with a Christian family member or Life Group.
- How have you witnessed the disruptive power of the gospel in someone’s life? How has it disrupted yours?
- What industries might be put out of business if the gospel were to penetrate the hearts and lives of the people in them?
- How might specific institutions be transformed as a result of the gospel’s permeation of them?
- How might the disruptive power of the gospel be realized in and through the local church as it functions within its community?
Quotes to note…
The truth of God is for you, and it is for your neighbor. It is for the unbeliever down the street who breathes every breath of life by the grace of God. When God’s sanctity is besmirched, human sanctity goes with it. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 299)
Sometimes we assume we are thinking, when all we are really doing is rearranging our prejudices. Unknown (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 337)
It is important to note here that Paul had been nearly three years in Ephesus, and there was no evidence that either he or the Christians ever said anything against the temple or Artemis. They were not iconoclasts. They simply kept preaching the good news of Jesus Christ in a positive way, and the sale of the images and shrines automatically dropped. (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Location 7528)
Religious emotion is not only beautiful but also essential when it is stirred by a deep response to truth and righteousness. It is a travesty when it is merely manipulated in isolation from the personal apprehension of God in truth and in obedience. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 228)
Paul did not arouse the opposition of the silversmiths by picketing the temple of Diana or staging anti-idolatry rallies. All he did was teach the truth daily and send out his converts to witness to the lost people in the city. As more and more people got converted, fewer and fewer customers were available. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 385)
Benjamin Franklin said that a mob was “a monster with heads enough, but no brains.”
Ephesus is gone, and so is the worldwide worship of Diana of the Ephesians. The city and the temple are gone, and the silversmiths’ guild is gone. Ephesus is a place visited primarily by archeologists and people on Holy Land tours. Yet the gospel of God’s grace and the church of Jesus Christ are still here! (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 386)
If our Christianity is not affecting the economy of our world, we do not have much Christianity. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 331)
An idol is something that we look to for things that only God can give. Idolatry functions widely inside religious communities when doctrinal truth is elevated to the position of a false god. This occurs when people rely on the rightness of their doctrine for their standing with God rather than on God himself and his grace. It is a subtle but deadly mistake. The sign that you have slipped into this form of self-justification is that you become what the book of Proverbs calls a “scoffer.” Scoffers always show contempt and disdain for opponents rather than graciousness. This is a sign that they do not see themselves as sinners saved by grace. Instead, their trust in the rightness of their views makes them feel superior. (Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods, 131)
In our day, with the rigors of political correctness, the idea of confrontation and bold critique of forms of paganism and idolatry are politically incorrect. We have become in many cases, at least in America, the church quiescent as we just stand by and watch our own generation give themselves, as the people of the ancient world did, to idolatry. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 296)
In his letter to the Romans, Paul said that God’s wrath is revealed against the whole world, not because there are isolated incidents of idolatry but because the penchant toward idolatry is universal. It is foundational to everyone. Every human being knows the living God because God has clearly revealed His character to everyone. Yet every person by nature represses that knowledge of the true God and exchanges it for a lie by creating idols as substitutes for the true God (Rom. 1:18–23). That propensity does not end with conversion. That strong drive within us to replace the living God with something more palatable to us remains even in the hearts and minds of the converted. Today we do not fashion idols from stone, but we do fashion idols from ideas. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 296)
We are by nature inventors, craftsmen who create for ourselves idols as substitutes for the living God. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 296)
Ancient Ephesus has been greatly reconstructed and much of the old city restored, but the theater needed no restoration because it was carved out of the rock of a mountain in Ephesus on the edge of the city. This amphitheater held 25,000 people, and the structure remains to this day. That is where this incident took place. The disciples of Paul were brought into this theater, and the mob screamed for their blood, yelling and screaming for two hours. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 298)
What is at stake with respect to Christianity is not religion; it is human life—human life as defined by the Creator of human life. At stake is truth that is rooted and grounded in the character of God himself, which is worth dying for. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 299)
