The Book of Acts 19:1-41 Ministry at Ephesus - part 2
Acts 19 · Bob Eckel · Oct 5, 2014
Acts (2014), No. 39
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4926442264773

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Let's kind of summarize last week. I've done it in one sentence. That's nothing. Anyway, this is kind of Jeremy's nice teaching. I listened to his lesson last week. But I think we're dealing with big sections of scripture. And the story that begins in Acts 19.1 is one that continues through Acts 21. So this is an ongoing story. And we're going to look at it in bits and pieces.

But last week, my summary kind of indicates that Paul contrasts John's baptism with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. What was John's baptism? Repentance, right, that's what I'm doing. The Holy Spirit baptism is not the second gift or not a gift of spiritual gifts, it's not a gift of tongues, it's not a gift of anything like that, it's actually being baptized into a union with the Lord Jesus Christ. So this is a baptism we all go through when we're saved and there's really nothing biblically more to it than that, but yet Paul's in the position of explaining this distinction between baptism unto repentance and baptism by the Holy Spirit.

Many are saved, so the ministry continues. But some are hardened, so the idea that there is a resistance to the spread of the gospel. And miracles happen, all kinds of miracles here, which relate a lot to the miracles that are no longer kind of expected today in terms of the post-apostolic age.

And as it says in verse 20, and the word of God grew and prevailed. That's kind of a nice ending of the first 20 verses. of Acts 19. Any thoughts or questions or add-ons? Yeah, in your comment about miracles happened right next to the Word of God grew.

Of course, Scripture is still being revealed, so the miracles are still necessary. Okay, for a time. We can pray for miracles today, but in fact the miracle has been established in the Word of God, and that's in fact our source of all the miracle we need. I'm going to scroll down just so I don't have to continue to do this. I'm going to title today's 20 verses the uproar at Ephesus. This is a theme that continues on. We'll be looking at this over the next couple of weeks.

It says in verse 21, when these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, after I have been there, I must also see Rome. So, everything since Acts 12, 25, that's what Macaulay suggests, what are all these things having been accomplished?

The contrast here would be his teaching at Ephesus, just that teaching. He'd been to Ephesus, he'd finished teaching in Ephesus, and he'd looked at that as a completed act. Or in fact, as Macaulay would indicate, this could really date back to Philippi, and on through Berea, and on to Caesarea, and on into Athens, into Ephesus. His whole ministry since Paul ultimately was on the road to spread the gospel.

What are your thoughts here? I'm not sure there's a perfect answer. Speculate. after all these things have been accomplished? The entire ministry of Paul in Asia or is in fact this limited to just Ephesus? And again I'm not sure we have an answer. What are your thoughts? At some point the locals have to take over and get the word out. They can copy it down, they can get the stuff sent to the various churches in all gates.

So it's not a one man show. So Paul had felt that the Lord had given him some peace to say that all these things had been accomplished. So he had a sense of accomplishment. You get the idea that the preaching of Paul in Ephesus had come to a terminus, that this had reached a point of sense of completion.

I don't know which is right here. Again, Macaulay makes a big point about this being his entire ministry. And whether that's true or not, I don't think we really need to dwell on that point in time. Now, Paul at this point purposes in the spirit and then ultimately turn around. These are opposite directions. We're going to look at a map here in a second. That's part of your second page. Is the handout here yet, by the way? OK, so there's going to be a map that is going to be on the next page, but I just needed to place it correctly on the slide.

So this is kind of where I decided to split it. Opposite directions. The reasons for going through Macedonia. Let's look at the first print in 16, one through five. So I'd like somebody to read that, please. It wasn't working two weeks ago. Really? Yeah. I mean, it's nice to have it. Yeah. I'll quit animating. So, 1 Corinthians 16, 1-5. Who can read that, please?

Now about the collection for God's people, do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up so that when I come, no collections will have to be made.

Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me. After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you, for I will be going through Macedonia." So what's his purpose of going to Macedonia before he gets to Jerusalem?

