The Riot at Ephesus

Ephesus. In our last lesson, Paul told the people of Athens about the true God. Later he came to Ephesus, a large city in Asia. Asia was a Roman province in the west of what is now Turkey. Paul taught there every day for two years (19:10). God did it. “Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul” (19:11). Unusual means not ordinary. God used Paul’s hands, but God did the work. Not the cloths. “Even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them” (19:12). The cloths had no power of their own. God chose to heal people this way, and the healing came from Him. Using a name. Some traveling Jewish men tried to force evil spirits out. They said, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches” (19:13). To exorcise means to command an evil spirit to leave. Seven sons of a chief priest named Sceva did this (19:14). Who are you? “And the evil spirit answered and said, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?’” (19:15). These men talked about Jesus, but they did not know Him. They fled. The man with the evil spirit “overpowered them,” and “they fled out of that house naked and wounded” (19:16). Jesus honored. “Fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified” (19:17). Magnified means honored as great. What we learn. Jesus is not a name to borrow; He is the Lord to know. All power belongs to God, and Jesus is stronger than every evil spirit. What matters most is knowing Jesus Himself and trusting Him.

Two years in Ephesus. In our last lesson Paul preached the true God in Athens. Later he came to Ephesus and taught daily for two years, “so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks” (19:10). Asia was the Roman province around Ephesus. Unusual miracles (19:11). “Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul.” God worked them; Paul’s hands were only the tools He used. Unusual means not the ordinary kind. Not the cloth (19:12). Handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from Paul to the sick, “and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.” The power was never in the cloth. God was showing that the message Paul preached came from Him. Itinerant exorcists (19:13-14). “Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, ‘We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.’” Itinerant means traveling from place to place. They borrowed the name of a Lord they did not follow. The spirit’s question (19:15). “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” The spirit knew Jesus’ authority and knew Paul served Him. These men had no such standing. Defeated (19:16). The man “overpowered them,” “so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” Magnified (19:17). “And fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.” The failure of the false users made the true Lord look great. Application. Saying Jesus’ name without knowing Him is empty. Jesus is a Person to be known and trusted, not a word to be used. Belong to Him, and no evil power can claim you.

In our last lesson, Paul told Athens about the true God. Now Paul was teaching in the big city of Ephesus. God used Paul to do very special miracles there. Did the cloths Paul used have power? No, they did not. God had the power, and God healed the sick people. Some men tried to use Jesus’ name like a magic word. But they did not know Jesus or trust Him. The man with the evil spirit chased them away. Saying His name is not enough. He is a real Person, and He wants you to know Him. Everyone in Ephesus gave honor to the Lord Jesus.

God did the miracles through Paul. Jesus is stronger than every evil spirit. The people gave honor to Jesus.

Confessing. “And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds” (19:18). To confess means to tell the truth about the wrong things you have done. These believers stopped hiding their sin. Magic. “Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all” (19:19). Magic here means trying to get secret power from evil spirits instead of from God. The cost. “And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver” (19:19). That was a great deal of money. Why burn them? They could have sold the books. Most likely they burned them so that no one else would ever use them. They were done with magic for good. In the sight of all. They did it where everyone could see. Their change was not a secret. The word grew. “So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed” (19:20). Prevailed means it was strong and won out. God’s Word was stronger than magic. Paul’s plans. Then Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome” (19:21). He sent Timothy and Erastus ahead (19:22). What we learn. When Jesus becomes your Lord, you can be honest with Him about sin. You can let go of anything that pulls you away from Him. Nothing you give up is worth more than Jesus.

Confessing (19:18). “And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds.” These were believers. Their faith was real, and it showed itself in honest confession of what they had done. Periergos (19:19). “Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all.” The word for magic is periergos (say: peh-REE-er-gos), meddling with secret things people should leave alone. These were most likely books of spells and secret arts. God had warned His people against such things long before (Deuteronomy 18:10). The price. “And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.” Most likely they burned the books instead of selling them so that no one else would use them. Their repentance cost them something. Public. It happened “in the sight of all.” Ephesus could see that the gospel changes people. Mightily (19:20). “So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.” The word that exposed the magic proved stronger than it. Purposed in the Spirit (19:21-22). 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.’” He sent Timothy and Erastus ahead into Macedonia. Application. Real repentance is honest and sometimes costly. Ask God whether anything in your life pulls you away from Him, and let it go. Christ is worth more than anything you could give up for Him.

Many believers told the wrong things they had done. They stopped hiding their sin. Turning from sin starts with being honest with God. Some of the believers had used magic. Magic tries to get secret power without God. So they brought their magic books and burned them. Everyone could see the fire. Those books were worth about 50,000 silver coins! They could have sold them for a lot of money. Most likely they did not want anyone else to use them. Jesus was worth more to them than all that money. After that, God’s Word kept spreading and growing. When you do wrong, tell God the truth. He forgives everyone who trusts Jesus.

People told God the wrong things they had done. They burned their magic books. Jesus mattered more to them than money!

