PT-2 "Intro to Acts 19:21-41

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/18/2018 9:03 AM

My Worship Time                                                                    Focus:  PT-2 Intro to Acts 19:21-41

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 19:21-41

            Message of the verses:  “21 Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome." 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while. 23 About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen; 25 these he gathered together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, "Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business. 26  "You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all. 27 “Not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be regarded as worthless and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence." 28 When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" 29 The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia. 30 And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, the disciples would not let him. 31 Also some of the Asiarchs who were friends of his sent to him and repeatedly urged him not to venture into the theater. 32 So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the assembly. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" 35  After quieting the crowd, the town clerk said, "Men of Ephesus, what man is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell down from heaven? 36 “So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash. 37 “For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 “So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against any man, the courts are in session and proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another. 39 “But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the lawful assembly. 40  "For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no real cause for it, and in this connection we will be unable to account for this disorderly gathering." 41 After saying this he dismissed the assembly.”

            I want to begin this SD by giving a quote from John MacArthur who talks about Paul’s plan to get to Jerusalem.  “His itinerary seems puzzling, since Macedonia and Achaia were in the opposite direction from Jerusalem.  Further, he had just ministered in those regions before coming to Ephesus (18:23).  But Paul had a definite plan in mind, one that reveals his deep concern for the unity of the church.

            “Many in the church at Jerusalem were poor and in need of sustained financial assistance.  To meet that need, Paul wanted to take to Jerusalem with him a love offering from the largely Gentile churches he had founded.  Before returning to Jerusalem, he revisited Macedonia and Achaia to collect that offering (Rom. 15:25-27; 1 Cor. 16:1-4; 2 Cor. 8-9).  By contributing to the financial needs of the Jewish believers at Jerusalem those Gentiles would emphasize the church’s unity (cf. 1 Cor. 12:26), while confirming in a very practical way their love for their Jewish brethren.  James 2:15-16 describes the importance of such care:

“15  If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16  and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?”

            As we continue to look at what Paul planned to do we see that Jerusalem was not his ultimate goal, as he desires to go to Rome, and as we mentioned before the Lord will give Paul a free trip to Rome, but perhaps as we look at how he gets that free trip we will not be as spiritually minded about what happened to Paul as he was.  In my prayer time on Saturday’s I pray specifically for the pastors of our church and some of the things that I pray for them come from a time when I was studying the letters to the Thessalonians.  I will take a moment to quote a couple of things from this prayer list as they have to do with Paul’s service in collecting money for the Jewish church in Jerusalem as they were going through a drought at this time.  Paul was praying that the Jews in the Jerusalem church would accept this offering and as we have just learned this was a big part of church unity. 

            “Direction:  This speaks of direction in our Pastors lives concerning their ministry, their priorities in their ministries, a week from now or a month, or a year or five years down the road.  Example from Romans 15:32 ‘so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company.’  Here Paul is asking prayers for his future plans that they may be in the will of the Lord.”  So we see from this prayer request that I pray for my Pastors that in the life of Paul it has to do with his situation in Ephesus where he is making these plans for the direction of his ministry.

            Now as we look at the book of Romans and chapter fifteen verses 22-24 we read more of Paul’s plans for his ministry:  “22 For this reason I have often been prevented from coming to you; 23  but now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have had for many years a longing to come to you 24  whenever I go to Spain-for I hope to see you in passing, and to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for a while.”

            At this time I want to quote from MacArthur’s commentary which as we usually do will give us the direction and outline which we will be following as we move through this last verses in Acts 19.  “He [Paul] delayed all his travel plans temporarily because, as he wrote at this time to the Corinthians, ‘I shall remain in Ephesus until Pentecost; for a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries’ (1 Cor. 16:8-9).  Those adversaries soon made themselves known, as a riot erupted in Ephesus over the success of Paul’s ministry.  Luke ‘s account of that riot relates its causes, characteristics, and calming.”  Those three descriptions of “The Riots of Ephesus” are the outline that we are going to begin to look at as we move through these 20 verses of Acts 19.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Jezreel” (1 Kings 21:1).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who did Ahab blame for the famine in Samaria?”

Answer in our next SD.

6/18/2018 9:52 AM