Silent Evangelism?
Acts The Birth of the New Testament Church • Sermon • Submitted
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About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 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. 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.”
When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 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. But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater. 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. 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. 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!”
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? Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 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. But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 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.” And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.
About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 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. 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.”
When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 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. But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater. 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. 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. 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!”
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? Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 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. But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 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.” And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
This is another great story about Paul and the effect that Christ is having on the society around it. And if you read between the lines here you will notice that Opposition comes with success, especially when it comes to spiritual matters.
Acts
If there is something good that is happening in the world of Christianity you can bet that there is going to be some measure of opposition. That is just the way it works.
Opposition comes with success.
The Christians who Paul had witnessed to in Ephesus where not just calling themselves Christians but they were living like Christians and that changed the world around them. It really made a difference.
Just the minimal background here. Ephesus was a major town, around half a million people lived there. It was on the coast and was a harbor town that made trade a no brainer. You will notice that most of the towns that Paul goes to are large metropolitan, important cities. And that is probably intentional since he is trying to spread the word of Jesus to as many people as he can and going to the large, populated cities would accomplish that for him.
Ephesus was one of these cities.
Now the god of Ephesus was this god named Artemus, or the Roman name would be Diana and was known as a fertility god. Apparently a meteor fell from the sky near the area and someone took it and carved an image of this goddess and they worshiped it as if it came from heaven.
There was a huge temple made to Artemis where this rock lived, which is actually considered one of the 7wonders of the ancient world.
Picture of Reconstruct This is what the temple would have looked like
Picture of Ruins This is what it looks like today.
This shrine was so important to that world that there was an economy because of it. There were actually businesses that would make little replicas of Artemis’ temple which they would sell to travelers and pilgrims to the area. Shrine making was big business everywhere. For Ephesus it could have been one of the pillars of it’s economy.
Shrine making was big business everywhere. For Ephesus it could be the basis of it’s economy.
So you can imagine how the shrine making community would react to Paul and the Christians who claim that “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of Heaven and Earth, does not live in temples made by man.
Acts: An Introduction and Commentary f. The Reaction of Paganism in Ephesus (19:23–41)
The story is in effect a statement that Christians do not constitute a danger to the state and a plea that they be treated with toleration in a pluralistic society; only when properly defined criminal charges can be preferred against them should they be summoned before the courts
They were essentially saying. This little trinket is not God, does not represent God. If you really want to know who the real God is, know that it’s not in these little silver boxes.
So then we meet Demetrius: He is a craftsman, and he is actually an organizer.
He is angry about this Paul and the effect Pauls message is having on his livelihood. He makes little temple replicas, remember. This is his job and his bottom line is affected. Oh yeah, Paul is also disrespecting his god!
Interesting that Paul, a human, could have created such a problem for this “god”.
But there is a lot to lose for Demetrius, Ephesus being an important trade city. Lots of travel coming to and from. Lots of people would take a souvenir home/shrine to the Goddess.
It affected their economy, their income 26-27
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. 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.”
Losing their living, They fear and they form a mob.
It affected their judgement. v22
They dragged Gaius and Aristarchus who were guys that knew Paul. They were his traveling companions. They are trying to find any way to express themselves regarding this potential problem.
It affected their understanding of God. 27
34 They were in the theater for 2 hours screaming “great is the Artemis of the Ephesians” This is a mob and the mob can be a dangerous thing. So dangerous that there were laws put into place against it.
34 They were in the theater for 2 hours screaming “great is the Artemis of the Ephesians” This is a mob and the mob can be a dangerous thing. So dangerous that there were laws put into place against it.
The way is being persecuted—its being opposed—because of the power it possesses to change the hearts of people, which affect the world around them. and that is what it is. True power.
True life changing power over sin, power over temptation. Power over eternity for those who submit to it.
The people who heard the message of Paul and the message of other Christian preachers are surrendering their lives to Christ, they are doing what Jesus said; they are taking up their crosses and they are following Him and the world around them sees it and feels it.
The message for them is that Jesus Christ is the only way to the one true God and that he isn’t a God that could be made with human hands. He is beyond that, he is different than that.
Interesting that Paul, a human, could have created such a problem for this “god”.
But there is a lot to lose for Demetrius, Ephesus being an important trade city. Lots of travel coming to and from. Lots of people would take a souvenir home/shrine to the Goddess.