Well, there's that, I think a report of the ministry, but there's something else very practical. It's called money. And I remember distinctly, forgive me for being sentimental a bit, but teaching with Hal in the book of 1 Corinthians in terms of really Paul's ultimately sacrificing time and perhaps even trials and tribulations to bring money back to Jerusalem, to the saints back there. Because there just apparently was a need there.

And Macedonia presumably was a place where people had some riches. And the Gentiles, if you will, believers, to really donate to the Jerusalem Church. What do you think? Is this the human spirit or the Holy Spirit that's motivating this desire to go to Mass at W. McKay before he comes back to Jerusalem?

Well, the key thing there is Philippi is on a trade route. They've had their share of bum salesmen and crazy people that are trying to fool you coming from out of town and ready to leave town just as soon as they conduct their business. So I think they're not dumb as far as monetary wisdom. Okay. Plus, they were generous enough to receive indirect because of the cultural medium praise for their liberality. All right.

That's a point related to this particular travel. But the question here to the class is, Newmont, it could be the human spirit, we all have our human spirit, and ultimately the Holy Spirit is obviously the third part of the triune God. So what motivated Paul? Was this the human spirit? By the way, I'm traveling, these are my plans. I mean, we all can make plans in our soul, our personality, or who we are. I mean, it doesn't have to necessarily be led from above, but then the Holy Spirit has a leading power in our lives that we sense is one that At times it may not be so easy, but we realize that the Spirit is leading us to make some decisions. What do you think here? Is this the Holy Spirit leading Paul, or is this just tribal plans?

Well, let's look at a couple of verses that I think point to that. Acts 16.6 and 7, and then Acts 21.3 and 4.

Holly, I'm going to give you the second one, Acts 21.3 and 4, and Margaret, you want to do the first one?

That's Acts 16.6 and 7.

Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia, and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, after they came to Mysia, they ascended into Bithynia, but the Spirit suffered them not. So who's leading the travel plans here? Is this the human spirit? No, I think this is the Lord through the Holy Spirit. How about the second verse? When we had sighted Cyprus, we passed it on the left, sailed to Syria, and landed in Tyre. For there the ship was to unload her cargo. In finding disciples, we stayed there seven days. Maybe I didn't give you enough verses.

They told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem. The point here is that the Holy Spirit was directing Paul in many circumstances. That doesn't mean in every circumstance, but I think we have evidence that this decision to go to Macedonia was just not his tribal plans. This is, in fact, led by the Holy Spirit. And why Rome? I think this is really important. I mean, Paul had this desire to go to Rome.

And ultimately, he's going to potentially, purposely get sidetracked. But let's look at Romans 1, 13. Who can take that? Mike, can you do that? Yeah. And let's look at Romans 15, 23 to 28. That's a very nice section. So James, could you do that one, please?

The second set of verses, Romans 15, 23-28, that's a fair section, but it isn't purposeful. But I do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, that I often purpose to come to you, and have been hindered until the present time, that I might have some fruit among you too, even as among the other nations also. All right, purpose to go to Rome, and Romans 15, James? Romans 15, 23 through 28.

Yes. But now, having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you, whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you. For I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company.

But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and of Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. It hath pleased them barely in the debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things. When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you unto Spain."

Isn't that a great section that complements where we're at here in Acts? I mean, first of all, he wants to get to Spain. He never gets to Spain. But ultimately, that's his destination. But Rome's going to be part of that trip. But here he again makes the statement that he's going to Macedonia and Cain to bring finances back to Jerusalem.

I mean, scripture at times is unbelievably complementary. I mean, we have these different sections, and if you read them, only in that section of the word. Ultimately, they don't put the big picture together. But here's another example about Paul's being led by the Holy Spirit purposely to bring resources back to Jerusalem.

All right. Again, just to keep my feet from running back and forth, I'm going to scroll down. Here's another multiple maps of this third journey, if you will. And I like this one because I can't read it very well from here. It has 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. It shows you the route. And it's interesting, on the route, it doesn't show him going back to Jerusalem first. Does anyone know the history sufficiently to say whether, in fact, he did get to Jerusalem before he went to Rome? We'll see. Because the text to follow in subsequent weeks is going to address this.

