One of Paul’s greatest
evangelistic outreaches was in Ephesus. In just two years, all the
Jews and Gentiles living there came to hear the gospel (Acts 19:10).
The name of the Lord was greatly magnified.
Ephesus was a church without
walls - the marketplace. Though the Roman capital of Asia was
Pergamum, Ephesus was the largest city in that province.
Why was Ephesus so prominent
and important? A number of contributing factors were:
Trade & Commerce
Situated at the
mouth of River Cayster, Ephesus was the most favourable seaport in
the province of Asia. It was also the most important trade centre.
Its marketplace was filled with all kinds of trades, professionals
and businesses from the lowly road sweepers to elite tycoons. But
today, the city is ruined and filled with swamplands.
Population
The city had a population of perhaps
300,000 people. It had a diversity of various races and people
groups.
Culture
Ephesus had a theatre that could seat an
estimated 25,000 people. A main highway, about 35 metres wide, ran
from the theatre to the harbour. At each end of the highway stood an
impressive gate. On each side were rows of columns about 15 metres
high. Behind these columns were gymnasiums, bathhouses and
impressive buildings.
Religion
This was perhaps the most significant
reason for the prominence of Ephesus. The Temple of Artemis (Diana)
was there. It ranked as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient
World. Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo and the daughter of
Zeus. She was known as the moon goddess or the goddess of hunting.
The temple at Ephesus housed the multi-breasted image of Artemis.
The building was supported by 127 columns, each about 60 metres
high. The Ephesians took great pride in this grand architectural
wonder. During the Roman period, they promoted the worship of
Artemis by minting coins with the inscription, "Diana of Ephesus."
The history of Christianity at
Ephesus began probably about AD 50. Paul took Priscilla and Aquila
on a missionary journey. They sailed to Ephesus (Acts 18:18-28). He
left them in the city while he went up to Jerusalem, promising them
that he would return to Ephesus on a later date. While in Ephesus,
Priscilla and Aquila met Apollos.
Apollos was a Jew, a wonderful
Bible teacher and preacher. He had just arrived in Ephesus from
Alexandria in Egypt. It was while he was in Egypt that someone told
him about John the Baptist and what John had said about Jesus. That
was all that he knew. He had never heard the rest of the gospel
story! Nevertheless he was preaching boldly and enthusiastically in
the synagogue, "The Messiah is coming! Get ready to receive Him!"
Priscilla and Aquila heard Apollos preaching powerfully. They met
with him afterwards, explaining to him what had happened to Jesus
since the time of John.
Apollos had been thinking
about going to Greece. The believers encouraged him to do so. They
wrote to their fellow-believers in Greece, telling them to welcome
him. And upon his arrival in Greece, Apollos was greatly used of God
to strengthen the church. He powerfully refuted all the Jewish
arguments in public debate, showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was
indeed the Messiah.
While Apollos was in Corinth,
Paul traveled through Turkey and arrived in Ephesus. There he found
several disciples (Acts 19:1). "Did you receive the Holy Spirit?" he
asked them. "No," they replied, "we don't know what you mean. What
is the Holy Spirit?"
"Well then, what kind of
baptism did you receive?" he asked. And they replied, "The baptism
of John." Then Paul pointed out to them that John's baptism was to
demonstrate a desire to turn away from sin to God and that those
receiving his baptism must then go on to believe in Jesus, the one
John said would come later. As soon as they heard this, they were
baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Paul laid his hands
upon their heads. The Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in
other languages and prophesied. The men involved were about twelve
in number.
Paul went to the synagogue and
preached boldly each Sabbath day for three months, telling what and
why he believed, persuading many to believe in Jesus. But some
rejected his message and publicly spoke against Christ. So Paul left
them. Gathering the believers, he began to teach them daily during
the hot midday hours at the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on
for the next two years. Everyone in the Turkish province of Asia
Minor, both Jews and Greeks, heard the message of the Lord.
God gave Paul the anointing to
do unusual miracles. Even his handkerchiefs and aprons had the power
to heal the sick and cast out demons. A team of itinerant Jews, who
were casting out demons, tried to do the same. They were the seven
sons of Sceva, a Jewish priest. They said to the evil spirits: "I
command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!"
When they tried it on a man possessed by a demon, the demon replied,
"I know Jesus and I know Paul, but who are you?" And the demon
leaped on them and beat them up. They fled out of the house naked
and badly injured.
This story about the seven
sons of Sceva spread quickly all throughout Ephesus to both Jews and
Greeks. A solemn fear descended on the city. And the name of the
Lord Jesus was greatly honoured. Many of the believers, who had been
practicing black magic, confessed their evil deeds. They brought
their witchcraft books and charms, and burned them at a public
bonfire. The estimated value of all the books was 50,000 pieces of
silver. The whole marketplace in Ephesus was greatly transformed by
the power and presence of God.
As the great harvest of souls
came into God’s kingdom, the worship of Artemis was brought down.
The businesses of many silversmiths and craftsmen, manufacturing the
silver shrines of the goddess Artemis, were greatly affected. Their
sales volume plummeted. And these ungodly men began to stir a riot
against the Christians.
Today the marketplace is still
filled with all kinds of evils and demonic activities. Almost every
office and factory in Asia has an altar erected to worship a pagan
god or goddess. The working people are daily confronted with powers,
seen and unseen. These powers are not prevalent inside the walls of
the churches. This spiritual warfare is real and intense in the
marketplace.
The marketplace is also filled
with all kinds of filthy practices and false teachings. After Paul
departed from Ephesus, Timothy remained to combat false teachings (2
Tim. 4:3; Acts 20:29). In the letter to the seven churches, Apostle
John described the Church at Ephesus as flourishing and fighting a
good fight against false teachers. But she had lost her first love
(Rev. 2:1-7). Besides fighting against the spiritual powers, the
people in the marketplace have to fight a daily battle in their
souls. Warring against the love of money - the root of all evils.
Serving mammon or serving God?
In his letter to the Church in
Ephesus, Paul wrote:
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also
loved the church and gave Himself for her,
that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by
the Word,
that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having
spot or wrinkle
or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
Eph 5:25-27