This week's ongoing BIble study will be part 4 of Acts chapter 19

The Apostle Paul Evades the Angry Mob at Ephesus, or,

How Spiritual Warfare Can Break Out at Any Moment

[Acts chapter 19, verses 32-41]

by Minister Paul J. Bern

Last week when we left off at verse 31 of Acts chapter 19, we found the apostle Paul being restrained by his Christian brothers from going out and trying to reason with a crowd of tens of thousands, having been persuaded to attempt no such thing lest he be crushed or otherwise killed by this angry mob that had formed. At this point, Paul had been in Ephesus for some time, having founded and built a church there that was growing each week. But there were no pro audio systems available to Paul, or anyone else for 19 more centuries. Paul had absolutely no chance of telling the crowd what he wanted to say, which simply was, “Jesus is Lord over all.” Yet he wanted to try anyway, and that's where we will begin part four of Acts chapter 19.

“32) The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there. 33) The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front, and they shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people. 34) But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: 'Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!' 35) The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: 'Fellow Ephesians, doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? 36) Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash.'” (Acts 19, verses 32-36)

OK, now let's think back to how all this started. A silversmith named Demetrius made statues and other religious relics for their god Artemis. He, together with many other craftsmen, were evidently earning a very comfortable living from the crafting and sale of these idols. In other words, their religion was also a profitable enterprise, not unlike some churches today, especially the ones that demand 10% of the incomes of its members. So, these guys are doing just great, and along comes Paul preaching Jesus Christ crucified, died and resurrected, and he's converting people to Christianity left and right. Christianity has become a threat to their livelihoods. And, since they have the majority of the people there worshiping these idols, everyone has been offended by Christianity. Paul and the disciples with him were finding themselves in the middle of a virtual hornet's nest.

It was a mob scene that would rival any riot we could think of today. “Most of the people did not even know why they were there.” In some ways that scene was similar to that of the Arab-Jew clashes in modern Israel today. And, in the end, that's all this was – antisemitism, as it is written, “33) The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front, and they shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people. 34) But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: 'Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!'” Alexander, you see, was from the synagogue there in Ephesus, the same people who were so abusive towards Paul when he presented the gospel to them that he left and went to the lecture hall at Tyrannus instead, and where he had been based ever since. To those in the crowd, the Jews worship of the Lord Almighty was just as much an offense to them.

Finally, after all the hubbub quieted down to a manageable level, and after Alexander had been shouted down from the podium, it was the city clerk who finally got the crowd to do some listening instead of all their shouting about nothing. “...Fellow Ephesians, doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash.'” I don't know what the city clerk meant by his reference to the image of Artemis, “who fell from heaven”. That would have to have been either a meteorite or something like that, such as a chunk of ice, which is rare but it does occur. I find it a strange notion that an entire city would worship some darned space boulder, so there's really no way to know for certain what the city clerk was referring to.

What the city clerk did say was that their faith in this idol they were worshiping was beyond questioning, and so they should never, he said, have gotten so worked up about it in the first place. The Christianity that Paul and those with him were preaching and teaching about was being viewed as a passing fad by the city clerk, whereas Artemis, or so they reasoned, would be there forever. As we all now know, it was and is very much the other way around. Artemis is a relic from ancient history that would be completely forgotten if it weren't for Acts chapter 19. The name of Jesus Christ, on the other hand, lives on for all eternity. Having said that, let's move on to part 2 of this week's study.

“37) 'You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess. 38) If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges. 39) If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly. 40) As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what happened today. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.' 41) After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.”

OK, let's all go back to our studies of chapter 18 from several weeks ago. Remember how Paul had been previously seized by the Temple authorities in Corinth? Gallio, the proconsul who served as the local magistrate there, had dismissed the charges against Paul straight out of hand (see verses 14-17) because the proceedings had been called for a religious dispute instead of issues of legality. Here at the conclusion of chapter 19, we find a similar occurrence in the verses above. The city clerk, whose name is not mentioned in this case, was clearly unhappy with what was happening, especially with all the noise and confusion. He rebukes them all, being the sole legal authority present: “38) If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges. 39) If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly.”

The city clerk's address to the crowd left no doubt as to who was in charge. I would call this an example of leadership in action. Take your demonstrations before the authorities, he ordered the crowd, and keep them out of the streets so people can go back to work. “As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what happened today. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.” Right here is the underlying crux of the matter as far as the Ephesian populace was concerned, and especially for that city clerk. The place in which they were living was a part of the Roman Empire as it existed back then. So the city clerk was admonishing the crowd by telling them there would be hell to pay if the Romans ever found out what had occurred. And he was absolutely right.

Next week, as we move on to chapter 20 in this ongoing series of Biblical studies, Paul remained in Ephesus for only a short while longer, having realized that his days were numbered there. His very presence for the previous 2 years, together with the evangelizing activities of the church he had founded, were the spark that kindled the riot that had just occurred there. The time had come for Paul to move on, and he had by this time begun to quietly acknowledge that to himself, and soon after to the others with who he had worked for the last 2 years. So everyone be sure and return next week for another installment of this series on the writings of the apostle Luke, part 1 of chapter 20. I look forward to seeing you all then!