Christians, and perhaps particularly evangelicals in particular, are undergoing what seems to me to be a bit of an identity crisis. What word fits us?
o “Christian” – Unfortunately, that’s a loose term, a bit of a “catch-all” which is used to encompass anyone professing allegiance to Christ, including plenty of folks who wouldn’t consider themselves “born again”—even though Jesus was pretty plain in saying, “you must be born again!”
o For awhile, “fundamentalist” didn’t have the connotations it does today. Its origin was a tract called “The Fundamentals”, written in the early 20th-century as an apologetic against the rise of modernism and theological liberalism—and every one of us, I’d hope, would be in sympathy with the five fundamentals identified in that tract. But then the mainstream media got hold of that term “fundamentalist”, and it began to be used to define everybody who does anything loony in the name of whatever religion, and thus we have “Islamic fundamentalists”, etc.
o “Evangelical” is a better term; it’s in our movement’s name. It speaks of those committed to the truthfulness of the entire Bible, and our commitment to propagate the truths of the Bible, most significantly the gospel. But even this term has been watered down; people call themselves “evangelical” who do not share even those minimal commitments, and one denomination, the “Evangelical Lutheran Church”, is anything but…evangelical!
o Further, there’s even the question of how much it matters to have the right “label” attached to yourself. Now, don’t jump to a conclusion; there are some things to be said on both sides of that coin. In fact, let’s talk about it!
Table Talk
How much difference do “labels” and “categories” make? Are they unimportant, or might they serve an important cause? What are the limits of labels and categories?
o I’ve begun using the term “Christ-follower”; if you’ve been paying attention, you’ve heard the term crop up regularly in my messages. I like it best, and it jibes with something we find in today’s text; see if you notice as we read!
READ TEXT
Did you catch it? “The Way” – This term, of course, was one used commonly to describe followers of Christ; I believe that this paradigm, if not the word itself, is one we ought to resurrect today, because Jesus’ call to us is to “follow” Him, to move along a pathway, not merely to sit on our blessed assurance, content that we have a home in the sweet bye-and-bye.
I. The Way: Paul’s Purposeful Path
:21-22 - The eastern part of the Roman empire had now been evangelized, and thus Paul, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, determines that Rome is his next destination (the map on the screen traces his trip thus far), but not before checking up on churches in Macedonia and Achaia, taking up a collection for the poor in Jerusalem, and delivering it to them personally. Rome already had a Christian community, though, so his plan would be that Rome was in his sights, would be a stopover on his way to Spain, the westernmost part of the Roman empire, but a very strategic stopover as the center of the world, more so than even today we’d think of New York City being that. There was an urgency about his sense; “I must see Rome!” The rest of the book of Acts moves us toward Rome, and the final chapter of Acts finds Paul arriving at his destination, setting up shop, and encouraging the believers there. But we’ve got a lot of ground to cover between Ephesus and Rome!
II. The Way: A Temporary Roadblock
Before he’s able to leave, though, a riot breaks out due to Paul’s teaching. One commentator suggests that the danger to Paul is quite understated here, that Paul’s life was in real danger. Here are some things Paul says in later writings, very possibly describing this event:
“I fought with beasts at Ephesus.” (I Corinthians 15:32)
God “delivered us from such a deadly peril.” (II Corinthians 1:10)
Priscilla and Aquila “risked their necks for my life.” (Romans 16:4)
Luke’s use of “the Way” here suggests that the outbreak, the ruckus, wasn’t directed merely at Paul or the leaders alone, but rather at the entire group of Christ-followers. Unfortunately, for many professing Christians, “the Way” isn’t as apt a description in their thinking as, for instance
o “The Decision” – Christian faith is reduced to a one-time decision to “get saved” or “be born again”; it’s all about whether you’re in or you’re out, and once you’re in, everything is peachy-keen hunky-dory seashells and balloons.
o “The Church” – The question here becomes, “is he in church?” Doesn’t matter if the “church” preaches the gospel, or whether it’s like so many today that have forfeited the gospel for theological liberalism, or pragmatic self-helpisms, or so-called “prosperity theology”; just “as long as she’s in church!” How ‘bout this one:
o “The Eternity in Heaven” – What matters in the here-and-now is of no concern; we’re just living here to make it to Heaven. Affecting this world for the good is irrelevant as long as our tickets for glory are punched.
Now let me be clear: I believe that there is a time when a person, by virtue of God’s drawing and a faith-decision on his part, crosses a line from darkness to light, from death to life. Do I believe in the church? Unequivocally; I have very strong views on the absolutely essential nature of the church to walking as a Christian. Do I believe Heaven awaits God’s children? You’d better believe it, and it’ll be a lot better than this place! But the best paradigm for what we are supposed to be and do now is the paradigm of the path, or “the Way”. We believe in Intentional Disciplemaking because we believe that “the Way” accurately describes the Christian’s life. And in one sense, walking the Way isn’t hard; it’s a case of “follow the Leader!”
