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Acts 19:21-41

On his third missionary journey, Paul had been led of the Spirit to the city of Ephesus, which we learned
was a city consumed in pagan idolatry and the magic arts – a stronghold of Satan.

With a display of great power, the Lord waged war against the enemy, pouring out His Spirit upon twelve
men collectively, who were prepared to receive Him; sending out His word throughout the whole province
of Asia; and healing the sick and casting out evil spirits through Paul. The result was that the name of the
Lord Jesus was magnified, and many in the city of Ephesus and the province of Asia came to believe in
Him, and were saved.

I want to add a little to what I taught last week concerning the Holy Spirit being received collectively. Last
week, we noted that the receiving of the Holy Spirit by the twelve men of Ephesus collectively was very
similar to what had occurred on Pentecost. That’s when the Body of Christ was collectively baptized in the
Holy Spirit, and they received the power of the Spirit for their ministry.

Those who received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at that time were Jews; they were 120 of the disciples
of Jesus, who had gathered in the upper room to wait for the Spirit, the promise of the Father, as Jesus had
instructed them. We reviewed the other two occasions when the Holy Spirit was received by a collective
group; these were the Samaritans, and then God-fearing Gentiles.

In our text in Acts, we noted that Luke did not say whether the twelve who received the Holy Spirit at
Ephesus were Jews or Gentiles; that is obscure.

On the other hand, it is plain by their knowledge of the Holy Spirit, and their baptism into John’s baptism,
that they were somewhat enlightened as to the true God, and had chosen to repent of their sins; but they still
did not know of Jesus. When Paul told them of Him, they were baptized into Jesus’ name, and when Paul
laid his hands upon them, they received the Holy Spirit with power, speaking in tongues and prophesying.

Last week, I said that this collective group represented the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on all flesh – the
world of men – which had its beginnings at Pentecost, and would see its completion in the last days (Joel
2:28-32, Acts 2:16-21). I want to develop that a little further, because the passage actually reflects a picture
of the last days, at the Second Coming of Christ, when the Holy Spirit will be poured out on as many as
will receive Jesus, following the Tribulation.

Paul, who was a representative of the Lord Jesus, actually represents Him in this picture. In verse 1 of
chapter 19, Paul came to Ephesus, having passed through the upper regions. Now, Paul had been to
Ephesus once before; this was his second time there. In His Second Coming, the Lord Jesus, having passed
through the upper regions – the heavenlies – will descend back to the earth.

When Paul came to Ephesus, he found some disciples there – disciples of John the Baptist. Now, what did
John preach? Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand (Mt 3:2); the King is coming, to set up His
Kingdom; so men needed to repent of their sins, so that their hearts were prepared to receive their King.
And these men had repented; that is why they received John’s baptism.

When Jesus returns to the earth, the Great Tribulation will have done its work to break up the stony hearts
of some men. They will receive the word of 144,000 Jewish evangelists, who will preach the gospel of the
kingdom during the Tribulation (Rev 7:4-8, 14:1-5; Mt 24:14). Repenting of their sins, they will be made
ready to receive their King; for they are willing to submit to Jesus.
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Zechariah prophesied of this, speaking of the remnant of the Jews who will survive the Tribulation: “They
will look upon Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and
grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn” (Zech 12:10).

The apostle John also wrote of this repentance on the part of those in the Gentile nations who choose to
believe: “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And
all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him” (Rev 1:7).

When Paul came to Ephesus, the disciples that he found there had not received the Holy Spirit. When Paul
revealed Jesus to be the Messiah whom John proclaimed, the disciples were baptized in His name, and
when Paul laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them in power.

When Jesus returns to the earth, He will reveal Himself to Israel and the other nations as Messiah and King,
and He will pour out His Spirit upon them – on all flesh – completing the full purpose of God for the
salvation of mankind. That’s what Ephesus means: full-purposed.

Turn to Joel chapter 2. The prophet had described the day of the LORD, which in its far fulfillment refers to
the Great Tribulation and the Second Coming of Christ. Then the Lord, through Joel, calls His people to
repent.

