Acts 19:1-10; Titus 3:13-14; Revelation 2:1-7
Paul gets settled in Ephesus and begins his ministry; Apollos reconnects with Zenas in Corinth; Demetrius the silversmith celebrates with his fellow silversmiths
…
Located towards the eastern side of the city, the banquet hall sits adjacent to several apartment clusters. As guests ascend the marble steps leading up to its doors, they are greeted by the Collegia’s leaders who warmly embrace them and thank them for coming.
“Thank you, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” A guild member replies. “Am I early?”
“Not at all.” The guild’s presiding leader responds. “You are right on time, my fellow silversmith. The food has just been laid out, and I think you’re going to like it!”
“Oh,” The president goes on. “Sometime tonight, I want to hear more about some of your casting designs. I’ve heard you’re building quite the repertoire.”
The member smiles and nods. “About 150 unique casts as of now.”
Slapping the member on the back and pushing him towards the inside of the hall, another key leader jokingly cajoles, “Better get in there. The wine is still good right now.”
The president laughs as he pokes fun. “You should know, Nicholas. You have been imbibing since you got here.”
“When a king enjoys his wine, does his cupbearer not pave the way?” Nicholas responds.
“As long as he has wine to enjoy, my friend.” The president quickly retorts. “Let our members get in there first and enjoy before you start carting home the amphoras. They’re the ones paying for this little soiree.”
…
Carefully making his way down the gangplank, the thick-bearded man takes a moment to stop and survey the people greeting one another along the pier. He smiles when he recognizes the familiar face of his dear friend jumping and waving in his direction. Waving, he continues down the plank and plants both feet firmly on the ground.
Like a wind gust, his friend swoops him up and gives him a long hug. “Zenas! My long friend.” He says. “So good to finally see you.”
Zenas laughs and jokes. “Apollos, my brother, these feet were just touching land for the first time in several days, and here you detain them longer, ever in suspense of what the ground must feel like.”
Apollos holds Zenas at arm’s length and says, “Let me look at you, my friend. You haven’t aged a moment since we last saw each other. What is your secret?”
“Evidently, I become timeless when I’m not on land.” He quips.
“Come, come.” Apollos replies. “I have so much to share with you about where I’ve been and who I’ve met along the way.” He looks down at a satchel and says, “Here, let me take this.”
…
Clapping his hands together in a rhythmically slow tempo, Demetrius stirs up an already lively crowd that is anxious to join in. The room quickly adapts and begins clapping in uniform. The tempo increases, and the battle cries begin. What began as a trickling brook is now a treacherous river of warriors screaming out as if in the heat of battle.
Demetrius leaps up onto a podium as the mad rush of clapping, foot stomping and yelling continues. Within a flashing instant, Demetrius holds up his hands and makes fists to quiet the room. The room obeys and the room reverberates for seconds followed by complete silence. Demetrius smiles and with a grand gesture, he hoists up his hands for a final volcano-like eruption. The crowd does not disappoint.
Ever smiling, Demetrius takes a moment and begins to address the awaiting mob.
“Business… is… booming! My friends.” He yells out.
The room hoists up their fists and yell out, “Hooorah!!!”
“Wine… is… flowing! My friends.” He offers.
“Hooorah!!!” They respond.
“Like a brilliant light millions can see from miles away… Artemis… is… shining!”
“Hooorah!!!”
With electricity permeating each man in the room, Demetrius stares out in silence for an interminably long time. Anticipating these next moments to be earmarked for the annals, Demetrius forcefully speaks out. “Pay attention to your craft, men. The quality of your metals. The care you give to your casts. The diligence you bestow upon your refinement. Do not skimp in your materials. Do not take shortcuts or you will undermine our reputation throughout the world. Do not make us look bad while we have the world at our feet.”
Nods are seen throughout the room.
“Smiths of Ephesus, hear me now.” Demetrius bellows. “The world is taking its cue from us. They come to us. The hoards buy from us in bulk. They cannot get enough of our work, and Artemis of Ephesus has become the singular point of focus throughout the empire. The way I see it… We have risen, and nothing will stand in our way!”
“Hooorah!!!”
…
With the city’s stadium and gymnasium behind him, Paul walks along a road that leads away from Ephesus. With a string of consistent foot traffic coming and going, Paul looks up to see a triangular capped building emerge from the taller brush in front of him. The road bends a bit and finally reveals the Temple of Artemis in all of its splendor. As he continues towards the edifice, he absorbs the sheer opulence of what seems to be a countless amount of ornate and gold-ladened columns propping up the oversized roof. He then stops to look around at the thousands of people milling about the temple and lets out a heavy sigh.
