Acts 19 Riot sermon
Lord send a revival, and let it begin in me.
What’s everybody upset about?
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.” 22 So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time.
23 And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way. 24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of [e]Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen. 25 He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. 26 Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands. 27 So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and [f]her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.”
28 Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” 29 So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s travel companions. 30 And when Paul wanted to go into the people, the disciples would not allow him. 31 Then some of the [g]officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater. 32 Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people. 34 But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”
35 And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess [h]Diana, and of the image which fell down from [i]Zeus? 36 Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of [j]your goddess. 38 Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a [k]case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly. 40 For we are in danger of being [l]called in question for today’s uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
We have been studying this 19th chapter of Acts for a number of weeks now in order to understand what happens when real revival comes. We aren’t going to revisit all of that but suffice it to say that real revival is rigorous; hard work, rewarding; results in real change, rapturous; spiritual change, not superficial, righteous; based in right doctrine and glory to the right one, reveals real power uncovering counterfeit power, revolutionary; power of the life-giving Spirit at work, and riotous; powerlessness of men.
We come today to real revival is riotous.
When Paul came to Ephesus in Acts 19, the city was locked in a stronghold of pagan superstition. But within two years of ministry in Ephesus, Satan’s stronghold was crumbling. The result was that they had a big bonfire in verse 19, as we saw last week. Christians brought their books on magic and their astrological charts and horoscopes and occult charms and burned them in a public square of the city.
Riots; The power of Christianity and the impotence of the world
I. The Power of Christianity
A. Background
21 When these things were accomplished,
What was accomplished? The revival events in Ephesus. Paul was there for about three years, the whole region heard the Word, miracles happened, the name of the Lord was held in high regard, many believed and committed themselves to the Lord, so much so that they burned their sorcery scrolls. The church in Ephesus was established. It’s likely that many if not all of the churches in Asia Minor were established in this time period.
So, all that was accomplished and…
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.” 22 So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time.
He had trained elders for the church at Ephesus, so he felt comfortable with leaving that church to go back to Jerusalem, visit all the churches he had established, and then his plan was to go to Rome. He wanted to go back to his old churches in order to collect an offering for the church in Jerusalem.
Romans 15:25-26 “But now I go under Jerusalem to minister under the saints for it has pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints who are at Jerusalem.”
After that he wanted to take the gospel to Rome. There was already a church there, but it was the capital of the Empire. Paul was always thinking about extending the reach of the gospel.
He would write the Romans,
15: 28 Therefore, when I have performed this and have sealed to them this fruit, I shall go by way of you to Spain
He did get to Rome, he was under arrest at the time, but he got there. And several of the early church fathers also attested that after Paul’s 1st imprisonment, he was released and did go to Spain.
But that’s the background. This tells us what his plans are, but before any of that happens, we get the point about real revival; it’s riotous.
The rest of this chapter is just a narrative about a riot that happens in Ephesus. And it happens in opposition to Paul, the gospel, and the church in Ephesus. And the point we want to begin with today is that real revival inspires riots. Now, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration. But one thing is true. Real revival will be vehemently opposed by the world in which it happens. Real revival makes the unsaved, Satan’s world, uneasy and alarmed.
Now don’t just shrug off this point today. Because behind this point is a truth that we need to come to grips with. That truth is that if we are really living like we are supposed to, if the church is doing what it’s supposed to, we and the church will be opposed. Let me say this, if the church, or our church is loved by the world, there’s something wrong. Now I’m not saying that we are to purposely go out and try to make ourselves obnoxious to the world.
But the gospel we preach is, as Paul put it,
1 Corinthians 1: 18 For the [g]message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a [i]stumbling block and to the [j]Greeks foolishness,
And when we share the gospel completely, it offends people. And a massive revival upsets the applecart. How does it do so? Why is it offensive? Why is everyone so upset?
B. The gospel is exclusive.
23 And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way.
“the Way” That is what Christianity was becoming known as. Now we don’t know if believers were calling themselves “followers of the Way” or if it originated from outsiders. But it is a very fitting title. Jesus told His disciples,
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
And it may be, in order to distinguish themselves from Judaism, they made reference to being followers of Jesus, or followers of “the Way.”