The passage we will read was partially quoted by Peter on the day of Pentecost, when he indicated that
what people were seeing was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:16). That is when the Lord began to
pour out His Spirit; He continues to do so until the last days – after the Great Tribulation is complete, and
the Lord returns to the earth.

[Joel 2:28-32]

v. 28-29 The outpouring of the Holy Spirit began with Pentecost, with the baptism of the Body of Christ.
The Spirit is poured out on all flesh – both Jew and Gentile – to whoever will receive Him.

v. 30-31 These signs will be seen during the Tribulation, the seven year period preceding the return of
Jesus to the earth.

v. 32 Whoever calls on the name of the LORD will be saved. In his letter to the assembly in Rome, Paul
makes it clear that the meaning here is both Jew and Gentile – Israel and the other nations (Rm 10:12-13).
But the LORD gives special mention here to His own nation, Israel. A remnant of that nation will survive the
Tribulation; all of them will receive Jesus as their Messiah when He returns.

[Return to Acts 19] There were twelve disciples in Ephesus upon whom the Holy Spirit came, collectively.
This is the number for government in Scripture; and it completes our picture, with God setting up His
government on the earth.

After the cleansing of the earth by the fire of the Great Tribulation, the King will come to establish His
kingdom on the earth. The people who walk in darkness – the Gentiles – will see a great light (Is 9:2); and
God’s nation, Israel, will rejoice in their new-found freedom (Is 9:3-4).

Both Israel and the Gentile nations will see Jesus return; they will submit to their King, and the government
will be on His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor; Mighty God; Everlasting
Father; Prince of Peace. And of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end (Is 9:6-7).
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So the twelve men at Ephesus represent the fourth and final group which will collectively receive the Holy
Spirit – those who will come through the Great Tribulation, repentant and believing – both Jew (the
remnant) and Gentile (the nations of those who are saved – Rev 23:24). That will complete the full-
purpose of God – as seen in Ephesus.

[Return to Acts 19]

Let’s go back now to our passage. Paul had been in Ephesus about two and a half years, preaching the
word of God, and teaching the community of believers that came into being there. All who dwelt in Asia
heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles (v. 10). The purposes of God through Paul had
been accomplished in Asia.

v. 21-22 We see that Paul “purposed in the Spirit” to leave Ephesus, and go back through Macedonia and
Achaia, to visit the assemblies there, then back to Jerusalem, and later, to Rome. Now, it cannot be
ascertained from the Greek whether Luke was saying that Paul purposed to do this in his spirit – that is, he
resolved this in his own mind – or that he purposed to do this according the Holy Spirit – the mind of
Christ. Some translations capitalize Spirit; others do not.

But I think it is reasonable to assume that Paul was resolving to do this in accordance with what the Holy
Spirit revealed to him. Paul was sensitive to the Lord’s leading, and I don’t think he would make plans
apart from the Spirit showing His direction. And there’s something about, “After I have been there, I must
also see Rome” that suggests the planting of this idea by a revelation of the Holy Spirit.

Paul would indeed see Rome, though not as he might conceive this day. He would arrive there, several
years from now, in chains.

The letters of Paul to the churches shed more light on this trip. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 16.

You may remember that Paul had written this letter to the Corinthians from Ephesus, after he had learned of
some problems in the Corinthian assembly. By this time, Paul also had a letter from that assembly,
questioning him about certain doctrinal issues (1 Cor 7:1). This letter was probably brought along with the
monetary gift that the Corinthians sent with three of their members (1 Cor 16:17-18).

As Paul was concluding his letter, he wrote of his prospective visit to Macedonia – and to Corinth, if the
Lord permitted. This passage brings out one reason why Paul was visiting these assemblies.