One of the most basic principles of Christianity is the sanctity of human life, yet we have been willing to see that traded in for the sanctity of human peace and comfort. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 299)
We are living not just in a post-Christian or neo-pagan era; we are also living in a neo-barbarian culture. It is every bit as barbarian as it was in Asia Minor when Paul took the gospel there in his day. That is why we need Christians today who are sold out, who believe the Christian faith and are committed to the truth of Christ and will say, “Great is Jesus of Nazareth, the son of God!” and compromise that with no one. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 299)
Jesus threatened the profits of local businessmen. (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Location, 2891)
As these people learned that man-made gods are no gods at all (19:26), the makers of the man-made gods feared their business would decline. As if that weren’t enough, the local chamber of commerce saw that current Christian trends might discredit their “patron saint,” the great goddess Artemis (19:27). That could damage their city’s worldwide reputation. (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Location 3891)
If the crowd continued to act irrationally, it would be in danger of breaking the law (see 19:40). He by no means declared Paul innocent, but he certainly called for a cautious response to the perceived threat. (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Location 3902)
Luke includes this story as evidence of several facts. First, Christianity was (and is now) to be distinguished from magical attempts to control God. There are no easy formulas which produce instant spiritual power. Second, decision moments can radically change the direction of a person’s life. As it was essential for the pagans to burn their past (see 19:19), it is necessary for people today to turn their focus from the ways of this world toward true relationship with God. Third, while true Christianity may oppose ingrained human ways (Demetrius’s greed and our own), it does not contradict the best principles of human government. (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Location 3902)
In the first century, craftsmen united with one another to form professional trade guilds. Similar to modern-day unions, these groups adhered to self-prescribed standards and practices. In this instance, Demetrius, perhaps the leader of this powerful guild, gathered not only the silversmiths who produced the miniature images of Artemis for sale at the temple but also others employed in similar trades. (Archaeologists have also located images of the goddess made out of terra-cotta and gold.) (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 334)
They only became concerned when his preaching threatened their profits. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 334)
Demetrius’s strategy for stirring up a riot was to appeal to his fellow workmen’s love of money and then to encourage them to hide their greed behind the mask of patriotism and religious loyalty. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 334)
It would be difficult to get Ephesian citizens worked up about the slumping sales of a group of idol makers. However, it would be easy to rally the masses behind a noble campaign to defend the honor and reputation of the goddess and her magnificent shrine. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 334)
Paul wanted to go to the theater, most likely to speak up and defend his companions but also to have the opportunity to preach to such a large crowd. But the other believers, fearing for his safety, wouldn’t let Paul go. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 335)
The scene in the theater was one of total confusion and uninhibited expression. The word translated “confusion” literally means “to pour together” and conveys the idea of being stirred up, agitated, in an uproar. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 335)
Most of the crowd in the open-air theater did not know why they were shouting and rioting (19:32). This is a true picture of the phenomenon known as “mob mentality.” (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 335)
People suspend their better judgment and stop thinking logically. They fall in with the group and feed off of a collective sense of power or rage. Such emotions, while making individuals feel wonderfully alive, are capable of sparking great destruction. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 335)
Into the chaos stepped the town clerk of Ephesus. This individual was the highest ranking civic official—something akin to our modern-day office of mayor. Such a person typically presided over citizen assemblies and was the city’s representative at the provincial headquarters of Rome, located in Ephesus. Perhaps fearing Roman reprisal—specifically the suspension of Ephesus’s privileges as a “free” city with its own elected assembly—this respected leader somehow managed to get the attention of the angry mob. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 336)
The mention of the statue that fell from heaven was likely a reference to a meteorite that was regarded as divine and placed in the Ephesian temple for the purposes of veneration. The presence of this mysterious object (perhaps it was even shaped like a woman) from above was considered proof that Artemis was a great and powerful goddess. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 336)
