Jesus vs. Artemis
Notes
Transcript
[SLIDE 1] Introduction
Read Acts 19:23-41
23 About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. 25 These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26 And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.” 28 When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s companions in travel. 30 But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. 31 And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater. 32 Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky? 36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 40 For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
Illustration
Biblical Theology
Context
It’s been several Sundays since we were in the book of Acts.
The focus of Acts 19 is on the ministry of the Apostle Paul in the city of Ephesus.
We have encountered the disciples of John the Baptist who were baptized again in the name of Jesus.
We have learned about Paul teaching in the hall of Tyrannus.
We have experienced the interesting event with the Jewish exorcists, demon possession, and some of the Ephesians burning their books on magic arts.
All in all, Paul could have been in the city of Ephesus for almost 3 years if we take all the events in this passage into consideration. This makes Ephesus the longest city that Paul spent in spreading the gospel and training believers to be mature in Christ.
As have learned in Acts, whenever the gospel of Jesus Christ advances, whenever sinners are being saved and come to know Jesus, there are pushbacks and persecution from the enemy. Persecution is stemmed from different forms.
In Jerusalem, persection came from the Jewish religious leaders and organized religion.
Also in Jerusalem, King Herod persecuted believers to feed his ego, pride, and reputation before the Jews.
In Antioch (at the end of Acts 13), persecution stemmed from jealousy and prejudice.
In Lystra, ignorant paganism caused the persecution.
In Philippi, persecution came as a reaction against the victory over demonic spirit.
In Thessalonica, unruly mob wanted to persecute Paul.
In Corinth, the Jews persecuted and accused Paul before the Roman court.
However, the irony is that despite the persecution that occurred, the gospel continued to advance and the church continued to grow.
That’s because Jesus promised that He will build His church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
When Christianity spreads in the nation, it should affect different aspects of life, such as culture, industry, economy, and morality.
The persecution and violence against the Apostle Paul in this text is a rather extensive story in Acts.
This section is a purely historical narrative with little discourse and explicit application for Christians.
We don’t see Paul speaking in this text. We only see Paul appear briefly in verse 30.
You only have pagans speaking such as Demetrius and the town clerk.
Furthermore, seven different characters are at play in this unfolding drama.
So, in Ephesus, this heavy persecution was caused by materialism and so-called piety to the temple idol.
Why did Luke write a large portion of this narrative in Acts? More importantly, what exactly is God doing in this passage?
In this passage, I want to offer you three general headings for this passage.
At the end of the message, I’ll offer three more truths we can learn about God.
Exposition
[SLIDE 2] 1. The Powerlessness Of Artemis (vv.23-27)
In verse 23, while Paul was still in Ephesus, there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way.
Something is stirring up or there is serious trouble in regards to the Christian movement, which is also known as the Way.
Why is there trouble?
It’s because of a man named Demetrius.
He was a silversmith.
He owned a business by making silver shrines of Artemis. These shrines were the little temples of Artemis that were sold as souveniers and amulets.
In fact, in verse 25, as Demetrius was talking to other workmen who may also be silversmiths, he demonstrates that they were able to make a lot of money by crafting shrines for Artemis.
He says to them, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth.”
For them, their business in selling idolatrous shrines was their main source of income and wealth. It’s their livelihood.
But now, he’s not making enough money.
What seems to be the problem?
[SLIDE 3] Well, Demetrius gives the workmen a three-part speech. When you read this, he’s appealing to their emotion and sensitivity.
First, he blames their economic loss on Paul in verse 26.
Paul has been persuading many people in Ephesus and in the province of Asia (which is modern day Turkey) to turn away from worshipping idols because Paul apparently said, “gods made with hands are not gods.”
Which is not false at all. These idols are no gods at all.
Paul may have said something similar in Acts 17:29 when he said this to the Greek philosophers:
29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
Paul persuaded people to worship the One True God. He is the One who is the Creator of heaven and earth. He is the One who is not bound in the temple. He is the One who is not made out of gold and silver.
So, after God caused the Ephesians to be believers in the Lord Jesus, they gave up their idolatry, stopped purchasing idols and silver shrines, and started worshipping Christ.
And as more and more people became believers, you can imagine how Christianity and the gospel of Jesus Christ can affect and damage the idol making industry and economy.
This situation is similar to Acts 16:16. There was a slave girl who had a spirit of divination. She was bringing her owners financial gain by fortune telling.