[1 Corinthians 16:1-11]

v. 1-2 As you can see, one reason for Paul’s visit was to receive a collection from the assemblies that he
had established. Apparently, he had already taken a collection when he had passed back through Galatia;
here, he was asking those in Corinth to make an offering as well. Paul wrote that there were to be no
collections when he comes. He brings out the reason for this in a later letter to them: so that the offerings
would be a matter of generosity and not a grudging obligation (2 Cor 9:13).

v. 3-4 Here we see for whom this offering is intended: the saints (v. 1) in Jerusalem. Remember that the
churches in Jerusalem and Judea were particularly destitute, as the zealous Jews there excommunicated
those Jews who believed in Jesus from the commonwealth of Israel, cutting off their means of earning a
living. Eventually, they began to confiscate their properties, as well.
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Paul was indicating that the assembly in Corinth should choose representatives from their assembly to bring
the offering to Jerusalem, and that he would accompany them, if fitting. In a later letter, Paul came to the
conclusion that it was fitting for him to go as well (Rm 15:25-26).

v. 5-11 Before Paul would himself go to Macedonia, he planned to send two of his helpers – Timothy,
whom we know well, and Erastus.

Erastus became a believer based on Paul’s preaching back in Corinth; he was, in fact, the treasurer of that
wealthy city (Rm 16:23). Apparently, Erastus left that significant job in order to help Paul in the very work
that had resulted in his own salvation.

It is interesting to note that Paul would send Erastus with Timothy for the purpose of making the collection
for the poor in Jerusalem. Here was a man accustomed to handling large sums of money; his background
would be useful for this particular work. It appears that Timothy and Erastus went to Macedonia first, then
to Corinth, strengthening the brethren, and encouraging the offering of alms for Jerusalem, before returning
to Paul in Ephesus (Rm 16:21, 23).

Here we also see the reason why Paul stayed behind in Ephesus for a time: there was still some work left
to be done. A great and effective door had opened for Paul in Ephesus, to preach the gospel. We see that
there was opposition also (v. 9).

Paul planned to stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, the summer feast; in our passage today, it is likely
springtime. Since the time this letter was written, Paul had been preaching the gospel, and the word of the
Lord had penetrated the whole province of Asia; Paul was finishing this work, while the door was still
open, because his adversaries were about to shut it.

Paul wrote a letter to the assembly at Rome while he was in Corinth the second time, in which he spoke
about his anticipated visit with them.

Turn to Romans chapter 15. Paul had not yet been to Rome; this assembly was established by others,
possibly by the pilgrims that returned from Jerusalem after Pentecost (Acts 2:10). In this passage, Paul was
telling the Roman assembly how God tended to use him among the Gentiles.

[Romans 15:20-29]

v. 20-22 Paul was explaining why he had not yet come to Rome to see them. Another had established the
Roman assembly; the Lord used Paul to establish new assemblies; to preach the gospel where it had never
been heard before. As you consider Paul’s ministry, you can see that is routinely true.

v. 23-24 So Paul planned to journey to Spain, which was the most westerly outpost of Roman civilization,
to preach the gospel where it had never been heard. The church at Rome was already established, but Paul
planned to visit them for the first time and fellowship with them, as well as be helped by them, in both alms
and prayers, for his journey to Spain.

v. 25-29 Paul was speaking of the trip he was planning to make to Jerusalem, with the offerings from the
various assemblies he had established. Notice Paul’s perspective on their offering – as these assemblies
have been partakers of the spiritual blessings of the Jews, through the gospel, the Jews are to be partakers
of the material blessings of the Gentiles, through their alms.

Paul would indeed go to Rome – but unbeknownst to him now, as a prisoner. As the time came closer, the
Lord prepared Paul’s heart for the circumstances of that trip.
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[Return to Acts 19] So we can see that Paul had been given travel instructions by the Spirit, and he had
sent Timothy and Erastus on ahead, to arrange for the collection of alms from the assemblies in Macedonia
and Achaia for Jerusalem.

When these men returned to Ephesus, Paul would set out once again with them, going back into the same
regions to visit and strengthen these assemblies, and to collect the funds and gather representatives from the
different assemblies to bring the gift to Jerusalem. The exact timing of leaving Ephesus would become
clear for Paul based on the episode which follows.

