Acts 19
BolesActs 19:1-12
PAUL AT EPHESUS
1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth,—Luke, the writer of Acts, left the narrative of Paul’s journey and recorded the incidents about Apollos. While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul came to Ephesus; so Paul did not get to see Apollos while he was at Ephesus. Paul passed through “the upper country” and came to Ephesus. The “upper,” as used here, means that part of the country to which men go up away from the sea; it is applied here to the more eastern parts of Asia Minor. Paul’s journey was very likely through the districts of Lycaonia, Galatia, and Phrygia; he had visited these on his second missionary tour. He “came to Ephesus,” according to the conditional promise which he had made when he left Ephesus. ( Acts 18:21.) When he arrived he “found certain disciples” there. These men are called “disciples” because they were, like Apollos, to a certain extent instructed concerning Jesus, and what they already knew drew them to listen to Paul who came to teach the disciples and preach the gospel.
2 and he said unto them, Did ye receive the Holy Spirit—In talking with them Paul learned that they were very deficient in their knowledge of the gospel. He asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed. Their reply showed how little they knew about the gospel. They answered: “Nay, we did not so much as hear whether the Holy Spirit was given.” These “disciples” believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah, but they had not heard anything further than what John had preached. They had never heard of the gift at Pentecost; they had heard of the Holy Spirit, for John spoke of him. (Matthew 3:11; John 1:33.) So they had heard of the existence of the Holy Spirit, but not that he had come on Pentecost. It is difficult to understand why they knew so little about the Holy Spirit.
3 And he said, Into what then were ye baptized?—Paul suspects that they had not been baptized intelligently; hence, he asks: “Into what then were ye baptized ?” He recognizes that they were baptized “into” something; he implies that scriptural baptism is “into” something; hence, his question. They very promptly answered: “Into John’s baptism.” This is the last mention in the New Testament of John the Baptist. These “disciples” had been baptized “into John’s baptism,” but they had not grasped the meaning of it. Evidently they had been baptized by some of John’s disciples after John’s baptism had ceased; hence, their baptism was not valid. John’s baptism was out of date; it was only in force during John’s ministry, and was not to be continued.
4 And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance,—Here we have a fuller comment on the meaning of John’s baptism. John’s baptism is frequently described as a “baptism of repentance.” John came to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. (Luke 1:17.) Those who submitted to John’s baptism pledged that they would receive the Christ when he came; John did not want to make disciples merely for himself; he wanted them to believe on “the one that cometh after me.” (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:7; Luke 3:16; John 1:15.) Evidently these disciples had been baptized, but had not accepted Christ. It seems clear that they had not accepted Christ because they did not know of him.
5 And when they heard this,—So soon as they learned from Paul of the Christ “they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.” We have no evidence that the apostles were rebaptized, neither others who were baptized by John; their baptism was accepted; but these were commanded to be baptized “into the name of the Lord Jesus.” Their baptism was not accepted. Luke does not give a formula here for baptizing, but simply explains that these men were baptized in obedience to their faith in Christ. These disciples had never received such a baptism as Christ ordained ; hence, they had to be baptized in order to enter Christ.
6-7 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them,—This was not a baptism of the Holy Spirit; no human agency or administrator had any part in the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Hands were laid on the Samaritans by Peter and John (Acts 8:16), and in Damascus in the case of Paul (Acts 9:17). Here a supernatural or miraculous gift was bestowed upon these as “they spake with tongues, and prophesied.” The speaking with tongues and prophesying was external and positive proof that the Holy Spirit had come on these twelve who were now fully obedient to the gospel and were ready for faithful service in his name. There were about twelve men in this number. There is much discussion as to why the inspired historian should use the word “about.” There is no use to speculate as to why this term is used.