Verse 22, Timothy and Erastus get sent by Paul to Macedonia, whereas Paul hangs out behind in Asia. So he sends these two guys on forward. And Erastus was, by the way, a chamberlain at Corinth. That's stated in Romans 16.23. And Timothy had been there before.

We have evidence in Acts 16.3 and 17.14.

So the rationale for this isn't entirely clear. But Paul hangs behind. If you think of what Paul's going to go through in Ephesus, maybe he wished he weren't gone. But anyway, he sends Erastus and Timothy forward, and he remains behind. And then in verse 23, the plot thickens or sickens, however you want to describe it. And about that time, there arose a great commotion about the way. Not a commotion, a commotion. The beginning of the event that almost took Paul's life and led to depression.

This is an interesting kind of reflection back in the letter to the Church of Corinth. Let's look at this in 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 verses 8-10. I'm going to let you try to interpret this with me. Macaulay feels very strongly that this can be interpreted in multiple ways. Let's see what you think. Somebody can read that please.

Do you have that? For we would not let our new ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life. But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raised the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver, in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us.

Do you see a threat here only to Paul's physical existence? Or is there more than that here? Is Paul kind of down here a little bit? I think the issue comes up, is depression appropriate or at least a depressive mood appropriate for the believer at any time?

Well, he's been there before and there's a second letter to the Corinthians and we're dealing with maybe a recurrence of old habits or other things. I'm not sure it spells out in the letter and I didn't quite read the speech yet. Okay. What are some other thoughts? Jeremy. Appropriate. I don't know what Obviously, Christians get depressed sometimes. You look at the prophets, the psalmists, there were plenty of times where they were depressed. Why are you allowing this to happen, God? Why have you forsaken me? How many times did David say that? But he always comes back to you, but I thank you for it.

So that's appropriate. We're going to go through those times, and I think God certainly can use those times I don't know if you're saying, is it sinful? Are we outside of walking by faith when we're depressed? I don't know if you can say that. Well, read verse 10 again, could you? Do you have that, please? This is 1 Corinthians 1. No, 2 Corinthians 1. 2 Corinthians 1.

Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver, and whom we trust that he will yet deliver us. Okay, so I think verse 10 kind of indicates that there is an answer. If we can get down on things, it is transient because the Lord will deliver us. As believers, seeing ourselves positioned above, think of earth as our business address. We are going to get down at times because the old man lives in this earthly existence, but yet God is there to lift us up and take us beyond the circumstances. I say that kind of glibly because we all go through them. Sometimes we get down about stuff.

I think Paul, not only his life was threatened here, but he was probably just a little bit overwhelmed personally by the circumstances he was going through, but yet it's God who delivered. I'll bet it's a learning experience for him even though he preached it at other times that he himself has to count himself as good as present in the throne room positionally and he can deal with it because God is right there to pat him on the shoulder, tell him what he needs to know, encourage him in all the fit to continue. Good. In so many places in the epistles Paul says be ye followers of me even as I am of Christ and that doesn't mean walking in his footsteps he's identifying himself with the Lord Jesus Christ in Christ's life.

When we walk by faith in the Spirit of God uplifted by who we are ultimately these earthly circumstances become dim for a transient period and then we're lifted above that. So I have a little bit of tangent to the text but yet I think it's appropriate to bring that up here. Verses 24-27 I entitle, it all begins with Demetrius the silversmith.

Who's this guy? It says he made shrines for Diana. It's kind of an interesting history here that I could have spent a half hour on. I decided to summarize it by reminding you that Diana is the Roman goddess and Artemis is the Greek goddess. And originally this goddess figure was a meteor that came and presented itself as a multi-breasted woman. So this is kind of the goddess of the times. And the Romans put the name Diana on her. And ultimately, the Greeks called it Artemis. You've heard of the Temple of Diana, the Temple of Artemis?

It's the same place. It's just by different names. And by the way, that temple's totally destroyed. Margaret and I were there last fall, and that temple is, there's a few stones around, there's just nothing to observe. Huge area, remember that area? Huge area.

