God is sovereign even in chaos

When we last looked at Acts 19,Luke wrote that God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul. Many people at Ephesus had esteemed the miraculous work of Paul that they carried his cloths or aprons from his body to the sick and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits went out of them. Satan attempted to disrupt the work that Paul had done by using Jewish exorcists, and the sons of Sceva tried to mimic his miraculous ministry by trying to cast out an evil spirit by using the name of Jesus, whom Paul preached. The evil spirit answered the sons of Sceva, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” And the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, subdued them, and they ran out of the house naked and beaten.  Satan’s trickery backfired, but he wasn’t finished trying to disrupt Paul’s ministry work of the gospel of Christ. Once again, Satan causes chaos in Ephesus in hopes of putting a stop to the gospel of Christ, and what God does next proves that He is sovereign even in chaos.

Contemplation before the chaos.

Acts 19:21–22“Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia.”  Paul had contemplated leaving Ephesus to go to Jerusalem with the offering for the poor that he had collected from the Gentile churches in Macedonia and Achaia (Romans 15:25, 26). But before going to Jerusalem with the offering, Paul wanted to pass through Macedonia and Achaia again to follow up with the churches he had started so that he could strengthen them spiritually. saying, Then Luke wrote that Paul said, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” Paul planned to reach Rome with the gospel of Christ. Now according to v.22 what Paul contemplated to do was to send two of his men ahead of him to begin the work before he left Ephesus. “having sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy, who joined Paul on his 2nd missionary journey, and Erastus, who was a believer from Corinth who held the job as a city treasurer (Rom 16:23), Paul not wanting the work of the ministry to be delayed, we are told that “he himself stayed in Asia for a while.” Paul had explained why he stayed awhile in Asia when he wrote to the church at Corinth 1 Corinthians 16:8–9“But I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” Paul knew two things awaited him while in Ephesus: that God would open the door for him to preach the gospel, and that he would face many of Satan’s adversaries who would come against him for preaching the gospel. Yet, he was willing to stand on business because he knew God would be with him. 

Chaos begins

Acts 19:23 “Now about that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the Way.” As soon as Paul was contemplating and making plans for his ministry journey, a major disturbance occurred concerning the Way. The Way was a term given to believers who followed the way of Jesus Christ. 

The person who caused the chaos

Acts 19:24“For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen;” Satan was using Demetrius a silversmith who was known for making shrines of Artemis. Demetrius was bringing no little to the craftsmen who were skilled at making idols of the goddess Artemis. This business of his was profitable because the worship of Artemis was done all over the Roman Empire. The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and not only that, there were over 30 shrines dedicated to the goddess Artemis.

Acts 19:25–27“these he gathered together with the workers of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity is from this business. “And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable crowd, saying that things made with hands are not gods. “And not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be considered as worthless and that she, whom all of Asia and the world worship, is even about to be brought down from her majesty.”

Because of Paul’s message against idolatry saying things made with hands are not gods, many of the unsaved people in Ephesus and almost all of Asia, began to turn away from idolatry to worship the true living God (1Thess 1:9). Demetrius didn’t care about people’s lives being turned around by the gospel Paul preached, neither was he concerned for his own, he only cared about the loss of money, and he told them that their profitable trade was in danger, and the temple of their great goddess Artemis would be seen as worthless, and all those who are in Asia, and the world worship, will be brought down from her majesty. What he feared was that the whole economy would collapse and he and the others would be in the poorhouse. This is the state of many in the world today. They don’t care about the message of the gospel. Their only concern is making money and living lavishly with no concern for their soul. Jesus said these words in Mark 8:36-37, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” In the city of Ephesus and other parts of Asia, the Word of God was prevailing and Satan and demonic stronghold were losing their grip on many people. There were people who were burning their magical spell books and people were turning away from buying idols. This is what the power of the gospel will do: it will deliver people from the grip of Satan. And Satan doesn’t want to see people delivered and saved. So, Satan had to do something quick.