The principal deity that held the devotion of the Ephesians was Artemis, mentioned two weeks ago. She was depicted as the goddess of fertility, a grotesque, multi-breasted woman whose image Demetrius and his buds were quick to duplicate for money. When we read the city clerk, in verse 35, speak of the “sacred stone that fell from the sky”, this strongly suggests that this goddess was nothing other than a meteorite that more or less resembling this multi-breasted woman they named Artemis.
Ephesus had previously been a harbor city, but the unchecked erosion of the landscape brought about by development had caused so much silt to run into the harbor that it became choked and unusable over time; in fact today, the harbor works of Ephesus are seven miles inland from the Aegean Sea! As such, some other form of economy had to be developed, and this was where many Ephesians cashed in: the great temple of Artemis. It was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and tourists and pilgrims flocked there from around the world. Now think: when you have a major tourist attraction, what do you also have? Gift shops! Sellers of all kinds of trinkets and overpriced junk somehow related to that particular tourist trap; we get emotionally attached to the moment, want a souvenir, and end up buying something that we sell later for a quarter at a yard sale. Human nature being what it is, things were little different 2000 years ago, and artisans would craft little silver replicas of Artemis to sell to the tourists.
But on the scene now comes Paul and his buddies, preaching that idols made with hands aren’t real gods at all, that God doesn’t dwell in temples made by the hands of men (and He still doesn’t today; He makes His home in our hearts). Remember that last week, we saw the great “bonfire of the vanities” that took place when the people of God in Ephesus, convicted of the worthlessness of their magical arts and paraphernalia, heaped up these things on a pyre and burned them. It seems reasonable that among the items that fueled that inferno were some of the idols that had been crafted in Ephesus, idols representing Artemis, false goddess of fertility so adored by those in the city.
And as Paul’s teaching takes hold in the lives of people, there is an economic impact, as the demand for the religious idols slows significantly! And so union boss Demetrius rises up to protest this new “Jesus cult” on two grounds: first, it’s cutting into their profits, because so many people are being won over to faith in Christ that a real economic impact is being felt. Second, as a pious-sounding add-on, the great name of Artemis is being undermined by this Jesus worship. Frankly, if these men wanted to incite a mob of their fellow Ephesians to protest against the Christians, the claim that their goddess was being denigrated would much more easily hold up than a mere claim that they were losing money! It’s as if Demetrius’ appeal is to “God, mother, country, apple pie”, a call to protect the “family values” of Ephesian society; though his real concern was that most sensitive part of his anatomy—his wallet—he couched his appeal in the noblest of terms, and if he’d had time, I’m sure he would have written a country song and gotten Alan Jackson to perform it.
Beyond this, it’s likely that the timing of Demetrius’ protest was the festival of Artemis (think “Mardi Gras”), when thousands would throng the city of Ephesus, and when it would be easy to tell how much business had been lost.
Many times, when it comes right down to it, the “reasons” people give for not coming to Christ stem from their own unwillingness to either face the issue, or to give up something that they think they can’t do without, rather than a lack of evidence of the truthfulness of the message of Jesus. It wasn’t the doctrines of Christian faith which aroused the ire of the people of Ephesus, nor particularly even the criticism of their deity, because Hellenist philosophers had made criticisms of their idol worship as well. No, it was when the publishing of the gospel began to affect their bottom line that the people got up in arms! Yes, following Jesus will exact a cost in your life; Jesus asked His would-be followers to count that cost before signing up! But the cost is far outweighed by the benefits!
Table Talk
What are some of the things that keep people from Christ today?
The Arcadian Way was the main thoroughfare through Athens, a large boulevard which led from the harbor to a theater (what we’d today call a stadium, likely) capable of holding 24,000 people at once. Think of Peachtree Street, perhaps. And we get the picture of these men filing into the Arcadian Way and, a la Forrest Gump, attracting a larger and larger following as they went along, not “running against the wind”, but forming a mob for the purpose of…well, something. But the organizers of this chaos were getting what they wanted, people stirred up against Paul and the followers of the Way. And so a great big pep rally is begun, under the auspices of religious devotion; with all the zeal of Bulldog fans, the silversmiths begin the chant, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” Because of this, we should be thankful for
III. The Way: Friends on the Journey
Paul’s first impulse, demonstrating again that he was a man with passions like we have, not always right in his impulses, was inclined to jump right into the crowd, perhaps believing he could bring peace to the situation. Further, in the Greek world, it would not be unusual for a mob such as this to reconstitute itself as a formal meeting of the civic assembly. He didn’t want to miss out on an opportunity to explain himself, as well as another chance to preach the gospel. And yet, it’d be like putting a fellow dressed in Florida Gator orange and blue right into the middle of a sea of Georgia fans in the middle of a pep rally, minus whatever restraint the Bulldog fans might be able to muster; in this crowd, he might be torn limb from limb, and thus his friends, not only other Christ-followers, but also some of the aristocracy, some “friends in high places”, persuaded him that this would be a very bad idea, and so he didn’t go after all. Let’s stop here to thank God for friends who care enough to warn us when they sense we’re off track!
