When to Walk Away
TRANSLATION
(21) After all this had taken place, Paul resolved to go to Jerusalem once he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia. He said, “After going there, I must also visit Rome.” (22) He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he remained in the Province of Asia for a while.
(23) At that time there arose a great disturbance regarding the Way. (24) A silversmith named Demetrius who made silver shrines of Artemis brought in lots of business for the other craftsmen there. (25) He called them together along with workers in similar trades and said, “You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. (26) And you have both seen and heard how this fellow, Paul, not only here in Ephesus but throughout all Asia, has convinced and led astray many people saying that gods made with hands are not gods. (27) There is great danger that not only our trade will lose its good name but that the temple of the great goddess, Artemis, will be discredited and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship will be robbed of her divine majesty.”
(28) When they heard these things, they became enraged and cried out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” (29) Soon the whole city was in an uproar. After seizing Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions, the mob rushed together into the theater. (30) Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples stopped him from going. (31) Even some of the officials of the province, who were Paul’s friends, sent a message to him begging him not to venture into the theater.
(32) The assembly was in a state of agitation with some shouting one thing and some another. Most of them had no idea why they were there. (33) The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward and he, motioning with his hand for silence, was about to offer a defense to the people. (34) But when they saw that he was a Jew, they all began shouting in unison, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” This lasted for about two hours. (35) When the town clerk finally quieted the multitude, he said, “Fellow Ephesians, who among us does not know that the city of Ephesus is guardian of the great Artemis and of her image which fell from heaven? (36) Since these facts are undeniable, you need to settle down and do nothing rash. (37) You have brought these men here, although they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess. (38) If Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a grievance against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them press charges. (39) But if there is some other cause you wish to advance, it must be pursued in a lawful way. (40) As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what happened today. If that happens, we have no satisfactory way to justify this commotion since there is no reason for it.” (41) When he said this, he dismissed the assembly.
OBSERVATIONS
In this segment Luke provided his readers with a detailed account of Paul’s final days in Ephesus, the city’s name repeated five times (in vss. 26, 28, 34, & 35). It explains why he reached the decision to leave the city where he had ministered for an extended period. Now he realized it was time to move on, first, to Macedonia (vss. 21 & 22) and then, finally, to Jerusalem.
The “disturbance concerning the Way” (vs. 23), provoked by Demetrius (vss. 24 & 38) with the support of his fellow silversmiths, arose because Paul’s ministry had been so successful. It was now threatening their lucrative business of making and selling silver shrines for the tourists visiting the temple dedicated to the pagan goddess, “Artemis” (vss. 24, 27, 28, 34, & 35), whose worship had made Ephesus famous throughout the entire Roman world. Few other incidents could have provided such convincing evidence of the power of the Gospel.
OUTLINE
I. Paul decided it was time to leave Ephesus for ministry in Jerusalem and in Rome. (21 & 22)
II. Demetrius stirred up his fellow craftsmen to oppose Paul’s ministry because it threatened their trade in making and selling silver shrines to honor the goddess, Artemis. (23-27)
III. Their opposition resulted in a large and noisy demonstration in the city’s theater. (28-34)
IV. The town clerk managed to quiet and disperse the crowd without further damage. (36-41)
IDEA STATEMENT
Paul’s resolve to leave Ephesus for Jerusalem and eventually Rome was confirmed by the illegal demonstration which Demetrius and the silversmiths incited to oppose his ministry.
APPLICATION
The refrain of The Gambler, a song made famous by Kenny Rodgers, contains the following lines: “You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away, know when to run.” Paul sensed that his time In Ephesus had come to an end and that it was time for him to “walk away” from the fruitful ministry God had given him there.
The precipitating event was the near riot that took place in the city theater when Demetrius and the silversmiths protested Paul’s success in preaching the Gospel . The apostle had already been thinking of leaving Ephesus and was waiting for just the right moment to put his plans into action. What made this possible was Paul’s healthy attitude toward ministry. The apostle never had the view that planting churches would require him to stay long term in any fellowship he founded nor did he manifest a sense of ownership toward what he had accomplished. This freed Paul to keep his focus on the future, on places like Jerusalem and Rome where God would eventually direct his steps (vss. 21 & 22).
Summing up his role in church-planting, he wrote to the Corinthians, “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? (We are only) servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So, neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth…You are God’s field, God's building” (1 Cor. 3:5, 6, & 9). Knowing that church-planting was God’s work and that all the credit for any success belonged to God alone, prepared Paul to move on quickly and without regret when the Lord indicated that the time had come for him to leave.