Satan causes chaos to erupt

Acts 19:28–34“When they heard this and were filled with rage, Satan had succeeded in using Demetris to cause chaos to erupt, they began crying out, saying, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” And the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater. This theater at Ephesus could seat 25,000 people; it looked like the Greek theater in LA, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia. The crowd of rioters that gathered in their rage had dragged Paul’s companions into the theater.

v. 30 And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, the disciples would not let him. When Paul saw what had happened to his friends, he was ready to run into the theater and defend them. Paul was willing to risk his life for his friends and for the gospel (Acts 20:24), but the disciples would not let him go into the theater, fearing for his life.

v. 31 Also some of the Asiarchs (officials of Asia) who were friends of his sent to him and repeatedly urged him not to venture into the theater. The Asiarchs were officers of a religious nature who presided over the public games instituted in honor of the gods in Asia. These men had become friends of Paul, and they sent a message to him not to enter the theater.

v. 32 So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the meeting was in confusion and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together.

Many who were involved in this chaos were shouting one thing, and others were shouting something else, and the majority of the rioters had no clue why they had come together. But Satan did. He caused this chaos in hopes of putting to death Paul and other believers of Christ because he didn’t want the gospel to continue to have a profound effect on the people. Satan will cause confusion to disrupt the spread of the gospel. Often street preachers and evangelists face mobs like this who begin to mock out of anger when the gospel is being shared. And this is what the gospel of Christ will do: it will make people angry.

v.33 And some of the crowd concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the assembly. The Jews, seeing that the Gentile mob had taken hold of Paul’s companions, tried to prove that they were not associated with Paul and his companions, who were responsible for preaching against idolatry. So, they put forward Alexander, their fellow Jew, to speak in their defense.

v. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single cry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”” There was bad blood between the Gentiles and the Jews, and this Gentile mob didn’t care if they were followers of God whom Paul preached or Judaism, for both Christians and Jews spoke out against pagan idol worship and believed only in one God. So as soon as Alexander was about to speak in the Jews' defense, the mob began to shout and chant for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.”

God is sovereign even in the midst of chaos

Acts 19:35–41“Now after calming the crowd, the city clerk said, “Men of Ephesus, what man is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell down from heaven? or as some translations say, “the image which fell down from Zeus.

God used the city clerk to calm the crowd. The city clerk is the chief magistrate of the city, he let the men of Ephesus know that their worship of the goddess Artemis was well-known, “So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash. There isn’t any reason to be in an uproar; we all know we Ephesians have been appointed as guardians of our great goddess Artemis, and her temple of worship is secure; there is nothing these Christians can do. What the city clerk didn’t realize was that the goddess Artemis was powerless against God. So, he advises them to maintain the peace and avoid any reckless actions. Like many religions today that worship impotent gods, they are no match for our Mighty God.

v. 37 “For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess. The city clerk spoke up for the Christian men and defended their innocence. God was

v. 38-39 “So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are in session and proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another. “But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the lawful meeting.

The city clerk pointed out that if Demetrius and the craftsmen, who started this chaos, had any complaints against anyone, they should have taken it up in the courts, which are in session, and the proconsuls were available to hear their charges against Paul and his companions; this is the lawful way of settling these charges.

v. 40-41“For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no cause for which we can give as an account for this disorderly gathering.”

The city clerk informs them that what they are doing is illegal, and they are in danger of being charged with starting a riot this day, since there was no evidence that they could give to the Roman authorities to explain why they had instigated this riot. You must understand that the Ephesians were under the rulership of Rome. And Rome made it a capital offense, that was punishable by death, for anyone to be engaged in promoting a riot.

v. 41 After saying this he dismissed the meeting.” Once the city clerk put the fear of Rome in their hearing, he dismissed the meeting, and everyone left the theater.

Satan was the orchestrator that caused chaos in Ephesus in hopes of stopping the gospel of Christ from saving souls, but God is sovereign even in chaos. He protected Paul and his companions from harm. This ought to be an encouragement for you to know that despite any attempt by Satan to cause chaos by putting fear in you to hinder your effort from sharing the gospel of Christ with the unsaved, God is sovereign, and He will intervein even in chaos so that you can continue to be a witness and share His gospel with those who need salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.