8 And he entered into the synagogue,—Since the incident of John’s disciples is mentioned before anything else, it seems probable that Paul had found them among the few Christian brethren in Ephesus, and began teaching them before he visited the synagogue. The Jews met in their synagogue for worship on the Sabbath, and Paul went there and “spake boldly for the space of three months.” It seems that Christians held their religious services in the synagogue; he gave his Jewish brethren full opportunity to hear the gospel in its fullness. He may have just entered the synagogue on their Sabbath, but it seems that he not only entered on the Sabbath during this three months’ sojourn, but on other occasions he taught the people who assembled there. Again we have Paul’s “reasoning and persuading”; he convinced them by his reasoning and the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ, and he persuaded them to accept him as their Savior. He taught them “the things concerning the kingdom of God.” Paul’s idea of the “kingdom of God” was that it was the church of God which had been purchased with the blood of Christ. (Acts 20:28.) Paul understood and taught that the kingdom had been established.
9 But when some were hardened and disobedient,—Paul was permitted to speak longer in the synagogue here without interruption than any other place, unless it be Corinth. Paul had the same experience here that he had at other places; some believed and some disbelieved. Those who disbelieved hardened their heart and began to speak “evil of the Way before the multitude.” Paul was not a coward; he did not leave the synagogue simply because some opposed him. Evidently he saw the Jewish obstinacy and turned away from them. He left the synagogue and took the disciples and reasoned “daily in the school of Tyrannus.” The disbelieving Jews showed their hardness of heart by reviling Christ, his teaching, his disciples, and Christianity, “the Way.” (Acts 9 Acts 2.) Paul separated the disciples, and now the meeting place became the lecture room of Tyrannus. He had done the same thing at Corinth. (Acts 18:7.) “School” is from the Greek “schole,” and meant, originally, “to hold on, leisure,” and then in later Greek, a “place where there is leisure.” This is the only instance of its being used in the New Testament. The name “Tyrannus” is a common one, and means “tyrant.” We know nothing about this Tyrannus; we do not know whether he was a heathen or a Jew.
10 And this continued for the space of two years;—Paul had been in Ephesus more than three months when he was forced to go to the lecture room of Tyrannus. He continued to preach the gospel here “for the space of two years.” He continued edifying the saints and preaching to all who would come. He may have continued longer in Ephesus, and sojourning in the house of Aquila and Priscilla for some months. He remained here long enough for all who dwelt in that province to have opportunity to hear the gospel. Paul seems to have remained in Ephesus, but the gospel spread all over the province. Paul heard of the trouble that existed in the church at Corinth and wrote a letter to the church while at Ephesus; this letter seems to have been lost. (1 Corinthians 5:9.) He wrote the first Corinthian letter while at Ephesus.
11-12 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:—Paul was endowed with miraculous gifts; he had the power to work miracles. He confirmed the word that he preached by working miracles. In Ephesus magicians and exorcists had claimed to work miracles; some superstitious people had believed in them. Paul had power to do even greater things than they even claimed. They even took handkerchiefs from Paul to the sick. Paul did not have to visit the sick, but handkerchiefs and aprons were carried from Paul and the diseases were healed and evil spirits cast out of those who possessed them. “Handkerchiefs” were common in the eastern country to use to wipe perspiration from the face. “Aprons” were the same as napkins.
Paul did manual work at Ephesus (Acts 20:34) and so used handkerchiefs and aprons. These special miracles would emphasize the work that Paul was doing; the people could know that he was a teacher from God, because God was with him in these great miracles.
Acts 19:13-20
THE SEVEN SONS OF SCEVA
13 But certain also of the strolling Jews,—These “strolling Jews” were “exorcists,” who traveled from place to place and practiced their spells of sorcery which was connected with the name of Solomon. Jesus alluded to them in Palestine. (Matthew 12:27; Luke 11:19.) “Exorcists” comes from the Greek “exorkizo,” which means “to exact an oath”; they used an oath as a spell or a charm. These men regarded Paul as one of their own; they attempted to use the name of Christ as did Paul in performing his miracles. They did not know Christ, but their formal oath was: “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.” This case is similar to that of Elymas the sorcerer (Acts 13:8), and that of Simon Magus (Acts 8:21). They had not learned the difference between the real miracles that Paul performed and the pretended ones of the exorcists.