Okay, his prophets were not, the text says, and by the way, when things are in italics, I'm really quoting the word of God directly. Okay, his prophets were not small in support of the craftsmen. Why do you make that the double negative for not small? He's a big wheel. The prophets were substantial, you get the idea. This is not a poor man. Luke tends to use that phrase a lot. He uses those double negatives. It was not a small thing. It was not a little bit of money. What's the matter with the Holy Spirit? Why can't he say large? Not small. I think he wants us to speculate in Sunday school about what this means, right?

And he supported a number of craftsmen. And he reminds his fellow workers, by the way, that this is the source of our prosperity. By the way, guys, making these shrines in tinsels or whatever else they were really is their source of income. And he states that, quote, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people saying that they are not gods which are made with hands. So here's Paul in their face about really the lack of really true deity of these images. So the point's been made.

And Demetrius is not only concerned about her own trade, but the scripture says of it also that the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship. How important is that to Demetrius? Does he give a hoot about the temple of Diana? No, it's all about his income.

I think so. And that's my point here. But the major issue here is self-interest and the related economies or economics that are coming from this trade. That sounds a lot like present-day politicians, doesn't it? We're going to get there. There's somebody else that shows up in that garb in a little bit. Any other thoughts about this? And I kind of took a verse kind of out of context, so forgive me.

In 2 Peter 2.3 it says, By covetousness They'll exploit you with deceptive words. For a long time, their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. That's kind of a prophetic statement of Peter, but I thought it fit Demetrius and his crowd pretty well. Jeremy.

It just reminds me, at least, that Christianity is disruptive to the world system. We don't have to go seeking some political thing. it's going to be a threat to the world system, and they're going to react like these people here. So we don't have to set out, oh, we're going to cause trouble.

But when God is working through us, it's going to raise eyebrows because it's so contrary to the way the world works. Yeah, and the terminus of the lesson today, we're going to see how that plays out even in terms of today's walk as missionaries walk. It's not a matter of necessarily being offensive. but bringing the truth in a way that ultimately the world can contrast its way with the true word of God and ultimately not to be offensive. And by the way, the accusations against Paul and his disciples wasn't so much that they were slamming the gospel down their throat. It was simply that ultimately that this was threatening their earthly existence in terms of their income.

OK, verses 28 through 34 I've entitled The Rioting Begins. So let's look at this. It says that they repeatedly cried out. And by the way, for about two hours, it comes up in a few verses. So this two hours of crying out is really documented several verses later. Great is Diana of the Ephesians. So that's what the claim is here. All right.

So the whole city was filled with confusion. Confusion can mean tumult, disorder, it's not necessarily not knowing what's right or wrong, it's just there's lots going on here that has an atmosphere of zeal and an atmosphere of potential ultimately harm. It says, rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonius, Paul's travel companion. So they took a couple of people that hung out with Paul, and they took them aside.

And there's the theater. And that's a picture off my iPhone that I actually transferred into today's lessons. Because last fall, on October the 23rd, Margaret and I were there. And we're in Ephesus. And that, in fact, is the theater. Remember, the Temple of Diana is no longer. You can go there, but it's just a block of land. But that is the theater and it's pretty well preserved. So this is like a Roman amphitheater. And you can imagine thousands of people are gathered here shouting Diana and claiming her deity.

And they see Gaius and Aristarchus Macedonia's Paul's travel companions. These guys, by the way, are mentioned in a series of places in scripture. And we don't have to go there. But I just want to let you know they didn't show up just here in Acts 19. These people are mentioned elsewhere, and presumably were part of the body of Christ that Tralub was with and ministered to Paul.

And Paul wanted to go into the crowd. By the way, he says, I've got to get out there and ultimately proclaim the truth. or at least take this on in some way, but it says the disciples and by the way, friends said no. And these friends, the question is, who are these friends? Tom, do you have a thought? Yes, yes. I get the feeling they had to be locals who knew the situation and that a second Bruton section was going to be in vain. Yeah.

Now, are these friends believers, do you think? Why wouldn't they be? Because why would people be supporting him if they weren't believers. Well, the commentaries that I read here and other people's thoughts are worthwhile, I'm sure, is that these were people of Asia who in fact had a respect for Paul, but may have been outside the body of Christ. I mean, James, any thoughts on that?

