The Supremacy of Christ in Ephesus

That's Acts chapter 19.

Acts 19 · chapter mention

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus.

There he found some disciples and asked them,

Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?

They answered, No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.

So Paul asked, Then what baptism did you receive?

John's baptism, they replied.

Paul said, John's baptism was a baptism of repentance.

He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.

On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.

When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

There were about twelve men in all.

Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months.

Paul was a priest, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.

And some of them became obstinate.

They refused to believe and publicly maligned the way.

So Paul left them.

He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.

God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were deeply possessed.

They would say, in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.

The seven sons of Sceva, the Jewish high priests, were doing this.

One day, the evil spirit answered them,

Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, and who are you?

Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on and overpowered Paul.

He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and fleeing.

When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear.

The name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.

Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds.

A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly.

When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to 50,000 brothels.

In this way, the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

After all this happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia.

After I have been there, he said, I must visit Rome also.

He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia,

while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer.

About that same time, there arose a great disturbance about the way.

A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines to Artemis,

brought in no little business for the craftsmen.

He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said,

Men, you know we receive a good income from this business.

And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus,

and in practically the whole province of Asia.

He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.

There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name,

but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited,

and the goddess herself, who is worshipped throughout the province of Asia and the world,

will be robbed of her divine majesty.

When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting,

Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!

Soon the whole city wasn't enough for him.

The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia,

and rushed just one path into the theater.

Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him.

Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul,

sent him a message, begging him not to venture into the theater.

The assembly was in confusion.

Some were shouting one thing, some another.

Most of the people didn't even know why they were there.

Jews pushed Alexandra to the front,

and some of the crowd shouted instructions to her.

A motion for silence in order to make a defense before the people.

But when they realized he was a Jew,

they all shouted in unison for about two hours,

Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!

The city clerk quieted the crowd and said,

Men of Ephesus!

Doesn't all the world know that the city of Ephesus

is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis,

and upper image, which fell from heaven?

Therefore, since these facts are undeniable,

you ought to be quiet, not to do anything rash.

You brought these men here,

though they've neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess.

If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen

have a grievance against anyone,

the courts are open, and there are proconsuls.

They can press charges.

If there's anything further you want to bring up,

it must be settled in the legal assembly.

As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting

because of today's events.

In that case, we would not be able to account for this commotion

since there is no reason for it.

After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.

It's the passage that Daniel read for us, Acts chapter 19,

Acts 19 · chapter mention

on page 1115.

We're continuing to look at God's unstoppable mission,

continuing to look at Paul's missionary journeys,

and here I want us to see the supremacy of Christ

in the city of Ephesus.

What we've seen as Paul has been traveling around

is that he is on a mission to declare to the world

that Jesus and Jesus alone is Lord.

And so he's continuing his ministry.

He's been moving around different important cities

within the Roman Empire,

cities that are full of many different gods,

many different shrines,

many different religions all mixed together,

and cities where the cult of the emperor

was also becoming increasingly significant.

And for us, I think, as we increasingly, I guess,

moved to a pre-Christian or post-Christian,

they're pre-Christian, we're post-Christian society,

it's great for us to be reminded

of the supremacy of King Jesus

and that we wouldn't be dispirited,

we wouldn't be discouraged,

we'd remember Jesus is on the throne,

he's still building his church.

And so what I want us to see tonight in Ephesus

is some of the unique features

that Dr. Luke brings out when Paul visits Ephesus,

to see how Jesus continues to build his church,

to see some of the different backgrounds

that people are called into the church from.

And I also hope that we'll have a few minutes

to pray for similar groups in our own day.

So we'll kind of explore what's been happening

and then I hope we'll have a few minutes to pray at the end.

So first, a unique feature when Paul arrives in Ephesus

are these baptisms.

In the first seven verses,

we discover Paul meeting with 12 disciples.

They're called disciples,

although as Paul begins to ask them questions,

we discover that there are certain vital truths

that are missing.

They're not yet Christians,

they're sympathetic,

they're open to God's word,

they're listening to the truth,

but they're needing more truth

and especially they need to understand

that Jesus is the center of the Christian faith.

And I think we can say that they're not yet Christians

because in verse two,

Paul asks them,

did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?

And they answered, no.

We've not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.

Most likely they haven't heard

about either the Great Commission

when Jesus told the disciples

to go into all the world

and to baptize people in the name of the Father

and the Son and the Spirit.

And they certainly haven't heard of Pentecost

in Acts chapter two,

when the Spirit comes on the church as promised.