14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva,—We do not know who Sceva was; some think that he was a high priest. Some think that the Greek here should be translated “ruler” instead of priest. His name is of Latin origin. “Chief priest” means one who is at the head of one of the twenty-four courses of the Levitical priesthood; hence, we cannot tell whether he had been at the head of one of the twenty-four courses of priests of the temple, or had once been the high priest at Jerusalem. He had seven sons who were engaged in sorcery; they were exorcists.
15 And the evil spirit answered—These seven sons of Sceva attempted to cast out an “evil spirit.” The evil spirit answered: “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?” The meaning is, the Jesus whom you mention I recognize, and the Paul whom you mention I know, but you, who are you? The evil spirit did not recognize in the sense of obeying the authority of these seven sons. “I know” is from “genosko,” with respect to Jesus, and from “epistomai,” with respect to Paul; so the verbs are different, and carry a different meaning. The spirit here spoke through the man as in Mark 3:11.
16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was—This shows that the evil spirit spoke through the man who was afflicted. Instead of this evil spirit obeying these exorcists, it leaped on them. “Both of them” seems to imply that only two of the seven were attempting to practice upon this evil spirit; however, “both” is from the Greek “amphoteron,” and means “all” or more than “two”; hence, here “amphoteroi” includes all seven; “both” in old English was used for more than “two.” The defeat was so pronounced that the sons of Sceva “fled out of that house naked and wounded.” The word “naked” here comes from the Greek “gum nous,” and probably means only torn garments. “Wounded” is from the old verb “to wound.” It is used in the New Testament only here and in Luke 20:12. A similar case is found in Mark 5:3-4, where no one could control the evil spirit.
17 And this became known to all,—This had a wonderful effect on the people of Ephesus; they learned of it, and all who had practiced hidden arts were so extensively known that fear fell upon them all when they learned what this evil spirit had done to the sons of Sceva. They thought that an undefined power resided in the sacred name of Jesus, and fear fell upon them as it did upon the church when Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead. (Acts 5:5 Acts 5:10.) It was a perilous thing for men to use the name of Jesus rashly; all people thought more of this name now than they had before. Hence, the name of Jesus was profoundly respected.
18 Many also of them that had believed came,—The fear of Jesus came upon the superstitious idolaters of Ephesus, and also upon the church. Luke is faithful to record the facts and does not hesitate to mention any shame that may have come upon the church. This was a humiliating confession and shows how many of the early converts were imperfect in their lives. Many of these early converts had kept some of the things which they had before their conversion; they practiced these things before their conversion and had not given them up, but now, since fear had come upon them, they were ready to destroy everything that pertained to this sorcery.
19 And not a few of them that practised magical arts—It seems that those who had been converted who had practiced the magical art, and even those who were not converted that practiced it, were ready now to quit the practice and destroy their books. They brought “their books together and burned them in the sight of all.” These books were filled with incantations, recipes for love philters, formulas for casting out evil spirits, and such like. Ephesus swarmed with magicians and astrologers. The Christians brought their books and the others were led to renounce their evil practices; hence, they were ready to destroy their books. They burned them in the presence of all; this was a confession of the evils that they had practiced, and an open declaration to cease such evil works. “They counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.” Ephesus was largely populated with Greek citizens and probably the silver pieces were the Greek “drachmae/’ or the Latin “denarius”; probably the total cost was about ten thousand dollars. This was a great sacrifice.
No doubt that many of these books were rare and possessed a peculiar value of their own from the precious secrets they were supposed to contain. The results of preaching the gospel to the Ephesians and the confirmation of the word by miracles are thus seen in the effect that it had on these people to cause them to suffer such a great loss.