When Paul casted out a demon out of the slave girl with the spirit of divination, it says that the owners saw that their hope of gain was gone…and then they persecuted Paul and Silas.
When Christians turn away from idols, idol makers lose their business.
That’s the implication of the transforming power of the gospel.
It was William Barclay who once said this about this passage, “Christianity was making such strides that their trade was threatened. Here is a clear case of what happned and still happens when Christianity comes up against a vested interest.”
Now, just imagine with me for a bit. Imagine if everyone in the world became born-again Christians before Christ returns. How would that affect the economy? I would say many businesses and industries would be bankrupt.
They’ll be no more porn industries and adult entertainment.
Sex and human trafficking and exploitation would be gone.
Abortion clinics would close down.
All the religious icons from all religions will be dismantled and knocked down.
There may be more that I can list, but I hope you get the point.
The second thing that Demetrius said to the workmen is found in verse 27. He seems to be concerned not only about his economic loss, but also concerned that Artemis would not be worshipped. So, he appeals to their religious devotion.
Now, I don’t know if Demetrius was sincere in his devotion towards Artemis. What’s clear is that he cared about his bank account.
Either way, he says to them, “And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing.”
Some of your translations may say Diana, but it’s the same goddess.
This temple of Artemis was one of the world wonders of the ancient world. Many people would tour and visit Ephesus just for Artemis.
Scholars commented that the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was the 1st to be entirely built out of marble. Hence, it might be related to the sacred stone that fell from the sky that the town clerk was alluding.
Also, it’s one of the largest Greek temples ever built. It’s slightly larger than a football field.
Furthermore, the temple was also a center of much superstitious religion, such as a magic arts, and cult prostitution.
Since Christianity was spreading in the city of Ephesus, Demetrius was concerned that Artemis would lose her influence and importance.
Furthermore, he thinks Christianity was challenging the majesty and magnificence of Artemis.
And in the Ephesian culture, there is a lot of loyalty, devotion, and faithfulness towards Artemis.
And last thing that Demetrius said to the workmen is found in the latter part of verse 27. Here, he appeals to their future livelihood in Ephesus.
He says to the worker that “she [Artemis] may even be deposed from her magnificence.”
There are two words I want us to observe.
The word, “be deposed,” means to be taken down.
It carries a sense of being removed from an office of high status.
In this sense, Artemis would be removed from her magnificence.
And the word, “magnificence,” means majesty or grandeur.
What’s fascinating about this word is that it speaks of greatness and glory.
It’s usually a word attributed to God.
It talks about the majesty of God in Luke 9:43.
It talks about the majesty of our Lord Jesus Christ in 2 Peter 1:16.
Here, the pagan worshipped Artemis as their great majesty.
But we know that’s blasphemy.
We know that majesty and greatness and glory are reserved for God alone.
How does Artemis get her magnificence?
All Asia and the (Roman) world worshipped her.
The temple of Artemis was a famous idol in the Roman world. Many rulers would bring their gifts to her.
However, if she is stripped “from her throne” and lose her reputation, it would cause Ephesus to be less interesting and less of a world wonder; thus, lowering the pride of the citizens and cripple the economy of the city.
Many cities around the world rely heavily on tourism as a significant source of their economic revenue.
However, the pandemic has had a significant impact on the tourism industry, causing many cities to suffer from a decline in tourism and economic activity.
In a similar way, Ephesus relied on Artemis and idolatry as a source of income.
Now, the Ephesians may not have cared too much if Demetrius and other workmen were losing their business.
However, the Ephesians cared a lot if Artemis was not hailed and exalted by the people.
Artemis was deeply ingrained in their pagan culture.
Ephesus took great pride in the temple.
If Artemis were to be discredited, it would have been an enormous insult to the city and to its economic detriment.
This ironically demonstrates the powerlessness of Artemis. She cannot defend herself when she’s in danger. And so, her ignorant people needed to defend her honour.
They’re provoked to anger that would eventually lead towards a riot.
[SLIDE 4] 2. The Perplexity Of The Riot (vv.28-34)
After the speech was given by Demetrius, the workmen and craftsmen reacted in two ways:
They were enraged, meaning that they had an intense wrath.
Thus, in their anger and unison, they were crying and chanting presumably in a loud voice: “Great Is Artemis Of The Ephesians.”
They wanted to protect the honour of Artemis and the city of Ephesus.
They do so by persecuting and attacking those who opposed her.
What you’ll see is a typical riot that we may have seen on some occasions in the states during the past several years.
