Historical Setting & Context

Transcript

GR 1377
9/14/2008
Historical Setting and Context
Acts 18-19; II Timothy 1-4
Gil Rugh


We're going to start a study of the book of II Timothy, and I want to begin our study by doing the background of that book by having you go to Acts 18. Paul wrote two letters to Timothy, the only person privileged to have two of our inspired scriptural letters written to him was Timothy. Timothy is acting as Paul's representative in the city of Ephesus when those letters are written to him. The second letter to Timothy is Paul's last letter, he is soon to be executed. Paul is encouraging Timothy to carry on the ministry faithfully after his departure. And to give us a greater appreciation of what will be taking place in this second letter to Timothy, I want to remind you by doing an overview of what it is like in the city of Ephesus. We do that by going back and looking at the beginning of the ministry there, and we're just going to highlight some of the matters that took place. But then as we move through the letter in coming days, we will see that much of what took place at the beginning of Paul's ministry there, many of the problems, much of the opposition that was there from the beginning has continued on through the years.

Ephesus is a very significant and important city. It was the main city in the cities of Asia, the Roman province of Asia or Asia Minor, as we would refer to it. It will become significant to us in our study of the book of Revelation as well in coming days since it's the first of the seven churches of Asia that are addressed by Jesus Christ in Revelation 2. It will be privileged to have a letter from the Apostle Paul addressed to it called the letter to the Ephesians. So it is a city of significant importance, it is a church of significant importance.

As you are aware, the ministry of Paul in the book of Acts is really built around three missionary trips, beginning in Acts 13 we call them the three missionary journeys. They were just travels the Apostle Paul took with the specific purpose of carrying the gospel to new areas. And of course when he did this, as the trips added on, he would often visit and revisit places and encourage new believers. So the first missionary trip, he starts out from Antioch in Syria. He went up through Galatia, visiting churches there, our present day Turkey. Then his second missionary journey, which would carry him to Greece and the bringing of the gospel of Jesus Christ to Europe. Then his third missionary journey, where he will revisit places—Galatia, Greece. But he will go to Ephesus and there the third missionary trip will be about his ministry in Ephesus.

In Acts 18 the Apostle Paul is leaving Corinth, and we're just going to highlight some matters because there is too much material to look at all the details. Paul's ministry in Achaia, the Greek province of Achaia......... The northern province of Greece, remember, was Macedonia that had cities like Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea. And the southern province was Achaia and the main city there for us is Corinth. Paul wrote the letters to the Corinthians. On his second missionary journey he spent an extensive amount of time in the city of Corinth, having his ministry there. The ministry there ended on a difficult note, with turmoil as a result of opposition to the ministry of the Word. In Acts 18:12, while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat. They accused him of teaching an opposing way of worshiping. Gallio said, this is none of my business, I'm not handling your inter-Jewish squabbles, and that's how Gallio would see it—as a squabble among the Jews with Paul a Jew and these Jews opposing one another. You resolve your own problems, he says, I'm not getting involved.

So Sosthenes, verse 17, the leader of the synagogue is beat up by the Jews. Gallio doesn't care what the Jews do with one another as long as they don't upset things under his rule. Paul remained a little while longer verse 18, and we are at the end of the second missionary journey now. He's leaving Corinth and he's going to leave from Cenchrea, we are told in verse 18. In Cenchrea he had his hair cut, he was keeping a vow. Cenchrea is the seaport for the city of Corinth, so he is leaving Corinth, he goes down to Cenchrea where the seaport is, where if you were coming by ship to Corinth or leaving, you went to Cenchrea to catch your ship. So he leaves there, he crosses over to Asia Minor and he stops in Ephesus. Now he had wanted to visit Ephesus earlier, before he went to Greece, but the Spirit of the Lord told him, no, it wasn't the time to carry the gospel into Ephesus and Asia Minor. Interesting, God had a plan for Ephesus and for Asia, but it was to be in His time framework. And God moved the Apostle Paul to go on into Macedonia and spread the gospel into Greece.

