Paul Experiences Violent Opposition at Ephesus (Acts 19:23–41)

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Paul Experiences Violent Opposition at Ephesus (Acts 19:23–41)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025

Sproul writes:

When Paul preached the gospel, a conflict always arose from the confrontation between the truth of Christ and the false doctrine of idolatry. John Calvin tells us in the Institutes that the heart of every human being is an idol factory, a fabricum idolarum. We are by nature inventors, craftsmen who create for ourselves idols as substitutes for the living God. In his letter to the Romans, Paul said that God’s wrath is revealed against the whole world, not because there are isolated incidents of idolatry but because the penchant toward idolatry is universal. It is foundational to everyone. Every human being knows the living God because God has clearly revealed His character to everyone. Yet every person by nature represses that knowledge of the true God and exchanges it for a lie by creating idols as substitutes for the true God (Rom. 1:18–23). That propensity does not end with conversion. That strong drive within us to replace the living God with something more palatable to us remains even in the hearts and minds of the converted. Today we do not fashion idols from stone, but we do fashion idols from ideas.

There was probably no place in the ancient world where this conflict with idolatry was more severe than in Ephesus. The temple of Diana in Ephesus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was four times larger than the Parthenon in Athens. It was constructed of 127 pillars, and each pillar was 60 feet high. The walls of the temple were adorned by the ancient sculptor Praxiteles, the Michelangelo of his time. The grandeur of the temple of Diana was known throughout the entire world. In fact, the cult of religion that focused on Diana, or Artemis, was one of the largest religions of that time worldwide. There were thirty-three shrines to the goddess Diana in the ancient world spread out across different cities. She was a fertility goddess and was also known as the goddess of the hunt. Worshipers built little household shrines in their backyards dedicated to Diana before which they would bow and pray. Additionally, a large economy was established on the worship of Diana.[1]

My theme today: Paul’s violent opposition in Ephesus.