It's promised.

And after Pentecost,

it's interesting,

as Peter preaches that first sermon,

I guess, of the church,

his message is,

here is Jesus.

Here is Jesus as prophesied

and predicted in the Old Testament.

Here is the suffering,

the death and resurrection of Jesus.

And the people say,

what do we need to do?

And there is that call to repent from sin,

to believe in Jesus.

And they're told they'll receive

the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And that's what happens

in Acts chapter two

to the disciples,

to the first church.

And we'll see it happening

to these guys as well.

But they don't have the Holy Spirit.

And also,

in verse three,

they're not baptized

into the name of Jesus.

Paul asked them,

then what baptism did you receive?

John's baptism,

they replied.

John's baptism was a baptism of repentance.

He told the people to believe

in the one coming after him.

John and his ministry

was preparing the way.

But it's Jesus who brings the kingdom,

Paul is explaining.

And so everybody needs to be in him.

And so as Paul clarifies

to these 12 disciples,

the central place of the Lord Jesus,

what happens next

is that they are baptized,

verse five,

into the name of the Lord Jesus.

That's unusual.

They're re-baptized

because their first baptism

wasn't into the name

of the Lord Jesus.

And then we see

they have the same experience

that the disciples had

at Pentecost.

In Acts chapter two,

the Holy Spirit came on them

and they spoke in tongues

and they prophesied.

Just like when Jesus sent

the Spirit first of all,

and people are able to proclaim

in lots of different languages

the message of Jesus as Savior.

And so now they are Christians

as they understand

the central place of Jesus.

Now why does this matter

for us today?

Well it matters

because we want people

within church,

we want people who are sympathetic

to God and to the good news

to have clarity on the truth.

This story reminds us

that knowing certain things

about Christian faith,

certain things about God

is not enough.

People need to know Jesus.

They need to know Jesus as Lord,

Jesus as Savior.

We can think about it this way,

with our cars.

We have cars and we have sat-nav.

Our sat-nav is only as good

as the mapping systems

that we have downloaded

onto our GPS device.

So if our maps are out of date

or if our maps are incomplete,

we will find ourselves

perhaps going off course,

we will find ourselves

perhaps unable to get

to our desired destination.

And what Paul reveals

to these guys

is that it's the same

for the truth

about the way of salvation.

We need to be clear

that it's through faith

within the Lord Jesus

that a person is saved.

Jesus is the cornerstone

of the church.

The church is built

on his truth,

who he is

as the Son of God

and the Son of Man

who comes to be

the suffering servant,

living for us

and then dying for our sin

and rising for our salvation.

That he comes as

the Lamb of God,

that once-for-all sacrifice

to atone for our sin.

The only way

for us to have peace

with God

is through Jesus.

And so it was really important

for Paul to share that.

And so it's really important

for us

and one of the ways

that we can share our faith

is by doing that

in church.

We live in a place

and we have a location

in our city

where there's quite often

people coming

and going

in our church

for different reasons

and we never know

what brings a person in.

Some people are here

on holiday.

Some people are looking

for a new church.

Some people are

maybe sad,

maybe anxious,

maybe troubled

coming into church

and we need to be able

to talk to,

welcome new people

and to be able

to talk to them

to find out

what they know

so that we might be able

to share the truth

with them.

So one of the groups

that we'll pray for

is we'll pray for people

who come to church

but who aren't yet Christian.

We know that we have

some of them

and the churches

that we belong to

if we're not from this church

will have people like that.

The next unique thing

about Paul's visit

to Ephesus

is this sort of surprising story

in verses 13 to 17,

the story of the beatings

and I will get to that

in a little minute.

Verse 8,

when Paul enters the synagogue,

he speaks boldly there

for three months

arguing persuasively

about the kingdom of God.

Now we've seen this

as we've looked at

Paul's missionary journeys.

His mission strategy is

let me find this synagogue,

let me find the place

where the Jewish people

are gathering

so that I can tell them

that the Messiah

that they're looking for

has come

and his name is Jesus.

And so the Jews

and the God feeders,

they were hearing

that message.

So he does that

for three months

but then we discover

as in other cities,

some of the Jews

become resistant,

they become obstinate,

they don't want to hear

the message.

So Paul leaves

and in verses 9 and 10

we discover

that he takes his teaching,

he takes his debating

to the lecture hall

of Tyrannus.

So it seems like

he hires this venue

where for two years

he can spend

a significant amount

of time every day.