Now on his way back on this second missionary trip, he stops in Ephesus. Verse 19, they came to Ephesus and he left them there. The ones he left there were Priscilla and Aquila, who were traveling with him from Greece as verse 18 made clear. Now he hasn't left yet, so you have a summary. When he leaves he's going to leave Priscilla and Aquila here, but while he is in Ephesus he goes into the synagogue and enters into dialogue with the Jews. Not uncommon for a traveling Jewish teacher. Remember, Paul was a trained Pharisee and a knowledgeable man in the Mosaic Law, a teacher of Jews. So he comes into the synagogue and begins to engage them. And they are open and receptive to his ministry.

Verse 20, when they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent. Interesting. He has made a commitment and he has a vow that he will have to go to Jerusalem to fulfill the requirements for. So even though he has here an open receptive audience among the Jews to his ministry, he does not stay. He does leave Priscilla and Aquila, and from what we know of them in other places their ministry would have gone on and they would have been faithful in ministering the Word.

So then Paul returns, goes to Jerusalem and then up to Antioch of Syria. He landed verse 22, at Caesarea. Set sail from Ephesus, sailed back and came to Caesarea. Caesarea would have been a seaport, if you will, for Jerusalem. It says he went up and greeted the church and went down to Antioch. The expressions here, he went up and he went down indicate he was at Jerusalem. In the Bible you always go up to Jerusalem, you go down to Jerusalem. He was at Caesarea, he's going to go south to Jerusalem, but you go up, no matter what direction you're going because you always go up when you go to Jerusalem in the Bible. And then he's going to go north from Jerusalem to Caesarea, but you go down because no matter where you are you go up to Jerusalem and down. So he went to Jerusalem, and then went on.

After he spent time there he leaves Antioch of Syria and begins his third and final missionary journey. The book of Acts will close really on a fourth trip but it’s not called a missionary trip because he goes as a prisoner to Rome. So here is his third missionary trip, where he launches out, going through Galatia again, revisiting churches that he had established earlier, encouraging believers. Verse 23, strengthening all the disciples. Now we break off on Paul's travels. We go back to Ephesus. Luke, the historian, wants to fill in. What was going on in Ephesus while Paul was gone? Because really this third missionary trip is all about the three years Paul will spend in Ephesus. Everything else is just mentioned in passing. So we're going to go back to Ephesus to find out what is going on there after Paul left.

Well verse 24, now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus and he was mighty in the scriptures. Apollos, a Jew from Alexandria, Alexandria in Egypt, of course. Alexandria was a center of learning; Alexandria had a large Jewish population. It was a center of Jewish learning. Apollos was a man mighty in the scriptures. He knew the Old Testament scriptures well, he was able to handle them, and he was able to debate with them, to explain them to people. Verse 25, this man had been instructed in the way of the Lord and being fervent in spirit. Here is a man of passion, zealous, passionate in spirit. He was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus. So you have a man who is a believer, he is an Old Testament believer, a believer as John the Baptist was. In fact, he is a follower of the teachings of John the Baptist.

Look at verse 25, he is teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John. Perhaps Apollos in his travels had been in Palestine during the days of John the Baptist's ministry, or perhaps some had taught him what John had taught. Now that's a limitation. Remember what John's ministry was—repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand; the Messiah is on the brink of arriving. He is to prepare the way for His coming. But John died before the work of Christ in providing redemption was accomplished. So all Apollos knew about was the message of John the Baptist—repent of your sins, prepare yourself for the coming of the Messiah, the judgment He will bring, the kingdom He will establish. And he is accurately showing from the Old Testament scriptures the Messiah is coming. Perhaps even talking about that Jesus the Nazarene was the One.

Well he begins to speak out boldly in the synagogue. You know those who have effective ministries in the book of Acts are those who boldly give out the Word of God. They're not necessarily persons of flash and so on, but they are people who are number one bold with the Word of God. I take it Apollos comes out as a dynamic man. In other references you get the idea he is a man who could with power preach the Word and he was an effective preacher. Probably more so than Paul as far as personality. Some people accuse Paul of being weak when you heard him in person—he could write a powerful letter but he wasn't so impressive when you saw him. But Apollos may well have been a person who was impressive even when you saw him in person.

