Acts 19:21 Afterward Paul felt compelled by the Spirit to go over to Macedonia and Achaia before going to Jerusalem. “And after that,” he said, “I must go on to Rome!” 22 He sent his two assistants, Timothy and Erastus, ahead to Macedonia while he stayed awhile longer in the province of Asia. 23 About that time, serious trouble developed in Ephesus concerning the Way. 24 It began with Demetrius, a silversmith who had a large business manufacturing silver shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis. He kept many craftsmen busy. 25 He called them together, along with others employed in similar trades, and addressed them as follows: “Gentlemen, you know that our wealth comes from this business. 26 But as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all. And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province! 27 Of course, I’m not just talking about the loss of public respect for our business. I’m also concerned that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will lose its influence and that Artemis—this magnificent goddess worshiped throughout the province of Asia and all around the world—will be robbed of her great prestige!” 28 At this their anger boiled, and they began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 Soon the whole city was filled with confusion. Everyone rushed to the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, who were Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia. 30 Paul wanted to go in, too, but the believers wouldn’t let him. 31 Some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, also sent a message to him, begging him not to risk his life by entering the amphitheater.32 Inside, the people were all shouting, some one thing and some another. Everything was in confusion. In fact, most of them didn’t even know why they were there. 33 The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward and told him to explain the situation. He motioned for silence and tried to speak. 34 But when the crowd realized he was a Jew, they started shouting again and kept it up for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”35 At last the mayor was able to quiet them down enough to speak. “Citizens of Ephesus,” he said. “Everyone knows that Ephesus is the official guardian of the temple of the great Artemis, whose image fell down to us from heaven. 36 Since this is an undeniable fact, you should stay calm and not do anything rash. 37 You have brought these men here, but they have stolen nothing from the temple and have not spoken against our goddess.38 “If Demetrius and the craftsmen have a case against them, the courts are in session and the officials can hear the case at once. Let them make formal charges. 39 And if there are complaints about other matters, they can be settled in a legal assembly. 40 I am afraid we are in danger of being charged with rioting by the Roman government, since there is no cause for all this commotion. And if Rome demands an explanation, we won’t know what to say.” 41 Then he dismissed them, and they dispersed.
If someone really immerses themselves heavily into something it is difficult for them to give it up. In fact, the term "kicking and screaming" comes from this attitude of not wanting to let go of thinking a certain way. In the verses above they show a society that has immersed themselves in believing in a goddess named Artemis. There is never a shortage of gods that people turn to and the inherent desire we all have to find God can get sidetracked by errant teaching and thinking that causes those searchers to come up with their own version of God. The steps that these people take to make their gods look real involve making their own idols to represent those Gods. Thus Buddha, Krishna, and many others were born to fill that God-sized hole in their lives. Of course, we know that only Jesus can fill that void, or black hole as I like to call it because it is a dark place for anyone without Jesus. Jesus is the one who lights up that dark space when a person is born again in the Spirit.
When we look at the person Demetrius we see a man who was making money as a silversmith on these manmade god statues and he employed many others who were getting their wealth from making and selling these statues of the god Artemis. Usually, money is the driving force behind many of those who promote other gods and it is almost impossible to get them to let go of their evil practices because of the financial gain they get from promoting their "gods." In 1 Timothy 6:10 Paul writes these words to Timothy 10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from their true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. The people Paul and his companions were dealing with had let the love of money control their thinking and they could not let go of the earnings they got from the people's worship of the god Artemis.
They needed to let go and let God be the focus, but that was not going to happen. They were bound and determined to shut down the teaching of Paul that Jesus was the only "true" God and they needed to receive Him for new life. Since Ephesus was the official guardian of the goddess Artemis, the new converts in that town were a threat to their worship of Artemis and thus a threat to the money that Demetrius and his workers were bringing in.
The mayor of Ephesus deferred to Rome's decision about the matter, which helps us to see why Paul concluded early he needed to go to Rome. God was truly leading Paul in the direction he should go. Now we see why God did not want Paul to go into Asia in one of his earlier journeys and now the threat from a lost and dying world has come to a head in the city of Ephesus. All of the worldly worship of the goddess Artemis was being threatened by what God was doing through the message of Paul. Paul never spoke against Artemis. Paul just lifted up the name of Jesus and that is all it took to get them riled up.
What happens in our country when we lift up the name of Jesus? In our present "woke" society we are called narrow-minded. WE ARE! We must lift up the name of Jesus every chance we have and let the gospel power speak for itself. There will be those who cannot let go of their idol worship, but we must still lift up His Name!! Remember, we are in the world, but not of the world. There will be consequences for lifting up Jesus as the ONLY way to heaven, so know His Word so you can speak to the truth found in God's Word. God is always working, so don't try to subdue the message because of fear or because of false worship. Jesus gives us FREEDOM from the world and we must live in that freedom and not follow the teachings of a lost and dying world. Let it Go. Let it Go. Not holding back anymore!!
The Pilgrimage Continues
David Warren
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