We had seen last week that the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed in Ephesus (v. 20). Even
many of the pagan Gentiles, awed by the miracles of the Lord Jesus, decided to become His followers. The
public display of these pagans abandoning their magical practices and amulets was yet another potent
witness to the transforming power of Jesus.

So the Lord was making great inroads into enemy territory in Ephesus. Needless to say, the enemy was not
taking this lying down. We already know that the unbelieving Jews in Ephesus were speaking evil of the
Way (Acts 19:9) – and there was a large community of them there.

But there was also persecution from the unbelieving Gentiles. In his first letter to Corinth, written from
Ephesus well before the time of our passage here, Paul said he fought with beasts at Ephesus. In the Greek,
“beasts” refers here to wild beasts – a metaphor for the lawless Gentiles. So Paul was experiencing
opposition from both the Jews and the Gentiles in Ephesus during the time he preached the gospel there.

But as the Lord continued to reach more and more pagan Gentiles in Ephesus, the enemy mounted a
concerted counter-attack.

v. 23-27 So there was a commotion in Ephesus – about the Way, that title which Luke gives to the
followers of Jesus Christ – for Jesus is the way , the truth and the Life (Jn 14:6). And how did this
commotion begin? It began with a certain man named Demetrius, who was a silversmith – a craftsman of
silver. This man made silver shrines of the goddess Diana – miniature temples, with the image of the
goddess set in them.

In the Greek, the Latin name Diana is Artemis, which is the true title of this deity – Ephesus was a Greek
city. But the name Artemis wasn’t originally Greek; it was adopted by the Greeks for their version of this
goddess. In fact, this goddess was worshiped in Asia long before the Greeks settled the city.

The Asian version of Artemis – known as Ephesian Artemis – was originally a local fertility or nature
goddess, also known as the Great Mother of Asia. Her image was hideous – a crude, many-breasted figure,
no doubt reflecting her nurturing ability.

The goddess Artemis was traditionally venerated as the protector of wild beasts. How fitting an object of
worship for the lawless Gentiles, the wild beasts of Ephesus!

The Ephesian Artemis was eventually claimed by the Greeks and Romans as one of their goddesses,
imaged by a refined figure, who was the sister of Apollo in Greco-Roman mythology; the virgin goddess of
the moon, and of hunting. Strangely, that is almost the opposite of her significance as Ephesian Artemis.
But such is the evolution of false gods; they can be remodeled into whatever you desire.
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Artemis was considered the patron deity of the city of Ephesus. There, a temple had been built in honor of
the Great Artemis. This temple took 220 years to build, at the expense of all Asia. It was considered one of
the seven wonders of the ancient world.

The temple of Artemis, built on the coast about 1 ½ miles outside the city, covered an area four times as
large as that of the Parthenon in Athens; it was supported by 127 pillars, each of them 60 feet high, and was
adorned by great sculptors of antiquity.

When Demetrius said that all Asia and the world worship Artemis (v. 27), he was not greatly exaggerating.
Archaeologists have found 33 places to date that were sites of devotion throughout the Mediterranean
world. And the adherents of Artemis were serious about their devotion. The historical record tells of 45
residents of Sardis who were accused of assaulting a group of followers of the Ephesian Artemis. They
received the death penalty.

As with all false gods, there was true power behind the object of worship, for the god of this world uses
religion to keep men in the dark to God (2 Cor 4:3-4). It is claimed that Artemis commanded her followers
in visions to spread her cult. That sounds like the work of the enemy.

Remarkably, the temple of Artemis was not only a center of cult religion; it was also a center of commerce,
serving as a bank as well as a temple; people from all over the world deposited funds there. Notice how
religion and economics are intertwined here, in the world system. Naturally, this great temple – and the
great goddess that occupied it – was a great source of civic pride to the people of Ephesus, as well as the
object of their worship.

This was true for no group so much as for the silversmiths, who regarded their guild as being under the
special patronage of Artemis, in whose honor so many of their wares were made.