The application: Take down idols in your life

  1. The lecture of Demetrius (Acts 19:23–27)
    1. The context and situation.
    2. Paul is in Ephesus.
    3. In the previous section, we had people trying to impersonate him to cast out demons.
    4. Then, in Acts 19:21, Paul resolved to pass through Macedonia and Achaia (Corinth) and go back to Jerusalem.
    5. But the following event is in Ephesus.
    6. Acts 19:23–27 (ESV)
    7. 23 About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. 25 These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26 And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”
    8. This section begins with “about that time…” This is as Paul is beginning to think about heading back to Jerusalem. He has sent Timothy and Erastus into Macedonia, but he stayed awhile (Acts 19:22).
    9. Notice that Christianity is called “the Way.”
    10. In verses 23-24, we see Demetrius the tradesman (Acts 19:23–24): He employs many craftsmen to make silver shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis.
    11. Verse 24 says that Demetrius brought “no little” business to these craftsmen. That seems to clue me in that the following is going to be about money.
    12. In Acts 19:25-27, we see Demetrius the troublemaker: He calls his associates together and lectures them concerning how Paul’s preaching is harming their business.
    13. Acts 19:25 says that he gathered these businessmen in similar trades to his. Then, we see his speech. It starts with him talking about the wealth in this business. He is referring to the pagan things.
    14. The NET Bible shares: In effect, Demetrius gathered the Ephesian chamber of commerce together to hear about the threat to their prosperity.[2]
    15. Remember this event follows many being saved in Acts 19:19-20. They were saved, and they burned all their things of the magic arts. Since they were now Christians, they aren’t going to be marketing these places.
    16. In Acts 19:25, Demetrius says that from this business they have their wealth.
    17. In Acts 19:26, He says that Paul has persuaded and turned people away from their business. Paul is saying they are not gods at all.
    18. IVP BBC NT: “Not gods at all” was the refrain of Isaiah (e.g., 44:9–20; 46:1–11) and Judaism. By the early second century the Roman governor of a nearby province complained that the temples of the gods were being forsaken due to conversions to Christianity. After the arrest of many Christians, the governor reported, more people did buy animals for sacrifices again.[3]
    19. Sproul writes: The silversmiths made images and souvenirs for visitors who came from all over the world to see this great temple, and outside the temple they had booths for displaying and selling Diana-related paraphernalia.[4]
    20. In Acts 19:27, he shares danger about losing the business but also not being able to take care of the temple of Artemis. The NET Bible shares: It is important to appreciate that money alone was not the issue, even for the pagan Ephesians. The issue was ultimately the dishonor of their goddess to whom they were devoted in worship. The battle was a “cosmic” one between deities.[5]
    21. NET: Artemis was the name of a Greek goddess worshiped particularly in Asia Minor, whose temple, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was located just outside the city of Ephesus.[6]
  2. The lunacy of the crowd (Acts 19:28–34):
    1. Demetrius’s fiery speech incites mob action against Paul and his associates.
    2. In Acts 19:28-34 wee see the mob.
    3. Acts 19:28 (ESV)When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
    4. These businessmen meet in the amphitheater. They are crying out how great Artemis is.
    5. This location made the event a public spectacle. The Grand Theater in Ephesus (still standing today) stood facing down the main thoroughfare of the city toward the docks. It had a seating capacity of 25,000.[7]
    6. In Acts 19:29 they rush in and take Paul’s companions- Gaius and Aristarchus.
    7. The ESV STB shares: Apparently Gaius and Aristarchus were eventually released, since Aristarchus reappears later as Paul’s frequent companion (see 20:4; 27:2; Col. 4:10; Philem. 24).[8]
    8. Acts 19:29 (ESV)
    9. 29 So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s companions in travel.
    10. Paul then wanted to go in the crowd, but the disciples would not let him.
    11. Acts 19:30 (ESV)But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him.
    12. Even other friends of Paul were urging him not to go into the crowd.
    13. Acts 19:31 (ESV)
    14. 31 And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater.
    15. Asiarchs are high-ranking military officials.
    16. ESV SB adds: The Asiarchs were the keepers of the imperial Roman cult in Asia; they were of high rank and were concerned about the safety of their fellow citizen Paul. Many inscriptions testify to the use of the title Asiarch during this time (see also Strabo, Geography 14.1.42).[9]
    17. In Acts 19:32-34 the mob gets worse.
    18. Acts 19:32–34 (ESV)
    19. 32 Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
    20. Confusion gets worse.
    21. Notice, most of them did not know why they came together.
    22. I once heard about the American Civil War. One person would be fighting for slavery, another for states’ rights, and another would be fighting because his friend was fighting. The initial reason gets blurred.
    23. Verse 33 says they thought it was Alexander.
    24. The Jews had put him forward.
    25. Alexander wanted to speak.
    26. He is not able to speak. Further, they realize that he was a Jewish man and they shout him down.
    27. The NET Bible shares:
    28. The nature of Alexander’s defense is not clear. It appears he was going to explain, as a Jew, that the problem was not caused by Jews, but by those of “the Way.” However, he never got a chance to speak.[10]
    29. ESV SB: The role of the Jew Alexander is unclear. Perhaps he wished to dissociate the Jews from the Christians. But the crowd shouted him down, knowing that Jews opposed any foreign gods.[11]
  3. The mayor calms them down (Acts 19:35–41):
    1. Acts 19:35 (ESV) 35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky?
    2. This town clerk quiets the crowd.
    3. I wonder how he did that. He must have had enough respect to leverage in this situation.
    4. Notice he talks about the city of Ephesus as a “temple keeper of the great Artemis…” Notice “Artemis” is always the “’Great’ Artemis.”
    5. Ephesus is also the keeper of the scared stone that fell from the sky.
    6. This was likely a meteor.
    7. In verse 36 he exhorts them to calm down.
    8. Acts 19:36 (ESV) 36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash.
    9. Look at Acts 19:37:
    10. Acts 19:37 (ESV) 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess.
    11. I found his honesty revealing. Here is this man who is likely not a believer, but he says these Christians are not sacrilegious or blasphemous of their goddess.
    12. In Acts 19:38-39, the town clerk points Demetrius and the craftsmen to the courts.
    13. Acts 19:38–39 (ESV) 38 If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly.
    14. Keller: “” It was a pragmatic argument. “Watch out; we may get arrested,” and everybody went home. Okay, so the moral of the story is … what? Actually, most commentators across the spectrum say it’s very cagey of Luke to keep this in here and show us this.
    15. That’s because the city clerk is essentially saying, “You say that these guys are disrupting the social order, but you’re the ones disrupting the social order. You’re saying these people over here, because they are undermining idol worship, are disrupting the social order, but actually you’re the ones who are disrupting the social order, because the Romans could come down on us. They could declare martial law. This is a riot. You don’t have any good reason for it.”
    16. What he’s actually saying is, “You say idols are the basis of our social order, but actually, it’s the idolatry and the violence of the idolaters that’s disrupting the social order.[12]
    17. He essentially says that there is an order for taking care of these things.
    18. This section wraps up with a warning that if they do not disperse, the Roman officials will come in.
    19. Acts 19:40–41 (ESV) 40 For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
    20. He then dismissed this assembly, and they followed his warning. In Acts 20:1 it begins with “After the uproar ceased…”
    21. The ESV SB is helpful:
    22. A “proconsul” (Gk. anthypatos) was the head of government in a Roman province (cf. 13:7; 18:12). The plural here may refer to the fact that at that time in Ephesus they were between the reigns of two proconsuls. in danger. The crowd in the theater (where regular assemblies were held) had the appearance of an unlawful assembly and risked bringing Roman reprisals. Luke’s extensive report of the careful reasoning of the town clerk may have provided an important basis with which Christians in other cities could have defended themselves, since Luke shows here (and elsewhere in Acts; see notes on 18:14; 23:27) that the Christian gospel was not contrary to the Roman rule of law and was not disruptive of public order, and that accusations made to that effect were untrue.[13]
  2.  Applications:
    1. This all begins because Paul preached against idols.
    2. How are we doing with that?
    3. Is our family an idol?
    4. Is our money an idol?
    5. Is our job an idol?
    6. An idol is anything we place in front of God.

