The Acts of the Apostles

How the Gospel was carried from Jerusalem to Rome

David M Pearce

Chapter 9

The Great Collection

The highlight of Paul's third missionary journey was his stay at Ephesus. There is not much left of Ephesus today apart from ruined columns, an enormous amphitheatre, and ancient paving stones along which tourists plod in the summer heat.

Ampitheatre at Ephesus

2,000 years ago Ephesus was a great commercial metropolis, from which roads radiated out into the Asian continent. Teeming with traders, it also housed what was reputed to be the grandest temple in the world, the centre of worship of the great goddess Artemis, or Diana. This was not Diana, the lithe huntress, but a multi–breasted fertility goddess, ugly to modern eyes, but a fruitful source of income for the army of priests, hostel owners and souvenir manufacturers who milked the stream of worshippers flowing to her door.

For the apostle, Ephesus was a challenge. Such rampant idolatry, so many thousands of human beings being deluded into trusting a lump of stone and losing their money in the process, when the God of Israel could bring them joy, hope and everlasting life, called forth his strongest efforts. He began, as usual, with the synagogue. God's people deserved first refusal of his good news. "For three months he spoke boldly, arguing and pleading about the Kingdom of God" (Acts 19:8). Neither argument nor plea made much headway, so at length he gave up with the Jews, hired the Hall of Tyrannus, and spent the next three years preaching to the Gentiles. Paul's work seems to have been specially blessed by God. Magic arts were common in this city of superstition, so he was given the power to work extraordinary miracles to prove that his God truly lives. People even took home handkerchiefs that had been touched by Paul, and their sick relatives were cured by them. At one stage Paul's converts showed their change of heart by making a public bonfire of black–magic books. Thousands of pounds worth of handwritten volumes went up in flames. It was all good publicity, and the central position of Ephesus meant that "all the residents of Asia (i.e. the Roman province) heard the Word of the Lord" (Acts 19:10).

What Luke does not record in his chapter in Acts, is the intense pressure under which Paul was working at this time. For one thing, he had very little money. He always made it a rule to be self–supporting wherever he travelled, to disarm those critics who would have accused him of preaching for gain. This meant that he had to fall back on the trade of tent manufacture he had learnt as a young man. It was heavy work with poor pay. He once reminded the Thessalonian believers how "with toil and labour we worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you" (2 Thessalonians 3:8). It was the same at Ephesus. What is extraordinary is, that in spite of working night and day, Paul still found time to preach the gospel, "teaching you in public and from house to house" he pointed out to the elders of Ephesus "For three years" he says "I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears" (Acts 20:31). Imagine that – slogging away all day, including overtime, and then going out night after night to hold public debates, home Bible study classes and instruction sessions for new believers. His devotion to Jesus' work brought results. In fact people from Ephesus were drifting away from Diana so fast that the souvenir trade at her temple began to dry up. That really made enemies for Paul. He had always feared the assassination gangs from the synagogues, jealous of his success. "You know" he recalled to the elders "the trials which befell me through the plots of the Jews" (Acts 20:19). Added to that now were the vested interests of Demetrius the silversmith and the members of his guild, along with the hoteliers and other beneficiaries from the worship of the goddess.

Replica of the temple of Artimas

Small wonder that Paul writes of this period in his second letter to the Corinthians, "we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of the affliction we experienced in Asia; for we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself" (2 Corinthians 1:8). It is salutary to think of the cost to this great man as he poured out his health and his nerves to save sinners from death by his preaching. How utterly feeble by comparison are our efforts in the service of God. He puts us to shame.

Paul sensed his time at Ephesus was coming to an end, so he sent Timothy and Erastus on ahead to visit the churches in Greece and prepare for his coming. Around this time he wrote the First Letter to the Corinthians, which we have already looked at, and after a short interval he sent off Titus, probably by sea, to visit Corinth and report to him on the reception given to that important letter.