Some of the scholars

reckon he may be

taught in two years

for over two,

maybe between two

and three thousand hours

showing Jesus is Lord

and seeking to demonstrate

from the Old Testament

that Jesus is the Lord,

seeking to speak

about the historical realities

of Jesus in the world

that he is God's promised saviour.

So that many in the province

are hearing the word

of the Lord,

we're told in verse 10.

And then again,

as we often see,

we see it in the life

of Jesus,

we see it with the apostles,

verse 11 and 12,

God brings word

and miracle together.

So Paul is preaching

with power

and then we also get

these miracles

that are happening.

It seems like

these handkerchiefs,

perhaps the sweat rags

for his job

as a tent maker,

perhaps the apron

of tent making,

when he takes them

off for the day,

they're carried around town

and people that touch them

are being cured

of illness.

Here is God's way

of saying to the people,

you need to listen

to this man

and his message.

It's a message

of power

and authority

that comes from God

himself.

But we've seen that

in other cities,

but what we haven't seen

is this story

in verse 13 to 17.

It's very unusual.

It's very dramatic.

It strikes us perhaps

as mildly amusing,

but it's certainly

a very striking

public show

of the power

of Jesus,

a way of validating

the supremacy

of Jesus

and the authority

of Paul

as a messenger.

So what happens

is there's a group

of these seven sons

of Sceva

who seems like

they want to make

a name for themselves

as those who can drive

out evil spirits.

They recognize

the power

of Paul's ministry

and they think,

I want some

of that action.

And so they try

and cast out

a demon

in the name

of Jesus

whom Paul

preaches.

F.F. Bruce,

a Bible scholar,

says,

like a weapon

wrongly handled,

this exploded

in their hands.

We have in verse 15

evil spirits.

Jesus, I know,

I know about Paul,

I know his power

and authority.

Who are you?

And he overpowers

and gives them

a beating.

What's happening here

is they're trying

to claim

the power of Jesus

without knowing

Jesus.

They're trying

to act as if

they're in Jesus' team

but they're not

coming in

his name.

And so

God acts

for the glory

of Jesus

through this beating

because what

happens in verse 17?

When this became

known to the Jews

and Greeks

living in Ephesus,

they were all

seized with fear

and the name

of the Lord Jesus

was held

in high honour.

God uses

this moment

to further

display the

majesty

of Jesus

as Lord.

So we've got

some people

trying to exploit

the power of Jesus

and they are

exposed

so that the

true messenger

and the true

power of Jesus

is revealed.

We hear about this

in the news

from time to time.

In the news

this week,

the people that

were crowdfunding

to apparently

help homelessness

but they were

pocketing

somewhere in the

region of

£300,000

for themselves,

it seems like

these sons of

Sceva are

trying to exploit

the name of

Jesus in order

to further

their own

career and

to pursue

their own

glory.

Claiming the

name of Jesus

but not being

with Jesus,

not knowing

Jesus,

personally submitting

to him as

Lord,

we discover here

it is a

dangerous thing.

There is a

warning here,

I think.

There is a

warning about

ministries and

churches which

claim to be

Christian but

don't know or

represent Jesus.

Places that

call themselves

Christian churches

but they don't

believe the

Bible.

They don't

believe Jesus

is the Son of

God.

They don't

believe that he

died for sin or

that he truly

rose from the

dead for salvation.

We see in this

part of town a

lot of Mormons

and Jehovah's

witnesses.

Again,

claiming to be

Christian but

with a very

different message

about Jesus,

not representing

Jesus as the

Son of God

and the

Saviour of the

world.

And so one of

the groups that

we will pray

for are to

pray for

churches in

our city,

in our cities

that are not

true churches,

to pray for

those who are

caught up in

cults,

for their true

conversion,

and so that

these places

would become

true places

of worship

where the

gospel is

shared,

and we'll

also pray

against their

influence so

that people

will see the

truth.

Because it's

so harmful

when somebody

is looking for

spiritual reality

to go to a

place that's

not presenting

it, when

they're not

presenting Jesus.

after the

beatings, another

unique thing

happens, we

see this

great bonfire

take place,

verses 18 to

20.

One of the

things that

becomes clear

about Ephesus,

which is true

of a lot of

Roman cities,

is it's a

place where

idols and

statues and

pagan religion

was everywhere.

If you wanted

to go to the

butchers to get

your meat, the

meat that you'd

be buying, we'd

most likely have

been sacrificed

at a temple to

one of the

pagan gods and

then sold on.