But one thing they all had to do was speak the Word of God boldly. He goes into the synagogue. The ministry of John the Baptist was not popular among the Jews generally, the Jewish leaders in particular. Remember when the Jewish leaders came to John the Baptist he said, you brood of vipers. Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? You better repent of your sin. You don't come out here and get baptized by me. First you deal with your relationship to the Lord by repenting of your sin. So that's the kind of ministry John had. Apollos comes into the synagogue and he boldly starts to give out the Word of God and show what John had taught to be biblical.

Priscilla and Aquila were there and they hear him. They take him aside and explain to him, the end of verse 26, the way of God more accurately. You know the nation Israel as a nation was chosen by God. Within that nation there were individuals chosen by God who were true believers in Him. When John the Baptist came on the scene, those who were true believers in Israel responded to the message of John the Baptist and believed the truth that he proclaimed and got ready for the Messiah. When Jesus comes on the scene, they believe in Him. When He is crucified and raised from the dead, they believe in His finished work on the cross, so that those who have faith in the truth of God, the revelation He has given, respond in faith to the additional revelation. That's what Apollos does.

Then, you can assume, there are no details given, we're just told what happened to Apollos here. The change brought about in his life and ministry, now he can preach a complete message. Jesus Christ is not only the Messiah that John the Baptist preached would come, He was crucified, buried, raised from the dead and that fulfilled the Old Testament scriptures like Isaiah 53. He is the only Savior; you must repent and believe in Him. And Apollos is ready to carry this message to the world, so he wants to go over to Greece and particularly to Achaia and to the church that Paul had established there. Perhaps Priscilla and Aquila had told him about it, they had left from there with Paul. What an opportunity to go and further establish this church with the truth of God.

So he does, and the end of verse 27, he greatly helped those who believed through grace. So here is a man who has a powerful ministry, referred to other places, of course, in the New Testament. We saw him in the book of I Corinthians as Paul referred to him. He powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. So what we have here is a glimpse of what is going on in Ephesus. Priscilla and Aquila are there, Apollos comes. Apollos is impacted there.

Now chapter 19 opens up, it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth. So you see Apollos has left Ephesus now, Paul comes back to Ephesus. He had stopped there briefly at the end of his second missionary trip then gone on to Jerusalem and Antioch of Syria. Now he has traveled back over land through Galatia and come down. Now is the Spirit's time for Paul to have an extended ministry in the city of Ephesus. Paul will spend the next three years, the longest recorded in the New Testament anywhere for Paul to go and establish a ministry. He came through the upper country, came to Ephesus. We start out by his confronting some disciples who were like Apollos—they were followers of John the Baptist. You understand in these days as Jews would travel and have occasion to go to Palestine, perhaps for one of the appointed feasts like Pentecost, they had gone there during John's day and everyone would have wanted to hear John the Baptist. I mean, the whole country was coming out to hear John in the wilderness. Some of those might have been there during John's ministry. Some may have been reached by followers of John. Those people wouldn't have been there long enough to get the full story. Of course they didn't live in the days where books were published like we have or you have news being instant, so they go away and they're excited. They heard the message of John the Baptist. They were believers, John further moved them along in their understanding that it is now the time of the Messiah, but then they go back to another part of the country, another part of the world without knowing the completed message.

So here now Paul comes to Ephesus. He found some disciples and he said to them, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? They said to him, no, we've not even heard whether there was a Holy Spirit. Now he asked them, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? What's he asking them? Have they come to know about the death and resurrection of Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit as a result of His finished work on the cross? When they say, no, we haven't even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit, they're not saying, we didn't even know if one exists. What did John the Baptist preach? The Messiah is coming and when He comes He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Of course they knew about the Holy Spirit's ministry. They are believers, they believe the Old Testament scriptures, and the Old Testament scriptures tell you about the Holy Spirit. But they also knew the coming of the Holy Spirit would be associated with the establishing of the New Covenant and the coming of the Messiah and so on. They didn't know anything about the coming of the Holy Spirit. So you see they haven't been brought up to date.