“Wow, Lord, that is… well, it’s something!” Paul utters to himself while out of the corner of his eye, he sees several younger men seated closely together, huddled and talking quietly amongst themselves. “That’s odd.” He thinks aloud.
He nears the group of men who take notice of his coming and begin to turn toward him. “Hey guys.” He says while trying his best to seem friendly.
The guys nod in return.
“I couldn’t help but notice that you’re hanging out in a curious spot.” Paul offers. He turns to see the temple behind him some distance away and then back to the group. “Have you seen it up close yet?”
The young men look at one another and stay silent.
Assessing their nervousness, Paul tilts his head and follows up with another question. “I’m guessing you’re staying this far away from it on purpose?”
“I told you this was a bad idea.” One of the young men blurts out while backhanding another in the chest. “Why did you even bring us out here?”
“C’mon.” The friend replies. “We’ve been talking about seeing this place for years. You’re just scared.”
“I’m not scared.” The first one shoots back. “I just don’t think we should be here.”
Paul smiles at the exchange, as a new thought occurs to him. “Jewish?” He asks.
The men suddenly grow wide-eyed and become even more nervous than before. One of them responds. “Sort of.” He says.
“I see.” Paul nods. “You’ve converted to Judaism?”
The group of men look at one another again in hopes of having one of them speak on the group’s behalf. “Tell him.” One finally smacks another in the shoulder. “You brought us here. Tell him.”
“Fine, you gutless flower.” The other one says.
Paul places a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing at the exchange.
“Look.” The newly selected spokesman says. “We weren’t born Jews, but we’ve all been involved at the synagogue since we were kids.”
“Your parents then?” Paul asks.
“Yeah, they got involved when they were younger, and we have been a part of the synagogue for years.” The young man offers.
Paul looks at each of the faces and asks. “Is that true for all of you?” Paul starts counting heads. “What, are there twelve of you?” He asks.
The men look at one another again and start nodding. Another one of the men finally speaks up and asks. “Who are you? Are you Jewish?”
“I was wondering when you were going to ask.” Paul chuckles. “Yes. I am.”
“Wait.” The first spokesman interrupts. “What are you doing here then? You know even getting close to the temple isn’t allowed.”
Paul raises his eyebrows and laughs. “You raise an interesting point, though I suppose I could ask you the same question.”
“Have you heard of Apollos?” One of the others asks.
Paul fully directs his attention to the one asking. Staring at the young man, Paul finally responds. “Why do you ask?”
Another interrupts. “Apollos was an amazing speaker!”
“Yeah.” Yet another says. “We’ve never heard anyone like him before.”
“Have you heard of John the Baptizer?” Yet another asks.
“What about Jesus?” Another adds.
“Woah. Slow down guys.” Paul places his hands up. “You sound like you have a lot of questions here. It also sounds like this Apollos fellow has given you a lot to think about.”
The men excitedly talk amongst themselves about what they recall.
“That sounds very interesting indeed.” Paul says. “So, tell me… Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
This silences the group, as they look back and forth at one another with questioning faces. “What’s the Holy Spirit?” The men ask one another while shrugging in response. They look back at Paul and ask, “We don’t know. Yeah, we haven’t even heard of the Holy Spirit.”
“You were baptized though, yes?” Paul asks.
“Yes,” The group responds in unison. “Apollos offered baptism to those who were wanting to get right with God.”
“John’s baptism.” Paul asserts.
The men nod in affirmation.
“I see,” Paul replies. “Yes, you’re right. John baptized with a baptism of repentance, but John was telling people to believe in Jesus who came after him. John was preparing the way for the Messiah himself.”
“Messiah!?!” The men respond. “Jesus?”
“Yes.” Paul says. “The true heir to the throne of David and bringer of the New Covenant between God and anyone who believes upon him.”
The group sits in stunned silence. Finally one of the men asks, “What do we do with this information?”
Paul laughs and replies. “Well, you certainly don’t sit around and stay here. Get up. Tell me… where is the nearest river?”
…
Acts 19:1-10; Titus 3:13-14; Revelation 2:1-7
We’re going to stop here for today.
Paul meets up with several young men whose families had converted to Judaism at some earlier point. It is likely they heard the teachings of Apollos at some point before Priscilla and Aquila had personally discipled him. Under Apollos, these learners would have been familiar with the message and baptism of John.
Shortly after his arrival in Ephesus, Aquila and Priscilla would have updated Paul with the apologetic ministry of Apollos, how his ‘John the Baptist’ repentance style message was impacting the synagogue, and that he was now with Timothy in Corinth. While Zenas the Lawyer shows up on the scene in Corinth at some point, Paul, Aquila and Priscilla were not yet familiar with him.