The city of Ephesus was under the domination of the Roman Empire. The main responsibility of the local city leaders was simply to maintain peace and order. If they failed to control the people, Rome would remove the appointed officials from office. The entire town could also be put under martial law, taking away many civic freedoms. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 337)
As the Ephesians filed out of the local amphitheater and back to their normal routines, how many reflected deeply on all the events they had just witnessed? Almost all of them probably knew about Paul, and perhaps most had even heard the gospel. But the majority refused to even consider the truth about Jesus because of their blind devotion to Artemis. Others were far too concerned with their present economic well-being to give any thought to eternal realities. This sad sequence of events reminds us that if we’re not careful, we can allow our religious presuppositions or our worldly concerns to drown out the voice of truth. Ask God for ears to hear and for the courage to go against the flow in living out the truth. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 338)
The immense, splendid temple of Artemis was known as one of the Seven Wonders of the World and was visited by multitudes of worshipers. Consequently the demand for these shrines ordinarily kept the silversmiths quite busy and brought them “no little business” (gain, or profit). Luke calls them “craftsmen” (Gk. technitais, “skilled workers,” “artists”). (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Location 7462)
Multitudes were believing the truth “that man-made gods are no gods at all.” (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Location 7471)
Sales were falling. So Demetrius gathered all these skilled craftsmen together “with the workmen [Gk. ergatas, “laborers”] in related trades,” involved in some way in the temple businesses, and made a speech pointing out that Paul’s message had spread throughout “practically the whole province of Asia.” Demetrius knew what Paul’s message was, but rejected it and scornfully called Paul “this fellow.” Because Demetrius was losing much of his income he considered Paul as a false teacher, having “led astray large numbers of people.” (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Location 7470)
Demetrius unwittingly bore witness to the great spread of the gospel. He also succeeded in his purpose of touching his hearers with respect to both their livelihood and their civic pride in the temple of Artemis. This, as he hoped, brought an outburst of wrath from the silversmiths. They cried out with passion, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” The Greek indicates they kept up this chant, filling the whole city with confusion and disturbance. (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Location 7486)
When Paul wanted to go in among the tumultuous crowd, “the disciples would not let him.” He probably wanted to support Gaius and Aristarchus and hoped to use this as an opportunity to proclaim the gospel. But “even some of the officials” (Asiarchs) connected with Roman worship in the province of Asia who were among his friends urged him not to venture into the amphitheater. No doubt they thought the crowd might tear him to pieces. (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Location 7499)
The tumultuous near riot at Ephesus is recounted by Luke in vivid, dramatic language. The precision of historical detail adds to Luke’s luster as an historian as well as a storyteller. Several intriguing characters dominate the scenes. Paul, who hardly appears in the action, nevertheless is by far the most important human person involved. But the real confrontation is between the unseen antagonists, Christ and Diana, or Artemis of the Ephesians. The living Christ proclaimed by Paul and the disciples challenges and is challenged by the goddess backed by the wild acclaim of the multitude. The conflict is between the Way and not-the-way. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 226)
[ the ACTUAL conflict was not merely physical ]
The worship of the Ephesian Artemis, here called Diana, had its center in Ephesus, and dominated all of the province of Asia. Her magnificent temple was one of the wonders of the ancient world. It contained no less than 100 immense columns, each 56 feet high. It was the depository of a vast amount of treasure and works of art. Great numbers of priests, priestesses, and other temple employees were involved. The great festivals in honor of the goddess brought to Ephesus hordes of devotees and pilgrims from Asia and beyond the province. Everywhere in the ancient world the goddess was known. The chief annual festival was called the Artemisia, and the month in which it occurred was known as Artemision. It may have been during the annual festival that this incident took place. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 226)
Although the Greeks connected the Ephesian goddess with Artemis and the Romans with Diana, she was in fact different. The devotees of this superstitious, immoral worship thought that her image had fallen from heaven. The idea may have originated from a meteorite. The image was an ugly carving showing at the top a many-breasted female form representing nature’s fertility and nutritive powers, and at the bottom a square block adorned with various objects. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 226)