The Way. “And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way” (19:23). The Way was a name for following Jesus. A commotion is a noisy uproar. Demetrius. Demetrius was “a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana” (19:24). The shrines were small silver models connected with her temple. Diana was the Roman name for the goddess the Greeks called Artemis. Her great temple was in Ephesus. His worry. He called the craftsmen together and said, “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade” (19:25). Prosperity means wealth. Paul’s message. Paul had turned many people away, “saying that they are not gods which are made with hands” (19:26). In our last lesson Paul taught the same truth in Athens. Two fears. Demetrius feared that their trade would lose its good name and that the temple would be despised (19:27). His first worry was his money. The shout. “They were full of wrath and cried out, saying, ‘Great is Diana of the Ephesians!’” (19:28). Wrath means great anger. Confusion. “So the whole city was filled with confusion” (19:29). They seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s travel companions, and rushed into the theater. Kept back. Paul wanted to go in, but “the disciples would not allow him” (19:30). Some officials of Asia who were his friends begged him not to go (19:31). Most did not know. “Most of them did not know why they had come together” (19:32). When Alexander, a Jewish man, tried to speak, the crowd found out he was a Jew and would not listen. They cried out “for about two hours” (19:34). What we learn. A loud crowd is not always right. Loving money can make people angry at the truth. Stand with Jesus even when the crowd is loud.

Tarachos (19:23). “And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way.” Commotion is tarachos (say: TAR-ah-khos), a stirring up or disturbance. “The Way” was an early name for following Jesus. The silversmith (19:24-25). Demetrius, “a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen.” Diana was the Roman name for the goddess the Greeks called Artemis. He gathered the workers and said, “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade.” Paul’s message, told by his opponent (19:26). “This Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands.” Demetrius summed up Paul’s preaching correctly. In our last lesson Paul taught the same truth in Athens. Trade, then temple (19:27). “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.” Money came first in his speech, and religion second. A city in uproar (19:28-29). “They were full of wrath and cried out, saying, ‘Great is Diana of the Ephesians!’ 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.” Kept safe (19:30-31). Paul wanted to go in to the people, but “the disciples would not allow him.” Even “some of the officials of Asia, who were his friends,” pleaded with him to stay away. United in noise (19:32). “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.” Alexander (19:33-34). “And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward.” He wanted to make his defense, “but when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours.” The crowd would not hear him at all. Application. A crowd can shout with one voice and still not know why. Greed hides easily inside religious noise. Let God’s truth, not the loudest voices, decide what you believe.

Demetrius made little silver models of the temple of Artemis. He sold them and made a lot of money. Paul taught that gods made by people are not real gods. Many people in Ephesus believed Paul. Demetrius was worried most about his money. He made the other workers very angry too. They shouted, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” Then the whole city became confused. Most of the people did not even know why they were there! Paul’s friends kept him away from the angry crowd. A crowd can be very loud and still be wrong. Do not follow a crowd that is doing wrong. Follow Jesus, even if you have to stand alone.

Demetrius made little silver temples to sell. He was afraid of losing his money. The whole city became mixed up.

Quiet. “And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd” (19:35). The city clerk was one of the leading officials of Ephesus. Calm down. He said that everyone knew Ephesus cared for the temple of Diana. “Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly” (19:36). Rashly means quickly, without stopping to think. Innocent. “For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess” (19:37). Paul’s friends had told the truth about God without breaking any law. The right way. “If Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls” (19:38). Proconsuls were Roman rulers of the province. A warning. “For we are in danger of being called in question for today’s uproar” (19:40). The city could most likely get into trouble with Rome for a riot. Dismissed. “And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly” (19:41). God’s care. God used disciples, friends among the leaders and even the city clerk to protect Paul and his companions. A later letter. Many Christians see this riot as part of “our trouble which came to us in Asia” that Paul wrote about later (2 Corinthians 1:8). What we learn. Trouble never surprises God. He can use anyone to take care of His people. When you feel angry or afraid, stop and think before you act, and trust God to take care of you.

The clerk (19:35). “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 of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Zeus?’” The clerk was a leading official of the city. He spoke to the crowd in words they would accept. Propetes (19:36). “Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly.” Rashly is propetes (say: proh-peh-TACE), falling forward, acting headlong without thinking. No crime (19:37). “For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess.” The believers had preached the truth without attacking anyone’s temple. Courts and assemblies (19:38-39). “The courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.” Any other matter “shall be determined in the lawful assembly.” Proconsuls were the Roman governors of the province. The danger (19:40-41). “For we are in danger of being called in question for today’s uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering.” Then “he dismissed the assembly.” Providence. God protected His servants through disciples, friendly officials and a city clerk who, as far as we know, did not follow Jesus. He rules over crowds as well as courts. A later letter. Many Christians see this riot as part of “our trouble which came to us in Asia” that Paul described later (2 Corinthians 1:8). Application. Crowds act rashly; God’s people do not have to. Stop and think before you react, speak the truth with respect, and trust the Lord who guards His people.

At last the city clerk quieted the crowd. He told them, “You must stop and think before you do anything.” Paul’s friends had not done anything wrong. If Demetrius had a complaint, he could go to the courts. Then the clerk sent everyone home. God used friends, leaders and even the city clerk. He used them all to keep Paul safe. Many Christians see this as a hard time Paul wrote about later. God was with Paul in that hard time. God is with you in hard times too. When you feel angry, stop and think first. Ask God to help you do what is right.

The city clerk made the crowd quiet. He sent everyone home. God kept Paul and his friends safe!