“Quite a Disturbance Arose” (Acts 19:23-41)

16, 17. (a) Describe how Demetrius got the riot started in Ephesus. (b) How did the Ephesians show their fanaticism?

¹⁶ We come now to the tactic of Satan described by Luke when he wrote that “quite a disturbance arose concerning The Way.” He was hardly overstating matters.e (Acts 19:23) A silversmith named Demetrius started the trouble. He got the attention of his fellow craftsmen by first reminding them that their prosperity came from selling idols. He went on to suggest that the message Paul preached was bad for business, since the Christians did not worship idols. Then he appealed to the civic pride and nationalism of his audience, warning them that their goddess Artemis and their world-famous temple to her were in danger of being “viewed as nothing.”​—Acts 19:24-27.

¹⁷ Demetrius’ speech had the desired effect. The silversmiths began chanting “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” and the city became filled with confusion, leading to the fanatic mob scene described at the outset of this chapter.f Paul, self-sacrificing person that he was, wanted to go into the amphitheater to address the crowd, but the disciples insisted that he stay out of danger. A certain Alexander stood before the crowd and attempted to speak. Since he was a Jew, he may have been eager to explain the difference between Jews and these Christians. Such explanations would have been lost on that crowd. When they recognized him as a Jew, they shouted him down, repeating the chant “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” for about two hours. Religious fanaticism has not changed since then. It still makes people completely unreasonable.​—Acts 19:28-34.