At the meeting of the shrine-makers’ guild, Demetrius gave a striking testimonial to the effectiveness of Paul’s ministry, and to the power of the gospel in Ephesus and throughout Asia. Because of the Christian impact the shrine-making business was in peril. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 227)
To try to use the Christian faith as the mere means to the acquisition of some self-seeking goal, no matter how legitimate the thing in itself may be, is to play Demetrius’ game. God himself, not merely His favors, is the aspiration of true worship. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 228)
The ruins of the great Ephesian amphitheater show that it could have seated more than 20,000 people. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 229)
Undoubtedly the Jewish community had learned of Demetrius’ protest and had become alarmed lest they be required to share the blame for the decline in the shrine-making business. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 229)
Twice in later years when Paul was writing to Timothy, then the pastor at Ephesus, he warned him concerning a certain Alexander. In 1 Tim. 1:20, Alexander is described as a blasphemer and an apostate who had put away a good conscience. In 2 Tim. 4:14, Alexander is called “the coppersmith” who “did me much evil.” Timothy is to beware of him, “for he hath greatly withstood our words.” There is a reasonable probability that this is the same Alexander of Acts 19. If so, as a coppersmith and a renegade Jew, he was likely himself involved in the shrine making. Perhaps that was why he was put forward to make the speech. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 230)
Christians were not temple robbers, a general term for sacrilegious people, nor were they blasphemers of Diana. It is noteworthy that the Christians had preached Jesus without a negative attack upon other faiths, and that they had impressed the authorities with their honest, wholesome living. All this could not be gainsaid. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 231)
Without reason, faith is without foundations. But reason alone stops short of the fountain of cleansing and new life. After reason there must be decision, commitment, involvement, faith. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 232)
In only two incidents recorded in Acts did Gentiles oppose Paul: (a) here and (b) in the case of the Philippian fortune-teller (16:16-24). In both cases the opposition was because of vested monetary interests. (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 411)
Actually two goddesses in Asia Minor were named Artemis. The one, a goddess worshiped in Greek culture whose counterpart in Rome was Diana, was the virgin goddess of the hunt. The other was Artemis of the Ephesians, a many-breasted goddess of fertility. Probably the original “statue” was a meteorite that resembled a woman with many breasts (cf. 19:35). (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 411)
Gaius was a common name; so it is doubtful this is the same man mentioned in Romans 16:23 and 1 Corinthians 1:14. Aristarchus is also mentioned in Acts 20:4 and 27:2. Evidently the two escaped with little or no injury. (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 411)
These verses are important not only for what they directly state but also for what they imply. Paul was eager to defend the gospel, ready to take on his opponents! But the Christians did not let him. Even some of the officials of the province would not let him get caught in the riot. They were Asiarchs (lit., “rulers of Asia”), in charge of the community’s political and religious welfare. They would be on good terms with Rome and therefore would evidence Christianity’s good standing with the government. (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 411)
He (the city clerk) first appealed to the position of Ephesus as the guardian of Artemis’ temple and to her heaven-sent image. The latter assertion may be a subtle rebuttal of the statement (v. 26, “manmade gods are no gods at all”). Artemis, he argued, was not man-made. So why should they be concerned with Paul’s preaching? Second, the town clerk asserted the innocence of Gaius and Aristarchus, thereby exonerating Paul as well (v. 37). Third, he pointed out the legal methods of obtaining a hearing through the courts …proconsuls, and a legal assembly (vv. 38-39). This assembly was not legal. (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 412)
The unnamed official warned of the political implications of the commotion in the city. They would be hard-pressed to give Rome a legitimate explanation of this riot, and the city could be deprived of some of its liberties because of it. So Paul was cleared of any misdeeds, religious or political. (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 412)
Politically, Luke’s report of the friendliness of the Asiarchs (“officials of the province,” NIV) toward Paul and of the city clerk’s intervention on his behalf is the best defense imaginable against the charge that Paul and Christianity threatened the official life of the empire. Religiously, Luke’s description of the Ephesian riot makes the point that “in the final analysis the only thing heathenism can do against Paul is to shout itself hoarse” (Haenchen, Acts of the Apostles, p. 578). (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 502)
