We are going to be looking this morning at Paul’s third missionary journey, or at least the first part of it. It will take a couple of lessons to get through it. The focus of this trip will be his prolonged stay in Ephesus. While he is on this trip, he writes letters that you are familiar with. He writes the letter to Romans and he writes First and Second Corinthians – just to let you know timeframes for when these letters were written.
I want to start where we left off last time. Paul comes back from his second mission trip and arrives home after being gone for 3 years on mission trip number two. He stops off in Jerusalem to brief the apostles on his trip and then he heads home to Antioch. Which brings me to the answer to a question that was asked several weeks ago -- How far it is from Jerusalem to Antioch? Paul and others are making this trip frequently in the book of Acts. The Bible always makes it sound like these trips are short. “And they went to so and so…” We forget that they didn’t have cars. They didn’t just get on the freeway and drive. These trips took a while. So, the answer to the question is the distance is 370 miles. So, it is not a short distance. If you are walking, the trip would have taken a couple of weeks – just one way. Paul has been gone all these years and he briefs the disciples and then heads back home to Antioch, to his home church.
READ Acts 18:23
So, Paul’s furlough doesn’t last very long. He is back home in Antioch for only a few short months before he gets back on the road – mission trip number three. That is what we are going to talk about today. As Paul departs, we notice that he is apparently alone. There is no mention of Silas or anyone else with him. That is interesting to note as we start out this mission trip.
Paul starts off in Antioch and basically follows the same route of his second missionary journey back through his hometown of Tarsus, into the mountains, then across the tableland through Derbe and Lystra and Iconium and Antioch of Pisidia (southern Galatia). These are the churches he started on his first missionary journey. Paul encourages these believers to “be strong.” Now, if you read the book of Galatians, which was written to the churches in this region, it offers us a hint at some of the instruction that Paul might have given them in person. One of the big issues that is going on during this time is false teaching. Paul is always encouraging these believers to test all the teachers and all truth. You need to know the truth if you are going to be able to spot a false teacher. That has always been a big thing with Paul – knowing the truth and testing false teachers.
From Galatia Paul heads westward across the regions of Phrygia and Asia toward Ephesus. We know that it is Paul’s intention to travel to Ephesus (he takes a direct route) because he told the Ephesian believers back in Acts 18:21: “On taking leave of the believers in Ephesus he said, ‘I will return to you if God wills.’” Then he heads on home. Paul would have stayed longer in Ephesus while on his second missionary journey if he could have. Why did he feel like he had to leave? Well, he had been gone for a couple of years, so he was probably eager to get home. But some scholars have conjectured (Acts doesn’t say this) that maybe Paul wanted to get to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. Well, there is no evidence of that in Acts. That is just what they say. We don’t know for sure why Paul felt like he couldn’t stay, but for whatever reason he felt compelled to leave Ephesus and return home.
So now, Paul is eager to return to Ephesus. As he makes his way to Ephesus, he is probably wondering how Priscilla and Aquila, his two friends that he left there, are doing.
There is a side note here I want you to notice. In close proximity to Ephesus, we recognize city names from the book of Revelation, the seven churches of Asia Minor (Philadelphia, Thyatira, Sardis, Smyrna, Pergamum, and Laodicea). The Apostle John wrote letters to these churches that were dictated to him by Jesus. You will also notice the city of Colossae (letter to the Colossians) – very familiar names. The Christian movement is starting out and I will talk a little later how these churches got started. These cities are all in the western part of modern-day Turkey. You can still take tours and go to all these cities. Many of the city names have changed (no surprise) from what they were in Bible times, but the ruins of the old cities are still there.
So, this is Paul’s third missionary journey and we will cover his stop in Ephesus in this lesson.
READ Acts 18:24
So, Paul has left and he has gone home. Meanwhile Apollos shows up.
READ Acts 18:25
Apollos has been influenced by John the Baptist and his ministry. We will see some other disciples of John the Baptist that show up here in Ephesus also. I am not sure why. It could have been because of the Dispersion, due to persecution. They all ended up here in Ephesus. So, here comes Apollos…
READ Acts 18:26
Like many others he had been baptized as a sign of repentance and believed John’s preaching about Jesus being the promised Messiah. So, Apollos had that knowledge. However, there are some things he did not know. He did not know about the Holy Spirit or the true meaning of the death and resurrection of Jesus. These are dots that had not been connected for him. So, Priscilla and Aquila take him aside and, just like Jesus lovingly correcting the woman at the well’s theology, this is what Priscilla and Aquila do with Apollos. They lovingly correct his theology and give him more information. They explain the whole story of Jesus. They reveal the full personal work of the Lord Jesus Christ and Apollos believes. Now he is really on fire for the Lord.
