"This Paul" and Artemis

Am I Making a Difference?

This past month marks two years I have been a Software Developer at Faithlife.

The beautiful baby in the picture is my friend and co-worker Spencer’s baby daughter. This isn’t about her.

It’s about the ornament to the right. In early December of 2018 we were in Arizona on a company retreat, and that’s where Spencer lives. Spencer is a developer on my team so we had a team get together at his house. And he had his Christmas tree up… and one eagle-eyes member of my team spots this ornament.

“Best Software Developer of 2017” with our Faithlife logo and all!

Here’s the thing: we don’t give out that award. So we asked, and Spencer sheepishly tells us the true story: his mother-in-law was so excited about his new career and new job that she had that ornament made and gave it to him!

And, of course, for the rest of time, we all consider Spencer to be the official “Best Software Developer of 2017”. It is known.

I have my 2 year anniversary meeting coming up, I am hoping for a “Best of 2019” award. Fingers crossed.

It is a good time to check in on how we’re doing.

How are we doing church? How is it going?

We sent out a PULSE survey a few weeks ago by email a few times with one of these kind of check-in questions.

If our church disappeared tomorrow, would our community notice?

Are we making an impact for the gospel, an impact for the name of Jesus? We can (and should) take that question into each of our lives… because the church is not this building but us, the people.

Am I making an impact for the name of Jesus? In the way that I speak, teach, preach, in the way that I love? What is the fruit of the gospel at work in me?

How are we doing, church?

In today’s text we see a measure of the impact of the gospel through Paul. And it is so-stinking topical it is scary. In today’s text we have rioting in the streets, we have racism, and we have government intervention. It would be tempting to twist all of that into a commentary on 2020… but that isn’t really what the text is saying.

Let’s read what happened:

Riots in the Streets

Paul prepares to leave town.

Acts 19:21 ESV

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.”

What does “resolved in the Spirit” mean? I think this is in parallel to the other moments in Paul’s journey where he is “compelled by the Spirit”. This is more than a human decision.

So he plans the trip and sends part of his dream team ahead:

Acts 19:22 ESV

And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.

Meanwhile, Trouble is brewing in Ephesus:

Acts 19:23–24 ESV

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.

Remember the temple to Artemis, hugely influential… and religion is big business.

The temple to Artemis is four times the size of the Parthenon, one of the wonders of the world. The “Artemis of Ephesus” may seem a little different than the “Artemis twin of Apollo” of classical Greek mythology… and that’s because the Greek’s would adopt and kind of absorb the mythos of local gods into their own pantheon. Artemis of Ephesus draws in a local goddess of fertility.

So these statues of Artemis, depicted as a woman with many breasts, to represent fertility, these were up all over the city of Ephesus. And on every street corner you could buy one of these to take home with you as a souvenir, for people are traveling from miles around to visit this incredible temple.

Anytime you have a “status quo” there are those who are benefiting from it and threatened by any change to it. Here, a man named Demetrius is the first to gather the opposition.

Acts 19:25–27 ESV

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.”

That’s bold, that’s honest, in a way. He’s pretty upfront that his concern is that “from this business we have our wealth”… though he adds a bit of pious sounding nods to the goddess Artemis.

But it is clearly really all about the money. Artemis is not “whom all Asia and the world worship.” That is pious sounding nonsense. She is the economic driver of Ephesus in general and Demetrius in particular.

And he is talking to the right crowd.

Acts 19:28 ESV

When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

What they really mean is “Great is Artemis, who lines our pockets!”

Acts 19:29 ESV

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.

Paul is way too comfortable with mobs, he’s not afraid to go out there:

Acts 19:30 ESV

But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him.

Paul’s got courage, maybe his friends had some better sense.

Acts 19:31 ESV

And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater.

Asiarchs - high ranking officials in the province of “Asia”, usually chosen from among the wealthy and aristocratic inhabitants of the province. Influential, powerful people. Paul has such incredible impact there in Ephesus!

Acts 19:32–33 ESV

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.

“most did not know why”. You can imagine the city, it starts to boil, it started with a group of craftsmen, and people join in all the excitement… and they don’t even know what they’re doing there! The message hasn’t gotten to everybody, this is mob mentality.

Acts 19:34 ESV

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!”

For TWO HOURS!!!

They didn’t even listen to him. Nothing says “Alexander” is a Christian, he could well be part of the Jewish community in opposition to Paul. But, they can visually see he is a Jew and reject anything he has to say...

by chanting. Over and over and over. It has to get almost hypnotic to last that long. People got tired, went and had lunch and came back to join in for more chanting. Two hours!

Then the “town clerk” gets up. The town clerk would be one of the highest local officials. Think the “mayor”, maybe.

