Acts 19:21-29 meaning

Here in Acts 19:21-29, the local smiths and craftsmen start a persecution against Paul and the Christians.

From the prior sections we learned that during Paul’s two years in Ephesus, the gospel was heard throughout the Roman province of Asia. Through Paul, God performed extraordinary miracles so that the people will listen to Paul’s preaching and trust that the message he speaks is true. The miracles were so potent that even rags and garments that Paul has touched contained a transitive healing power when put on the sick and the demon-possessed. This was because God willed it to direct the Ephesians to the gospel. The miracles, whether by Paul’s hand or his handkerchief, pointed those who witnessed them back to Paul and the message about Jesus.

Many Ephesians believed in Jesus and gave up their former lifestyles and jobs. Many magicians burned many spell-books worth a large sum of money to show that they will no longer practice sorcery but will follow Jesus.

Now Luke, the author of Acts, writes that Paul begins to feel called to leave Ephesus:

Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” (v. 21).

Now after these things were finished seems to refer to the book-burning of the magicians. The gospel had spread so effectively in Asia  and taken sufficient root to lead to transformed lives that Paul may have felt his work there was complete for the time being. Luke writes that Paul purposed in the Spirit, which may mean that the Holy Spirit was leading Paul to leave Ephesus. There were churches in Macedonia and Achaia  which he had planted years ago that he wanted to check in on.

In the region of Achaia, there was the capital city of Corinth. Paul had written three or four letters to the Corinthian church while he lived in Ephesus; two of these letters are preserved in the New Testament (1 and 2 Corinthians). In Macedonia, there were the churches of Berea, Thessalonica, and Philippi. After visiting these churches, Paul would return to the church in Jerusalem as he did at the end of each of his missionary journeys.

But after checking in with the elders and apostles in Jerusalem, Paul set his sights on going to Rome, the capital of the empire, saying, “After I have been to Jerusalem, I must also see Rome.” He desired to go to Rome to preach the gospel, now that he had effectually established churches throughout the provinces between Israel and Rome.

It may be that Priscilla and Aquila had returned to Rome by now, or were planning to, and the idea of joining them there to preach Christ in the epicenter of the world power appealed to Paul. We know that his plan to make it to Rome was thwarted, as he explains in his letter to the church at Rome (Romans 1:13).

But we also know that the gospel went there anyway, perhaps through Priscilla and Aquila, who established a house church in Rome and appear to have led an initiative to spread the true gospel of grace in Rome (Romans 16:3-5). The ministry was so effective that the reputation of the faithfulness of the believers in Rome spread throughout the world (Romans 1:8).

Paul sends two helpers ahead of him before leaving Ephesus:

And having sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while (v. 22).

Timothy is someone who has ministered to and alongside Paul for years, going with Paul on his second missionary journey into Macedonia and Achaia. Paul first met Timothy in either Lystra or Derbe (Acts 16:1-2).

Timothy was someone Paul considered as his “true child in the faith”; eventually, Timothy would become the pastor of the church in Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:2-3). Toward the end of his life, Paul would write two letters to Timothy (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy).

Timothy had helped Paul plant the churches in Macedonia, and had spent a longer period of time than Paul in Berea and Thessalonica. Sending Timothy ahead to the churches in Macedonia makes sense; Timothy is well known to the believers there (1 Thessalonians 3:2). Timothy is mentioned as a coauthor of 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians and Philemon.

This is the first mention of Erastus in Acts. He is mentioned in two other places in the New Testament (if he is the same Erastus as named here, which there is no reason to think he is not):

“Erastus, the city treasurer greets you.”
(Romans 16:23)

“Erastus remained at Corinth.”
(2 Timothy 4:20)

It is broadly believed that Paul wrote the book of Romans while visiting Corinth on this third missionary journey, which would mean that Erastus was the city treasurer of Corinth. If that is true, Erastus was probably a Corinthian who believed in Jesus while Paul was living and preaching in Corinth the first time, during his second missionary journey (Acts 18:1, 4).

Luke writes that these men were two of those who ministered to Paul. Since Paul was teaching daily in the hall of Tyrannus during his two years in Ephesus, he was only able to work part time as a tentmaker to make money to pay for food and lodging. In the past, Timothy had helped to supply for Paul’s needs so that he could focus on preaching (Acts 18:5). Erastus also may have helped support Paul while in Ephesus. He may have done other helpful things to support Paul, such as carry messages or help teach or lead in the church.

As these two went ahead to Macedonia, Paul took some time himself and stayed in Asia for a while. Asia was the western Roman province of Asia Minor/Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). Ephesus was the capital of the Roman province of Asia. Though he was already planning to leave, a growing hostile opposition to the gospel would soon push Paul out of town:

About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the Way (v. 23).

Luke introduces a crisis situation on which he will spend the remainder of Chapter 19 describing. About that time that Paul had sent Timothy and Erastus ahead to Macedonia, and he himself stayed in Asia for a while longer (v. 22), enemies were forming a resistance to Paul and the gospel. This was concerning the Way of Jesus Christ. The Way was what Christianity was commonly called during the first century and throughout the book of Acts (Acts 9:2, Acts 24:14, 22). What happened was no small disturbance, which is to say it was a very large disturbance. A conflict occurred that shook the city of Ephesus.