Artemis of Ephesus was not the fair and chaste huntress of Greek mythology but a Near-Eastern mother-goddess of fertility. Her image at Ephesus, believed to have been fashioned in heaven and to have fallen from the sky (cf. v.35), depicted her as a grotesque, multi-breasted woman. Probably the Ephesian Artemis was originally a meteorite that resembled a multi-breasted woman and became the object of worship, just as other meteorites at Troy, Pessinus, Enna, and Emesa became sacred cult objects (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 502)
Situated one and one-half miles northeast of the city, it measured about four hundred by two hundred feet in size and stood as one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. Thousands of pilgrims and tourists came to it from far and near; around it swarmed all sorts of tradesmen and hucksters who made their living by supplying visitors with food and lodging, dedicatory offerings, and souvenirs. The Temple of Artemis was also a major treasury and bank of the ancient world, where merchants, kings, and even cities made deposits, and where their money could be kept safe under the protection of deity. (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 503)
The Jewish community at Ephesus was large and enjoyed a number of special exemptions granted by past provincial proconsuls (cf. Jos. Antiq. XIV, 227 [x.12], 263-64 [x.25]). Yet it also suffered from the latent anti-Semitism that lay beneath the surface of Greco-Roman society. In an endeavor to disassociate themselves from the Christians in such an explosive situation, the Jews sent one of their number, Alexander, to the podium. This may be the same Alexander of 1 Timothy 1:19-20 or 2 Timothy 4:14, but that is difficult to prove because the name Alexander was common among both Gentiles and Jews (cf. Jos. Antiq. XIV, 226 [x.12]). (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 504)
The “city clerk” (ho grammateus) of Ephesus was the scribe of “the assembly” and its chief executive officer. He came to his position from within the assembly and was not appointed by Rome. As the most important native official of the city, he was held responsible for disturbances within it. (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 504)
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. (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 393)
The title Asiarchs was given to leading citizens of those cities in the province which were linked in a league, more particularly to those who were currently holding high office in the league, or had formerly done so. (It was apparently from their ranks that the annually elected high priest of the imperial cult in the province was drawn.) That such men were friendly to Paul suggests that imperial policy at this time was not hostile to Christianity, and that the more educated classes did not share the antipathy to Paul felt by the more superstitious rank and file. (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 395)
One group of residents in Ephesus had special cause for anxiety at this turn of events. This was the Jewish community. True, the prime occasion of the riot was Paul’s mission, but Paul was a Jew, and Jews were known to be disbelievers in Artemis and all other pagan divinities. Those members of the populace who were insufficiently informed about the cause of the demonstration were likely to indulge in general anti-Jewish agitation when they learned that the honor of the great goddess was in peril. (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 395)
The silversmiths were really more concerned about their jobs and their income than they were about Diana and her temple, but they were wise enough not to make this known. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 385)
Max Lerner wrote in The Unfinished Country, “Every mob, in its ignorance and blindness and bewilderment, is a League of Frightened Men that seeks reassurance in collective action.” It was a “religious mob” that shouted “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” to Pilate, and eventually got its way. Had this Ephesian mob succeeded in its plans, Paul would have been arrested and executed before the law could have stepped in to protect him. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 385)
It was the city clerk who finally got matters under control, and he did it primarily for political reasons. Ephesus was permitted by Rome to exist as a “free city” with its own elected assembly, but the Romans would have rejoiced to find an excuse for removing these privileges (Acts 19:40). The same tactics that the silversmiths used to arouse the mob, the clerk used to quiet and reassure them—the greatness of their city and of their goddess. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 386)
It is much easier to believe a lie and follow the crowd. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 386)
Believing in Christ and being filled with His Spirit made silver shrines of Artemis totally unnecessary. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 284)
This thrilling story sheds a great deal of light on the characters in it. First, there are Demetrius and the silversmiths. Their trouble was that their pockets were being touched. True, they declared that they were jealous for the honour of Artemis; but they were more worried about their incomes. When pilgrims came to Ephesus, they liked to take souvenirs home, such as the little model shrines which the silversmiths made. Christianity was making such strides that their trade was threatened. (William Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles, 146)