But one of the central truths we gather from Jesus’ statement about Himself is the exclusivity of Christianity. Listen to what Jesus was saying, we can understand it better but adding the word only. Jesus was saying, “I am the only way, the only truth, and the only life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
I am the Way, and there is no other way. And this verse tells us that a great commotion arose because of “the Way.” Of all the things that Christians profess, this one irks people the most.
Acts 4:12 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
And it is an offensive message.
Paul was preaching an exclusive gospel, and it was offensive. And he was so clear about the message, that even his enemies knew what he stood for.
24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of [e]Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen. 25 He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade.26 Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands.
C. The gospel is expensive.
Sometimes the gospel angers people because it is expensive.
24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of [e]Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen. 25 He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. 26 Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands.
An article I read…
he worship of Artemis (to give the Greek name of the goddess whom the Romans identified with their Diana) had from a very early period been connected with the city of Ephesus. …looked upon as one of the seven wonders of the world. Its porticos were adorned with paintings and sculptures by the great masters of Greek art, …. It had an establishment of priests, attendants, and boys, which reminds us of the organisation of a great cathedral or abbey in Mediaeval Europe. Provision was made for the education of the children employed in the temple services, and retiring pensions given to priests and priestesses ….(most importantly for our story) Pilgrims came from all parts of the world to worship or to gaze, and carried away with them memorials in silver or bronze, generally models of the sacellum, or sanctuary, in which the image of the goddess stood, and of the image itself.
The silver-beater (ἀργυροκόπος) Demetrius had a manufactory, in which little silver temples (ἀφιδρύματα) representing the splendid (Callimach. Hymn. in Dian. 249) temple of Diana[98] with the statue of the goddess, ὡς κιβώρια μικρά (Chrysostom), were made. These miniature temples must have found great sale, partly among Ephesians, partly among strangers, as it was a general custom to carry such miniature shrines as amulets with them in journeys, and to place them in their houses
Real revival was hurting business. And we can imagine that it did. We just read how many who practiced magic burned a million dollars worth of scrolls, and how the whole region held the name of Jesus in high honor. And the reason they did so was because of the sons of Sceva exorcism debacle. Their failed exorcism contrasted to the power manifest in Paul demonstrated how worthless their idolatrous and superstitious system was. So, it’s likely that sales of idols went down dramatically because people’s minds were turning toward Christ.
I tell you what, wouldn’t it be wonderful if revival came to Wichita, or Kansas, in such power that it bankrupted all the strip clubs, bars, abortion clinics, and porn theaters? That would be real revival. For so many years, Christians have tried to shut them down with picketing and boycotts. I think our efforts would be better served in praying for revival and living up to real revival in our own hearts.
There are a number of times that money got people worked up—the demon possessed fortune telling girl, Jesus cast demons out of swine. Burning sorcery scrolls
D. The gospel exposes.
27 So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and [f]her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.”
This is almost humorous. Demetrius pretends a little piety here. “We can’t let this Way continue, because it will dishonor the goddess Diana.” His real reason is the money. But he’s not going to get people worked up into a riot by saying, “I’m losing money, I’m losing money, come on everybody, join me now, I’m losing money.” But if he can tap into their deeply held beliefs, they may chant, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians.” But think about it. He is basically saying, “We’ve got to do something to protect the worship of the goddess Diana.” Here’s a question, why does a mortal need to protect a goddess? If the goddess is really a goddess, can’t she call down fire and brimstone herself on Paul? But people become unnerved in real revival because it exposes the fraud of empty religions and belief systems.
This comes up in Scripture on more than one occasion—Elijah and the prophets of Baal
II. The Impotence and Ignorance of the world
What is the truth? That question is lost to the world.
A. The empty tumult
28 Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”
They were full of wrath. Not full of knowledge. Not full of a sense of justice. They were full of wrath. And in their sophisticated response to a challenge regarding truth, what did they do? Shout for 2 hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians.”
That’s where we’ve come today. They used to say in a debate that the last straw that your opposition would grasp would be personal insults. It is called Ad hominem arguments. If your opponent starts attacking your person, character, or motives, rather than your arguments, you know you’ve won the debate. They are out of logical reasons to oppose you.