READ Acts 18:27-28
As you read this, you might miss something that is very important. Apollos gets the full knowledge of Jesus. He had already believed what John had taught him. Now he gets the full picture of Jesus from Priscilla and Aquila. They teach Apollos what Paul had taught them. They are passing it on. Apollos gets on fire for Jesus. He is a new man. He has this burning desire to tell this great truth about Jesus to others. He wants to go to Achaia, which is the region where Corinth is located. That is where Priscilla and Aquila were from. So, they knew the people in Corinth. They provide Apollos with letters of introduction to the church at Corinth. They tell them that Apollos is a good guy, he wants to preach the Gospel, and so forth.
As it turns out, Apollos is quite effective in arguing with the Corinthian Jews. These are the same Jews who had rejected Christ when Paul was there. Many of them get saved through Apollos’s ministry. So, what you see is that God is raising up a whole new generation of evangelists and using them in a mighty way. That is what is happening here.
READ Acts 19:1
So, Paul arrives at Ephesus. The city of Ephesus is located in western Turkey. It was the religious center of the cult of Artemis, also called Diana. Its temple was one of the wonders of the ancient world. Ephesus was also a major banking and trading center. It was the capital city of the Roman province of Asia. Ephesus was located near a harbor at the mouth of the Cayster River. The city lay in a long, fertile valley. Major roads connected Ephesus to all the other significant cities in that region.
Ephesus was known for its amphitheater, the largest in the world, designed to hold some 25,000 spectators. It is still used in a limited degree today. Someone in the class pointed out the amazing acoustics in this amphitheater. It will figure into our lesson today, as you will see.
READ Acts 19:2-3
No sooner does Paul arrive in Ephesus he meets up with these disciples of John. Like Apollos, they have been influenced by the teaching of John the Baptist. This demonstrates a desire for repentance – recognizing one’s self as a sinner. Remember, John the Baptist taught repentance as he was preparing the way for Jesus’s coming. At this point what Paul does – as Priscilla and Aquila had done for Apollos – he connects the dots for them concerning Jesus.
READ Acts 19:4-5
I just want to make a comment here. There are a lot of people who were baptized earlier in their life (perhaps as children or infants). This is showing you that when you come to faith in Christ, even if you have already been baptized, when you become a Christian, you should be baptized again. These people had been baptized by John for repentance. Now they are getting baptized because they got saved.
READ Acts 19:6-7
These 12 men recognize Jesus as the promised Jewish Messiah. He was the One that John the Baptist had pointed to and then who later John emphasized in his preaching. But they had never heard of the Holy Spirit. And they did not understand the full person and work of Jesus Christ. Once Paul explains all of these details to them, they are able to see that Jesus Christ is the Lord. They recognize that it was Jesus who had removed their sin on the cross. It was Jesus who had been resurrected and sent His Holy Spirit to dwell within all those who receive Him. They believe Paul’s message and they receive Christ as their Savior. They are baptized as a testimony to their new faith in Jesus. The outward sign of their new birth comes when they start speak in tongues and prophesying.
This is the fourth mention of speaking in tongues in the book of Acts. It occurred at Pentecost with Jewish believers (Acts 2:4). It occurred in Samaria with Samaritan believers (implied in Acts 8:17). It occurred at Cornelius’s house with Gentile believers (Acts 10:46). And now here in Ephesus it happens to these 12 disciples of John the Baptist.
John MacArthur in his commentary explains the significance of these four mentions of speaking in tongues in Acts. This is how he explains it: “As Samaritans, Gentiles and believers from the Old Covenant were added to the church, the unity of the church was established. To demonstrate the unity, it was imperative that there be some replication in each instance of what had occurred at Pentecost with the Jews.” That is how MacArthur explains why these four different speaking in tongues events took place.
Remember that the speaking in tongues, as we noted at Pentecost in Acts Chapter 2, involved speaking in a known language that some people could understand. There is a lot of misunderstanding about tongues.
READ Acts 19:8-10
In v 8 “the Way” is talking about the Christian movement, the teaching of Jesus (the Gospel). It was a term we saw earlier in the book of Acts.