20 So mightily grew the word—While the people were in this state of mind the word of God increased among them. Since they had given up their magical arts, they were now ready to accept something else; hence, the truth as preached by Paul found lodgment in their hearts. The full meaning of the word rendered “mightily” is “with overpowering force and strength, which nothing could resist.” No wonder we find a large church at Ephesus. “The word of the Lord” grew and “prevailed”; that is, it kept growing and gaining strength; this was a day of triumph for Christ in Ephesus; Ephesus for centuries after this was a center of Christian power. Timothy came to Ephesus as also did John the apostle.
Acts 19:21-41
THE MOB; SILVER SHRINES OF DIANA
21 Now after these things were ended,—After the burning of the books on magical arts, Paul had it in heart to leave Ephesus. Paul “passed through Macedonia and Achaia” on his way “to Jerusalem.” Paul had probably written the first Corinthian letter while he was at Ephesus. He had a twofold object in this visit. The first was to stir up the faith of the churches, and correct any disorders which might be disturbing their development. The second was to bring to a close the collection for the poor saints at Jerusalem. (Romans 15:25; 1 Corinthians 16:1-3.) After he had completed his journey to Jerusalem he had it in heart to go to Rome. He said: “I must also see Rome.” This had been a long-cherished plan of Paul’s; he refers to it very distinctly in his letter to the church at Rome. (Romans 1:13; see also Romans 15:23-24 Romans 15:28.)
22 And having sent into Macedonia two of them—Paul sent Timothy and Erastus on to Macedonia while “he himself stayed in Asia” for a longer time. He had sent Timothy to Corinth (1 Corinthians 4:17), and had requested the church to treat him with kindness; he expected him to return, and he evidently had before Paul left Ephesus; he then sent Titus to Corinth to finish what Timothy had not quite succeeded in doing with instructions to meet him in Troas. Now Timothy and Erastus (Romans 16:23; 2 Timothy 4:20) go on to Macedonia to prepare the way for Paul. For some reason Paul was delayed; he gives a reason for this in 1 Corinthians 16:8 f. There was a great opportunity for Paul to do more work in Ephesus ; Pentecost came toward the end of May, and in this month the festival of Artemis, or Diana, was held in Ephesus; a great multitude would come to the city, which would give Paul an opportunity to preach the gospel to a great number; however, Paul did not remain till Pentecost.
23 And about that time there arose—Some trouble arose about this time concerning “the Way.” “The Way” is a very familiar term, and is used frequently by Luke as synonymous of the disciples of Christ. (Acts 9:2 Acts 19:9 Acts 22:4 Acts 24:14 Acts 24:22.) This term may have originated in the words which Christ had used of himself when he said: “I am the way and the truth and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6.) There had always been opposition to Christianity, but there seems to have developed more opposition now than at some previous time. The fight with wild beasts in 1 Corinthians 15:32, whatever it was, was before that epistle was written, and so before this new uproar. Paul as a Roman citizen could not be made to fight with wild beasts, but he so pictured the violent opponents of Christ in Ephesus.
24 For a certain man named Demetrius,—We do not know whether this Demetrius is the one spoken of in 3 John 1:12; however, he was from the neighborhood of Ephesus. Demetrius had something to do with this “no small stir” about the disciples of Christ. He was a silversmith and made images or shrines of Diana. He had a profitable business, and just at this time before the feast he would sell many of his shrines. A great multitude would come into the city to worship Diana, and they would want to take a shrine or image of Diana back home with them. Evidently Paul had condemned the practice of idolatry and this would hurt Demetrius’ business; so many of the Ephesians had become Christians and had destroyed their idols that Demetrius was much concerned about his trade. We see that Demetrius was more concerned about making money than he was about becoming a Christian; he cared nothing about others becoming a Christian, but he did want to sell his shrines to them.
