Artemis - Acts 19:21-41

The account of Paul’s three years in Ephesus is covered in only about one chapter which is kind of hard for us to reconcile because it’s such a long time and not much is said about it. I guess Paul’s life anciently was a lot like our lives are today, just day to day stuff punctuated by periodic exciting events. With much of the “magic” community renouncing their ways and burning their books, many people were converted to the gospel. The great success experienced by Paul and the missionaries in Ephesus did eventually start to be noticed by those who didn’t believe. There is a lot of talk about Diana and the goddess Artemis and movement of people, and honestly, for me it’s very difficult to understand.

The IM gives a great explanation, saying, “Paul’s success in bringing people to Christ’s Church negatively affected the economy of Ephesus, which relied upon income from visitors to the Temple of Artemis. Artemis was the Greek name for the Roman goddess Diana, and the temple built to her in Ephesus was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It drew pilgrims from all over the empire, as well as local merchants who earned their living selling temple visitors food, lodging, dedicatory offerings, and souvenirs.
Like we talked about yesterday, the membership of the Church had been held for some time in that sweet spot between having enough members to justify Paul staying in the city, but not having so many that persecution comes from those who lose money as new members give up ways of life inconsistent with the gospel. But it appears that at this point, the scales are beginning to tip, because merchants and service providers have started to lose money from new converts abandoning pagan rituals.
The IM continues, “Craftsmen who made and sold images of the goddess provoked a public uprising against Paul and his message. A large crown gathered in the theater at Ephesus, which could hold 24,000 people, and chanted for two hours, ‘Great is Diana of the Ephesians.’ Paul wanted to address the crowd, but he was dissuaded by Church members and government authorities who were concerned for his safety. Shortly thereafter, Paul left the city, traveling through Greece and Macedonia and strengthening Church members.”
I wondered what would happen if Paul had addressed the group of people who were so angry at him. I wonder if he would have been able to change anyone’s mind. It reminded me of something Jesus would do, confront a group of thousands of people who were angry with him and then just slip out from among them when they tried to kill him. Then I thought “Jesus could do that, but Paul couldn’t have.” Then I remembered something that someone said in Sunday School last month and that was that Jesus never used his supernatural powers as the Son of God during his mortal lifetime to do anything except perform the atonement. I thought about that statement for a while and I can’t see anything in the recorded scripture that Jesus did that other men couldn’t or wouldn’t be able to do through the power of the priesthood, except for the 40 day fast, so I’m going to have to look into that a little bit more. If Paul had felt urged by the Spirit to speak to that group of people then surely he would have been protected if it had been God’s will.
I also thought about the danger that the remaining members of the Church would have been in who stayed in Ephesus after Paul left. Paul and the missionaries with him were foreigners, outsiders, they came into the city teaching new doctrine and caused a huge shift in the spirituality of the people here. Those who were from Ephesus had the right to stay in their homes and live their lives how ever they saw fit, but outsiders didn’t enjoy that same luxury. Even in the missionary effort was the same after the missionaries left, it would probably be less obtrusive coming from fellow Ephesians. Paul and the other missionaries could be targets whereas their townsmen were less likely to draw attention to themselves. This seems to be the point where Paul realizes that he’s warn out his welcome and decides that it’s time for him to move on.