My thought, just from the way the disciples are continually described in the Book of Acts and specified as such, it would seem that these are not just simply secular leaders that are and that's why it specifies are his friends and just for the simple cause of hey I'm concerned about you as a friend regardless of our political religious views don't do it because you're not bothering me and I know you're not as the town clerk said later on this is not an issue in that case.

We know that Paul spoke before Agrippa and others that there's a relationship gone. Think of your own relationships. I mean, we as Body Christ have tremendous one-manship here, fellowship, etc. This is our body, our group. It was with Mike Doyle last night, he was talking about how just the body rallied around him so much. I mean, we all feel part of a comfort center, a home with other believers.

But, in fact, you have friends that are not believers, don't you, that have some respect for your faith, even though they don't know the Lord? I can't tell you how many people the Lord's brought before me, particularly from the Jewish background in academic medicine. Ultimately, we've talked about my faith, we've talked about their Jewish history, but they're not saved, but yet I think the Lord's given them a little bit of respect for, I guess, maybe what I do in the workplace. But I'm not taking credit for this. All I'm saying is that we all know people who respect you personally, your students, Jeremy. whatever your neighbors everybody I mean they respect you but they're not of the faith and I think that's the kind of people we're talking about here.

Other thoughts? Yeah it's kind of a side note but it just reinforces how specific I think church is a prolific Having more than one elder, how important that is. Paul is all willing to go in, but he has friends that say, this isn't a good idea. How many times have we seen pastors that are the sole authority?

I'm going to do this. And there's nobody up here to say, this is not wise. That happened in my own life. I wanted to interact with somebody online. And I spoke with Randy and Brad, and they said, you're probably not going to do any good. Even though you have the best intentions, as Paul did, I mean he's defending the faith, right? But these people understood this is not the venue. You won't be able to accomplish anything. Don't go there, right?

And keep in mind now, he's dealing with 2,000 probably fairly angry people. There's confusion. There's tumult. There's a lot going on here that makes this a fairly unpredictable situation. So again, the tumult, disorder, confusion reigned and most of them did not know why they had come together. The scripture says these people are just, and I said, a perfect example of crowd posture. Have you ever been in kind of a crowd uprising over something?

Yeah, it was the bad call by the ref and you're in the stadium. That sometimes can be explained. It's a bad call. I'm thinking about that guy in Wrigley Field who caught the foul ball or the ball that the outfielder could have caught that kept him from getting into the play. Never mind. The sports analogy is only good so far.

But once there's a mass of people and there's something that energizes these people, it turns into chaos, doesn't it? And many people may be there and not really understand what they're really doing but they're part of it. It's the crowd atmosphere, the crowd posture, and I think that's what's happening here. That theater, then having witnessed it, could hold several thousand people, probably maybe up to three to five thousand people. It's a huge place.

Then it says Alexander is drawn out of the multitude. When the crowd found out he was Jewish, the proclamations continued. So who's this guy? It might have been Alexander the coppersmith who did him much harm, mentioned in a different letter of Paul's. Again, speculation is fine, but it's only that. We're told he was Jewish, okay?

And the other thing we know about the Jews, what about the Jews who would have rejected Paul? What would be their position on all this activity that's going on here? I think they'd be supporting the people against Paul. Even though they didn't believe in Diana or Artemis either, they were also real conflicted by the way.

You could even look at this Alexander as a potential instigator of this all. The scripture doesn't indicate that, but they pulled him aside when they found out he was Jewish. They kind of took an alternative path. Doubtfully, this is the same Alexander as mentioned in two places in scripture. Let's look at those.

1 Timothy 1.20 and 2 Timothy 4.14. So whoever gets one or either of those verses, please read them for us. Alexander is mentioned here. Let me get your thoughts as to whether this is the same guy or not.

Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme. So that would be consistent that maybe Alexander that that reputation is stated there could represent the same guy in the second verse. Most of the commentators I read on this section did not think this was the same person, but the text seems to indicate the personality, or at least the history of this Alexander and Timothy could have represented this type of instigator. Again, Alexander was probably not an uncommon name for the day, so I think we just don't really know for sure.