25 whom he gathered together,—Demetrius got busy; he gathered those who were of the same craft and persuaded them to join him in opposing Paul’s preaching. Perhaps Demetrius was chief among those of his trade; trade unions or guilds were found among almost every kind of trade in the Roman Empire in apostolic times. This shows how easily the workman of the trade could be summoned to discuss anything relating to the trade, and how a disturbance could be had.
26 And ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus,—Here we have the argument that Demetrius makes to his fellow craftsmen to persuade them to join him in his opposition to the preaching of Paul. Not only in Ephesus, “but almost throughout all Asia,” Paul had injured their trade by preaching Christ. Demetrius may have exaggerated some to excite his fellow craftsmen to action. What Paul had preached had greatly disturbed his business. Demetrius does not mean the entire continent of Asia, but the province of Asia Minor. All the roads in Asia Minor centered in Ephesus; from its position it was almost as much a meeting place of eastern and western thought as was Alexandria.
Pilgrims came from all parts of Asia Minor to visit the famous shrine of Diana. Demetrius not only exaggerated his statements to his fellow craftsmen, but he also exaggerated the effect of Paul’s work. We know that Paul had established churches in Ephesus, Laodicea, and Colosse; John in Revelation speaks of the churches in Pergamum, Smyrna, Thyatira, Sardis, and Philadelphia. He correctly represented Paul’s teaching when he said that he preached against their idolatrous worship.
27 and not only is there danger that this our trade—Demetrius in further arguing his case before his fellow craftsmen said that not only their trade was in danger, but that “the temple of the great goddess Diana” was in danger of being abandoned. Demetrius mentioned his business first, and then the destruction of the shrine next; he knew that they would feel more keenly the force of his argument if he mentioned their business first. Again, he mentions the magnificence of “the great goddess Diana” “whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.” Here again he exaggerates; however, the temple of Diana was the most famous in the world, and a place of resort for people from all parts of Asia Minor and Greece. The temple of Diana was one of the wonders of the ancient world, and the glory and pride of all the Ephesians. If people followed the teachings of Paul they would give up their idolatry, and that would leave the temple desolate. Summing up De-metrius’ argument he makes but two points: his trade would be injured and their religion would be in danger.
He appealed to two of the strongest sentiments that rule the human heart—their financial interests and their religion. Selfish interests and appeal to their prejudice caused a riot and the city was full of tumult.
28 And when they heard this—Demetrius’ speech was very effective; he had made it probably in some open space near the place where the shrines were made. The people “were filled with wrath” and started an uproar. They shouted unanimously: “Great is Diana of the Ephesians.” This was similar to the cry, “O Baal, hear us,” by the priests of Baal on Mount Carmel in the days of Elijah. (1 Kings 18:26.) The idol was enshrined in the temple; it was different from the Greek goddess, Diana, which was represented as fair and beautiful, standing with a bow in her hand and a stag at her side as a huntress. “Diana of the Ephesians” was a crude many-breasted female figure, ending below the breasts in a square pillar curiously carved with ancient symbols of bees, flowers, and corn. It was reputed to have fallen down from heaven.
29 And the city was filled with the confusion:—Lewin, in his “Saint Paul,” describes this mob as follows: “The illiterate artisans, soured by reduced wages or want of employment, were roused into a state of frenzy, and full of rage they sallied forth into the streets to wreak vengeance on the object of their blind fury. The living mass rolled along, and the thousands of idlers, whom the games had attracted to Ephesus, swelled their numbers at every step, and the whole city was soon in a state of confusion.” They “rushed with one accord into the theatre,” but failing to find Paul, they then seized Gaius and Aristarchus, who had traveled with Paul from Macedonia. This Gaius is not mentioned anywhere else in the New Testament. He is not the one from Derbe (Acts 20:4), nor the one from Corinth (Romans 16:23; 1 Corinthians 1:14), and probably not the one to whom John writes (3 John 1:1). Aristarchus was of Thessalonica (Acts 20:4), and went with Paul to Rome (Acts 27:2) and became of his own accord a sharer of Paul’s exile and captivity (Colossians 4:10), and was Paul’s fellow worker (Philemon 1:24). The mob rushed into the theatre, and being disappointed at not finding Paul, Gaius and Aristarchus were attacked.