Paul returns to the synagogue where he had been asked previously to stay longer. For three months Paul teaches the Jews about Jesus and shows them from the scriptures why Jesus was the promised Messiah. Finally (no big surprise), opposition forms. They have had enough of Paul. The Jews again harden their hearts to Paul’s message. We have seen this before. Paul withdraws to another meeting place, to a lecture hall owned by a man named Tyrannus. For two years Paul has a teaching ministry at Ephesus where he attracts people from all over the province of Asia – from places like Colossae, Hierapolis, Laodicea, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis and Philadelphia. They all make their way to Ephesus and are being influenced by the Gospel message taught by Paul. They then carry that message back to their towns. Needless to say, this period of time proves to be a very profitable and fruitful ministry for Paul. There is a lot going on here. This is an important period of time in Paul’s ministry.
READ Acts 19:11-12
This is one of the few times that we see Paul’s preaching accompanied with performing of signs and miracles. This is what had happened with Jesus and His ministry. We saw it earlier with Peter and John. Now we see it with Paul. We have mentioned this before that the purpose for all of these miracles is not to draw attention to the preacher. Rather, it is to reveal the true Lord of Life. Why does God allow Paul to have this ability in Ephesus? As we will see, Ephesus is a place where the practice of black magic is common. The demonic forces of Satan have a stronghold in Ephesus. So, God gives Paul the spiritual gifts of healing and miracles in order to counter Satan’s hold on the superstitious people of Ephesus. God always has a reason for doing things.
READ Acts 19:13-16
These sons of Sceva here try to counterfeit the power of the Holy Spirit by mimicking what Paul is doing. They attempt to perform an exorcism of demons in the flesh. Bad idea! These fools figure all they have to do is follow Paul’s formula – just say the right words such as “in the name of Jesus” and, as if by magic, the demons will just come out. That is what they are thinking. The results we see here is sadly humorous. The demons attack them. Demons know Jesus and they tremble at His name, right? These demons aren’t stupid. They can spot a fraud a mile away. They know these guys do not have the authority of Jesus. So, they attack them. You don’t ever want to do things like this in the flesh. If you are thinking about performing an exorcism, read this passage first!
So, what are the results of this rather bizarre incident?
READ Acts 19:17
First, the name of Jesus begins to not only be held in high esteem, but also to be praised. That is what the word “extolled” means. They praised the name of Jesus. Remember, these are pagans! Interesting.
READ Acts 19:18
Second, those people who got saved began to turn away from their evil practices and begin to confess their sins. That is what happened when you get saved. Jesus saves you right where you are and then He begins to work on things in your life. This is what is happening with them.
READ Acts 19:19-20
Third, we see that spiritual revival takes place. God begins to do a mighty work in these individuals. They begin to rid themselves of all their evil materials and vices, in some cases at great monetary expense. They got rid of them. It did not matter how valuable they were. They knew they were a bad influence in their lives. So, God began to change their minds, their world view about things. That is what God does when He saves someone. He begins to work in their lives. That is what is happening here with these new believers. There is a lot going on here in Ephesus!
READ Acts 19:21-22
For two years Paul carries on this very successful teaching ministry in Ephesus. His dynamic teaching attracts people from all over the province of Asia. The people in turn carry the Gospel message back to their cities all throughout Asia.
Paul knows though that his days in Ephesus are winding down (he has been there for a while) and he wants to go on to Macedonia. Macedonia is where Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea are located. Corinth is in Achaia. He wants to go back to those churches that he established on his second missionary journey and check on those believers. He sends two of his co-workers, Timothy and Erastus, on ahead to get things ready for his ministry later. Even though the Holy Spirit is prompting Paul to move on, you get the sense that he really does not want to leave his successful ministry and many friends behind in Ephesus. So, God allows an incident to take place which will reinforce for Paul that it is time for him to move on. Sometimes we need that.
READ Acts 19:23
So, a big disturbance takes place in Ephesus...
READ Acts 19:24-28
The impact of Paul’s message in Ephesus is so great that it begins to have an adverse effect on the sales of miniature silver statues of the goddess Artemis (also known as Diana), the ancient mother goddess of Asia Minor. For two years the business community had completely ignored Paul’s preaching. But now all of a sudden, when it hits them in them in the wallet, they get upset.