Verses 35-41, the city clerk, who is presumably a Roman, steps forward. And this clerk is described as a keeper of the public archives. He's a magistrate of great authority. And as Tom alluded to earlier, he was a true politician. I mean, he's not elected. He's appointed.

But this guy is there to kind of, if you will, keep the peace, make sure justice is served according to the Roman emperor's desire for all the areas of Roman allegiance around the world. and it says he first quieted the crowd. How would that have occurred? You see the theater where these people are at. How would this one guy get up there and quiet the crowd? Microphone. It probably wasn't working. No batteries. Sorry to temporize that. Yes.

How did he acquire the craft? They all knew who he was. Because if he just stood there, there's a platform there that you could stand on. And they would all see him and they would know. And besides, he's Roman. Yeah, so he has authority, right? He has authority. So they, I think, yeah, he would. So maybe he's in a kind of...

Shut up! I think probably that would have gotten the attention of the crowd. But keep in mind, they're screaming for two hours in a row. And this is also, again, a very cultural thing. I've been in cultures, and I think particularly of Papua New Guinea.

There's a man, his name, it wasn't his name, but they call him Mouse Man, which is Mouth Man. He is the village spokesman. And so he is the man, I know it sounds kind of mousey, but anyway. Is that a problem of pronunciation? It's the trade language. You'd think the man that would speak up would not be the mouse, right? But the mouth man is the speaker. So when he stood up, then everybody else knew, you know, the village speaker is speaking. Everybody needs to be quiet.

It's just that was a cultural thing. And I think that in this case, when he stood up, then they knew, okay, we need to, regardless of what he says now, you know, we need to listen to him. And then we can riot again afterwards if we feel it necessary. OK, so after he quiets the crowd, I guess he has no attention because apparently people are not screaming and yelling anymore.

He reviews the deity of the goddess Diana. So presumably, he's going to review the history of this meteoric, if you will, multi-breasted woman who From the Roman perspective, it's called Diana. From the Greek perspective, it's Artemis. He's going to review that history to kind of put things into perspective.

And then he pleads for additional quiet, there could have been some reaction to that, and reason. So quiet and reason is what I'm asking for. So this is clearly the diplomat, if you will. This statesman, this Roman clerk, who in fact now has the attention of a large audience. And he says that these men are neither robbers of temples, nor are they blasphemers of your goddess. And that's kind of interesting. What was Paul's message like that ultimately did not blaspheme Diana? What do you think now? I think this is kind of worthy of our consideration.

Tom. It's entirely possible that he could have used something parallel to the approach he did in grave site or temp marker commemorating the unknown God. If he was unknown, I'm going to explain to you guys like I did in Anthony's. It's possible. I'm not saying it did. Alright, so according to this, if you will, diplomatic Roman clerk, who in fact is not really in the process on one side or the other, he's just there to create peace. Ultimately, he is apparently been given sufficient information to say Paul's not blaspheming your goddess.

Yeah, go ahead. So here's an idea that goes along with the culture of the time. Folks used to sit around and discuss different, you know, why are we here, you know, philosophy. They used to discuss philosophy and different things like that. And I think, you know, Paul was a skillful speaker.

He didn't have to go and start arguing about Diana. All he had to do was come in and say, Jesus Christ died for your sins. He didn't have to mention anything about Diana. He could just give his own, what they may think, his own philosophy or whatever, and it's going to stir up problems, obviously. But he's giving his, here is the gospel, here is the way. And he didn't have to say a thing about Diana or any of their gods.

All he had to do was share the gospel. It's kind of that false gold versus true gold or the experience in a jeweler with expertise. I mean they can spit a false gem immediately but the true gem is what they cherish and work with. So Paul is presenting the truth according to the gospel. He didn't have to tear down Diana. Let the truth be made known, right? And this diplomat, this city clerk, this Roman appointed, you know, leader, in fact, is saying, look, he's not tearing down Diana.