Zenas the lawyer likely was a converted Jew himself and knew Apollos from Alexandria. Together, the two of them would make a dynamic preaching team in the synagogues in some of the larger Roman cities. In a letter written to Titus later on–Titus has known Paul since their days in Antioch and would be sent to Corinth, Crete, Ephesus and other cities throughout this part of the world–Paul would encourage Titus to remind his people to provide housing, food, and financial support to help these two continue in their synagogue related ministries.
Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos with their trip. See that they are given everything they need. Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others; then they will not be unproductive.
— Titus 3:13-14
Meanwhile, we have set the stage with Demetrius and the silversmith trade guild here in Ephesus. Prior to the church communities that would take the Roman Empire by storm over the next 300 years, such dynamic social communities were found in ethnic communities, some religious communities (sometimes both, such as the Jewish synagogues), Rome was filled with other types of communities that don’t get much attention in our studies very often.
The trade guilds were primary social communities for much of the world before the church came around. Trade guilds–or the Collegium–not only involved a professional association of tradesmen and women, they were also political and religious in nature too. Birthdays, holidays and burial services were often celebrated within the trade guilds where membership fees were required and social circles were formed. Banquet parties were occasional, based on the funds available from collections, where the incorporation of worship to a patron god was commonplace. With periodic events and regular meetings, we might say that the trade guilds functioned similarly to how the church has functioned here in America for the past 300 years. They functioned as the “tap root” for all of professional and personal life to stem. In most cases, trade guilds were seen as the norm within Roman society and as early as the first Century BC, they would require legal recognition and approval by the Roman government.
While the 2nd century was regarded as the golden age of guilds, by the 5th century, these trade guilds were all but extinguished with funds confiscated by the state (church). These clubs were used for opportunistic political activism, especially when it would benefit their interests. There were waves when certain emperors, eg, Julius Caesar, would shut down the trade guilds and keep them from functioning for a time, lest they become subversive. Similarly, Emperor Trajan insisted that Pliny of Bythnia shut down the trade guilds that had threatened enough leverage to pose a threat.
Similarly to how FaceBook or Twitter might operate today, some Collegium were shut down due to their influence and outright opposition to various political entities. When in doubt, censorship would be the first way to hamstring a trade guild’s power.
As for the silversmiths here in Ephesus, naturally their patron goddess was Artemis. She oversaw the success of their business, as they profited greatly by crafting and selling effigies of her to tourists from all over. Paul’s message was a direct threat to the otherwise strong collegia. The church was a new community that threatened the existing one. Trade guilds were building much momentum by this time in the mid-1st century, so the threat of anyone interrupting its success was harshly dealt with. In part, the early church was regarded as an illegal trade guild and some of the justification for its persecution by Nero’s rule was in light of this illegitimate group and potential threat.
A new community had been born, and the trade guilds would suffer greatly for it. Later on, Rome would rightly see this as both a political and economic threat. And while the threat would become fully realized later on, and while the replacement of these communities would be vastly different from what the early church looked like, Ephesus, like Rome later on, had no idea of what was coming. Crazy, right?
Let’s wrap this up for today with one takeaway:
Here we have Paul, introducing the Spirit of God into the world of Ephesus, and the community at this time would become the hallmark of what a genuine Christian community was designed to look like–though it would only last for so long.
What the Spirit begins here in Ephesus would later feel different, as if life was being governed by a set of rules versus a life earnestly seeking out God’s direction. It was only a matter of time before rules would clearly define what was permissible and what was not. Often in such cases where wide brushstrokes of policy making are painted, the Spirit becomes highly limited in what he will and will not do.
When Paul first settled in Ephesus, God was wonderfully on the move and changing hearts to passionately follow him at all costs. However, by the time John wrote the Revelation letter to the seven churches including the church in Ephesus, he warned the church of losing their first love, namely their love of God himself.
In Revelation two, John writes these words of warning to the church in Ephesus:
“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands:
“I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do. “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.
— Revelation 2:1-7
It’s easy to define our Christianity as a list of what we are or are not allowed to do. Moreover, it’s especially easy to shame those who might not be following the same list of rules that you follow. Unfortunately, this act of shaming ends up becoming terribly divisive within a community, and furthermore, it distances a community from being truly sensitive to the Spirit’s leadings and often forfeits an individual’s walk with the Lord. Here we see the righteousness of God being poorly substituted by an individual’s (or a community’s) self-righteous behavior.
So… what is needed? Faith. Getting back to the basics of seeking God out and trusting Him with the results. That’s what started us in the faith. That is how we keep going.
May you walk in the same faith that you did when you first believed. May you carry out your Christianity as one who lets the Spirit of God guide you, just as He did when you first believed. May you, in all humility, subject yourselves to the Spirit’s unforced rhythms and promptings of grace. May you carry out your first love of Jesus once again. With that, let’s move forward… together.