Acts 19:21-41

All right, there we go. Well, good afternoon, good afternoon. Welcome to Coffee and Emotions. This is where every day you and I, we get together, we get into the Lord's Word and we grow in our love for the Lord together. And this year, 2022, we'll go all the way from the book of Acts to the book of Philemon. And I am so excited for today's passage, Acts chapter 19, verses 21 through 41. Let's have some coffee. We'll pray and we'll get into the Lord's Word.
Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day. We thank you for your word, and we thank you for the powerful way in which your Holy Spirit works. Father, we pray that we would follow after you, that we might trust you, no matter the difficulties that might come in this life. In Jesus's name, amen. All right, here we go. Acts chapter 19, beginning at verse 21.
When these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome. So he went into Macedonia two or three of, sorry, two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus. But he himself stayed in Asia for a time.
And about that time there arose a great commotion about the way, for a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made various silver shrines of Diana or Artemis, brought no small profit to the craftsmen. He called them together with the workers of similar occupation and said, Men, you know that we have made our prosperity by this trade. Moreover, you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands. So not only in this trade of ours is in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship. Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, Great is Deanna of Ephesus.
So the whole city was filled with confusion and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul's travel companions. And when Paul wanted to go into the people, the disciples would not allow him. Then some of the officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater. Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together.
And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand and wanted to make his defense the people. But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, Great is Deanna of Ephesus! And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, Men of Ephesus, What man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian to the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell from Zeus?
Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly, for you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess. Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a case against anyone, the courts are open and there are pro-councils. Let them bring charges against one another. but if you have any other inquiry to make it shall be determined in the lawful assembly for we are in danger of being called in question for today's uproar there being no reason which may give to account for this or disorderly gathering and when he had said these things he dismissed the assembly. Well, we need to ask ourselves, A, what is this about? B, what's the best verse to summarize this? And C, what are we called to do in response to these words? So, A, what is this about?
Well, remember, Paul has had this great time in Ephesus between two and three years. He's been there and he's been ministering. God's blessed him with safety and things are going well. And then while they're there, what happens? Well, People start getting wind of what's going on with this Paul dude. He's going all throughout Macedonia and Achaia and there's an uproar that starts. Before this, Paul has it in his mind, he wants to go back.
He wants to go to Macedonia, and he wants to go to Achaia, or the area of Greece, and he wants to go and strengthen the churches there, but he's not able to yet, so he sends two of his friends, Timothy and Erastus. This is most likely the only time we've heard of Erastus, although his name is mentioned in Romans 16, verse 23. but he sends them on ahead of him while he stays in Ephesus. And while he's staying there in Ephesus, Demetrius the silversmith raises up and he's got some beef with Paul.
See, in Ephesus there was a temple to Artemis or Deanna, Greek, Roman names for the same The Romans often just overtook Greek gods when they went into different towns, and here's what they do here. Now, the temple to Artemis, we might not know of this temple in our day, but it was one of the seven wonders of the world. It was this massive temple with all these pillars, and in it was this gold-laden statue, and what Artemis used to do is he would actually sell little shrines, little images that are objects that were made out of silver that were of the temple itself. And people would take these home and they would use them in their worship of Artemis as they left that area.
And so he's come to the realization, hold on. Remember what Paul said when he was in Athens? This must be the same message he's preaching in Ephesus, because he's saying that he's heard Paul talk, and Paul's going all throughout the Roman Empire, and what's he saying? He's saying that all these gods are idols.
They're not real. What's gonna happen to Artemis? What's going to happen to the Temple of Diana? What's going to happen to our trade? And so he goes to his fellow guild members and he says, look, this dude's turned the world upside down. This can't happen. He's throwing our trade into disrepute and we've made money off this. This is how we make our money. This is shame. It's going to bring it down.
And as one commentator mentioned on this, he said, and this is somewhat of a paraphrase of his, he said, in Ephesus, all of society revolved around, hinged upon, and was related to the temple of Artemis, both its civil, economic, educational, patriotic, and administrative life. All of it was centered around the temple. So what happens if that temple goes into disrepute? What happens if the fame of Artemis falls, or the fame of Deanna falls?
Well, they go in a riot. They're not even so much wanting to get Paul, they just grab anybody who's of the way. And here they arrest two people. Again, they're not going to arrest Paul, but instead they seize Gaius and Aristarchus, and these are Macedonians. These are people from Philippi or Thessalonica, maybe even from Berea, and they're brought, and they're travel companions to Paul, and they're brought into the theater.
And there they're shouting at them, great is Artemis of the Ephesians, great is Artemis of the Ephesians. They're chanting this and there's an uproar. It's like people sticking their heads out the window like, whoa, what's going on over there? And they all gather into this amphitheater. The theater's still there in Ephesus. This is a huge place. It could hold like 25,000 people built into the mountain right on the edge or right on the north of the city. On the edge of the city. Sorry, I'm thinking of Philippi where it's on the north. But anyways, so they're there and And there's this great commotion.