But, you know, my thought, too, about this guy is he knows Paul's a Roman. And if harm comes to Paul by this crowd, he's the guy that's going to be in big trouble because he didn't protect a Roman citizen. So he wants to do whatever it takes to get this situation diffused. I think Margaret makes a great point. We have not been told here that he recognizes that Paul's a Roman. But clearly, Paul has used and will continue to use his Roman citizenship in the future to defend his earthly position, right?

Well, this guy obviously has some status. He's a town clerk. So he's responsible for certain things. Chances are he's going to have some kind of punishment if this screaming and yelling goes on too much longer and there's a huge uprising. So he has to do, he's very much a politician. He has to quell this. in any way possible.

All right, some very good points there. And he goes on to state, and these, again, are talents that are out of the word of God, and the other things in regular typeset is my kind of interpretation. So number one, a lesson even today to missionaries. What was the lesson to missionaries today in terms of the fact that Paul is not being accused of carrying down God? We kind of went there a minute ago. Missionaries are there to deliver the truth of the gospel, not to tear down local traditions or false beliefs. The way a missionary carries him or herself probably has a lot to do with the success that the Lord uses to bring the gospel to unknown hearers and tongues.

By the way, we're available, as the city court said. I don't know why the city court doesn't have a name, but he does have one in Scripture. So he talks about proconsuls, or deputies and judges at present. And charges against them can be made if warranted. So he uses the legal system to say, look, you've got something against Paul. Let's take it to the court. We've got people who are presumably objective and capable of hearing the evidence one side versus the other. I mean, this is the Roman way of doing things, right?

And he challenges the crowd with this opportunity. End quote. For we are in danger of being called in question for today's uproar. There being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering. What's that? This is the city court calling.

My study Bible says, the riot at Ephesus could have brought the discipline of Rome down upon the city. The Pax Romana, the peace at the Roman Empire, brought to the Mediterranean world was important to Rome. Therefore, the empire severely disciplined unruly cities. The Romans would not tolerate any kind of uprising or rebellion. Ephesus risked losing its freedom and being ruled directly by the Roman army. Is there anything that could be added to that? I think this leader, this local clerk, is concerned about his own tail here, right? What do you mean all this uprising? I got to answer to Rome on this. And it's not just him, it's we. And he didn't mean just himself. That's right. It's all said. Well, I think we have to see, remember, the Roman Empire was a conquering empire. So, you know. Yeah. So we have to think.

So they, you know, saw rebellions as uprisings, rebellions. Well, look at the White House today in terms of the recent resignation of the security officer. I mean, you know, boy, when political pressure gets steep enough, you start firing people left and right to try to please, if you will, the umpire. I'll let you interpret that however you like. OK. So this was concerned by the Roman emperor, ultimately, to be made lord of this event, this confusion, this tumult, this uproar. And ultimately, the Roman emperor was potentially threatened.

And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly. Now, assembly, that term in Roman And the New Testament technically relates to the body of Christ. We're assembled here today as members of the body of Christ. And you dismiss the assembly.

We're talking about the believing church, basically. But here it's used for this, if you will, worldly gathering of people who are really in uprise mostly because of their concern about their own economic well-being and perhaps other things. Again, I point out here, it's usually used for the body of Christ, but here, the irregular, tumultuous assembly, which has contained in a riotous manner the way this is being addressed. I don't know that there's anything particularly spiritual about the use of this term here, but that's what's being used.

I've come to one last thought here. So in summary, I think this is a major trial for Paul. And he's human. So he's having some human emotions that relate to this. He wants to go into the crowd. He's being advised against this. Again, the neat thing about Paul for us today is that we see somebody we can identify with who has a sin nature, who in fact can't be influenced by the mood of the times and the events that he's traversing. But yet he rises above it by allowing God to deliver him from this particular circumstance and other trials and tribulations.

So his response of 2 Corinthians 1 through 10 that Joy read, I think, is where we need to be always. And that's kind of a keep looking down. Remember, our citizenship isn't here. It's in heavenly places and we all get pretty tied to the security blankets we all hold on to here.

