AP

Studies in Acts

A Riot at Ephesus (Acts 19:23-41)

Nowhere had Paul been able to proclaim the gospel undisturbed for as long as he did in Ephesus. But near the time of his departure, he became the focal point of a massive demonstration that put his life in great danger. Perhaps he referred to this in 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 when he wrote about his “affliction in Asia,” in connection with which “we despaired of life itself.” And Priscilla and Aquila may have risked their lives for him at that point (cf. Romans 16:3-4).

Many Gentiles had by now been called out of Satan’s darkness to Jesus, the light of the world (John 8:12; Ephesians 5:8). The world-famous temple of Artemis, one of the devil’s bulwarks, was already attracting less interest. But the evil one refused to surrender or concede the battle. From his arsenal of weapons of false teaching and violence, he chose the latter. By means of a massive demonstration on behalf of Artemis and against Jesus, he attempted to destroy the church.

The streams of tourists who came to see this temple, happily purchased a small silver replica of the temple to dedicate to the goddess or to take home as a souvenir and amulet. A certain Demetrius, a silversmith, had a business where these miniature temples and silver and terracotta images of the goddess were manufactured. With this business he provided many with a good income. But since the arrival of Paul, the demand for temple replicas had dwindled. Further diminishing of Artemis worship would affect them financially. Therefore, he called the entire professional association together, and like a skilled populist he gave a clever speech in which he played on their self-interest and their religious sentiments. He did so in this order: (1) their money; (2) their temple; and (3) the splendour of the goddess.

“Men,” he started out, “you know that we are living well off our business. But you see and hear for yourselves that this fellow, Paul—apparently, they all knew of him—has turned around a lot of people with his propaganda, and turned them into apostates, not only in Ephesus, but in virtually all Asia.” Demetrius was thoroughly acquainted with Paul’s preaching: Paul had claimed that gods made by human hands are not gods at all. Evidently Paul had been proclaiming this emphatically not only in idolatrous Athens, but also in Ephesus. It is possible as well that many who did not become Christians agreed with Paul, for they had seen the miracles in Jesus’ name. “That is dangerous,” Demetrius continued, “for thereby our business enterprise, which provides all of us with a good living, obtains a bad reputation. Moreover, the world-famous temple of the great goddess Artemis is completely robbed of its prestige. She who is worshipped in all of Asia, indeed, throughout the whole world, will lose all her divine majesty.” In short, the fame and the economy of Ephesus demanded strong resistance against “the new religion.”

This speech hit home. The silversmiths were taken in. In direct opposition against Paul’s proclamation of the living God and his Son Jesus Christ, they began to shout furiously: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” The purpose was to incite the entire city against the preachers of the Gospel.

That approach worked all too well. The entire city was thrown into confusion and tumult, although it was clear to everyone that it involved the great Artemis. As one man they stormed to the open-air theatre, spacious enough for thousands of demonstrators. Gaius and Aristarchus, two Macedonian travel companions of Paul, were forcibly dragged along, perhaps because Paul himself could not be found. Demetrius’ plan was clear. A people’s court (“a Kangaroo Court”) would have made Paul’s continued preaching of the gospel impossible.

When the apostle learned that two of his co-workers had been seized, he too wanted to go to the theatre to speak to the people. As an ambassador of Jesus Christ, he wanted to defend his Sender’s cause and come to the aid of his fellow workers. But even though he was a Roman citizen, and had survived a stoning in Lystra, and escaped after a severe beating in Philippi, the disciples thought this was rash. Therefore, they kept him from going there. As the target of popular fury, the enraged mob would not have listened to him. On the contrary, they would have lynched him. Even several members of the provincial government of Asia, who were kindly disposed toward him, sent him a message urgently advising him not to venture into the theatre. In this, God’s protective hand was being shown in a special way. For these Asiarchs were particularly tasked with supervising the cultic emperor worship, and in Ephesus to provide for Artemis worship! Here we have a fresh example of Paul’s significant influence in Asia. Good Christians were being viewed in Ephesus not as potential troublemakers but as loyal citizens.

Meanwhile, complete pandemonium had erupted in the theatre. All the demonstrators were shouting through each other, for most of them had just come along without knowing anything about why they had gathered (v.32).

The Jews distanced themselves from the Christian faith. The situation was becoming dangerous for the Jews in Ephesus as well. For they too were known for their strict monotheism and aversion to idols. How easily this hatred of the whipped-up mob could turn against them as well. Therefore, it was essential at any cost to avoid the mob putting Judaism and Christianity in the same class.