And what wares they were! Those great little silver shrines – all the devotees and worshipers of the
goddess had to have one, as well as strangers, who desired to take home a representation of one of the
seven wonders of the world.

A worshiper would dedicate the silver shrine he purchased to the goddess, depositing it at the temple. Such
a worshiper therefore became the source of a seemingly endless supply of funds for the silversmiths – only
to be limited by the limits of his devotion.

But lately, Demetrius had noticed that supply seemed to drying up – and it was doing so in direct
proportion to the success of Paul’s ministry. Why would that be? Because Paul was preaching the gospel,
encouraging the pagans to turn to God from idols, to serve the living and true God (1 Th 1:9).

In proclaiming Jesus to be the only living and true God, Paul was implying all other gods to be nonexistent;
false. The idols, that represented these so-called gods, were therefore false representations; they are not
gods which are made with hands. Well, if the gods were judged to be false, then what would worship of
these gods be? False worship.

The problem was that many people were believing what Paul said; and as they did so, and turned from their
idols to worship the living and true God, they were turning away from all the articles of that worship;
including the silver shrines of Demetrius and the other silversmiths. So the preaching of the gospel struck
the silversmiths right in their pocketbooks.
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With his livelihood at stake, Demetrius was open to the enemy’s suggestion to organize his fellow
silversmiths for the purpose of taking violent action against Paul and those with him who preached the
gospel. The motive of Demetrius, and the men who took action with him, was the preservation of their
income; but the motive of the one behind their action was to put out the Light. The action was thinly
disguised by all involved under the veneer of religious zeal, which was used to justify what threatened to be
a lynching.

v. 28-29 Demetrius had played cleverly upon his fellow workers’ fears of financial ruin, religious zeal, and
concern for their city’s prestige. And the silversmiths responded as one would expect, especially in light of
the incendiary words of Demetrius. The infuriated men headed for the theater, a stadium-like structure cut
into the slope of a mountain, which could hold nearly 25,000 people; this is where the civic assembly met,
and where this unruly group gathered.

In their approach to the theater, the mob spotted two of Paul’s coworkers from Macedonia, Aristarchus and
Gaius, and fell upon them, dragging them along. People in the street, seeing the disturbance and hearing
the angry chanting to the goddess Artemis, also began to join the mob, just to find out what was happening.

Some believe that this episode was taking place during the annual spring festival held in honor of Ephesian
Artemis. If so, there would have been many visitors in the city, who would have greatly multiplied the
throng gathering in the theater.

v. 30-32 When Paul heard of the disturbance and realized that he was the cause of it, he wanted to go in to
the theater and speak to the people. His desire to do this must have intensified when he heard that his
companions, Gaius and Aristarchus, had been snatched by the mob.

But the other believers categorically would not let Paul go in, and restrained him. They recognized that
letting Paul go into that theater would be like pouring gasoline on a fire; and they knew that Paul would
certainly be consumed in it.

The “officials of Asia” is the term Asiarchs, in the Greek. These were members of the aristocracy,
prominent men of the province of Asia, who were also Roman officials. They presided in one-year terms
over the cult of the emperor and the goddess Roma, retaining their title of Asiarch for life. Different cities
in the province competed for the honor of having the largest imperial cult, so the Asiarchs were important
to local civic pride. Here we see politics and religion intertwined, in the world system.

Luke indicates that the Asiarchs were friends of Paul. Now, such men would not have been believing
friends; their duties revolved around recognition of the emperor as a god. But apparently, they were
friendly with Paul.

Such men would not feel threatened by Paul, as the silversmiths were. The Asiarchs may actually have
been grateful to Paul, for in preaching the gospel, he was breaking up the religious monopoly that Artemis
had in Ephesus, which competed with their imperial cult. The attitude of the Asiarchs makes it clear that, at
this point in history, the Roman government was not hostile to those who believed in Jesus.

The Asiarchs had heard about the uproar that the city was in over Paul, and they feared for his very life.
They realized that Paul’s presence would only escalate the situation, and sent word to him not to go into the
theater.