Acts 19:35–41 ESV

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.

It isn’t that anything he said is true, really. He is wrong about the worship of Artemis being threatened by Christians… they are threatened. These men are blasphemers of their goddess. He’s wrong about most things.

But this is an example of God using the government, here a government official, to protect God’s people. That has happened numerous times in Acts.

Does that always happen? Of course not. We see plenty of examples of governmental power used to abuse Christians… and of course Jesus himself!

But this time, God calmed the crowd and everybody went home.

Foundation of Faithfulness

One of my adopted “Grampas”, Grampa George Barber passed away last month, right at the beginning of May.

The story goes that George decided he wanted a basement. He didn’t have one, he had a little crawlspace under his house. But every day he went into that crawlspace and filled up two buckets of dirt. Then he took those buckets and spread them in his backyard.

After a few years of doing this every day, he had his full basement… and his backyard was 3 feet higher than any of his neighbors!

This man rebuilt the foundation of his house… and stepped up to a whole new level in his backyard. His neighbors just thought he’d grown taller I guess, as he was walking waist high on their 6 foot fence in the backyard!

“This Paul”

Ephesus has, at this time, a population of 250,000 people.

Tourist industry coming to worship Artemis, to visit her temple, take home a souvenir.

How many people must have been persuaded in order for the silversmiths and the other craftsmen to feel that their livelihood was being threatened???

Think of the scale of it!

As Demetrius said:

Acts 19:26 ESV

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.

Almost all of Asia.

And “this Paul” has persuaded them.

How remarkable, not only that the Christian movement has swelled and gained influence enough to shake the economic tides in a city that large… but that they can point to one man and say “He did it!”

This is the power of God, the power of the gospel, expressed through one man willing to be radically faithful to a radical gospel.

Every day, Paul is getting up and going to work, making tents.

Every day, Paul is making time in his day to teach, to preach anyone who will listen. You know where to find Paul, he’s in Tyrannus’ hall down the street.

Every day, and Paul is teaching and making friends with people visiting from all over the province. He is teaching and making friends with powers-that-be in the city.

God is doing great miracles through him… but that isn’t anything crazy Paul is doing. Paul is just being faithful to the gospel, the good news, with the gifts God has given him.

People are becoming Christians, Christians are being convicted of their half-hearted devotion and burning 5.5 million dollars worth of magic books in the streets, confessing their sin, their reliance on something other than Jesus for power, security, future.

He is just being faithful. Serving, teaching, preaching, exercising the spiritual gifts God has given him.

and this is the effect. The established economic powers terrified that their business built on false idols may crumble. And it does, eventually, though it takes a few hundred years. The temple to Artemis burns down in the 4th century, the idols crumble to be dug up and put in museums later.

The name of Jesus remains.

“This Paul” is doing this. Not because Paul is great. But because his Jesus is great.

Because Paul is radically faithful to a radical gospel.

Radically Faithful

We asked this question: would our community notice if our church disappeared tomorrow?

Would my community notice if I disappeared tomorrow?

Is the gospel a threat to my current power and privilege? Yes.

Are we a voice for Jesus’ gospel such that “this Paul” or “this church” would pose a threat anyone who’s power rests on idolatry or sin of any kind?

Do I speak the name and the story of Jesus enough that I would be associated with him in any way?

And would anyone even remotely associate me with a threat to their comfortable status quo? Because the gospel is always a threat to the human status quo.

Am I faithful to that radical gospel?

The goal is not to be famous like Paul. That isn’t the goal. After all, Paul wasn’t working alone. Gaius and Aristarchus are working with him… but we haven’t heard of them. Paul had a team, the growing church there was also full of faithful Christians, it isn’t that Paul had the name and therefore he was the “best” Christian.

It is amazing that the city knew his name.

But the important thing is that they knew his message. The name of Jesus. And the foundations of the city were beginning to tremble at the name of Jesus.

Because the name of Jesus is always a threat to any entrenched human authority and power. Always.

Anything in me that isn’t already bowing and submitting to Jesus… that is threatened by the name of Jesus. Because Jesus isn’t content that any piece of death and dying remain in me, so he demands all of me in surrender that I might live and live abundantly!

Anything in our world that isn’t already bowing and submitting to Jesus, truly, wholly, is ultimately going to be submitted to the name of Jesus.

Never to be radical for its own sake… but always to be radically faithful to a radical gospel!

And that isn’t letting any of us off the hook, that is the biggest ask there is. It looks like finding your cross and taking it up, service unto death, sacrifice in every way, every drop of time, talent and treasure, for His sake and for His glory!

The only question is ever and always where do I serve next? Where do I go next? Who do I tell next and how?