Demetrius And The Riot In Ephesus Series

The last weeks of Paul’s stay in Ephesus were marked by one of those “dangers in the city” of which he writes about in 2 Corinthians 11:26 (NIV)—“I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; IN DANGER IN THE CITY, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers.” A certain Demetrius instigated a riot because of the “Way.” Christianity had no name for the churches at that time—certainly no denominational name. It was simply called “that way.” It was a new way, that is certain. The way was the Lord Jesus whom Himself said “. . . I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me (John 14:6). Demetrius was a silversmith whose workshop produced silver shrines of Artemis (v. 24)—the manufacture of such shrines was common practice—competing in the very lucrative trade that Ephesus had in such things. Pilgrims would purchase them for use in their own home altars or as a supplicatory offering to be presented to the temple. There were also model temples in terra-cotta and marble, but it is not surprising that none have been found in silver, for the reason that their considerable metallic value would have made them a prime target for the melting pots looters through the centuries. Demetrius was probably in this business in a big way, but his taking the lead now may not have been for that reason alone, but because he was master of the guild of silversmiths for that year.

The impact of Christianity at Ephesus was so great that sales of those useless images had fallen drastically, much to the alarm of the guild. No greater comment could be made on the wholesome nature of Christianity than the way it cleaned up the moral and religious sewer of the ancient world. No greater comment could be made on human greed and wickedness than that it was that very thing that infuriated the silversmiths and, through them, the populous of the city. Entrenched wickedness is always militant against the Gospel, when once the Gospel begins to make an impact in cleaning up society.

Demetrius was one of the instigators of the riot which was about to occur. This uproar was fueled by the fact that it was the month of May. It was the time of the great gatherings throughout Proconsular Asia, of those who worshipped Diana (Artemis). The month of May was called the Artemisian, because it was the month devoted to those great religious assemblies in honor of Artemis; and the gatherings were described as the Ephesia.

The primary inspiration of the opposition of Demetrius was that vested interests were suffering. No attack had been made upon the craft, but the receipts were less. The popularity of the goddess Artemis was on the decline and profits were down. That is the whole story. There was a secondary reason, which must be given for the sake of decency and appearance, that religion was being threatened. Demetrius’ in that private meeting of the craftsmen said to them (vs. 25-27).