Tag Archives: Ephesians

THE BOOK OF ACTS – TAKE THAT, DIANA!

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TAKE THAT, DIANA!

“Paul then went straight to the meeting place. He had the run of the place for three months, doing his best to make the things of the kingdom of God real and convincing to them. But then resistance began to form as some of them began spreading evil rumours through the congregation about the Christian way of life. So Paul left taking the disciples with him, and set up shop in the school of Tyrannus, holding class there daily. He did this for two years, giving everyone in the province of Asia, Jews as well as Greeks, ample opportunity to hear the Message of the Master,” Acts 19:8-10 (The Message).

Like Athens, Ephesus was a hotbed of idolatry, especially the worship of Diana (Roman) or Artemis (Greek), a powerful goddess whose image supposedly fell from the sky. It was in the atmosphere of her power and influence that Paul carried on his ministry there for at least two years.

He ministered in the Jewish synagogue for three months before the poisonous rumours spread by his opponents began to undermine his ministry. Rather than remain and face increasing opposition, he moved his venue to a nearby “school”, probably a meeting place where men gathered during their “leisure” time, between 11am and 4pm, to discuss the philosophies of the day. This would have given him time to carry out his tent-making during “working hours” as well as preach and teach in the middle of the day,

Paul took advantage of this practice to share the message of Jesus with the people who gathered there every day with such power that the whole of the province of Asia came under his influence. As we will see later, this had dire consequences for him and his associates as the life-transforming power of Jesus began to take effect, undermining the worship of Diana.

“God did powerful things through Paul, things quite out of the ordinary. The word got around and people started taking pieces of clothing — handkerchiefs, scarves and the like — that had touched Paul’s skin, and then touching the sick with them. The touch did it — they were healed and whole.” Acts 19:11-12 (The Message).

This is a phenomenon that appears more than once in Scripture. God did many miracles when He rescued His people from Egypt. He supernaturally destroyed the whole of Egypt, including their military might, to show Pharaoh and the Egyptian people that their gods were powerless against the God of Israel. Likewise God did miracles through the prophets Elijah and Elisha during the time of the reign of Ahab and Jezebel in Israel when Baal-worship predominated.

Paul’s ministry in Ephesus coincided with the powerful influence of Diana and it would seem that God was confirming the truth of His Word by the signs and miracles that He did through Paul. He was as much revealing His power over Diana as He was healing the afflicted in Ephesus.

The effect on the Ephesian people was electrifying, (as we shall read in the next section of Acts), and produced a counter-attack from the enemy conducted by those who were more concerned about losing business than they were about Diana’s “divine majesty” being threatened!

What does this tell us about God and His ministry through Paul? God is always about revealing His glory. Where Satan’s intention was to oppose and rival God through the zeal and energy of misguided people, He exposed his deception through acts of power that proved without doubt the He alone is God.

God does heal out of compassion for His people but He also intervenes miraculously in times of idolatry and unbelief to put Himself on display so that there can never be any doubt about who is Lord.

The Price of Stupidity

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THE PRICE OF STUPIDITY

“That set them off in a frenzy. They ran into the street yelling, ‘Great Artemis of the Ephesians! Great Artemis of the Ephesians!’ They put the whole city in an uproar, stampeding into the stadium, and grabbing two of Paul’s associates on the way, the Macedonian, Gaius. and Aristarchus. Paul wanted to go in, too, but the disciples wouldn’t let him. Prominent religious leaders in the city who had become friendly to Paul concurred. ‘By no means go near that mob.'” Acts 19:28-31 (The Message).

Stand back and survey the scene. What do you see? An uncontrollable, unruly mob, working themselves up into a frenzy and on the brink of ruthless violence against anyone who happened to resemble the objects of their wrath! Paul’s ministry in Ephesus had resulted in a wholesale turning to the Lord, with a startling outcome, a bonfire of occult books, but that didn’t mean that there were not many unbelievers left in the city.

This time it was not the Jews who led the riot but Demetrius and his fellow silversmiths who were losing business because, through the power of Jesus, many had turned away from idol-worship. Humans were acting like hooligans, but who was the instigator? Satan, of course! This is just the sort of thing he would initiate to get people to lose control of themselves and go on the rampage. Whether the trigger was religious or financial, it didn’t matter; the outcome was the same.

Paul wanted to step in and quieten the ruckus but his friends would not let him. The mob would have torn him to pieces there and then.

“Some were yelling one thing, some another. Most of them had no idea what was going on or why they were there. As the Jews pushed Alexander to the front to try to gain control, different factions clamoured to get him on their side. But he brushed them off and quieted the mob with an impressive sweep of his arms. But the moment he opened his mouth and they knew he was a Jew, they shouted him down. ‘Great Artemis of the Ephesians! Great Artemis of the Ephesians!’ — and on and on, for over two hours.'” Acts 19:32-34 (The Message).

Isn’t this typical of human behaviour? Join in the fun, even if you have no idea what it’s all about! How well Isaiah diagnosed the hearts of human beings! “We all, like sheep, have gone astray….” Isaiah 53:6a (NIV).

The scary thing is that God holds everyone accountable for what they do, even if it is thoughtless and irresponsible behaviour like these people were engaged in. Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t make it right. We are responsible for our choices because every decision we make has consequences for ourselves and other people. We do not live our lives in isolation. What we do affects others.

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due to him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV).

Thoughtless and irresponsible actions are included in “the things done while in the body”, like the actions of these Ephesians who had no idea what it was all about. This riot was, in the end, not really about the goddess or about what Paul was teaching. It was about the silversmiths losing their business because many of the Ephesians had come to their senses and realised that this goddess was nothing but a hoax.

This story should be a warning to us that we do not allow ourselves to be deceived and to sell our souls for “hot air.” God gave us the ability to think and to make choices and decisions that affect our eternal destiny. Let’s not waste this gift by falling for lies.