Meanwhile, Luke adds a humorous note – most of the people in the theater didn’t even know what they
were doing there.
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v. 33-34 Poor Alexander. He was a Jew, likely a prominent one, certainly a good speaker – perhaps one of
the rulers of the synagogue.

When the Jews saw the people rioting, and understood it to be over Paul, they felt the need to dissociate
themselves from him; after all, Paul was a Jew, too, and non-Jews were quick to manifest anti-Jewish
sentiment. The Jews were concerned that their community would suffer a backlash from the hostility that
was directed at Paul, as Jews were also known to be disbelievers in all pagan divinities, and in idol
worship.

So the Jews had Alexander speak for them, to indicate that they had nothing to do with Paul, and in fact,
were opposed to him, also. The language here indicates that the Jews dragged Alexander forward, out of
the crowd; no choice for him.

But the poor guy never got a word out; the people were in no mood to listen to him. All they cared about
was that he was a Jew, and therefore no worshiper of Artemis; and they shouted him down, with their chant
to the goddess, which went on for two hours – a mindless display of religious frenzy.

v. 35-36 The city clerk was the top civic official of Ephesus – like the mayor. He was the go-between for
the citizen assembly and the Roman provincial officials, headquartered in Ephesus. The Romans would
hold him personally responsible for a riot.

This man was a skilled politician. He was aware of what was happening in the theater, but just kept tabs on
it for a while, making sure it didn’t escalate into violent action, giving the mob a chance to exhaust itself
with its incessant chanting. After two hours, they did just that; and he was able to settle the crowd down,
and then addressed them.

The first thing this official did was to reassure the crowd about their patron deity. Everyone knew that
Ephesus was devoted to the worship of Artemis, and of “the image which fell down from Zeus”. An
alternate translation of this is, “the image which fell down from heaven” – the supposed home of Zeus.

There were several images in antiquity which were reputed to have fallen down from the sky – sometimes
they were actual meteorites, sometimes they were ancient objects of worship whose origin had been
forgotten. The original object of worship among the Ephesians was a small statue of Artemis, made of
wood, with its many breasts, representing the goddess of nature. This figure had decayed over time, so it
was propped up by two rods of iron-like spits.

What is humorous is that the spits were carefully copied when a reproduction of the image had to be made.
The goddess of nature was apparently subject to nature, herself.

Since everyone knew that Artemis was their goddess, there was no need to be concerned. The politician
was disarming the crowd.

v. 37 The official accurately pointed out that Paul’s friends Gaius and Aristarchus, had not committed any
sacrilegious acts against Artemis, even if they, as Paul, had been preaching against idolatry in general.

v. 38-41 The official knew who the instigators of this riot were, and he urged them to take legal action, if
they felt they had a case against the believers. As for the rest of the people, their recourse was to work
through their citizen assembly – a legal assembly, unlike this one.

Then the official ended with a warning. If the mob did not disband, the Roman provincial government was
likely to charge their city with insurrection; and the Romans had a strong way of suppressing a riot.
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Ephesus enjoyed special privileges as a free city in the Roman Empire – but that status completely
depended on Rome’s favor; other cities had had such privileges revoked.

By this time, the people were considerably subdued, in listening to the official’s sobering arguments. When
he spoke words of dismissal, they were ready to go home, and did so quietly.

So the uproar in Ephesus came to an end. And what of Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s companions? They
no doubt survived the incident, as Luke has this detailed account of what went on in the theater, and we
read of them later in the record. But it was necessary for Paul and his companions to depart from the city –
they could not continue to preach the gospel there at this time in such a hostile atmosphere.

It might seem that the enemy had won in Ephesus – but had he? Paul departed, but the gospel didn’t – the
word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed. And what of Artemis? Her cult vanished; her temple has
been in ruin for almost 2000 years. Truly they are not gods which are made with hands; in the end, the
Lord always has the victory.

So the Lord used a member of the political system to overrule the economic and religious systems in
Ephesus, in order to bring His purposes to pass – that the gospel continue to go out to the ends of the earth.