Thus in Ephesus did the word of the Lord grow and prevail with might, according to the remarkable expression of Luke. Every testimony had been at full tide there; the evident power and presence of the Spirit, attested by tongues and prophesyings, bold preaching of the kingdom of God for months in the synagogue, and still less restricted discoursing daily in the school of Tyrannus, for two years, during which time the disciples took up their due separate position; so that not only they of Ephesus, but, speaking generally, all those that dwelt in the province of Asia, Jews and Greeks alike, heard the word of the Lord. The uncommon powers wrought by the hands of Paul proved even externally where and with whom God was; as the ignominious penalty of the Jewish exorcists demonstrated that even Satan despised their selfish and profane use of the name of Jesus, so as to overawe all inside, and to exercise healthfully the conscience of many within, when it was for the Lord's glory. What need was there for the prolonged stay of the apostle whose heart went out to the regions beyond?
“Now after these things were fulfilled, Paul purposed in his spirit, passing through Macedonia and Achaia, to proceed unto Jerusalem, laying, After I have been there, I must see Rome also. And having sent into Macedonia two of those that ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while” (ver. 21, 22).
It is not correct to interpret “in the Spirit” here of the Holy Ghost. No more is meant than that the apostle purposed it “in his spirit “; a frequent phrase of his, not only in this book but elsewhere. He longed once more to go to Jerusalem, after passing through the two Roman provinces of Greece. He felt that his work was closed for the present at Ephesus, and that after visiting Jerusalem he must see Rome also. With this we may compare Rom. 1:9-139For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; 10Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. 11For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; 12That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. 13Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. (Romans 1:9‑13), as well as chap. 15: 22-29, though the journey to Spain appears nowhere else in the inspired writings, and we know not that it was ever realized. How immense, the energy which comes out in these few words! How much more, when we consider how fully he preached the gospel of Christ, not where He was already named, but where the good news had never penetrated before! It was also a spiritual capacity and zeal that embraced not heavenly truth only, and the whole scope of divine counsels for eternity, as well as the O.T. prophecies of the kingdom, but the most ordinary matters of need for the peace and fellowship of the saints, yea, even for their temporal good day by day. We see, too, how with apostolic authority he directed the service of others, and this at all cost to himself personally; for at thievery time he sent into Macedonia two of those that ministered to him, not Brutus only, but the fellow-laborer nearest to his heart, his beloved child, Timothy, whilst he himself stayed awhile in Asia.
“And about that time arose no small disturbance about the way. For a certain [man] by name Demetrius, a silver-beater, making silver shrines [miniature temples], of Artemis, brought no little business to the artisans, whom be gathered together with the workmen of like nature, and said, Men, ye are aware that we have our prosperity from this business. And ye behold and hear that this Paul hath persuaded and turned away a considerable crowd, not only of Ephesus, but of almost all Asia, saying that they are no gods that are made by hands. Now, not only is there danger for us that this trade come into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be counted for nothing, and that even she should be deposed from her magnificence, whom all Asia and the world [habitable earth] revereth. And when they heard, they were filled with wrath and kept. crying out, saying, Great is Artemis of the Ephesians. And the city was filled with confusion; and they rushed with one accord into the theater, having seized together Gains and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul's fellow-travelers. And when Paul was minded to enter unto the people, the disciples suffered him not. And some of the Asiarchs also, being his friends, sent unto him and urged him not to adventure himself into the theater” (ver. 23-31).
Such was the fresh effort of the enemy, not so much by means of Zeivs as Gentiles, and accordingly by an appeal to worldly lusts rather than by spiritual power in an evil shape. Nevertheless, religious motives, such as they were, even here threw a certain halo around that which was really selfish and utterly sordid. Nor is any device of the enemy more common or permanent. Satan contrives in this world to interweave debasing and destructive superstition with the present interests and honor of mankind. This being so, one cannot wonder that the mass of men are most readily inflamed by the testimony of the truth which threatens to undermine their religion and their worldly property: It is the same today, in principle, as then at Ephesus. An active leader was easily found to take the matter up and blow it into a flame. The artisans and the workmen engaged in the trade of the silver shrines of Artemis were roused by their employer, Demetrius, who appealed to their covetousness and at the same time pointed out that Paul's teaching threatened not only their trade but the discredit of the great goddess Artemis. And the appeal was not in vain; it never is, save where grace makes known the truth.
Man, ignorant of God, will fight for nothing more keenly than for his wealth and his religion. Nor could it be denied that throughout much more than Ephesus, or even Asia, Paul had persuaded and turned away much people from their gods many and lords many. There was no doubt that he did really mean that those are no gods which are made with hands, that to as there is one God, the Father, of Whom are all things, and we unto Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom are all things and we through Him. We ought not to think, therefore, that the divinity is like gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man. And that one God now commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent, because He hath appointed a day in the which He is going to judge the world, or habitable earth, in righteousness, by the man whom He hath ordained, giving proof of it to all in that He raised Him from the dead. So had Paul openly preached at Athens during his brief visit; assuredly his long abode in Ephesus was not less fruitful in the solemn proclamation of the truth. We need not have wondered if the silversmith had taken fire at the beginning of his stay. But grace knows how to make the wrath of man praise God, as well as to restrain the residue of wrath.
It was well ordered, however, that the outburst should come while the apostle was still there. Two of his fellow-travelers were actually seized; and Paul intended to go in to the raging populace in the theater, but the disciples would not suffer him. And very interesting it is to see the moral effect of Paul's teaching and life on certain of the chief officers of. Asia, who are distinguished from the disciples but expressly said to have been his friends. These sent unto him and besought him not to trust himself in the theater. What is more, the scripture shews that Paul, whatever his own courage or feeling, did not despise these friends, notwithstanding their position, but gave way to the remonstrance of his brethren. He who on fit occasion knew how to wield on earth the power of heaven for the Lord's glory; he who wrote with divine authority for the saints here below till Christ comes, could graciously bend to others, as well as stand alone where this was of God. Only the Holy Spirit can give the discernment at the moment, where the eye is single to Christ.