So Paul explains to them the finished work of Christ, the coming of the Holy Spirit. And they respond in faith to that message so they are baptized by Paul and they speak in tongues, as each new group does who receives the Holy Spirit—Jews in Acts 2, Samaritans in Acts 8, Gentiles in Acts 10, now the disciples of John who would form their own special group in Israel of believers. They have received the Holy Spirit. That's twelve men. We do have a nucleus here; we don't know how big the group of true believers is. Priscilla and Aquila have been carrying on a ministry here. Paul comes back and impacts some of these Old Testament believers.

Now he enters the synagogue in verse 8 and continues speaking out, how? Boldly for three months. It keeps coming back. You know what the ministry that the Spirit of God uses with the Word of God is the ministry that is bold. It clearly, unapologetically presents the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now none of this, well, I testified for Christ. I told them, I'm a believer, too. I mean believer in what? I believe in God and the Bible and Christ. Almost every Protestant and Catholic would say the same thing. He's speaking out boldly, there's an issue here. You know what he is talking about because soon the opposition will arise. He entered the synagogue, continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. These are Jews who are in the synagogue, he's explained to them that Jesus the Nazarene, the One promised by John the Baptist, baptized by John the Baptist, the One crucified, raised from the dead on the third day. He is the Messiah of Israel; He's the One who will establish the kingdom. Remember the book of Acts began by the disciples asking Christ in Acts 1, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? Tell them about this Christ, the fulfillment of Old Testament scriptures.

Three months this goes on. But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of The Way before the people, he withdrew from them, took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. You know the Word of God always accomplishes something. I remind you of this, we need to be reminded. Sometimes when we are bold with the Word of God and we get a negative reaction or a seeming no reaction, we go away and say, what happened. Well, really nothing. We mean no one got saved. But you understand, God's Word never returns to Him void, as Isaiah the prophet said. It always accomplishes what God intends it to accomplish. Here after three months in the synagogue, he doesn't say the whole synagogue is converted. Some are saved because there are some disciples who leave with Paul when he leaves to move to a new location. Verse 9 says he took away the disciples. But you understand the opposition is large enough and intense enough he cannot continue the ministry there any longer. Some were becoming hardened and disobedient; speaking evil of The Word of God softens or hardens. II Corinthians 2 says we are a savor of life to life and death to death. Some were a life-giving savor—they hear, they believe, they are drawn to the Savior, they are built in their new life in Him. Some hear and they are hardened and they are further confirmed in their lost condition—a savor of death to death. Here some of these under the ministry of the Apostle Paul who had direct revelation from God according to Galatians 1 on the gospel of Jesus Christ, who had direct revelation from God according to Ephesians 2-3, a letter that will be written to this very church later. He was the one who received revelation regarding the plan of God and putting together Jews and Gentiles to make the church of Jesus Christ. After three months the hostility, the opposition is so great. People have been hardened by the Word. We say, maybe if Paul had gone about this differently, had maybe started out with people who were open to hear. Remember back at the end of his second missionary trip the Jews in the synagogue wanted him to stay longer. Then he had three months here. Maybe if he hadn't been so bold and blunt he could have had a longer ministry in the synagogue and there wouldn't have been so much opposition.

You know we never, never want to come up with a better plan than God. God's plan is that His Word be presented clearly, boldly, unapologetically. There is only one Savior, Jesus Christ. You Jews are trying to be saved by your works, by keeping the Law. There is no salvation by the Law. Jesus said I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by Me. But they were speaking evil of The Way. The name Christian was used for the first time in Acts 11, we are told, of believers. I believe it is only used three times in the New Testament of believers, calling them Christians. The Way is used a number of times. We don't have time to look through the references. Probably based upon that very fact—Jesus Christ is The Way. So those who talk about Christianity talk about The Way. So they are speaking evil of The Way. You are saying Jesus Christ is the only way, we reject that. We believe you must keep the Mosaic Law. There would be those who would mix it—it's great to believe in Jesus but if you deny you must keep the Law, that's what the book of Galatians is about. They speak evil of The Way.