Keller writing about a New York Times opinionator blog:

New York Times Opinionator blog (it wasn’t in the printed version), a man named Benjamin Nugent, a creative writer, wrote a very interesting column on what he called “monomania.” He basically says that for a big part of his life, like a lot of young people, he wanted to be a writer, and that was the only thing he wanted. He wanted to be a good writer. He wanted to have his stuff have an impact. He wanted to write beautiful stuff, great stuff. He began to realize he was shooting himself in the foot.

He says, “When good writing was my only goal, I made the quality of my work the measure of my worth. For this reason, I wasn’t able to read my own writing well. I couldn’t tell whether something I had just written was good or bad, because I needed it to be good in order to feel sane. I lost the ability to cheerfully interrogate how much I liked what I had written, to see what was actually on the page rather than what I wanted to see or what I feared to see.”[14]

Further:

He went on and said what was interesting as a writer is he noticed that writers of the past couple of centuries were much better at describing what he calls “monomania.” He says, “… writers of the 19th century wrote deathless novels about monomania.” For example, he talks about Captain Ahab and Moby Dick and the fact that the whale had beaten him and now he had no self-esteem and he was going to get his honor back by finding that white whale.

Then he talked about Victor Frankenstein who knew if he could just scientifically unlock the secret of life, then he’d know … This is all in the same column. Benjamin Nugent says, “When Frankenstein’s creature opens its eyes, [he] is repulsed and runs away. Ahab’s confrontation with his whale does not restore his self-esteem.”

What Nugent calls monomania is what the Bible calls idolatry. It’s the same thing. It’s the very same thing. It always fails to give you what it says it’s going to give you. It gives you the opposite. Anything you make more important than God will do that. Anything. Another woman also wrote in the New York Times early this year. This was in the print edition. She was the CFO of a major investment bank at one point. She was really at the top of the field.

She wrote an article called “Is There Life After Work?” She dealt with what she considered one of the main New York City myths, which is: you work like a dog to make money for a while. You spend a number of years. You work like a dog to get up and make your money. Everything else is put second, and you work and you work and you work. Then you kick back, and you have the money to live the way you want. The last two-thirds or half of your life you’re able to do what you want.

She says what a lie that was, because she was successful. Why? Because she worked like a dog. But why? She says, “Inevitably, when I left my job, it devastated me. I couldn’t just rally and move on. I did not know how to value who I was versus what I did. What I did was who I was.” Work, she thought, was her servant. It actually had become her god. She couldn’t feel good about herself unless she was being incredibly busy. She couldn’t stop. She didn’t know who she was. The idols always, always do that to you.[15]

[1] R. C. Sproul, Acts, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010), 333.

[2] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Ac 19:25.

[3] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Ac 19:26.

[4] R. C. Sproul, Acts, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010), 333–334.

[5] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Ac 19:27.

[6] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Ac 19:24.

[7] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Ac 19:29.

[8] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2128.

[9] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2128.

[10] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Ac 19:33.

[11] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2128.

[12] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive, 2012-2013 (New York: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

[13] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2128.

[14] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive, 2012-2013 (New York: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

[15] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive, 2012-2013 (New York: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

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