30 And when Paul was minded to enter—Paul was no coward ; he was ready to die for his Lord. He was loyal to his brethren and wanted to help them. It seems that he was out of reach of the mob when they seized Gaius and Aristarchus, and was anxious for their safety and zealous for the truth. The disciples would not permit him to risk his life with the mob. It is likely that he was dwelling with Aquila and Priscilla, who at this or some other time at Ephesus, “laid down their own necks” for his life. (Romans 16:4.) The brethren at Ephesus joined these two faithful disciples in restraining Paul from such danger.
31 And certain also of the Asiarchs,—“Asiarchs” were chief officials; there were ten in number who were chosen annually to superintend the games and festivals held in honor of the emperor and the gods. The games of Ephesus were held in the month of May in honor of Diana. Some of these officials were friends of Paul. It is interesting to observe that so many of those in high official position were friends of Paul. The apostle had great power in attracting honorable friends, such as Sergius Paulus, Gallio, Felix, and Festus, and the centurion on the voyage to Rome. It is remarkable that such leading and prominent men in this heathenish sport should have shown such a friendly and solicitous care for Paul. They used their influence on Paul to restrain him from going into the theatre where the infuriated mob had assembled.
32 Some therefore cried one thing, and some another:—The mob was greatly confused; some cried one thing, and some another ; many of the mob did not know why they had assembled. Verse 32 is a further description of what is recorded in verse 29. The vast multitude had assembled with a vague idea that something was wrong; they did not know what; hence, they could not act intelligently on anything. It seems strange that Demetrius, who was responsible for the mob, should remain in the background and not inform the mob as to its purposes.
33 And they brought Alexander out of the multitude,—Some think that this Alexander was the same as the coppersmith of 2 Timothy 4:14, whom Paul declared had done him much harm. “Coppersmith” may be used in the general sense of “metalworker,” and he may have been a fellow craftsman of Demetrius; this would give him some influence. The Jews put Alexander forward, because they were afraid that they would be confused with Paul, Gaius, and Aristarchus; the Jews opposed idolatry as did the Christians. Alexander was put forward to defend the Jews; he “beckoned with the hand”; that is, he rapidly waved his hand up and down to quiet the people so that he could speak to them. It seems that he was not permitted to speak.
34 But when they perceived that he was a Jew,—When the angry mob learned that Alexander was a Jew, they gave no heed to his request to speak to them. They knew that he was a Jew by his features, speech, or manner of dress. The crowd now became unanimous in their opposition to Alexander’s speaking; they would not hear him. The uproar continued for about “the space of two hours”; they were wild with fury, excitement, and superstition ; they continued shouting their slogan: “Great is Diana of the Ephesians.” Again they remind one of the procedure on the part of the worshipers of Baal in the days of Elijah, who “called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us.” (1 Kings 18:26.)
35 And when the townclerk had quieted the multitude,— Ephesus was a free city and elected its own officers; the recorder or secretary was the chief magistrate of the city, though the proconsul of the province of Asia lived there. The functions of this officer, in some respects, correspond to those fulfilled by the recorder of modern times; among his duties were the guardianship and tabulation of the state papers, the archives of the city, and in drawing up the public records. He began to address the multitude by paying tribute to the city and referring to Ephesus as the “temple-keeper of the great Diana.” He appealed to their superstition and to their civic pride. He meant to say, why imperil your cherished privileges granted by the Roman government by an unnecessary uproar about a question which no one would doubt ? He appeals to their superstition and religion by referring to the fact that all knew that the image “fell down from Jupiter.” Like other venerated idols, the statue of Diana was supposed to have fallen from the skies. He soothed the vanity of the crowd by his appeal to the world-wide fame of Ephesus and her image which fell down from heaven.
