Demetrius And The Riot In Ephesus Series

September 27, 2015

Acts of the Apostles

By: Tom Lowe

Lesson: IV.D.3.h: Demetrius and the Riot in Ephesus (Acts 19:23-41)

Acts 19:23-41 (KJV)

23 And the same time there arose no small stir about that way.

24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;

25 Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.

26 Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:

27 So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.

28 And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

29 And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.

30 And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not.

31 And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theatre.

32 Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused: and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.

33 And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people.

34 But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

35 And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?

36 Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.

37 For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.

38 Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them implead one another.

39 But if ye enquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly.

40 For we are in danger to be called in question for this day's uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse.

41 And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.

Introduction

Luke had one more story to tell of Paul’s time spent in Ephesus, before he could begin the narrative of Paul’s third missionary journey. He could not leave Ephesus without relating the story of the silversmiths’ riot. The fact that it was a good story would have been reason enough to include it. But for Luke there was the added benefit of reinforcing his earlier point that the Christian faith and the Roman state were compatible, as borne out by the attitude of the Asiarchs[1] and the city clerk (see the discussion on 18:1-17). Incidentally, this story reveals an accurate knowledge of the municipal institutions of Ephesus.

Commentary

23 And the same time there arose no small stir about that way.

24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;

Diana of the Ephesians was not the virtuous huntress known to Greek mythology but a monstrous obscenity, an image gross and repelling, whose rites were extremely lustful and wicked. She was really the goddess Artemis, the ancient mother goddess of Asia Minor. Her temple at Ephesus was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The ugly image of Artemis enthroned in that temple was supposed to have come down from heaven and is believed to have been a meteorite rough-shaped to resemble a many-breasted woman. She was served by troops of priestesses whose function was to pander to the carnal lusts of the image’s worshippers. There is no doubt that the worship of Artemis, the universal mother of creation, was widespread and that her worship was accompanied by rites that were both immoral and wrong.

The temple of Artemis was a great pagan temple, and it was a hub of Ephesian economic life. It was the bank of that day. It was also the center of sin. Gross immorality took place around it. It is true that religion can go to a lower level than anything else. It was the largest Greek temple that was ever built. It was beautiful and was adorned with works of art. It was an impressive building, octagonal in shape, some 165 feet by 345 feet in dimension, and built on a platform 240 by 420 feet. The entire structure was elaborately adorned in brilliant colors of gold leaf. The altar area was 20 feet square and contained a massive image of the goddess with a veiled head, with animals and birds decorating her head and lower body and enormous breasts from her waist to her neck. The animals and breasts were symbolic of her status as the ancient Asian Mother Goddess, the goddess of nature who was believed to protect and preserve the fertility of all living things. Instead of mortar, gold is reputed to have been used between the joints of the marble blocks.