It affected their economy, their income 26-27
Losing their living, They fear and they form a mob.
It affected their judgement. v22
They dragged Gaius and Aristarchus who were guys that knew Paul. They were his traveling companions. They are trying to find any way to express themselves regarding this potential problem.
It affected their understanding of God. 27
In Ephesus, They aren’t buying those little trinkets anymore and the town isn’t getting all the money that they were getting. And they can see it, they can feel it.
They believed in Artemis (Diana in the Greek) Rock fell from the sky.
So they basically freak out and panic. They start a riot and are just going crazy.
Until the town clerk shows up. He is the magistrate. He has a lot to lose if things get out of hand.
Remember that Ephesus is a Roman territory and Rome is kind of hands off as long as everybody gets along.
We don’t know his name but he comes in to try and talk some sense into everybody.
34 They were in the theater for 2 hours screaming “great is the Artemis of the Ephesians” This is a mob and the mob can be a dangerous thing. So dangerous that there were laws put into place against it.
Town Clerk (wise and pays attention)
Calms the Crowd Not a Christian, not a follower, not even interested in anything other than making sure that this riot stops.
This is when we meet the town clerk. Don’t know his name but we know that he has the mind to calm everybody down. He doesn’t see a reason to feed into this crowd and he does his best to quiet them down.
He says, look, we all know how great the god Artemis is, we all know that she is great. Don’t do anything rash. We don’t need to. We don’t want to be charged with the crime of starting a riot. Let’s just move on.
And he says something very interesting that is very easy to miss. What he says about the followers of the way, is very telling. Verse 37 here says that the guys they brought charges against haven’t actually done anything wrong according to their gods, their religion etc.
For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 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.
Acts 19:37-
What the town clerk notices about the Christians is not necessarily what they are doing but he notices what they aren’t doing.
He notices what they are not doing.
They aren’t rallying They aren’t being disrespectful They aren’t rioting. They aren’t being sac-religious to Artemis. They aren’t blaspheming Artemis. They are preaching their own message and letting the people decide for themselves.
They aren’t being disrespectful
They aren’t rioting.
It looks like Paul and the Christians are letting God’s truth do the talking.
They are letting God’s truth do the talking. They aren’t arguing, they aren’t playing the game where no you are wrong, I am not wrong.
You never will argue anyone into Heaven.
We don’t have to loudly protest to change the world.
Because Living like Jesus is enough to change the world.
Losing their living,
This is where I have something I want to say but have to find the right way to say it because
1 I don’t want to be misunderstood and
2 I don’t want to minimize evangelism. Please understand that yes, our actions are supposed to point to Christ but that doesn’t mean that we aren’t supposed to talk about Him. We are not off the hook about sharing what we believe with others even if it is as simple as, I have surrendered my life to Jesus Christ because I believe that He is the absolute truth.
What I am talking about here doesn’t mean that we have a license to be quiet.
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
It is important for us to tell the story of Jesus to others because otherwise they won’t know. But it is equally important for us to LIVE our lives for Jesus because of the way it affects the world around us. And it does. It truly does.
When you live your life LIKE Jesus people notice.
Jesus did teach people but he didn’t ever created a smear campaign for folks who didn’t agree with Him. He didn’t walk around with a “down with Judaism sign. He didn’t start a war or put people down who didn’t agree with Him with the exception of the Pharisees because they were the ones who should have known the truth and they were leading people down a path of despair.
But people should notice your life.
Please, it’s not about being nice. Most religions teach you to be nice. So if you run into a Mormon, or a Jehovahs Witness, a buddhist you will basically see that they are all teaching people to be nice.
For those in Ephesus…they didn’t notice the nice people;
they felt what was happening in their town because the people who were following Christ were acting as such and it affected the whole city. They weren’t contributing to idol worship anymore. And it made a difference
Mother Theresa: share christ with others when necessary, use words. Mother Theresa can get away with saying something like that because of all that she did.
mother theresa can get away with that this is no license to be quiet
What I am talking about here doesn’t mean that we have a license to be quiet.
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
emerson your actions speak so loudly i cant hear what you are saying
emerson your actions speak so loudly i cant hear what you are saying
Here is what did not happen.