:32 – Luke adds a touch of humor here, suggesting that most of the people didn’t even know why they were there, some shouting one thing and some another. Out of this, apparently, grew what we now call political conventions, the Democrat and Republican versions this summer will show you hordes of people, some shouting one thing, some another, and most people not even knowing why they are there!
:33-34 – The Jewish community was quite established and quite prosperous, yet there was a latent anti-Semitism that was rampant in Ephesian society, and so when the Jews put Alexander, a Jew, up in front of the people, so as to say, “we’re not with these troublemaking Christians”, he was shouted down. The mob was unable or unwilling to distinguish between a Jew and a Christian; after all, the Jews shared with the Christians their scorn for idols of any kind. Some might have even figured that Alexander and the Jews were all the cause of the problem, and thus this crowd was in no mood for reasoned debate or calm instruction; this was an out-of-control mob. Ernst Haenchen is right to suggest that, when it comes right down to it, the only thing that these heathens could do was to shout themselves hoarse.
IV. The Way: God Clears the Path
But God is in control. The city clerk was like the CEO of the city, and his words finally carried some weight. This guy was in the middle, caught between Rome and the people, and he feared reprisal from Rome. He appealed to the vanity of the Ephesian people, saying that everybody knew that Artemis was great, a goddess, and these babbling Christians weren’t going to change that with their blather. He was able to persuade the people that there were courts open, that Christians could be brought before magistrates, and that this was the appropriate way to handle things if things needed to be handled, not a riot. Further, he found that Gaius and Aristarchus were not blasphemers or robbers or anything of the sort, and further, that if the people didn’t just calm down and go home, and Rome got wind of this, things wouldn’t go well for the city of Ephesus, because the Roman authorities tended to clamp down strongly upon disturbances of the Pax Romana, the Roman Peace. And it worked.
Four main points from this calm, reasonable man:
1. Who could deny the truth of Artemis?
2. These men aren’t guilty of sacrilege or blasphemy.
3. There are law courts you can drag them into if you want.
4. Rome won’t be pleased with a riot, so let’s break it up.
V. The Way: Resuming the Trip
Luke is sparing in his details of Paul’s travels through Macedonia and Achaia. Some of the details are unclear and speculative, but we do know that one of the things that he did during this time was to collect an offering for the poor saints who lived in Jerusalem. This was a show of solidarity between the Gentile believers and their Jewish brothers and sisters who were in real need because of great persecution. Note the testimony that Paul gives regarding the incredible generosity of these Macedonians:
“We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.” II Corinthians 8:1-5
I find that passage to be one of the most incredible passages in the entire Bible. People who have grasped the idea that real Christian joy leads to generosity and openhandedness are some of the most blessed people in the world. Incredible generosity is found at the conjunction of gratitude, joy, compassion, and faith, and it’s a beautiful thing. I recommend the experience!
“Much encouragement” – Nothing strengthens and encouraging like the Word of the Lord delivered through fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul didn’t just say, “hang on, buck up, try harder”; he gave them the Word from God. This is why we, who have the sure Word of God, place high value on being Bible-centered—which is why we need to get the Word into our lives, which is why we are doing “You’ve Got the Time”.
:3-4 – After spending probably a year in Macedonia, during which time he wrote the letter we call II Corinthians, Paul went to Corinth for a stay of three months, likely during winter of 57-58 AD. It was while he was there that he wrote the epistle to the Romans, which we’ll begin studying this fall. Romans is the clearest declaration of salvation by God’s grace alone through faith alone in all of the Bible. Though Paul’s heart was to go to Rome, hoping to use it as a base of operations to spread the gospel into Spain and the Latin world, he needed to take this offering to Jerusalem first, if it was to have the meaning that it needed to. And so he decided to sail for Palestine, but a plot to kill him at sea was discovered, and so he took the land route instead, and so even though traveling by land was dangerous, particularly with a lot of money in one’s possession, Paul determined this to be the safer route, and he set out. He did have some traveling companions, Gentile Christian men who represented some of the various churches that Paul had begun during his missionary journeys, and their simple presence in support of the impoverished Jewish believers in Jerusalem would speak volumes of the solidarity they felt with their brethren. They were the fruits of mission, and now they were the agents of mission as well. So with us; we must have a “missional mindset”.
:5-6 – Paul had hoped to get to Jerusalem in time for the Passover celebration, but when this became impossible, he instead celebrated the Passover in Philippi with other followers of Christ. This Jewish holy day, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread which followed it, reminded the Jews of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage as God’s angel of death, sent to punish the Egyptians for their unwillingness to free His people, had passed over every Jewish home that had obeyed His command. Now, the new Passover Lamb had come, and Paul had the joy of celebrating this feast with this understanding; death holds no ultimate fear for the Christian, for we, in Christ, have defeated that enemy.
And this is the point of the whole narrative, the whole book of Acts, the whole Bible: Jesus! The gospel of Jesus provoked a ruckus in Ephesus, but in the lives of those who yield to the God of that gospel, it provokes a changed life and a changed eternity.
