Paul in Ephesus -The riot

Acts 19:8 to 41
Ephesus was a large city, the capital of the Roman colony of Asia, it was a sea port and a fine city. It was famous for its Temple of Artemis, it was the most famous Greek temple - 4 times bigger than the Parthenon. It was one of the 7 wonders of the World. The Ephesians were very proud of it. It was said that the status of Artemis had come down from Heaven - possibly it was a meteorite. It was an ancient statue propped up by wood. A row now erupted over the statue.
The results of Paul's work over 3 years had been that the word of God had spread throughout Asia. Many believers and unbelievers had been healed. Spiritual realities had been revealed. The 7 sons of Sceva had been punished, believers had destroyed millions of pounds of scrolls. The second result was enmity and bitterness. Verse 23 says that it was caused by Demetrius, the owner of a factory. He accused Paul of trouble making. Paul had said he made man made gods and that they were no gods, not only their silver miniatures but the goddess's statue itself. He also said that Artemis worship would end. A great crowd rushed into the open air theatre (it is still there though the temple has gone). Most of the people did not know why they were there.
The Jews thrust Alexander forward (perhaps to say that Paul was not one of them). When the Crowd saw that he was a Jew they shouted for over 2 hours. They were quietened by the city clerk who said:
a) Everyone knew Ephesus was the guardian of Artemis' statue.
b) The accused had done nothing wrong. If they had a grievance then go to court.
c) They were in danger of being guilty of rioting and losing their privileges.
This ended their riot. We can learn 4 things about Demetrius:
1. The love of money lay behind his complaint and the riot (as it often does). Verses 23 to 28. Their profits would go down, he dresses this up and says that his business would get a bad name and the worship of Artemis would suffer. This is often the root of persecutions. The High Priests feared loss of influence and money so they attacked Jesus. The Sadducees were high priests and they were hated by the people because they swindled people of their money and they forcibly extorted money from other priests. They had a cosy arrangement with the Romans who supported them. They feared Jesus would upset this. In Phillipi Paul had cured a girl of demon possession, she made money for her owners and they persecuted Paul as a result of their losses. Wesley and Whitefield were persecuted often by pub owners who feared the loss of income from selling beer.
2. Demetrius accused Paul and the church of being trouble makers. The city clerk said they had done nothing wrong. Demetrius had. Over and again Christians are accused of this by persecutors. Demetrius made a long point of it, Artemis would lose her divine majesty. This is common place and has gone on for centuries. The Jews of Thesselonica said this of Paul. They said that he had caused trouble all over the world, Paul had not, he had preached the gospel. The Jews had caused riots. It had happened before New Testament times. In the Old Testament Ahab accused Elijah of being the troubler of Israel. Ahab had murdered the prophets and led the whole nation astray and brought famine on the nation. Ahab was turning the truth upside down.. Satan played this card in the Old and New Testament times and is playing it now. Islamic Terrorists are plotting attacks now, politically correct people say it is fundamentalists and generally accuse Christians of being fundamentalists. They say all religions cause wars. The problem is that the Roman Catholic church in the middle ages committed terrible crimes, the crusades in the middle east and Europe and the Inquisition caused huge number of deaths. Protestant leaders were often guilty of this. In modern times it is ridiculous to suggest that Christians and do what Islamic terrorists do. This is a way of attacking Christianity and the church. It is a way to do down the truth of God.
3. He was being quite perceptive about what Paul was doing. If people followed Paul then worship of gods would die. The truth of God persuaded men and women that man made gods and the worship of them was destroyed. It happened to Roman, Greek, Celtic, Saxon, Viking and other false gods. Demetrius was right, it went on down to the 19th century. Business, Government and social life changed. The care of the elderly, prisoners and children changed, especially in the 19th century. Some people want to whitewash out of history all of the work of Christians. Christian ministers are often not counted worthy of mention in histories of the Victorian period. Teacher try to forgo teaching the Reformation from the Tudors.
4. He doesn't take what Paul says seriously. It is absurd to say that a man made god made out of wood can help you, hear you or do anything good or bad. Greeks knew then that there was a greater god. People had seen the miracles Paul had done. Demetrius had heard what Paul had done. He had seen the scrolls burnt,he had heard the gospel. He did not care, he only cared about money. His eternal soul was in danger, if what Paul had said was true. He put his hope in materials things - in his profit. Sin was a mortal danger to him. He had no interest in eternal things. Demetrius was a terribly modern man. People who have heard the gospel and reject it are doing what Demetrius did. Such important things should raise concern in people's hearts but it did not in Demetrius' heart. He only saw short term profits.
'The way ' is the third time Paul uses this term. It is true, it is THE way, not just any way. It was THE way to God, to salvation, to eternal life. The one and only way. It did not share this with the Greek, Roman or Egyptian way, it is still the only way today. It causes great offence today. It is considered arrogant, proud and boastful by many, but it is the only way to salvation and eternal life. It is the only way to walk with God. It is a way, a pilgrimage with God, a straight and narrow way to Heaven.