Acts 19

Sorcery.—To all the dwellers in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, Paul’s faithful preaching of Jesus, the special marvels connected with him, and the discomfiture of the sons of Sceva, had become known. Through this knowledge Christ’s name was magnified and multitudes believed. Luke notes the special effects of the strikingly exhibited superiority of the divine miracles over the human counterfeits. On the one hand, many who had previously believed (18), and yet had not thrown off the early superstitious faith in magic arts, now formally confessed their folly and renounced all connection with sorcerous practices. And on the other, many of the sorcerers, of those “who practiced magical arts,” openly brought together and burned the parchment rolls, transcribed laboriously and at great cost with the secret formulae and mystic symbols of the magic art, accumulated through previous ages. That these became also Christian believers is evident from the cost and completeness of their voluntary sacrifice. They did not make gain of that which they now knew to be only evil; but showed their sincerity of repentance by utterly and openly destroying the books that might have been sold for a great sum. The money-value thus deliberately sacrificed by constraint of Christian principle amounted to many thousand dollars. Thus, as always, a genuine faith wrought an honest purpose; a purpose that will sacrifice at any cost and hazard every hindrance in the way of obedience to God and helpfulness to man. A sharp lesson, not only upon sacrifice but upon sincerity, these converted sorcerers of Ephesus convey to many professedly converted men and women in their business dealings.

In this connection the 20th verse presents a remarkable summary of Paul’s work in Ephesus: So mightily grew the WORD OF GOD, and prevailed! The breadth of the sowing of truth, the depth of its rooting, its vital force in the heart and its rich fruitage in the life, are here referred to. Of these great and wide results, the submission and sacrifice of the sorcerers, just alluded to, afford signal examples. The opposite, selfish course of Demetrius and his workmen present as signal exceptions. B.

21. AFTER these things were ended, 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 22 Rome. So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season. 23 And the same time there arose no small stir about that way. For a certain man named 24 Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto 25 the craftsmen; whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, 26 Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned 27 away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: so that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia 28 and the world worshippeth. And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, 29 and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions 30 in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre. And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not. And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself 31 into the theatre. Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together. And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned 32 with the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people. But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana 33 of the Ephesians. And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter? Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing 37 rashly. For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor 38 yet blasphemers of your goddess. Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them 39 implead one another. But if ye enquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be de- 40 terminated in a lawful assembly. For we are in danger to be called in question for this day’s 41 uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse. And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.

CONCEIVE the apostles of Jesus Christ, the tent-maker or the fisherman, entering, as strangers, into one of the splendid cities of Syria, Asia Minor, or Greece. Everywhere they behold temples on which the utmost extravagance of expenditure has been lavished by succeeding generations; idols of the most exquisite workmanship, to which, even if the religious feeling of adoration is enfeebled, the people are strongly attached by national or local vanity. They meet processions, in which the idle find perpetual occupation, the young excitement, the voluptuous a continual stimulant to their passions. They pass a magnificent theatre, on the splendor and success of which the popularity of the existing authorities mainly depends, and in which the serious exhibitions are essentially religious, the lighter as intimately connected with the indulgence of the baser passions. They behold another public building, where even worse feelings—the cruel and the sanguinary—are pampered by the animating contests of wild beasts and of gladiators. They encounter, likewise, itinerant jugglers, diviners, magicians, who impose upon the credulous, and excite the contempt of the enlightened. Such must have been among the overpowering difficulties they condemned and defied. Milman.

21, 22. The Ultimate Plan of Paul’s Further Journey. Timothy and Erastus sent before.—In 2 Cor. 1 : 15, 16, a slightly differing plan is referred to. He had intended to pass through Corinth “to Macedonia and to come again out of Macedonia unto Corinth”; that is, to give them a second benefit in this journey. But this purpose was changed, to spare them, that he might not grieve them, or come to them in sorrow or severity (2 Cor. 1 : 12 ; 2 : 10). The First Epistle explains all. Sad intelligence reached him in Ephesus of divisions and contentions in the Corinthian Church, of uncensured gross immoralities, and of the scandalous profanation of the Lord’s Supper. Instead of the sharp rebuke, which he would have personally administered had he gone first to Corinth, he remains still longer in the province of Asia, and from Ephesus (1 Cor. 16 : 8) writes the admonitory words of his First Epistle to the Corinthian Church. B.—While arranging his plans so as to give his disciples at Corinth a space for repentance before his arrival, he stimulated them to that repentance, and gave directions for that reformation of their disorders which would prepare for his coming to them in joy and peace, by writing this letter. Its contents give decisive indications of its date and place: it was written after Paul’s second visit to Galatia; after the mission of Timothy, and Erastus; and after the change in the apostle’s plans. Paul alludes to his being still in Asia, and at Ephesus, whence he was contemplating his departure at the ensuing Pentecost; circumstances which fix the date to the spring of his last year’s residence at Ephesus (A. D. 57). S.—After that, he decides to delay still further and to go first to Macedonia, that he might learn the effect of his First Letter. While in Macedonia he receives gratifying tidings, to which he refers and responds in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians, written from Macedonia. Then he goes to Corinth, and after wintering there is brought on his return journey to Jerusalem. Luke, writing here after the event, simply narrates Paul’s actual journey. The tarrying “in Asia” (in Ephesus) covered another period of nine months, which completes the three years of chapter 20 : 31. During these latter months occurred the events that follow in this chapter.