I must admit it's at times a distraction but yet in fact this is just the beginning of a story we're going to continue for the next few weeks. This event in Ephesus is not over with yet. introduced it and Jeremy before he came in I reviewed kind of in one brief paragraph what last week's lesson was and we did a nice job and I just summarized very quickly so we could get to today's text. Good participation. Thoughts? Other thoughts about today's lesson?

Sometimes we partition our studies here for the Book of Acts based on a year's calendar to divide the whole book up. But sometimes the places we stop and start are not always that obvious. I'm not being critical. It's just you have to cover a certain section each Sunday. And this is kind of where we're at today.

Holly? Hi. I was wondering, I guess, could you say that it seems like God doesn't often work in like the nasty confusion stuff and then to like sometimes like Paul let the politician handle things like in their authority and You know, him going in would have just caused more trouble and he or other people recognized that and advised him of that. You know what I mean? Yeah, sure.

No, and I think Jeremy's example is a good one. Sometimes we kind of become a bit reactionary to things that are right before us and I think getting advice from our believing Comrades is an important next step. One thing I think the Flesh is very capable of is being reactionary. Paul is being reactionary wanting to go into that theater.

But being responsive I think allows time for the Spirit to work and that may be through others, spouses, children, parents, or ultimately from friends or members of the body of Christ. I think we talked about this last week or the week before too. The Holy Spirit works in different ways. We only have certain instances.

There may have been other times where God told Paul, be bold and engage. Doesn't mean he was reactionary, but be bold and engage. And I think it's all about the Holy Spirit may tell me at this time to be quiet. He may tell me at another time, no, go for it. We need to speak up. And so the whole book of Acts is about the Holy Spirit. But I find that fascinating. We're not told everything that he did. Maybe there were other times that he didn't. But God used even unbelievers, it seems like, to take Paul as not a good idea. You know, Holy Spirit work, you know.

I mean, just along those lines, I like how you distinguish between being responsive and being reactionary. I think responsive indicates a lot more thoughtful, careful, and I mean, especially in, I mean, We have a great, I don't want to call it a blessing, but the information we have access to can be a great help to us. Sometimes we hear about this event, and we can immediately react to it.

Christians are being persecuted, or this book is being banned, or something like that. We can immediately react and get on our pulpit, but then if we take a second and try and look at it, and oh, it's actually, it's not like that at all. using the information that we have access to as Christians in our culture, and particularly in America, I think there's no doubt there are persecution of Christians. I think there are doubts where our rights are being taken away and we need to use the political structure around us to respond to that, but to be so reactionary, as too many Christians I think are, it doesn't help.

Knowing when to stand up and be bold, but then also knowing that this is not a fight worth having right now, I think is part of the wisdom that the Holy Spirit gives us. Just to rely on those around us, and to rely on a thoughtful response, rather than just, we've got to get in there and fight for Christ. This may not be the best place to fight. You know in general I think a reactionary behavior is more typical of this life and not of the spirit. That doesn't mean at times we can't stand firm on the word of God and be confident that that reaction is appropriate but often.

A good example today is email. And in my work, but I'm sure in your work, everybody or just their dialogues on email, something can be seemingly interpreted as offensive. And the easy thing is the quick one line back, right? Boy, I can't say how many times I've seen people in the workplace harmed by that email and ultimately dismissed from their employment because of a reactionary response by email. So quick, but boy, take a step back, let that email kind of sink a little bit. And then you're likely to be spirit led to be more responsive, not reactionary. Mike, you had a point.

Just that when you step back you're able to see whether it's God's will and for his glory or is it man's will. And keep in mind we're here to conform to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ and then ultimately it's God's glory that we're to manifest, right? I mean it's not defending our own sense of well-being. Thank you Lord for the opportunity we have this morning to look into your word and to learn of the glory and the power that you display throughout the world as much as entire cities are driven to opium because of the truth which is spoken and Lord let us not be filled with confusion or dismay because of various things that we hear but let us as we study the word of God exercise discernment that we might know to discern between good and evil as your word tells us that we can grow in the truth that you teach us by your word and by your spirit and strengthen us as we go from here into further teaching of your word. Amen.