Their opposition becomes so intense nothing can be accomplished by Paul staying any longer. All you do is degenerate to useless argument. So he moves out of the synagogue and moves over to the school of Tyrannus. And there he is reasoning daily. So he gets out of the synagogue where the Jews would be in charge, he moves off their ground, if you will, to neutral ground. Evidently rents a room here. The school of Tyrannus, one commentator noted it was probably called this by some of his students because we're familiar with this word because we get the word tyrant. So, the school of the tyrant. I don't know if that's where it came from, but we don't know anything else about it. He could have been a philosopher who taught here, he could have been the man who put up the money for the school and it was named after him. But evidently Paul has a room here. Maybe Priscilla and Aquila who have a business provided the funding for the ministry here.

For two years, verse 10 tells us, he ministers the Word of God here because the opposition of the Jews now is muted because he's not going into their synagogue with this ministry. But Jews can come in and hear him on his ground, if you will. Gentiles can come in and hear. So we're told that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. All who lived in Asia. When we study the book of Revelation, we'll be studying Revelation 2-3 and we'll study there seven of the churches in Asia. They are not all there were in Asia. So there are a number of churches established in Asia. This was one of the ways. What we find out from other references is co-workers of Paul at this time carried the gospel out to other cities. Paul is centered in Ephesus, the key city in Asia. But his workers are going out to the other cities, carrying the gospel of Jesus Christ and churches are established there. For example, later he'll write a letter to the church at Colossae, the letter to the Colossians, started by one of Paul's co-workers and so on. You see the ministry taking place here.

So even though there was opposition, even though effectively Paul is driven out of the synagogue, the ministry is not over. It is growing and expanding. And you'll note what they hear. All who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord. God's plan is the same—go tell them the gospel, give them the word of the Lord. They heard the word of the Lord. Don't have some special kind of unique plan now, we're targeting Asia. You know what it is? Send people out to tell them the gospel. Some will believe, some will be hardened and disobedient and speak evil of The Way.

You know there is something about the Word of God. It always is working. And you know when a person sits exposed to the Word of God, we're told in Hebrews 4, the Word of God is alive and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart. There is something about being exposed repeatedly to the Word of God that is revealing me, reveals what I really am. And you know I'm not going to submit to that Word, repent of my sin and believe in the Savior. Pretty soon I become hardened to that Word. You know it doesn't penetrate any longer. It's like the seed that falls on hard ground and the sower in Matthew 13. You know I am antagonized by it; it begins to get on my nerves. I don't want to hear that, I don't want to hear it anymore, I don't like it I don't accept it. And that results in the antagonism, then the overt response—they speak evil of The Way. The pattern is still the same, the process goes on. We oughtn't to be surprised. There are people who have sat and heard the Word of God here, but the passing of time they couldn't take it any longer. Now today they are actively hostile toward the Word. Some of you experience it in your family. We think, well, maybe we’re doing something wrong. No, people can't be exposed to the Word of God over time without there being some kind of response. The Word of God is working, it is either hardening which will lead to overt antagonism eventually, or it is softening. So we ought to be encouraged, we give off the Word. We're not glad to see people hardened, but we are glad to have opportunity to have clearly presented the Word of God that brings its convicting power through the ministry of the Spirit.

All right, all who lived in Asia heard the Word of God. Now in verses 11 and following, what is going on in Paul's ministry and out of Paul's ministry to other places are special miracles. Remember Paul is receiving direct revelation, he's giving new truth. The letter to the Ephesians, as I mentioned, talks about that in Ephesians 2-3, where God revealed the truth in its fullness concerning the church and His plan for the church to the Apostle Paul and through Paul to others. Well that new revelation and his ministry of truth are validated by miraculous gifts. Now you'll note here, not everyone has the ability to do miraculous works like Paul. Paul, remember, often did his own labor. He was a tentmaker, so the kind of work apron he would wear, they would take this and he had touched it, and they'd go out and people would get healed by touching it. Almost sounds magical, as the devil has had his counterfeits. But here it validated the genuineness of the ministry of Paul.