23-28. Demetrius, a Manufacturer in Silver, craftily excites the Workmen to Riotous Demonstrations against the Christian Movement and its Leaders.—Again, this movement is characterized as “that way”; meaning the Christian way of believing and living. Some knowledge of the temple, the image

Coin of Ephesus, exhibiting the head of Nero and the Temple of Diana.

and the worship of Diana, the tutelary deity of Ephesus, is essential to a clear understanding of the appeal of Demetrius and the resulting commotion. B.

One building at Ephesus surpassed all the rest in magnificence and in fame. This was the Temple of Artemis or Diana, which glittered in brilliant beauty at the head of the harbor, and was reckoned by the ancients as one of the wonders of the world. The sun, it was said, saw nothing in his course more magnificent than Diana’s Temple. It consisted essentially in horizontal entablatures resting on vertical columns. These colonnades were erected as subsidiary decorations round the cell which contained the idol, and were, through a great part of their space, open to the sky. The Temple was 425 feet in length and 220 in breadth, and the columns were 60 feet high. The number of columns was 127, each of them the gift of a king; and 36 of them were enriched with ornament and color. All the Greek cities contributed to the structure. The national pride in the sanctuary was so great that, when Alexander offered the spoils of his eastern campaign if he might inscribe his name on the building, the honor was declined. The value and fame of the Temple were enhanced by its being the treasury, in which a large portion of the wealth of Western Asia was stored up.

If the Temple of Diana at Ephesus was magnificent, the Image enshrined within the sumptuous inclosure was primitive and rude. It resembled an Indian idol rather than the beautiful forms which crowded the Acropolis of Athens. The figure, which assumed an emblematic form above, representing the life of all animated beings as fed and supported by nature, was terminated below in a shapeless block. The material was wood. A bar of metal was in each hand. The dress was covered with mystic devices; and the small shrine, where it stood within the Temple, was concealed by a curtain in front. Yet, rude as the image was, it was the object of the utmost veneration. Like the Palladium of Troy—like the most ancient Minerva of the Athenian Acropolis—like the Paphian Venus or Cybele of Pessinus—like the Ceres in Sicily—it was believed to have “fallen down from the sky” (v. 35).

One of the idolatrous customs of the ancient world was the use of portable images or shrines, which were little models of the more celebrated objects of devotion. They were carried in processions, on journeys and military expeditions, and set up as household gods in private houses. H.—Such were the “silver shrines for Diana,” largely manufactured by Demetrius; small portable models of the Temple, and containing a figure of the goddess. These shrines were in great demand, not only in Ephesus and the province of Asia, but among all nations and in all countries; and hence the business of their manufacture was extensive and lucrative.

The great annual festival of Diana, the patron deity of Ephesus, took place in her own month of May; when the rude wooden image of the goddess was exhibited to the multitude, and, in her honor, games and dramas were publicly celebrated. Of this opportune occasion Demetrius took advantage to stir up the idle and excitable Greek populace. Yet with all his shrewdness he is constrained to confess the immense power and success of the Word, in the very facts upon which he bases his inflammatory appeals. That the craftsmen in image molding and carving were out of work he declares to result from the preaching of this Paul. By him, “much people in Ephesus and throughout all Asia” (that is, the broad strip of the western seaboard of Asia Minor, the province of Asia) have been turned away from Diana’s worship, and led to disbelieve in gods made with hands. He further praises the true character, methods, and effects of the Gospel, shows where the real power of its preacher lies, and how God honors that power, by the words: This Paul hath VERSUADED much people! To reason and motive they have intelligently and voluntarily responded with faith. And that these are undeniable facts, he appeals to the workmen: Ye see and hear all this!