But today I think there is one step beyond ad hominem arguments. It is when you can’t debate the truth of an opponent, so you just drown them out with shouts and noise. Just refuse to let truth speak. Drown them out and stop your ears for good measure.
Take truth off the air. Ban them from all social media platforms. Tear down their statues. Erase their memory from the public consciousness.
It is a sign of the emptiness of the world’s arguments, that they can’t handle debate or discussion.
B. The empty heads
So, a riot ensues in Ephesus. If you can call it a riot. Just think about it. This mob of people is all worked up into a froth. But what do you do in the first century if you want to start a riot? You have no matches to set things on fire. There are no windows to break. There are no cars to turn over.
So, they just stand there and shout for 2 hours. And the thing about riots is, they are dangerous. In this case they were a…
1. Danger to Christians
29 So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s travel companions.
The mob goes into the theater. This is more like an outdoor theater. It was used for gladiator games, and dramatic productions. Excavations show that it could have seated 25,000 people. They go to the theater. They just randomly grab two men who were associated with Paul. The original complaint by the silversmith union was against Paul. But now their malice spreads to anyone who might agree with Paul.
30 And when Paul wanted to go into the people, the disciples would not allow him.
And don’t you just love Paul. He happens to be on the outside looking into this situation. And he sees the tumult, and he sees that his friends were dragged into the mob. So, he thinks he can go in there and respond to this mob. He has been protected by God so often that he doesn’t fear. But cooler heads prevail. There’s something to be said for cooler heads. I mean there’s no sense in putting your life in danger just because you know that God is with you.
Well, isn’t God going to protect me? Yes, God protects, but Satan tempted Jesus to put God’s protection to the test by jumping off of the pinnacle of the temple, and Jesus responded, “It is written that you shall not put the Lord God to the test.”
Someone said, “Let me put it this way. It is faith – it is faith to be in danger and believe God will deliver you. It is presumption to put yourself in danger and then expect God to deliver you.”
31 Then some of the [g]officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater.
But the thing about riots is that they are not only a danger to Christians, they are also a danger to the participants; which demonstrates how empty this crowd was of content and truth.
2. Danger to bystanders
32 Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together.
Most of them didn’t even know why they were assembled. “Why are we here?” “I don’t know. I thought it was a pep rally.” Can you see how empty this is of meaning? It started supposedly as a defense of the goddess Diana, and now it has disintegrated into confusion. And it gets more confusing.
33 And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people. 34 But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”
Now, who is this Alexander? Some think he is a Jewish Christian. Others that he is just a Jewish man, maybe a Jewish leader. I tend to think that he was just a Jewish leader of some sort. So why is a Jewish leader being pushed forward by the Jews? It says that the Jews pushed him forward. Sort of like, “Hey Alexander, you need to speak to this mob.” Why? Well, that supports the idea that this was just confusion. People were gathered and rioting, but they didn’t know why. The only thing they knew was that everyone was chanting “Great is Diana of the Ephesians.”
So, this is what I think happened. I think the crowd was looking for scapegoats. They were looking for someone to be angry with. And since they were shouting about Diana, the most convenient scapegoat was anyone that they perceived as being opposed to the worship of Diana. And who are the most convenient monotheist in any ancient city? Jews. Jews taught that all gods but Yahweh were false gods and they shouldn’t be worshiped.
So, I think, in this throng of people, people started reacting angrily to Jews, who would not be chanting about Diana. And they kind of pushed them all, as many as they could grab, into a group in the middle of the theater. And the Jews, wanted to save their own skins, they find one of their articulate leaders, Alexander, and tell him that he needs to address this crowd. If he would have been allowed to speak, I think he would have said, “Hey, we Jews are not with this Paul that you are angry with.” “Paul and Jesus are your enemies, not we Jews.” But it says that as soon as they knew he was a Jew, they started shouting again.
33 And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand and wanted to make his defense to the people. 34 But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”
Same emptiness today, nothing has changed.
What a contrast! The first part of chapter 19 chronicles the power given to Paul through Christ, the last part of the chapter demonstrates how impotent the world’s response to Christ is. Well that display continues with the empty reasoning of a city official who steps forward.