Evil spirits were being cast out. There were Jewish exorcists who went about supposedly casting out demons. They were fakes, they were magicians. Well they see Paul and his followers have this power to cast out demons, so they try it. And the end of verse 13 they say, the one who was indwelt by the demonic spirit, I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches. Seven men were doing this, the sons of one man, a chief priest. And verse 15, the evil spirit said to them, I recognize Jesus, I know about Paul. But who are you? Who are you to be telling me? Interesting thing here. The demons, they know about Jesus. We see this during Jesus' earthly ministry. I know who you are, the holy one of God, the demons said. They know about Paul. You understand, if you're a believer in Jesus Christ, the demons know about you, too. The whole world lies in the evil one, but you've been redeemed out of this evil world, this present evil age. You've become a child of the living God you no longer belong to the devil. Jesus said to the religious leaders of His day, you are of your father, the devil. But our Father is the God of heaven. They know who you are, they recognize that, they oppose you, you are their enemy. You ought not to be surprised by difficulty and trials.

But here the power of God is demonstrated because these men who are not believers, who are not followers of Jesus Christ, try to use the power of Paul. I like the way they put it, I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches. They are trying to piggyback on Paul. This demon, through the demon-empowered man, jumps on them, beats them to a pulp, tears off their clothes and they go running out of the house naked. Well everybody knows these men were fakes. They've been parading around as true exorcists. You ought to note on the side, a note from other literature, that the Jews during this period of time were often revered by Gentiles. Even though there is anti-Semitism that pervades the culture, they were viewed as having certain inside track with God. You know there is something about them, they have these unique dietary laws, they have these unique festivals and worship system. So some of them went around parading as being some kind of specially empowered people, but they are revealed for what they are.

All this does what? Great fear fell upon them the end of verse 17, the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. The result, people are being saved. These Jewish magicians, if I can call them that, Gentile magicians and charlatans being saved. Verse 19, many of those who practiced magic brought their books together, began burning them in the sight of everyone. They counted up the price of them and found it to be 50,000 pieces of silver. You know what? Fifty thousand pieces of silver, a piece of silver was probably a drachma. A drachma was what you made if you worked a full day as a working man. This is 50,000 days' pay, that's a lot of money. You know what? True salvation brings a break with the past, makes you new. It's not like well, I'll work my way out of this. You know Paul will write to the Thessalonians in his letter to the Thessalonians and say, you turned from idols to serve the living God. There is no mixture. Doesn't matter what your past was here, it's over, it's done. That all has to go. Remember Philippians 3, Paul gave his testimony and said everything of value in my past; it went on the dung heap. For these believers everything went on the ash heap. We are new creatures in Christ, the old ways are done. A kind of Christianity that's often offered to people, you don't have to leave your old religion, you don't have to give up your old ways. That's not biblical Christianity. Oh, it would be awfully costly if I become a believer in Jesus Christ. You better believe it will be costly, it costs you everything. Your very life will no longer be your own. That's why Jesus said, you better count the cost before you become a follower of Mine; or attempt to be.

So you'll note here what they do, evidence that they are truly turning from their sin and placing their faith in Christ, become followers of Christ. Everything associated with my old life, now, is done. I can't be part magician, a phasing out magician; I have my practice for sale because I've become a believer. No, it's on the ash heap. I can't be promoting the false paganism.

So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing. You ought to underline that. Back in chapter 6 it said again later in the book of Acts, a sort of break points. So emphasis is the place where the Word of God was growing mightily and prevailing. Not only in Ephesus, but in Asia Minor because verse 10 told us, all in Asia, the Roman province of Asia, were hearing the Word of God. But we're not done.

Verse 21, after these things were finished Paul purposed in his spirit to go to Jerusalem. Paul's ministry is ongoing, he's not a man planted anywhere permanently. He'll be here three years, that's a long time for Paul. The ministry is left in the care of others. And he plans to go. Now he's in Asia Minor, he's in Ephesus. You go east to go to Jerusalem, so he says he purposed in the spirit, and I take it it's the spirit of God leading him to go to Jerusalem, after he goes to Macedonia and Achaia. I want to go to Jerusalem, but first I'm going west, I'm going to Macedonia, the northern province of Greece where Philippi, Thessalonica have churches established. Then I'm going down to Achaia, southern Greece, where Corinth is. Then I'll catch a ship and head back. The end of the book of Romans tells us why he's going to Greece first—they have collected an offering for the poor saints, the impoverished believers in the church at Jerusalem. He's going over there to collect that. That's why he's going to Greece before he goes back to Jerusalem.