Naturally his first argument based upon such facts touches the selfish side. “This craft of ours—the making of these silver temple-models—by which we get our living, is in danger of being done away. Nay more, in time our occupation will become absurd and be accounted disgraceful.” Next he appeals to the religious and national feeling of the gathering townspeople, as well as of the workmen. He warns them that the success of the Christian teaching means the decline and overthrow of the Diana-worship, and of the supremacy of their regal city Ephesus.

Arguments so artfully set forth, having so much foundation in fact, and touching his hearers at every personal and practical point, appealing to their imperiled living, to their religious faith, such as it was, and to their patriotic feeling, could not but succeed in inflaming their wrath to the utmost. With a mighty outcry, which expressed all the substance of their superstitious faith and patriotic devotion, Great! Diana of the Ephesians! the surging crowd of artisans and people that had gathered at the speech of Demetrius went tumultuously through the streets, increasing as they went, until they poured, a vast throng, into the great theatre.

29-41. Proceedings in the Theatre.—This is believed to have been the largest open-air structure of its kind ever constructed by the Greeks—capable of seating 50,000 persons in its many semicircular tiers of stone seats, rising from the stage floor. The still visible remains show its vast dimensions.

Two of Paul’s Macedonian disciples, companions in travel, were seized by the mob on the way, and borne into the theatre. Paul was kept back from entering by some “of the chief of Asia,” or Asi-archs. B.—These were men (ten in number) annually elected from the wealthiest, most distinguished and influential citizens of the whole province, to conduct the sacrificial worship and to preside over the games of the Artemisian festival, to provide the necessary expenses, and to see that due order was maintained. They held for the time a kind of sacerdotal position; and when, robed in mantles of purple and crowned with garlands, they assumed the duty of regulating the great gymnastic contests, and controlling the tumultuary crowd in the theatre, they might literally be called the “chief of

Asia.” H.—Some of the men honored with this high office at this festival were so friendly to Paul, if not to the Christian teachings, that they besought him not to expose himself to unnecessary peril by venturing into the excited and turbulent throng.

Confusion and uproar filled the vast amphitheatre. Probably by Alexander the coppersmith (2 Tim. 4:14), the Jews sought to clear themselves of the odium and charge against the Christians. But the angry, blinded crowd recognized no distinction and would hear no defense. For two hours they filled the air with their senseless shout, Great is Diana of the Ephesians! Then came among them their highest magistrate, a secretary, or recorder, who kept the archives, and prepared and published all state papers; and who, in various other ways, officially represented the people of the free city of Ephesus. This officer was chosen by themselves, his presence was familiar, and his judgment trusted. B.

The speech is a pattern of candid argument and judicious tact. He first allays the fanatical passions of his listeners by a simple appeal. Then he bids them remember that Paul and his companions had not been guilty of profaning the Temple, or of calumnious expressions against the goddess. Then he points out that the remedy for any injustice was amply provided by the assizes, or by an appeal to the proconsul. And he reminds them that such an uproar exposed the city to the displeasure of the Romans; for, however great the liberties allowed to an ancient and loyal city, a tumultuous meeting which endangered the public peace would never be tolerated. So he tranquilized the multitude, and formally dismissed the assembly. Thus God used

View of the Theatre at Ephesus.

the eloquence of a Greek magistrate to protect his servant, as he had used the right of Roman citizenship at Philippi, and the justice of a Roman governor at Corinth. And, as in those cases, the narrative here concludes with the notice of a deliberate and affectionate farewell. H.

The town clerk said, “These men are neither robbers of churches nor blasphemers of your goddess.” It would appear from this that Paul had proceeded at Ephesus with the same caution which he had displayed at Athens. He effectually undermined all idolatry by preaching Christ; but he did not fly in the face of what his audience considered sacred. His argument was always grave and considerate. He would not needlessly trample on the prejudices of the heathen. Arnot.

Nothing more hinders men from going to or going from an opinion than the interest they have by holding it. Men do not care so much for the opinions they hold as for what they hold by their opinions. Many a man thinks what Demetrius said: “This craft, by which we have all our wealth, is like to be set at naught.” Hence they begin to fly in the face of truth, and oppose it with outrageous rage, so dearly sweet, and sweetly dear, is their darling gain. When once the copyhold of gain and honor is touched, men begin to look about them, and will never call godliness gain, because gain is their godliness. V.

derful token of God’s power and love, they celebrated the Eucharistic feast. This act was combined, as was usual in the apostolic age, with a common meal; and Paul now took some refreshment after the protracted labor of the evening, and then continued his conversation till the dawning of day. H.