Rome was kindly but the one thing she would not stand was civil disorder. If there were riots in any town Rome would know the reason why and the magistrates responsible might lose their positions. He saved Paul and his companions but he saved them because he was saving his own skin. (William Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles, 147)
Paul came to Ephesus and found an enemy stronghold defended by demonic powers. The people were held in bondage to spiritual darkness. Using the mightiest weapons ever known—the spiritual weaponry of truth, love, and faith—Paul attacked the stronghold. Within two years, the enemy’s grip on Ephesus was broken. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 257)
Paul had an intense desire to penetrate the Roman Empire with the good news. He wanted to plant the gospel in the city of Rome. “I must visit Rome also,” he said. As Dr. C. Campbell Morgan observed, “That’s not the ‘must’ of the tourist; that’s the ‘must’ of the missionary.” (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 258)
When mob mentality takes over, reason evaporates. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 260)
Who was Alexander? He was very likely the same Alexander to whom Paul referred in his letter to Timothy, written after Timothy had become the bishop of the church at Ephesus: “Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds (2 Timothy 4:14 NASB). Though Alexander was a Jew, he bore a Greek name, so he was apparently a Grecian (Hellenized) Jew who made his living as a metalworker. He may have even worked in the idol-making industry, which would have given him some standing with the pagan silversmiths. Perhaps that’s why the Jews chose him to speak to the mob. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 261)
The city clerk was looking out for himself, to be sure. If there was trouble in Ephesus, and the Romans had to intervene, his head would be the first to roll. But everyone in the crowd knew that when the Romans intervened, there was plenty of punishment to go around. The Ephesians didn’t want to risk the wrath of the empire. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 261)
But after the uproar ended and the dust settled Paul could see God’s hand in everything that happened. The Lord had allowed this uproar to happen “that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” That’s the heart of the Christian message. Our sufficiency is not in ourselves but in God. Even when all hope is gone and it seems that nothing lies before us but death, God is able to achieve His purposes—because He is the One who raises the dead. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 262)
when our circumstances tumble out of our control, God wants us to rely on Him alone. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 262)
If He is able to raise the dead, then what is too hard for Him? Our God works in us to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we could ask or think, according to His power at work in us.” (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 262)
Paul sent most of his associates off to Macedonia before him, intending to follow them shortly. But while he remained at Ephesus, trouble began to brew. It is stated succinctly in verse 23: “about that time, there arose no little stir about the Way.” There’s that designation for Christianity once again—the Way. The trouble came about through believers emerging from paganism and idolatry and, as a result of the preaching of the gospel, making changes in their lives. Once they were saved, they began disposing of their devil worship charms and books and idols as the Holy Spirit brought conviction to them. This made the sales of such trinkets go down and the labor union was up in arms—Silversmith Local 304. Demetrius, one of the union bosses, called the union together and told them that through the preaching of Paul, people were getting saved and were no longer buying idols of Artemis. Incidentally, Artemis is the Greek equivalent of the Roman name, Diana. The King James Version uses Diana. Most of the revisions render the name “Artemis. (Donald Grey Barnhouse, Acts, 179)
What followed after the Christians got serious was an impact on the society so strong that the riot described in this chapter was the inevitable reaction by those who resented it. Christianity had impacted their business. That is where people are hurt most, in their pocketbooks. Christians certainly and perhaps other people too simply lost interest in the pagan temples. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 330)
What emerges here aside from the incidental details that are of such interest to historians is the intensity with which the ancients worshiped false gods. We hardly have a sense of that today. We go to museums and see the sculptures that represent the ancient gods. But we do not have any real sense of how intense or how pervasive the worship of these idols was. Everywhere in the ancient world there were temples and shrines—in the cities, in the countryside, even in the homes. The manufacture of these shrines was big business. In a city like Ephesus, it was an extremely big business. It was the basis of the city’s economy. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 328)