So he sends Timothy and Erastus, verse 22, into Macedonia ahead of him so they can get things ready, make sure everything is prepared, the offering is ready. And he stays a while longer in Asia, the end of verse 22 tells us. So this account, we won't get there today, but in Acts 20 we're told he stayed in Ephesus for a total of three years, Paul tells us that. Three months in the synagogue, two years in the school of Tyrannus, then he had additional months here where he stayed in Asia for awhile. So that will make up the three years where he is here.

But you know we had the opposition from the Jews, now we have opposition from the Gentiles. About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning The Way. You know it always has to do with the message of Jesus Christ. In the synagogue the Jews began to speak evil of The Way. Now you have the Gentile merchants. Only two times are we told that the Gentiles stir up the opposition against Paul, both times it's over money. At Philippi in Acts 16 when certain people saw that their hope of making money was lost because Paul cast the demon out of a fortune telling girl, and now here among the silversmiths at Ephesus who see that they're in danger of losing money because people are getting saved so quit worshiping Artemis or Diana, as the Latin’s would refer to her.

A certain man, verse 24, Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, and Artemis is the Greek name, the Latin name is Diana. Was bringing no little business to the craftsmen. Ephesus had two main means of income and it was the central city of Asia. Commerce, it was a harbor. The problem was that for years the harbor had been filling up with silt, they had cut down the trees, plowed the land, the hills and the mountains and you have the earth washing away and filling the harbor. Today the harbor is seven miles inland. That tells you how much is silted down. Already the Romans had had projects to try to dredge the harbor to keep it open and it is still functioning as a harbor but it is a losing battle. So commerce is on the decline, still the commercial center but it is declining. The second major source of income for the city of Ephesus was the worship of Diana. The temple of Diana, or Artemis, is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. So people from all over the world came to see the temple here, to honor Artemis. In fact, Ephesus and the temple of Artemis was the central bank, if you will, of Asia. People and commercial businesses would put their money in the temple of Artemis, it served as their bank because then their money would be under the protection of Artemis, Diana. Evidently a meteorite that had fallen from heaven and been carved into that grotesque image, you'll see if you look in an encyclopedia most of them will have a picture of this multi-breasted goddess of fertility who had fallen from heaven. The meteorite had come down, now they do a little carving.

Now the silversmiths made silver images, like you go into tourist places today. And this became a major source of income. So verse 25, men you know that our prosperity depends upon this business. And a considerable number of people at Ephesus and all over Asia are being turned away from the worship of Artemis. You know what's going to happen, business is going to collapse. They say that gods made with hands are no gods at all, verse 26. Well then who wants to buy our images? And things will go bad. Pretty soon people won't be coming here to worship at the temple of Diana or Artemis. And everything collapses. So what they end up doing, there's a great boulevard going to the stadium at Ephesus, excavations have shown, and they start down the boulevard like you see in certain countries in the world today. You don't have to have anything true, you just go down there, start to holler out a rumor and pretty soon you have a mob all worked up. They go to the stadium, they've excavated the stadium that Paul would have been part of here, he didn't go into the stadium, but it would seat 24,000. We're told it's packed out and most of the people there don't have any idea why they're there. You know people going down, screaming, hollering, throwing dirt in the air. You know what happens; we better not miss out, let's get in, and throw some dirt and holler, too. And now they're all in the stadium but they're not sure why they're there. And then the Jews want to put forth one of their spokesmen, Alexander. They probably want to distance themselves from Paul because underlying everything is always anti-Semitism. Everyone is quick to blame it on the Jews. The Jews want to present that they are not identified with that Jew, Paul. But when he gets up to speak, the rumor gets out, they are attacking Artemis. So for two hours they just start chanting, great is Artemis, great is Artemis.