C. The empty reasoning
Well after 2 hours of shouting, a city official, steps up to put a stop to this assembly. He sees trouble in this gathering. Not he is called the city clerk, he is really a leading citizen, the head of the town council. And he steps forward because he sees that this assembly needs to disband. Everybody needs to go home before things get more violent than they already are. And so, he reasons with the people. And, on the surface, what he says seems to be wise. But if we dig a little into his words, we find that even this wise man, is reasoning out of emptiness. Look at what he says.
1. Everybody knows
35 And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess [h]Diana, and of the image which fell down from [i]Zeus? 36 Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly.
Do you know what he is saying? He is saying, “Why are you’ll making a fuss by shouting, ‘Great is Diana of the Ephesians?’” “What’s the point?” “Everybody knows that.” “You all are raising a riot in order to prove something that everyone already knows.”
he said: “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess [h]Diana, and of the image which fell down from [i]Zeus?
Everybody knows that Ephesus is home to Diana’s temple and the image that fell down from heaven. There was a legend that the image of Diana in the temple, had actually fallen from heaven. It’s possible that a meteorite had fallen in history and that a sculptor used it to make an image.
But this is circular logic. They say, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians.” Another might ask, “How do you know she’s great?” Well, we’ve got a temple and an image. But how do you know? Well, we know because everybody knows.
But truth is not determined by majority vote.
2. There’s nothing to charge these Christians with
Now he does get to the heart of the issue here.
37 For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of [j]your goddess. 38 Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a [k]case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly.
It’s great that this is recorded in Scripture because this is actually a great testimony to Paul and his compatriots. First off, he managed to filter out all the chaos, and determine what the source of the issue was. He was able to determine why the riot started. It started with some silversmiths accusing Paul of defaming Diana. But, from the mouth of this city official comes the words, “they have done nothing of the sort.” “They haven’t robbed temples or blasphemed the goddess.”
What does that mean? It means that Paul and his fellow workers were going out with a positive message. They weren’t marching against Diana. They were marching for Christ.
What’s ironic here is that this city official says, “we have nothing to accuse them of, you’ll need to go home.” Since when did not having something to accuse a disciple of mean that they should be released?
Pilate said of Christ, “I find no fault in Him.” Then he delivered Him to be crucified. Agrippa and Festus seem to agree that Paul was innocent, but they kept him imprisoned and sent him to the higher court in Rome anyway.
He says to Demetrius and his co-rioters, take them to court, not the public square.
3. Appeal to self-preservation
After he appeals to reason, now his final appeal is to self-preservation.
37 For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of [j]your goddess. 38 Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a [k]case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly.
40 For we are in danger of being [l]called in question for today’s uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
One author I read…
“We are in danger to be called in question.—The “we” as used to include the rioters. …There was a risk of which Demetrius and his party had to be reminded, that they might find themselves defendants, and not plaintiffs, in a suit. A riotous “concourse” (the town-clerk uses the most contemptuous word he can find, “this mob meeting”) taking the law into its own hands was not an offence which the proconsuls were likely to pass over lightly. It would hardly be thought a legitimate excuse that they had got hold of two Jews and wanted to “lynch” them.
To be called in question - By the government; by the Roman authority. Such a tumult, continued for so long. a time, would be likely to attract the attention of the magistrates, and expose them to their displeasure. Popular commotions were justly dreaded by the Roman government; and such an assembly as this, convened without any good cause, would not escape their notice. There was a Roman law which made it capital for anyone to be engaged in promoting a riot. Sui coetum, et concursum fecerit, capite puniatur: "He who raises a mob, let him be punished with death."
Not every city under Roman rule had equal rights. Some of them, based on their cooperation with Rome, were given privileges, even citizenship. But those privileges could be lost if the city did not keep the peace.
So, in the end, it was not an appeal to truth, or to find the truth, but for them all not to jeopardize their position.
And therein is the real power behind real Spiritual revival. Paul was willing to risk everything for the truth of the gospel.
What does it profit…
Count everything but loss
These were willing to lose nothing in order to gain
Your second block of text...