Ephesus was the center of the cult of Artemis (or Diana, as the Romans called her). In Roman lore, Diana was goddess of the hunt. She symbolized virginity. But in the ancient metropolis of Ephesus, Artemis symbolized sexual fertility. The idols that represent Artemis and have been found today show a rather grotesque, multi-breasted female figure. In Ephesus, as in other Greek and Roman temples, a great deal of the so—called worship of the goddess was actually cult prostitution. Sex worship had a hold on the people, as it does on many of our contemporaries though in a different form. Their condition was typical of the world at the time of Christ. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 328)
These Christians had come under the power of the Spirit of God through the preaching of the Word so thoroughly that they were convicted of sin, confessed it, and then actually brought out and destroyed the things that were opposed to Christianity. These things were magic scrolls in which incantations were written, and they were very valuable (see discussion of these scrolls in chapter 37). (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 330)
A guild is an organization of artisans, and in the Middle Ages there were guilds of leather workers, who made shoes; guilds of tailors, who made clothes; guilds of people who worked with wood and fine metals, and so forth. Guilds were like trade unions, only in the ancient world guilds were more important than our trade unions. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 330)
Demetrius was clever in the way he went about it. He talked to the silversmiths about money because that is what concerned them. But when he talked to the population, not all of whom were silversmiths and not all of whom naturally would be harmed by the decline in the silversmiths’ business, he talked not about financial matters but about civic pride. Everybody knows how important Ephesus is because of the great temple of Artemis, he said. These people have come to take away the glory of our great Artemis. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 331)
seventy years after this incident, in the province of Bithynia there was a Roman governor named Pliny. The emperor was Trajan. Pliny wrote a number of letters to Trajan to ask him how he was to handle problems that were coming up in his province. Some of these letters concerned Christianity. Pliny had examined a number of Christians personally, he said, and as far as he could tell they did not seem to have done anything wrong. They ere not subversive; they were not immoral. The only thing he could see is that they had some queer ideas about religion. “But it has had this bad effect,” he said. “The people have stopped going to the shrines.” We might wonder why Pliny would care about that, until we remember that the shrines were big business. They were places where priests, prostitutes, and artists were employed.When people stopped going to the temples, a large block of the population of an ancient town were unable to support themselves. Pliny didn’t know what to do about this, so he asked Trajan if he should drive the Christians out so the people would come back to the temples, start giving money, and take this problem off his hands. Pliny indicates that the butchers (rather than the priests, prostitutes, 01‘ artists) had been having the greatest problems. They sold meat that had been offered to idols. When an animal was sacrificed to an idol the meat was not just thrown away, it was sold later in the stalls. The Christians, who were becoming careful about that sort of thing at this time, weren’t buying it. Perhaps they were beginning to eat fish, which wasn’t sacrificed. Or perhaps they were becoming vegetarians. Trajan advised him to go easy on the Christians and not press the matter but to prosecute them if specific charges were made (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 331)
It is no exaggeration to say there is not a soul living in the world today who worships “Artemis of the Ephesians,” while there are millions who worship Jesus Christ and would willingly die for him. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 334)
We pray that the Kingdom of God will rule in our hearts and once again transform the places in which we live. That will happen only by knowing and living the faith. (Charles Colson, The Faith: What Christians Believe, Why They Believe It, and Why It Matters, 30)
If anything becomes more fundamental than God to your happiness, meaning in life, and identity, then it is an idol. (Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods, xix)
When an idol gets a grip on your heart, it spins out a whole set of false definitions of success and failure and happiness and sadness. It redefines reality in terms of itself. Nearly everyone thinks that an all-powerful (Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods, 146)
Idolatry is not just a failure to obey God, it is a setting of the whole heart on something besides God. This cannot be remedied only by repenting that you have an idol, or using willpower to try to live differently. Turning from idols is not less than those two things, but it is also far more. “Setting the mind and heart on things above” where “your life is hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:1—3) means appreciation, rejoicing, and resting in what Jesus has done for you. It entails joyful worship, a sense of God’s reality in prayer. Jesus must become more beautiful to your imagination, more attractive to your heart, than your idol. That is what will replace your counterfeit gods. If you uproot the idol and fail to “plant” the love of Christ in its place, the idol will grow back. (Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods, 171-172)