You know Paul; they have 24,000 people in the stadium. You know what? I ought to go in there and present the gospel. He didn't have the good sense he was born with. It takes some of the Asiarchs, the Asiarchs interestingly here. Asiarchs were key political people who have their office because they were leaders in emperor worship. And they are the ones who tell Paul, don't go into the stadium. Maybe they had become believers. Probably what they see their role as is keeping this from getting totally out of hand. So Paul doesn't go in the stadium. Finally the mayor of the city, we'll call him, he's the clerk but he'd be like our mayor, he gets the crowd's attention and he says we have to stop. We are a Roman city here; we are the capital of Asia, if you will. We don't have any reason for a riot here; they haven't broken any Roman laws. If word gets back to the Romans that things are out of control here, they could send their soldiers in and we could find ourselves quickly demoted for nothing. Now if Demetrius and the silversmiths have a legitimate complaint, we have our courts. Let them take it to the courts. You see everybody in an official position here, and they're not necessarily supporters of Paul. But the Romans were most concerned about peace in their empire. And that's what these officials are concerned about. So with that the assembly is quieted down and dismissed.

Chapter 20 verse 1, after the uproar had ceased Paul sent for the disciples, when he had exhorted them, taken his leave of them, he left to go to Macedonia. He'll stop at Ephesus on his way back from Macedonia, we'll have to wait and look at that as we look into the opening verses of II Timothy.

What I want you to note here is the setting. Paul has had a great ministry in Ephesus. The Word of God has not only impacted Ephesus and prevailed and grown mightily, it has spread out to all the cities of Asia and had a great impact. But that's not the whole story. By the time Paul is done with his ministry in Ephesus, the Jews are openly, actively hostile to him and speaking evil of The Way. And now the leading Gentiles, the commercial, the money in Ephesus are also openly hostile to the message of Paul. There was no, verse 23, small disturbance concerning The Way. You understand a great church has been established here, but it is in the center now of open, active hostility toward the message of The Way, the One who is the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but through The Way, Jesus Christ. Jews are hostile, Gentiles are hostile, the most influential people here related to the worship of Artemis, those associated with one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Now we have reason to oppose this message that's being proclaimed.

When Paul leaves Ephesus, this is what he has left, a great church. But don't get a wrong idea; it's not a church like in the city of Lincoln where people are somewhat indifferent to the fact we are proclaiming Christ. It is a city with a great nucleus of believers, an active hostility, a hostility that will eventually infiltrate the church. And this is what II Timothy will be about, Timothy ministering in the midst of that hostility. So we can appreciate what Paul has to tell Timothy in the first chapter of his letter. Now remember, God hasn't given us a spirit of timidity, Timothy. There is no going back. It's not the Spirit of God that makes you hesitant, makes you reluctant to step forward and boldly identify with Him. Paul will have to say, I'm in Rome, I'm in prison. I have men here from Asia to support me. But you know what happened? Every one of them has abandoned me. Why would they abandon Paul? Go back and read what the ministry is like in Ephesus. And that follows Paul wherever he goes, that follows a ministry of being bold with the Word. By God's grace people are saved by the power of God. But you understand that same message that saves people by the grace of God, hardens people and stirs their opposition to the Savior that we represent.

Only one question, where are you? You hear the Word. I come every week. I know, but have you ever bowed in submission, obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ, placing your faith in Him. I think I do pretty well. That's not the issue. Have you ever placed your faith in Christ? It is a dangerous thing to hear the Word of God and walk away without submitting and believing, because the Word of God can bring a hardening. Every time you say, no, there is a further hardening that takes place that may someday spill out into open opposition. The Bible says, today is the day of salvation. You hear that Jesus Christ is the way, the only way. You must repent of your sins and place your faith in Him. When you do, you will be powerfully saved and made new. Old things will pass away, new things will come.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for this record of such a key time in history, the ministry of your Spirit in the city of Ephesus. Yet, Lord, that ministry that took place so long ago is so current and relevant. Salvation occurs today, 2000 years later, in the exact same way—through the proclamation of the message of your Son, the only way to salvation. And Lord the proclamation of that glorious message of life still continues to harden those who will not believe, to stir up their opposition to the One who loved them and died for them. Lord, may we be encouraged to stand and be bold with the gospel so that your Spirit will use your Word in the accomplishing of your work. We praise you in Christ's name, amen.