To prevent this, they pushed forward a certain man, Alexander, a Jew, and gifted speaker. His assignment, of course, was to provide clarity and on behalf of the entire Jewish community in Ephesus to publicly distance Judaism from the Christian faith, and perhaps also to put Paul in a dark light. Alexander motioned for silence with his hand and wanted to show the people that the Jews were innocent. But when the people noticed (from his clothing?) that he was a Jew, they fell into a religious trance and began chanting with one voice: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” The mob kept this going without interruption for two hours! This must have been heard throughout the city. Paul, in his hiding place, was also hearing the fury and power of Satan against the gospel. But this was the only thing his enemies could achieve: screaming themselves hoarse.

Having permitted the mob to shout for two hours, the “city clerk” appeared on the scene. This title, however, does not adequately identify the position of this authority figure. Ephesus was a wealthy imperial city, and in this city, he was the highest authority under the Roman proconsul who ruled the entire province of Asia. In this context, the man was more like a mayor of a modern metropolis than a city clerk. His name adorned the coins that were minted during his term of office. He was responsible for maintaining public order. The temple of Artemis, which functioned also as a bank, was under his control. After calming the crowd, he was able to convince them by means of four arguments.

First: the fame of Ephesus is unassailable. He played on the pride that the people took in their city and temple. Who did not know that Ephesus was the “temple protector” of the great Artemis, and of her image that had fallen from heaven? This title was even engraved on the coins. With this rhetorical question, he cleverly circled around the point that concerned Demetrius (waning respect for the goddess), and he poured oil on the troubled waters. What were people getting excited about? Had Paul claimed that images of gods that were made with human hands could not be real gods? But in Ephesus theirs was an image of Artemis that had fallen from heaven! This was possibly a meteorite that had fallen from the sky, smashed into the ground, and was later fashioned into an image of the goddess, or the image was engraved on it. Ignoring again the falling sales of silver temple replicas, the clerk assured them that the fame of Ephesus as the “protectress” of the Artemis temple was undeniable. According to him, Christian preachers could not detract from that. Therefore, people should not do anything stupid.

Second: innocent people had been seized. People had dragged Gaius and Aristarchus before the crowd, but they had not desecrated the temple and had not blasphemed the goddess. In the Greco-Roman world those were serious crimes, but these crimes had not been committed. It seems that he knew Gaius and Aristarchus or had obtained information about them. What the apostle had proclaimed about the living God left him indifferent. He was interested only in restoring public order. As an aside, we learn from him that Paul and his helpers had acted according to God’s command: “Make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips” (Exodus 23:13; cf. Psalm 16:4). Although they had never disparaged the goddess, it was obvious that Demetrius was selling fewer replicas.

Third: they had not followed the lawful path. Demetrius and his colleagues could well have a conflict with someone that involved private injury. But the “city clerk” pointed out that legal trials were held for this. They could file an appeal with the proconsuls if they had something against another person. They ought to take their case to court where they could address Paul legally. Here was an embarrassing reprimand for the silversmiths: “If you want more, if you have other matters of public interest, then a lawfully called gathering of the people can be arranged. But not the kind of wild and illegal action like what Demetrius has now unleashed.”

Fourth: Rome tolerates no disturbance of order. The city clerk knew all too well that the government in Rome was fiercely intent on strictly maintaining public order, for that constituted the foundation of the Pax Romana, the peace of the Roman Empire. Therefore, he warned them fervently about the possible consequences of this public disturbance. Not for the Christian church, but for the entire city. There was a threat of a far greater danger than any downturn in the tourist industry: they were running the risk of being accused of rioting. There was no way they could justify this unrest. The Romans could withdraw some privileges as punishment (cf. John 11:48).

With these four arguments and his tactful approach, the competent ruler was able to calm down the mob. As wildly as the demonstration had begun, so calmly it ended. In this we see the hand of the King of the church, who protected his apostle and his church against this satanic attack. For this he employed the wisdom of a pagan city ruler, just as earlier he had enlisted that of Gallio (cf. Acts 18:12-17; Proverbs 21:1).

Questions:

What do these events teach us about how Christians are to relate to the godless/pagan rulers of our time?

How does the Gospel collide with vested interests in our society?

– Alida Sewell