I’m not sure to what level of intensity you can compare this riot in Ephesus with the ones in the USA.
But know that Demetrius, the workmen, and the craftsmen were in rage, and so they threw the city of Ephesus into confusion by rioting.
It was ruly. It was a mob mentality. There’s chaos and disorder.
They rushed together into the amphitheater that you can still visit now in the ruin of Ephesus.
It’s a giant public space that can seat around 25,000 people. So, you can imagine that this was the largest crowd that the Apostle Paul had to deal.
As they were going into the theater, they were dragging or seizing by force with them Gaius and Aristarchus.
Why they dragged Gaius and Aristarchus out is certainly odd, but the crowd recognized them as Paul’s companions.
They were Macedonians, which meant that they were from Greece.
They may have became Christ-followers from Paul’s ministry in Philippi or Thessalonica.
Seeing that his companions were seized, in verse 30, Paul wished to go in among the crowd in the theater.
Paul had the boldness and courage to go in the crowd to save his companions. What’s the worse that could happen?
He already experienced persecution in his ministry. He endangered his life for the sake of the gospel. The worst thing that could happen is that he may die and gain Christ in heaven.
However, while he may not have counted his life as of value (Acts 20:24), his friends and the disciples did not want him to be reckless in this situation. They were trying to protect Paul.
[SLIDE 5] Not only were the disciples preventing him, in verse 31, even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, were urging him not to venture into the theater.
Now, who were these people? These Asiarchs were the high-ranking officers of the province of Asia.
Luke only indicated that they were Paul’s friends, but we don’t know if they’re believers.
But Luke mentions the Asiarchs for a reason.
Paul’s ministry in Ephesus affected not just the common and normal citizens of Ephesus, but also every tier of society, including the higher officials.
Here, we have the higher authority defending the Apostle Paul from the riot caused by Demetrius because Demetrius had no grounds to cause a riot and disorder in society.
Furthermore, they defended the Apostle Paul as friends because they did not regard him as a dangerous man or someone who was lawless.
And it’s interesting that not even the Roman authority have come to the point of persecuting the Christians.
It’s a similar situation back in Acts 18 whereby Gallio - a prosonul - defended the Apostle Paul from the attacks and accusations of the Jews.
Since Luke purposefully brings up the Asiarchs as defender of the Christian cause, it communicates one of Luke’s purposes of writing the book of Acts to Theophilus.
If you remember the time when I started this series in Acts, I mentioned that Theophilus might have been someone who had held a high status in society, such as a Roman Official.
Luke may have wanted to show Theophilus via writing that the early Christians were not troublemakers, but outstanding citizens in the Greco-Roman world.
And Luke had positive things to say about the Gentile government in the way they treated Christians. They didn’t see Christian doing anything wrong.
Now, returning to verse 32, the nature of this riot was nothing but confusion or perplexity. There was chaos and disorder.
Some cried one thing, some another; thus causing confusion in the assembly because most of them did not know what’s happening and why they’re gathering together.
And then another group of the crowd - seems like a Jewish group - prompted Alexander whom the Jews had put forward.
The identity of this Alexander is obscure. He could have just been a one off character in the book of Acts. And Luke does not mention that Alexander was a Christian.
Why did the crowd put Alexander forward?
It is possible that the rioters were blaming the Jews for wanting to ruin the reputation of Artemis.
That’s because the Jews do not worship idol just like Christians.
So, they put Alexander forward as a spokeman for the Jews.
Perhaps the intention is to disassociate themselves from the Christians.
However, in verse 34, they recognized that Alexander was a Jew, so they don’t want to hear his defense.
They reacted by crying out and chanting the same statement in verse 28, and they’re doing it for 2 hours.
This was certainly emotional moments. The crowd was rowdy. They had a lot of energy. They were passionate.
However, an unexpected character comes into the scene known as the town clerk.
[SLIDE 6] 3. The Plausibility Of The Roman Official (vv.35-41)
Who’s the town clerk?
He could be viewed as the mayor of the city of Ephesus. He’s like a powerful city manager.
He is the highest civic official in the city. He serves as the city’s liasison to Roman authorities.
In this section, he’s reasonable, plausible, and clear-minded.
So, he addresses the crowd and confronts the unreasonableness of their riot. His address can be split into two parts:
(1) Artemis is not at risk of losing her reputation.
(2) The rioters should settle this issue legally.