Interestingly, the Jews put up a guy. And what does it say there in verse 33? And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander kind of, you know, he motions to them, you know, be quiet. And he's going to give his apology, his defense. You know, we're not like these Christians. We're Jewish and we're different. And they find out he's Jewish and they chant even more.
Great is Artemis of the Ephesians. Great is Artemis of the Ephesians. And finally, it's cooled down. Now Paul had wanted to go. But his disciples held him back, they wouldn't. And what the Greek calls the Archiesia, the leaders of Asia, these are from the wealthiest, noblest of families. Notice Christianity is not just for the poor, but it transcends classes. Sorry, Marx, you got that wrong. But, you know, it transcends the classes and they urge him not to go.
And finally, the scribe of the town, the man who's in authority, he comes out and he gives them a speech and it's kind of got different parts to it. He encourages them to simmer down a little bit. First, he gives them the rhetorical question. Hey, don't you know? Don't you know everybody knows about this temple? The whole world worships Artemis, right? So that's his question. And then he makes this proposition.
So be quiet. Don't do anything rash. And then he gives us defense for that, right? They're not robbers. They're not blaspheming the temple of Artemis. Maybe he hadn't heard everything that Paul had said, or he might not have said this. And then he says, A, the courts are open. The procouncils are there. If you're going to bring charges, do that. But there's a danger to what they're doing.
See, as Rome was extending, as the Roman Empire was growing out, they had these free cities like Ephesus and Philippi, but the rights of those free cities could be revoked. These colonies could lose their status, and there's always people looking for reasons to extend their control over a city, and so he says, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, look, we don't run by mob rule. And if we're caught doing what you're about to do here, we're going to lose our freedoms. We're going to lose our rights.
And so with that, he's able to make the people leave because it's not a lawful assembly. Rome wouldn't be governed by mob rule. So that's what's going on here. Paul escapes. what seems like mob violence. The Christians there escape mob violence by some interesting twists and turns. What's the best verse to summarize it? What's really getting at the heart of what this is about?
Well, in verse 20, I know that's right before our passage, and then I have verse 26 underlined. So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship. I have that underlined because I think that's what's getting at the heart here. The kingdom of darkness is always against the kingdom of light.
Even when the word of the Lord might grow mightily, Satan doesn't like that. This is one of the things I really fear for our church. The Lord's been giving us a whole lot of blessings and spiritual fruit and I've been so excited about it. But one of the things we were talking about at the congregational meeting is there's a bullseye on our back from Satan when the church is growing. The elders could slip up, people can mess up.
Satan wants to sow division and discord and sin and temptation. And so the kingdom of darkness is always there. Satan is always prowling. He's always ready to attack. And here we find it. When the word of God is spreading, we should be ready and on guard. The trial might soon be coming as well. God had promised when Paul was in Corinth that he was going to have a time of safety, and it seems like he's gotten to Ephesus and had this time of fruitful endeavor as well. But it's not always that case. The peace doesn't always stay.
Unity and peace is a sweet time, a blessing from God. So what are we called to do in response to these words? Seek calling. What are we called to do in response to these words? Enjoy sweet times of communion with your God. But don't be concerned or surprised. If the world hated Christ, they might also come against you. Sometimes you'll be saved by the skin of your teeth. But remember what Jesus told his disciples.
If anyone should want to follow me, he must deny himself and pick up his cross daily and follow me. If you want to save your soul, you must be willing to lose it. Are you willing to lose it for Christ? Do you trust in Him? Do you hope in Christ? Enjoy the sweet times when the Lord gives you peace. But don't be surprised. count the cost of discipleship.
As Dietrich Bonhoeffer told us, the call to follow Christ is a call to die. Let's pray. Father, we pray that we would, first of all, die to sin, that we might live to Christ. We pray that we would be a sweet smelling aroma We pray that our lives would be as a sacrifice going up to you. It would be our reasonable service. Lord, we pray. Father, we pray that you would give us peace, even when things seem to be going wrong.
Thank you for your love. Please protect your church. Please lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. May your kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name, amen. May the Lord bless you, and I'll see you tomorrow. Bye.
And thanks for listening to this week's message from God's Word for You, a ministry of Sharon R.P. Church in rural southeast Iowa. We pray that the message would be used by God to transform your faith in your life this week. If you'd like to get more information about us, feel free to go to the website, SharonRPC.org. We'd love to invite you to worship with us. Our worship time is 10 a.m. every Sunday at 25204 160th Avenue, Morning Sun, Iowa, 52640. May God richly bless you this week.