Luke gives us background information on the antagonist of this episode:

For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen (v. 24).

Demetrius the silversmith will instigate this great disturbance concerning the Way. He was bringing no little business to the craftsmen, again an understated way of saying his work and influence was very profitable for the silversmith guild in Ephesus. The smiths made a lot of money and did a lot of business by crafting silver shrines of Artemis. Artemis was the Greek goddess of the hunt. The temple dedicated to her in Ephesus was magnificently beautiful, grand, and famous. The temple of Artemis was considered one of the “seven wonders” of the ancient world, of which only the great pyramid of Giza remains to this day.

The poet Antipater of Sidon wrote a famous poem about the seven wonders, in which he celebrated the temple of Artemis as the greatest of them all. And besides Mt. Olympus (where the Greeks believed their gods lived), Antipater praised the temple of Artemis as the most beautiful sight on earth. The temple brought in many pilgrims, worshippers, and sightseers, and the silversmith guild made a lot of money by crafting small shrines/idol statuettes of Artemis to sell to all who came to the temple and to Ephesus. This was a lucrative trade. But lately, business was bad.

Demetrius begins to spread fear into the hearts of his fellow craftsmen:

these he gathered together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business (v. 25).

These were not only silversmiths, but workmen of similar trades. Smiths and carvers of all kinds whose prosperity was due to the large demand for Artemis statuettes. Demetrius gathered the workmen together to rouse them to take action. He cuts to the bottom line, which is that all of the craftsmen gathered there knew that their financial prosperity depends upon this business of making idols of Artemis.

Paul and his gospel about the Way of Jesus Christ is hurting business. The reason why Paul’s preaching is hurting sales is very simple:

 “You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all” (v. 26).

The craftsmen listening to Demetrius knew well of what he spoke. They could see and hear that not only in their city of Ephesus, but in almost all of the province of Asia, this preacher Paul was changing the culture significantly. People were believing in Jesus Christ and dedicating their lives to Him all over the region. We saw earlier that people’s lives were being transformed as magicians burned their valuable spell-books in order to repent from delving into dark arts. Now these former magicians had turned to the light.

Paul had spent two years based in Ephesus, teaching daily. He had made an extensive impact on Ephesus and Asia. It was arguably his most successful ministry, in terms of how many people came to Christ, how many churches were planted, how many people turned away from their former lives of sin, sorcery, and idol-worship to instead trust and follow the Son of God. This might be why chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation are addressed to seven churches that were located in seven cities of the Roman province of Asia.

The churches to whom Jesus writes in the book of Revelation were all located in Asia: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea (Revelation 1:11) (see map). Many or all of the churches might have been established during Paul’s two years in Ephesus. He might have left the city of Ephesus and taught in various towns, since he lived in that region for so long. It is also possible that people he taught in Ephesus spread the news to other regions. Since Ephesus was a port city, it could also be that people traveling through were taught and took what they learned home with them.

Paul had persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people from idolatry. If a considerable number of people in Asia no longer worshipped Artemis, then there was a considerable decline in Artemis statue sales. Demetrius pinpoints what he believes is the main reason so many people were persuaded and turned away from worshipping Artemis. Paul’s message was that gods made with hands are no gods at all.

This was a constant theme in Paul’s teaching to the pagans (Acts 14:15, 17:24, 29), and a similar argument was made by Stephen to the Jewish elders who apparently had turned the temple into a sort of idol (Acts 7:48-50). In Athens, and elsewhere, Paul made the case that God is the ultimate power and force of creation, existence, wisdom, and goodness in the universe. God is the ultimate reality. The idea that God can be a statue that a human whittled from wood, stone, or silver is ridiculous. The idea that God lives in a house on earth somewhere is just silly. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah also remarks on the illogical nature of idolatry (Isaiah 44:9-20).

If God is the creator, how could He also be the creation? If He made man, how could man make Him? And as for temples and shrines, can man make a house for God? Does God need a home, especially a home built by people? Does God need anything built by human hands? It is a compelling argument that had persuaded many Ephesians and people of Asia.

The general idea behind idol worship is that the gods, or fate, or outcomes can be manipulated if we only make the right sacrifices, speak the right words, pay money to the right priest. Idolatry is transactional and seeks to control the supernatural to serve our own ends. Once a person realizes that gods made with hands—graven images, statues, talismans, shrines, and temples—are no gods at all, then their heart is open to the truth that there is only one Almighty God. When we realize this is true, the logical thing to do is repent/turn from attempting to get God to serve us and instead seek to know and serve Him.

With this new realization that gods made with hands are no gods at all, and that there is only one Almighty God, the next question becomes, “What does this Almighty God want from me?”

Thankfully, the Almighty God was not silent. He had sent His Son who spoke His words for the world to hear (John 12:49-50, 14:10). Paul was a messenger of this God and His Son the Messiah. Paul had spent two years healing the sick and casting out demons. No one else in Asia could do the things Paul did, though they tried (Acts 19:13). It was clear that the one, true, almighty God worked and spoke through Paul. Thus, many of the people of Asia were discarding idol worship and putting their faith in Jesus. They had no use for gods made with hands.

But Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen make money by selling gods made with hands. Demetrius admits that the main issue with Paul is that he has hurt their profit margin, but the silversmith also goes on to stir up religious and patriotic outrage. He proclaims to his fellow workmen:

“Not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be regarded as worthless and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence” (v. 27).

The danger first and foremost is that this trade of ours—the making and selling of Artemis idols—will fall into disrepute. We are going out of business. But worse yet, Demetrius argues, is that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be regarded as worthless. This seems to ultimately support the main concern Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have. If the temple of the great goddess Artemis is regarded as worthless, people won’t come to Ephesus to see the temple, the local Ephesians won’t care about it, and no one will buy our idols anymore.

Perhaps Demetrius was devoted to Artemis; those listening to him at the least are stirred to defend their goddess and her temple from falling into worthless obscurity. Demetrius finishes his rallying cry by painting a grim picture that she whom all of Asia and the world worship—Artemis—will even be dethroned from her magnificence.

Not only will we go broke, says Demetrius, but no one will visit our temple and no one will worship our goddess anymore. He is not exaggerating much by saying that all of Asia and the world worship Artemis. By the world, Demetrius means the Roman Empire, which Romans and Greeks believed covered essentially the entire world, or the known, civilized world. The Greco-Roman gods and goddesses were worshipped from Rome to all areas of the empire. And Paul’s teaching would cause Artemis to be dethroned from her magnificence. Like a queen who has been exiled from her seat of power, Artemis will not be worshipped and the once glorious temple in Ephesus will be forgotten.

Interestingly enough, Demetrius is exactly correct in what he is saying to rabble-rouse his fellow craftsmen. Today, the temple of Artemis is gone, reduced to a ruin. Virtually no one alive on earth (as of 2024) worships Artemis anymore. She is remembered as a myth. But billions of people worship Jesus as the Son of God and Messiah in the present. Because of the gospel, people have been persuaded and turned away from Artemis and all other false idols.

The craftsmen and workmen listening to Demetrius were agitated by his speech, as he intended. They did not want to lose their prosperity nor have their trade suffer from disrepute; they did not want the temple to be regarded as worthless or see the magnificence of their goddess become dethroned and irrelevant. Paul needed to go. The Way of Jesus needed to be snuffed out.

The craftsmen reply with patriotic, religious fervor:

When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” (v. 28).

Full of fear and rage, the smiths begin crying out with a chant they will repeat throughout this ordeal, much like protestors and activists to this day will chant the same rallying cry over and over again to state their stance and intentions. The smiths of Ephesus cry, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” They have been successfully mobilized against the disciples of Jesus. So they go out into the city and start a riot. They will ultimately be reminded that rioting is illegal in the Roman Empire. But that will be several hours hence.

Luke tells us that due to their rampage, the city was filled with the confusion (v. 29). The mob of craftsmen and workmen marched through streets, probably crying out repeatedly, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

This mob apparently knew where some of the disciples of the Way were. Ephesus had an impressive theater. Although now an ancient ruin, it is to this day in relatively good condition. It was an open-air theater capable of seating 24,000 people.

The mob of smiths and craftsmen rushed with one accord into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia. (v. 29). Somehow they knew two of Paul’s traveling companions were at the theater that day. It seems implied that the mob could not find Paul as they marched and filled the city of Ephesus with confusion. But someone told them that two of Paul’s notable friends were in the theater.

The mob rushed with one accord, united in purpose like a battalion carrying out a military objective, and captured the two believers. They were dragging the believers along inside of the theater, roughing them up. Doubtless, all other bystanders in the theater saw this kidnapping take place. The mob had possession of Gaius and Aristarchus.

Luke has not mentioned either of these men by name before, but since they were both from Macedonia and were traveling companions of Paul’s, they were most likely Thessalonians. We know for sure that Aristarchus was a Thessalonian, who also accompanies Paul on the journey back to Jerusalem at the end of this third missionary trip (Acts 20:4).

Aristarchus was a faithful friend and co-minister of Paul’s, mentioned multiple times throughout the New Testament. He is with Paul during his house arrest in Rome years later, and named in two letters which Paul wrote during that time. Paul describes Aristarchus as his “fellow prisoner,” and Aristarchus sends his greetings to the recipients of both letters (Philemon 1:24, Colossians 4:10).

There are a number of men named Gaius mentioned in the New Testament. It was not an uncommon name during the first century. One Gaius is from Derbe, Galatia, so he cannot be the Gaius from Macedonia in this passage (Acts 20:4). Nor could he be the Gaius from Corinth, Greece, who was personally baptized by Paul and later on hosted him in his house (Romans 16:23).

This Gaius may have been the recipient of the Apostle John’s third letter (3 John 1:1). Or he is simply Gaius from Macedonia. In any event, he and Aristarchus are put in terrible danger for being faithful and open followers of Jesus, as well as associates of Paul.

Paul will soon learn that his friends are in trouble, and will try to put an end to the riot. But a third-party, unbelieving person will arrive and intervene on behalf of the disciples.