Quieting the Riot

Some 25,000 people crammed into the theater of Ephesus to riot and rally. Over the past three years, God has used Paul in such a mighty way and turned the city and surrounding region upside down. One of the local craftsmen fired up the Chamber of Commerce because worship of Jesus was bad for their idol making business. This resulted in a wild riot where they dragged two of Paul's crew before the wild-eyed crowd in the theater.

At this point, "Paul wished to go in among the crowd" (v30). As their leader and shepherd, he wanted to help his friends. There is no doubt he felt like God is providing a fantastic opportunity to tell 25,000 about Jesus. There was just one problem. "The disciples would not let him." They understood clearly that Paul's appearance before this wild mob would be like throwing meat into a feeding frenzy of sharks. It would not end well for the man from Tarsus.

God had used Paul to impact in the highest stratus of Ephesian society. We read that "some of the Asiarchs, who were his friends" (v31) were telling the apostle to not go anywhere near the theater. The Asiarchs are among the wealthiest of citizens in the provincial capital. The empire would appoint ten men to not only oversee but pay for large sporting events and theatrical productions. Think Super Bowl. Luke tells us that some of these men "were his friends." This indicates that he had developed relationships with these men during his time in Ephesus. No doubt some, if not all, had come to faith in Jesus.

These wealthy Asiarchs got word to Paul "not to venture into the theater" (v31). The original Greek actually reads "not to give himself into the theater." In other words, these men understood that the man from Tarsus would be sacrificing himself by making an appearance before the mob.

Luke pans his camera back to the wild scene at the theater (v32). "Now some cried out one thing, some another." There is chanting. There is hollering. It is absolute chaos. The author goes on to write, "For the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together." Everybody is upset about something. Everybody is upset about something different. And the largest part of the crowd apparently came out of curiosity. They saw a mass of people getting together and simply came to check it out.

At some point, a Jewish man named Alexander steps up to speak (v33). He waves his hand to quiet the crowd. Alexander may have wanted to distance himself from Paul, who had begun his time in Ephesus by speaking at the local synagogue. But this didn't go well for him. "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!'" (v34).

Anti-Semitism ran high in the city. The mob immediately dismissed Alexander and his point of view the very moment they realized he wasn't one of their own. And don't miss the fact that this triggered TWO FULL HOURS of wild chanting and cheering. "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" This would be the equivalent of Americans hollering "USA! USA! USA!" All Alexander did was fire up the crowd to a fever pitch. It appears that Paul's friends were right in not letting him make an appearance in the theater.

It's probably important to note what God did and did not do in guiding Paul. Just before this incident, "Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem" (Acts 19:21). He sent Timothy and Erastus as his advance team but he remained in the city for a while. The Ephesian riot that followed may well indicate that "the Spirit" mentioned was indeed the Holy Spirit urging the apostle to get out of Dodge. Remember also how Jesus urged Paul in a vision to remain in Corinth "for I am with you and...have many in the city who are My people" (Acts 18:10). Luke records no such reassurance from the Lord in Ephesus.

Back at the chanting crowd in the theater, "the town clerk had quieted the crowd" (v35). He is the equivalent of the mayor. He panders to the passion of the mob and comes the people down. The mayor points out that the city is the home of the great Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the Ancient world. He also references "the sacred stone that fell from the sky," probably a meteorite that locals held sacred in their worship of the gods.

The town clerk pleaded with the people to calm down and to think before they do something rash. He pointed out that "these men here who are neither sacrilegious no blasphemers of our goddess" (v37). He's talking about Gaius and Aristarchus, two members of Paul's team (Acts 19:29). The city official appears to be saying things to quiet the riot. Clearly, these two followers of Jesus would have opposed pagan idolatry.

The town clerk appeals to Demetrius and the other craftsmen to file a legal complaint against Paul and his posse if they really feel like they have been wronged (v38-39). There is a system in place to handle such disputes. Mob justice wasn't the answer. Nothing to see here. Let's move along.

The city official knew what was really at stake. "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" (v40). He knew that if Rome got wind of this insanity, they would put the hammer down. The empire enjoys what is called the Pax Romana (the Roman peace). And Caesar has a quick trigger. He will deploy troops without a second thought to quash any threat to that peace. The town clerk pleads with the crowded theater audience to calm down and go home before this gets REALLY ugly.

"And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly" (v41). Nothing to see here. Let's move along. The appeal of the mayor pushed the right buttons. The riot is now quiet.

Don't miss the sovereign hand of God on the situation. He used friends to keep Paul from going to the theater and pouring gasoline on the fire. He even used the pagan town clerk to calm the crowd and clear the theater.

Created 4 months ago