Acts

Paul in Ephesus

While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the inland areas and arrived at Ephesus.

There, he found some disciples and asked them: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?”

They responded:

“We haven’t even heard of anyone receiving the Holy Spirit.”

Paul then asked:

“What type of baptism have you received?”

They responded:

“The baptism of John.”

Paul then explained:

“John’s baptism was for conversion, but he himself said they should believe in the one who was to come, and that one is Jesus.”

Upon hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Then Paul laid his hands on them, and the Holy Spirit came upon them; they began to speak in tongues and prophesy.

There were about twelve of them in total.

Paul entered the synagogue; for three months, he preached and debated there boldly, aiming to persuade them about the kingdom of God.

Some of them, instead of believing, became stubborn and criticized publicly. So Paul left them and took the disciples with him. He taught daily in the lecture hall of a certain Tyrannus.

He did this for two years so that everyone in the province of Asia, both Jews and non-Jews, would hear the word of the Lord.

The Exorcists

God performed extraordinary acts of power through Paul.

Even handkerchiefs or cloths that had touched his skin were placed on the sick, and their illnesses were healed, and evil spirits also left them.

Some Jews who traveled around casting out evil spirits also tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus over those possessed by evil spirits, saying: “I command you, by this Jesus whom Paul preaches.”

Among them were the seven sons of a Jewish priest named Sceva.

But one day, when they entered a house and dared to do this, the evil spirit said to them:

“Jesus, I recognize; and Paul, I know; but who are you?”

Then the man with the evil spirit lunged at them and overpowered, first one and then another. He attacked them so fiercely that they ran from the house naked and bruised.

This became known to all the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus; everyone was very impressed, and the name of the Lord Jesus was highly honored.

Many believers came forward and openly admitted their previous practices.

Many who practiced magic arts gathered their books and burned them in front of everyone. When their value was assessed, it totaled fifty thousand silver coins.

In this way, the Lord’s word spread rapidly and effectively.

The Silversmiths’ Riot

Once all these events were finished, Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit, decided to travel through Macedonia and Achaia again, and then head to Jerusalem. And he said,“After I have been there, I must visit Rome also.”

So he sent two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia ahead of him, while he himself stayed for a while in Asia.

Around that time, the city was deeply troubled because of the Way.

It all started because of a silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver models of the temple of the goddess Artemis, and his business brought in a lot of profit for the workers.

He gathered them together with others who did similar work, and said:

“Friends, you know that our prosperity depends on this work.

But as you can see and hear for yourselves, this Paul has led a large number of people astray, not only here in Ephesus but also throughout most of the province of Asia. And he has convinced them that gods made by human hands are no gods at all.

The danger increases—that not only our trade will be discredited, but even the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be regarded as nothing. She, whom Asia and the whole world worships, may soon be stripped of her honor renown.”

Hearing this, they became furious and started shouting:

“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

The uproar spread across the entire city. The crowd hurried to the theater, dragging Gaius and Aristarchus, two Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions, along with them.

Paul wanted to face the crowd, but the disciples wouldn’t allow him.

Some officials from the Asian province who were friends of Paul also sent him a message, begging him not to appear in the theater.

Meanwhile, the entire assembly was in an uproar. Some shouted one thing, others another; most did not know why they were there.

Some of the crowd wanted a certain Alexander to speak, whom the Jews presented. Alexander intended to deliver a speech of defense before the crowd,

but when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all chanted together for about two hours:

“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

Finally, the town clerk managed to calm the mob. He said:

“Citizens of Ephesus, who does not know that Ephesus is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis and her image, which fell from the sky?

Since these things are undeniable, you must calm yourselves and do nothing rash.

These men you brought here are not temple-robbers, nor have they spoken ill of our goddess.

If Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen want to bring charges against anyone, the courts are open, and there are officials. Let them bring charges against each other.

If there is anything else that needs to be investigated, let it be done in the lawful assembly.

For, as it stands today, we are in danger of being charged with rioting, since we have no valid excuse for this wild demonstration.”

And the town clerk dismissed the assembly.