Paul did NOT attack the miniature Artemis temple reproduction trinket market.
He didn’t start a change.org campaign against the worship of Artemis.
He didn’t rent out a billboard stating that Artemis is a fraud.
He didn’t spray paint on the side of camels that Jesus is Lord
He wasn’t trying to destroy the business of Demetrius.
He was simply telling the truth of Jesus and loving people. And when he did that, people came to Christ. And when they came to Christ they changed from the inside out.
He was simply telling the truth of Jesus and loving people. And when he did that, people came to Christ. And when they came to Christ they changed from the inside out.
And when they changed from the inside out they starting behaving differently. Which meant that they listened to Paul’s guidance and they stopped buying the trinkets devoted to other gods because they realized that they didn’t need those things, because the One True God lived inside of them and that those other things weren’t really Gods at all.
The local merchants who sold these things either saw a decline in sales or saw the decline of sales coming and they panicked.
The point is that we need to ask the question of ourselves… is my life pointing to Jesus? So much so that the world around me is affected? Is my life noticeable by others? Is my life, my actions, my outwardness changing the world around me?
Because that is what the gospel does. It touches lives and affects the world around them.
Is your life affecting the world around you? Not to offend, not to be a jerk, but to be truthful and loving.
Paul and the Christians posed no threat to the city. The town clerk saw that. They weren’t blaspheming Artemis. Their focus was on Jesus
Acts: An Introduction and Commentary f. The Reaction of Paganism in Ephesus (19:23–41)
The story is in effect a statement that Christians do not constitute a danger to the state and a plea that they be treated with toleration in a pluralistic society; only when properly defined criminal charges can be preferred against them should they be summoned before the courts
Paul’s message was a simple one, Jesus Christ is the Messiah,
The message for them is that Jesus Christ is the only way to the one true God and that he isn’t a God that could be made with human hands. He is beyond that, he is different than that. That message made an impact on that huge city.
Do you want to make an impact on the world today? Do you want to affect the area of Middletown, Odessa, Townsend? Do you want to affect Newark, North East, Cecilton, Warwick? Bear, Clayton, Smyrna.
The way is to surrender to Jesus, and then live for Him. Do what He says. That is the way. It is by teaching the Word and by following hard after Jesus Christ.
That’s what happened in Ephesus. They stopped buying those trinkets. They stopped supporting those businesses that had anything to do with worshipping false Gods. There may have been Christians working in that arena that walked away.
Not that I want to go too far into this, but practically..
But are you financially supporting something that propping up idol worship in any way? I have to ask the question because of the fact that we have to look at the world through truth and if I didn’t say something I would not be serving you the way I should
Are you spending money on anything that distorts who our holy and righteous God is?
I will give one example. The porn industry. It is huge. The Huffington Post reports that each month there is more regular traffic on porn sites than Netflix, Amazon and Twitter combined. each month.
67% of Christian, Christian men admit to watching some type of porn every month.
Propping up idol worship in any way.
This is an epidemic. This isn’t just between you and yourself. If you are watching porn then statistics say at some point you will start paying for porn. You will pay into an industry that supports the sex slave industry. Where girls are kidnapped and forced to do horrible things. Are you supporting idol worship in any way?
Don’t be deceived. Don’t be distracted. Some of you are thinking more about that stat that I gave you and are ignoring what the real problem is.
We have been talking about the folks in Ephesus and how they are changing the world around them because of the power of the gospel in their lives.
If you struggle with this you are either going to submit to it, give in and get deeper and deeper into it.
Or, if you surrender that thing over to Christ you can get out of it and be free of it. Not only will it help you but it will become apparent to the world around you that something in your life has changed and you now have the testimony to tell others and we can see real changes in the world around us.
That is just one example, there are all kinds of ways that we support idol worship in one way or another. How are you being challenged this morning?
I Know its heavy. But if the stats are right then you have a decision to make. You really have to decide. And you will, one way or another. You decide to leave that behind whatever it is, and live every area of your life for Christ, or, you decide to ignore this and continue on separating the intimacy you have with the father little by little by little.
It is about changing the world around you by your submission to Jesus and your actions.
You don’t have to grandstand, you don’t have to offend. You just submit to Christ and follow him, and telling others along the way.
And we have an available savior to us who is alive and powerful and waiting to help you in any area that you are struggling in.