January 13 - Paul in Ephesus

January 13 - Paul in Ephesus - Acts 19:1-41

We're going to step back in time just a bit so that we can look at Paul's 2 1/2 - 3 year stay in Ephesus. He began the third missionary journey in the spring of 54 AD and arrived in Ephesus in the fall of the same year, staying there until 57 AD. Now, the closest that scholars can figure, he met Jesus on the road to Damascus in 37 AD and was executed in 67 AD. There was a 30 year span of time that Paul spent teaching the world about the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Ephesus becomes a center of outreach to the Gentile world. John would settle there, and legend has it that Jesus' mother, Mary settled there with him until her death. John became a beloved bishop in that city and after receiving the Revelation on Patmos, returned there to live out his life.

But, when Paul arrived 30-40 years earlier, the disciples that he found there were stuck between the Old and New Testaments, not knowing that the Messiah had come. These twelve men received the influx of the Holy Spirit into their lives and from this mini-Pentecost, a church would grow. If you turn to Revelation 2:4, you will find Jesus chastizing this church for having lost its first love. Twelve men, completely in love with their Lord, willing to do anything, had given way to an institution that was hard working had persevered through much. Repentance was called for.

Again, though ... I've wandered from the time period and Paul's interaction with the community in this city.

Notice in Acts 19:10, Luke tells us that all of the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province heard the word of the Lord. He might be exaggerating, because there are years ahead of him that he spends teaching in the communities and cities.

Miracles were occurring and others were trying to lay claim to those miracles, using the name of Jesus Christ, but not knowing Who it was they were claiming. (Acts 19:13-20)

The story of the riot in Ephesus is a popular story about Paul found in Acts 19:23-41. Because so many people were turning to Jesus, that many people were no longer purchasing little silver Artemis shrines. Ephesus was home to one of the great wonders of the world - the Temple of Artemis. Not only was this a religious temple, but served as a bank in which people from all over the world deposited funds. Artemis was a big deal in Ephesus. Jesus was challenging people's pocketbooks in Ephesus by drawing them away from goddess worship.

What better way to get rid of Paul than to stir up a riot and so they did. We see in Acts 19:29 that Paul had two other traveling companions - Gaius and Aristarchus. They were seized and taken to the great theater. This outdoor ampitheater is still in existence today and can be seen at this website: http://www.bibleplaces.com/ephesus.htm. (scroll to the bottom for pictures of the ampitheater).

The theater was filled and Paul wanted to speak his piece, but cooler heads prevailed and he was begged to stay away from the craziness. Acts 19:32 says that most of the people didn't even know why they were there. Poor Alexander got pushed to the front and had to stand there for two hours while people shouted (Acts 19:34). They finally settled down and the city clerk was able to calm them down (Acts 19:35-41) and asked them to take their concerns before the courts. He dismissed them, the fervor settled down and Paul realized it was time to leave. (Acts 20:1).

During those three years in Ephesus, Paul wrote a letter to the Galatians and two letters to the Corinthians. We'll look at those next.