First, he argues that Artemis is not at risk of losing her reputation and power.
He asks a rhetorical question in verse 35.
Who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple keeper:
of the great Artemis?
of the sacred stone that fell from the sky?
In other words, the Roman Empire knows about her magnificence and her reputation. She’s not going anywhere! And so, why are you overreacting? Why get so worked up?
So, in verse 36, the town clerk tells them that they ought to be quiet (restrain themselves) and do nothing rash (or reckless or thoughtless).
Why should the crowd not do anything rash?
Verse 37 gives us a reason.
It’s because they brought Gaius and Aristarchus into the theater who were neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of their goddess.
To be sacrilegious means to be a temple robber. It was a capital crime for someone to desecrate or plunder the temple. But Gaius and Aristarchus did none of that.
And they were not blasphemers. They did not use insulting language against Artemis.
[SLIDE 7] Second, the rioters should settle this issue legally rathering than rioting for no reason because it can be a risk of breaking the Roman law.
We can infer that the town clerk wanted law and order in society.
In verses 38-40, the clerk gave them two legal options to bring their charges against the Apostle Paul instead of using mob mentality and sparking a riot.
They can bring their charges at the court since there are proconsuls, who are the Roman rulers under the control of the Roman senate.
If they cannot settle the issue in court, they can settle the matter in the regular assembly (or legal assembly) in verse 39.
Why was the clerk so concerned about law and order?
It’s because in verse 40 the clerk was deeply concerned that they were in danger of being charged with rioting today.
There was no cause or reason that they can give to justify this commotion.
The Roman society valued law and order. They hated chaos and disorder.
If there’s chaos in the city, there is a risk that the Roman Government might be forced to step in and bring their military to solve the situation; thus, perhaps leading to violence and unnecessary death.
Furthermore, the emperor could strip and limit Ephesus’ privilege and rights of being a self-governing and free city.
So, what we see is that even a governing official was reasonable and plausible in the way he treated the Apostle Paul and the Christians in Ephesus.
So, the passage concludes with the clerk dismissing the assembly after he confronts them of rioting without reason.
[SLIDE 8] Also, I want you to notice another irony in this story. I want you to notice the word, “danger,” in verses 27 and 40.
Demetrius was concerned that if more people become Christians, there is a risk or a danger that Demetrius’ business and Artemis will come into disrepute (i.e. losing its reputation).
So, he thinks that the Christian movement was dangerous.
The clerk, however, does not see the Christians as a threat. Instead, he saw Demetrius and the rioters as a threat.
Ironically, as a Roman pagan, he was defending the Christians because they did not act improperly.
But there is also another irony. The clerk thinks that Artemis isn’t going anywhere. People in the Roman world will continue to know Artemis and worship her.
He thinks that these Christians and their gospel message would not affect their great goddess.
Sadly, he’s deeply ignorant and mistaken. Who in the world right now still worships Artemis?
Perhaps almost none! Even if you go visit Ephesus right now, it’s a ruin!
Whereas there are millions and billions who worship our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the name above all names.
He’s the magnificent One who came to save sinners by dying on the cross and resurrecting on the 3rd day.
[SLIDE 9] Application / Conclusion
So, as I slowly wrap up, we have learned about:
The powerlessness of Artemis
The perplexity of the riot
The plausibility of the Roman Official
Nonetheless, what can we learn about God from this passage?
Well, I think Luke used this long story to communicate something about God without really trying to communicate it directly.
Why? It’s because we have the entire book of Acts to fill in the details for us.
[SLIDE 10] There are three truths we can learn about God. We learn about:
The power of God in contrast to the powerlessness of Artemis.
The protection of God for His people in the midst of a confusing riot.
The providence of God in utilizing everything to His sovereign disposal for the sake of advancing His gospel to the ends of the world.
God in His providence used a pagan leader to defend His people.
God was protecting and advancing the Gospel, even by using the rules and reasonings of the pagans.
God protects and advances the Gospel using all means at His disposal because God is the only powerful God.
And knowing that’s who God is, what one principle could we apply from this text?
The Apostle Peter speaks of this matter of being a good witness as a Christian even if we were to suffer for our good behaviour and in telling others about our Lord Jesus Christ.
God never promises that He’ll protect us from all dangers. It’s possible that Paul, Gaius, and Aristarchus could have been hurt in the theater.
[SLIDE 11] But even if they would suffer physically by the rioters, they will continue to bear witness for Christ.
14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
[SLIDE 12]