In Ephesus, if

you wanted a

doctor or a

hospital, the

only place that

you could go

was to the

doctors who

were connected

to the pagan

god of health,

Asclepios.

So everything

about life was

connected to

pagan religion.

Trade and

tourism in

Ephesus was all

centred on the

temple of

Artemis, one of

the seven wonders

of the ancient

world.

So here is a

city that's

dominated by

other religions

and alternative

world views.

Now let's see

what happens.

Verse 18,

many of those

who believed

now came and

openly confessed

their evil

deeds.

A number who

practiced

sorcery brought

their scrolls

together and

burned them

publicly.

When they

calculated the

value of the

scrolls, the

total came to

50,000

drachmas.

In this way,

the word of

the Lord

spread widely

and grew in

power.

So you've got

pagan religion,

but you've also

got another

group and

they're practicing

sorcery, this

dark magic

attached to

evil powers.

Practicing it

for themselves

or for others

in order to

bring health or

safety or

wealth.

people.

But then, as

they hear the

gospel, the

good news of

Jesus, and as

they believe,

they're confessing

and they're also

confessing very

publicly that

they are going to

be trusting Jesus

with their lives.

And they do

that with this

great big public

bonfire.

Here is their

way of saying,

I'm breaking

with this old

way of life.

I'm living a

new life for

Jesus.

I trust that

his power is

greater than

that dark

power.

I no longer

want anything

to do with

that.

So here is a

group of people

in the middle

of a very

pagan city

and they're

making a very

radical change

and only the

superior power

of Jesus

explains this

kind of switch.

They're hearing

the gospel.

They're hearing

Paul.

day after

day teaching

and debating

and discussing.

They're hearing

the gospel.

They're understanding

who God is.

They grew up

perhaps in a

city that had

lots of little

gods and Paul

is telling them

there's only one

true God and

he's the creator

of us all and

we're all

accountable to

him.

And that God

is both good

and loving but

he's also holy

and just.

And Paul would

have been speaking

to them not

just about who

God is but

also about who

they were as

people.

Made in the

image of God

with value and

dignity.

Made to know

and enjoy God.

Made to be

worshippers of

God.

Made to love

God and to love

one another.

Presenting the

idea of this is

how we are made

to live.

But no doubt

Paul would have

spoken to them

about how we

actually live.

He would have

spoken to them

about the reality

of sin.

That they have

failed to

worship.

That they had

failed to love

God and to

love others.

That instead

they were being

held in slavery

to false gods

and slavery to

sin leading to

death.

But we know

that he also

came proclaiming

Jesus as the

good news.

The saviour that

we all need.

That whereas we

are unable to

meet God's

perfect standards

there is one who

did.

Jesus, God's

son.

He lived a life

of perfect

obedience.

Lived a life of

perfect love towards

God and towards

other people.

And he came to

be a substitute

both in his

perfect life

satisfying God's

law that we

break and we

cannot fulfill

but also

satisfying the

justice of God

against God's

broken law.

Jesus comes to

be the sacrifice

paying the price

for our sin.

In order that

through faith in

him we might be

forgiven.

That if we

respond in faith

and believe to

Jesus instead

of receiving

hell and

judgment as we

deserve we can

receive heaven and

eternal life with

him as a great

gift of God's

grain.

And as Paul

preached that

message there

were people who

were coming to

faith and they

were turning their

life around and

that's still the

gospel message

today.

That's still the

invitation to

respond and to

turn.

And we know

that God is

still rescuing

people from

various backgrounds

and bringing them

into his kingdom.

This week I was

reading the

magazine of the

Open Doors

organization.

They serve the

persecuted church

around the world

and they were

telling the story

of a pastor by

the name of

David in

Syria.

And Pastor

David was

converted from a

branch of Islam

called Druze

Islam.

A mixture of

Islam and

various eastern

religious ideas

like reincarnation.

There's about

600,000 of them

in Syria.

Well he became

a follower of

Jesus and he

became a

Christian and he

began pastoring a

church in a war

zone and he

said that last

month he

baptized 16 new

Christians, all

converts from this

Druze Islam.

And over the

last number of

years there's been

hundreds who've

been turning from

that way of

life to faith in

the Lord Jesus.

Jesus is still

building his

church in hard

places.

Jesus is still

moving people from

spiritual darkness

into the kingdom

of light.

Just remind us

that Jesus is

supreme and we

get our confidence

as we pray.

So we'll pray

for those in our

cities who are in

the grip of new

age spirituality,

for those who are

desperate for

spiritual meaning

but don't know

where to turn.

