The Ephesians get Riled Up!

Acts 19:23-41

The account of the silversmiths getting the city riled up contains real drama in a grand scale. We find that Paul once again wanted to face the mob with no thought to his personal safety. He wanted to continue to make the case for Christianity with the mob.

The silversmiths had their incomes threatened by the Christians. They claimed that they were defending the honor of their goddess, Artimas. Their livelihood depended on making shrines for the goddess for the tourists as souvenirs and religious icons.

The town clerk is concerned that the Roman government would construe the gathering without a clearly defined purpose was a riot threatening his job. The Romans were pretty easy to get along with until it came to civil disobedience. If they heard about any civil disobedience, they would demand to know why the disturbance happened and they would dismiss anyone they felt did not do their job to avert the disturbance.

The town clerk calmed the crowd, reminded them of the consequences with the Romans for their actions, and then dismissed them. His goal was peace to save his own skin.

Questions to think of this week: How much do we rely on or follow the Bible studies of others? What is your vision for Christianity on our society?

Have a Great Week!

Brad

Does Your Christianity Have Room to Grow?

Acts 19:1-12

The men Paul found in Ephesus had an incomplete Christianity. They had not even grown a conviction that the Spirit exists let alone received it. They had heard of the Holy Spirit by the teaching of John. These brethren had been baptized into John’s baptism and learned his message pointing to Jesus.

Paul was leading the group questioning their understanding and opening the subject of imperfect obedience to the message of Jesus. He was preparing them for his message of the good news of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

John’s preaching was pointing the way for Jesus. His preaching was an awakening to the coming of the Messiah. John’s preaching differed from Jesus in that it was a threat. You’d better be watching because Jesus is coming. Jesus message was good news. There is hope of salvation through the Savior. See more in Matthew 3 and Luke 3 about John’s preaching.

Note that the Word says that God did these things through the hands of Paul. He was working and teaching in the temple. He was very busy and God kept him strong and awake to keep up with this physical work and his teaching work. Both were very taxing to body and emotions. Paul was eager to teach and Christians were eager to learn because they went to ‘class’ to learn more about Christianity instead of resting during the heat of the day like most people did. Next is the seven sons of Scevea calling attention to the evil of the magical arts. How does this apply to us today?

Have a Great Week!
Brad