Demetrius, one of their leading businessmen, decides to take action – enough is enough! He summons a meeting of the local artisan’s guild to address the issue. He basically says, “If this religious movement is not stopped, we are going to go out of business.” This is the second time this has happened to Paul, where the business community has gotten upset about his preaching. It happened before in Philippi with the slave girl. Remember, he threw the demon out of her and her owners lost their way of making money, so they got mad at Paul. In both cases it had nothing to do with what Paul was preaching. It had everything to do with how it was adversely impacting them financially.
Not only is Paul impacting the Ephesian economy, but he is also threatening their religion, or so they think. That is their perception. If you want to get people in an uproar, you can challenge their politics, but you can also challenge their religion. People get very upset when you challenge their religion. Just look at some of the most explosive regions of the world. They are fighting over religious differences. So, Demetrius’s inflammatory comments have their desired impact. The whole city rallies in protest against Paul and his Gospel message. People run out into the streets with their rallying cry – “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” A mob scene basically ensues.
READ Acts 19:29-31
“The theater” here is the amphitheater I mentioned earlier. The angry mob cannot find Paul but they recognize two of Paul’s helpers, Gaius and Aristarchus and seize them. Paul shows his courage and is determined to go face the mob. He thinks that it is not right for his two friends to bear the brunt of the crowd’s wrath. It is Paul they are really after. The “Asiarchs” mentioned in v 31 are friends of Paul and have great wealth and influence in Ephesus. They keep Paul from going into the theater. “You don’t want to do that Paul!” They physically keep him from going in, holding him back. They know full well if he does what the mob might do to Paul and it would not end well for him. It is one thing to be brave. It is another thing to be stupid.
READ Acts 19:32
Here you have a good description of a mob. We saw this recently with the Summer of Love riots in Portland, Minneapolis and other places (in 2020); and the January 6th riot (2021 at the Capitol). Most of the people gathered are just caught up in all the excitement and have no clue as to why they are there. You have all these people yelling, a disorderly mob, a handful of people shouting obscenities, filled with hatred. Everybody else just stands around clueless without any real agenda, basically just going along with the crowd. This is similar to what you see today with most mob riots. Half of them do not even know why they are there.
READ Acts 19:33-34
The Jews choose as their spokesman a man named Alexander. He is a prominent member of the community and well known in the city of Ephesus. When the predominately Gentile mob recognizes that he, a Jew, is about to speak to them, their anti-Semitic feelings come out and they shout him down. They do not want to hear what he has to say. Instead, they raise their voices with this cry.
READ Acts 19:35-36
The town clerk, the most important city official in Ephesus, goes before the mob to try and restore some semblance of order. He is a representative of the Roman government. He has authority. He is wearing a distinctive robe and they all recognize him as the authority (like the police in our day). They listen to what he has to say. He basically says, “Everybody knows about Ephesus. We are that great city, the home of Artemis. Everyone knows that her image came down from Zeus himself. Why then are you acting like these men are some kind of threat? Come on, get real! Why are you guys even worried about this?” He is trying to reason with them.
READ Acts 19:37-41
So, the crowd calms down. The town clerk reminds them that there is a rule of law in Ephesus that must be followed. If anyone has broken the law here it is not Paul or his two friends. It is Demetrius who instigated the mob. If Demetrius really had a legitimate gripe, he would have taken his case before the civil courts and not resorted to mob violence. The city official dismisses the crowd and they disperse. Nowhere in this passage does Demetrius ever say anything in his own defense nor does he actually bring any charges against Paul.
So, that is the end of story, right? Well, not exactly. Even though the riot ends as an apparent triumph for Paul and the Gospel, it effectively puts an end to Paul’s ministry in Ephesus. This riot is God’s way of prompting Paul to leave Ephesus. He is convinced now that he needs to leave. This is where we will pick it up his journey next time.
I came up with a few applications from today’s lesson…
- Apollos started out enthusiastically with honest and pure intentions, but he did not have a complete knowledge of Jesus. To his credit, he remained teachable and available. He was open to learn more about Jesus from his spiritual mentors Priscilla and Aquila. He then allowed God to use him to teach others.
- Lessons learned from Paul’s ministry in Ephesus: God can change society (reformation), but He must first change His own people (revival). Charles Spurgeon once said, “I have no faith in any reformation that does not come through men’s hearts being changed.”
- Just because the majority (society as a whole) says something or does something, does not make it true or the right thing to do. I love a democracy, but as you have probably noticed in your own lifetime, the majority is not always right!
- Sometimes God uses what appears to us to be negative circumstance in order to move us to where He wants us to go next. I can attest to that in my own life!