Meanwhile the clouds were gathering fast. The storm broke when Demetrius decided to get rid of Paul by the simple expedient of raising a riot. "You know", he said to the Craftsmen's Union, "that from this business we have our wealth. And … not only at Ephesus but almost throughout all Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable company of people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods" (Acts 19:25, 26).

It was a handsome tribute to the apostle, but it enraged the supporters of Diana, who could see their profits slipping away. They started a mass chanting of the catch phrase "Great is Diana of the Ephesians" and marched towards the amphitheatre. They managed to grab hold of two of Paul's travelling companions, but the apostle himself, fortunately, was not with them. When he heard of the disturbance, he was keen to go down himself and make his defence to the hostile crowd, but his friends persuaded him it would be an act of folly. For two whole hours the city was in an uproar. Luke remarks that the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not even know why they had come together. We have seen, tragically often in recent years, the power of a mob. The Law of Moses, very wisely, insisted "you shall not follow a multitude to do evil" (Exodus 23:2). We do well to keep away from angry crowds. The chanting of the mob, in the case of Jesus, brought about the death of the world's most innocent man. The riot at Ephesus was at length defused by the skilful intervention of the Town Clerk, who reminded Demetrius that the courts were the place for business complaints, and sent the townspeople home. But Paul knew he was no longer safe in the city, and packing his bags, set off north along the coast towards Troas.

Troas

Paul would have enjoyed staying at Troas, because it was the hometown of Luke, and there was plenty of scope for preaching. But he was anxious to hear how Titus had fared at Corinth, so his little party pressed on round the coast to Greece, where he met up with Titus travelling north towards him.

Ruins of ancient Corinth

He was greatly cheered by his news. "We rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus" he writes, "because his mind had been set at rest by you all" (2 Corinthians 7:13). The Corinthians had received Paul's first letter in a spirit of repentance. They had put right the malpractices he complained of, and were looking forward to his visit. Paul had deliberately delayed coming to them until Titus' report. Even now, there was still an important, if sensitive, point to get across to them, and he decided to write again to the Corinthians, so that the message would get there before he arrived. This letter was the Second Letter to the Corinthians in our Bible.

The topic of this second letter was one that was close to the apostle's heart. Long ago, when he first began his preaching work, he and the other apostles at Jerusalem had come to an agreement that he would go to the Gentiles, and they would continue preaching to the Jews. But he had promised them he would remember the poverty of the Jewish Christians, and seek to relieve it. He had already taken one public collection from Antioch to Jerusalem. Now he wanted to see the Gentile believers from Greece and Corinth pulling their weight in contributing to the needs of their Jewish brethren. It was a lovely idea, expressing the unity that belongs to true Christianity, bridging barriers of race and prejudice, and uniting together disciples across the seas. He wanted the Corinthians to have the money put by in good time, so that there would be no scurrying around when he arrived. He takes two whole chapters, 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, to explain the principles of Christian giving. Discipleship is not just a matter of believing. Salvation is certainly by faith, not works, but God expects our faith to move us to acts of sacrifice. "As you excel in everything"

Paul wrote "in faith, in utterance, in knowledge … see that you excel in this gracious work also" (2 Corinthians 8:7). In the most delightful way, Paul explains that it is a case of sharing. "Your abundance at the present time should supply their want, so that their abundance may supply your want, that there may be equality" (2 Corinthians 8:14). If we give generously when others are in need, God will see to it that help is there when we are in trouble ourselves. And we must always remember, he adds, that when we give to others, we give what God first gave to us. He is able to replace what we give with much more. "He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, will supply and multiply your resources, and increase the harvest of your righteousness … thanks be to God" he concludes "for His inexpressible gift." The gift of His Son, with all that cost, is more than we can ever repay.

All ended well. The Corinthians paid their contributions. Paul added the money to that he had already gathered in Greece, and accompanied by a few trusted brethren, set sail for Jerusalem. Before setting off, he penned the Epistle to the Romans. New plans were already forming in his mind. "I no longer have room for work in these regions" he told them "I have longed for many years to come to you; I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain" (Romans 15:23). Rome was Paul's next objective, as the white sails drew him speedily to the Holy Land.

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