The heavens were considered the home of Jupiter. Zeus, or Jupiter, was considered ruler of the sky or heavens.
36 Seeing then that these things cannot be gainsaid,—The town clerk called attention to some undeniable facts as he and they thought. The legends were accepted without any proof; the town clerk reasoned as if no one would deny them. Since no one could rob Ephesus of its glory or the statue of Diana of its honor, they need not be so disturbed; they ought to be quiet and not do anything rash. It was useless to be so excited about that from which no harm could come; this was the town clerk’s first argument.
37 For ye have brought hither these men,—The town clerk here implies that they had acted rashly in precipitating the riot. The second argument that the town clerk makes is that Paul and his companions were not wicked men; they were “neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess.” They had done nothing to cause such an uproar. He reasoned that Paul and his companions have done nothing which would arouse their indignation. This statement shows how Paul had preached against error; he seems to have preached positive truths rather than making a direct attack on their error. He had hurt no religious prejudice by rude invectives; he was no blasphemer of the gods of Greece and Rome, but led men to the knowledge of truth by positive and kind representation of it. Paul had not shunned to preach the truth to them; this truth opposed all of the errors to which they were wedded; but he had preached the truth in such a way that they could not take offense at him, if we take the statement of the town clerk at face value. However, it may be that he was exaggerating and highly complimenting Paul and his companions in order to appease the anger of the crowd.
38 If therefore Demetrius, and the craftsmen—A third argument that the town clerk used called attention to the proper channels through which Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen could go with any grievance that they may have. This is an appeal to them to be law-abiding citizens, and let the proper authorities handle any violation of a law. This argument condemns Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen for causing such an uproar. The law was open; the Roman officials held court at intervals in Ephesus. In addition Ephesus was a free city, and had its local courts and magistrates. It may be that the court was in session at the time.
The town clerk here makes a definite appeal to the people to proceed orderly and legally, and not resort to mob violence. The “proconsuls” were the governors and judges in these matters. In the time of Paul, Asia was a senatorial province and was governed by a proconsul; however, the term is used here in the plural, while only one of these officials held office in the senatorial province. The term seems to have been used in a general sense.
39 But if ye seek anything about other matters,—The town clerk further argues the question that if they had any grievance whatsoever there were well-established laws by which all these matters could be settled. There was “the regular assembly”; this was not a “regular assembly”; it was an irregular one; it was not a legally organized assembly for settling disputes. Charges of illegal conduct should be settled in the regular legal way; if they wished to go further and pass resolutions about any matter, this could be done in the regular way, and not rashly by an excited and infuriated assembly. The crowd of citizens that the town clerk was addressing was simply a mob gathering; their decisions could have no weight, and such a meeting would only tend to damage the city in the eyes of the Roman government. The term “assembly,” as used here, is from the Greek “ekklesiai,” which is the same word that is translated “church.”
40 For indeed we are in danger—This is the concluding argument that the town clerk makes. The city was in danger by such a procedure of losing some of its prestige as a “free city.” Some of the liberties were in danger by the conduct of this mob; these people were responsible for such illegal proceedings. They were responsible to their own city government; responsible to the officers of the city; furthermore, they were responsible to the Roman government for such illegal assembly as was now convened. They were in danger of being “accused concerning this day’s riot,” and that too without any just cause for their proceedings. The highly esteemed liberties which the city claimed might be forfeited by this mob. There was a Roman law which made it a capital offense to raise a riot. This mob was unable to defend itself if brought before the proper authorities.
41 And when he had thus spoken,—It seems that the town clerk had great weight. The town clerk reasoned well; the offense which they had committed was not likely to be passed over lightly by the proconsuls; it would not be thought a legitimate excuse that they had laid hold of two Jews whom they wanted to put to death. After thus reasoning with them “he dismissed the assembly.” Here he gives a noble name to the assembly, that of a recogized mm; this would protect them against the charge to which they were liable.