We'll pray for

those of other

faiths.

We'll pray for

those we know

who are sharing

Jesus across

cultures and

across different

faith backgrounds.

The last unique

thing that we see

in Ephesus is the

response of these

businessmen.

It's an interesting

response led by

Demetrius.

Verse 23, we read

about that time

there arose a great

disturbance about

the way.

Time and again as

Paul preaches, he

meets those who

believe, some

instantly, some

over time but we

also see time and

again that the way

of Jesus provokes

opposition and

hostility.

And here in

Ephesus, the scene

is set for a power

contest between

Jesus and the

great goddess

Artemis or Diana.

And what's

happening here is

that God is

clearly working to

show that Jesus

is the greater

power, authority

and glory, much

greater than their

man-made religion.

Let's hear

Demetrius.

Demetrius in

verse 24 is a

silversmith.

His job is to

make shrines of

Artemis and he's

obviously doing

quite well

financially.

He calls the

other businessmen

together, the

workmen and

related trades and

said, men, you

know we receive a

good income from

this business and

you see and hear

how this fellow

Paul has convinced

and led astray

large numbers of

people here in

Ephesus and

practically the

whole province of

Asia.

He says that

man-made gods

are no gods at

all.

Paul has been

exposing the

folly of

idolatry and

many are being

persuaded.

Demetrius is not

happy.

not happy.

Verse 27,

there's danger

not only that our

trade will lose

its good name

but also that the

temple of the

great goddess

Artemis will be

discredited and

towards the end of

verse 27 she'll be

robbed of her

divine majesty.

So see, Jesus as

Lord is discrediting

Artemis.

people are comparing

the two and

they're recognizing

that Jesus is

greater.

Perhaps Paul was

talking about Jesus

as the true temple,

the true meeting

place.

You want to know

God?

Don't go to the

temple of Artemis.

Come to King

Jesus.

And of course,

while Demetrius

thinks that Artemis

is being robbed of

her divine majesty,

that's not what's

happening at all.

It's that Jesus is

receiving the glory

that's always due

him because he's

the only God.

He's the only Lord.

But as we've seen

in other places,

mob mentality

kicks in.

Verse 28,

the crowds became

furious and began

shouting,

great as Artemis

of the Ephesians.

We see it in verse

34, again shouting

in unison for about

two hours,

great as Artemis

of the Ephesians.

We're like with a

sad picture of

angry people trying

to uphold the

honour of their

so-called God,

the God who could

do nothing to

defend herself

because she is

no God at all,

as Paul had been

saying to them.

Clearly part of

Paul's mission

strategy was to

expose the idols

of the day,

to show the

weakness of

false religion

compared to the

reality of

knowing Jesus

as God

and as

saviour.

It's important

for us

to be able

to recognise

that though we

don't have

shrines and

though we don't

have idols

in our culture,

there are still

things that we

live for,

there are still

things that we

would consider

of ultimate

value in our

lives,

there are things

that people

could not imagine

living without

and it's our

job as

Christians to

seek to show

people that

Jesus is

greater,

to show people

that those

longings that

they have,

the hopes that

they place in

a relationship

or a career

ultimately will

only be met

through faith

in Jesus

because when

people follow

a God that

they can put

in their pocket

or when people

follow a God

who can fail,

one who can

be lost,

our God is

too small and

so we present

people with

supremacy of

Jesus.

We also see

from the

mission of

Paul that

it's really

important to

resist the

spirit of

the age and

they would

say to us

that all

beliefs are

equally valid,

that all

roads ultimately

lead to God.

We hear it a

lot and it

can seem rude

or intolerant

to have an

alternative but

we discover from

the ministry of

Paul, we

discovered it

from Jesus

this morning,

who and what

we believe in

is of crucial

importance,

that Jesus is

the way,

the truth,

the life and

so we are

compelled to

invite people to

believe in

Jesus.

But one of the

things that we'll

pray about in

just a couple of

minutes is we'll

pray for places

where Christianity

finds itself under

a tank,

where there are

those in power

who would seek

to discredit

the good name

of Jesus and

the church of

Jesus.

But as we have

looked very

briefly at

Paul in

Ephesus,

again we have

reason as

Christians to

take heart.

We have reason

as Christians to

worship God for

the way that we

see him build

his church in

a hard situation.

We have called

to pray as we

look around and

we see that we

live in the same

kind of setting

and we too are

called to speak,

to speak for

Jesus as Lord

and to work with

him as he works

in our city and

our communities to

bring people to

himself, to bring

glory to himself.