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CHAPTER XVIII

THREE YEARS AT EPHESUS

Ir was toward the end of the year 51 that Paul had returned from Corinth to Syria. Luke's account of this journey is very brief; it is not found among the "we" sections, and hence we conclude that Luke was not with Paul at this time. "When he had landed at Cæsarea," says the Acts, "he went up and saluted the church [in Cæsarea? or in Jerusalem?], and went down to Antioch."

The third missionary journey. How long he remained in Antioch is not known. Probably not very long; for after the heart-breaking news which drew forth from him the "Epistle to the Galatians," he would naturally be restless till he could actually visit the churches of that region and set in order personally the affairs upset by the "judaizers." Luke simply says, "And having spent some time there, he departed, and went through the region of Galatia and Phrygia in order, establishing all the disciples." This was the beginning of the socalled "third missionary journey," Paul's last and longest tour, including three years of preaching and teaching in Ephesus, the climax of his missionary labors.

THE GOSPEL IN EPHESUS

Ephesus was the capital and chief city of the vastly rich Province of Asia. For centuries the region had been famous for its wealth and culture. Its population was large, its fertile valleys afforded immense tillage and pasturage, while the travel and commerce of east and

west passed through its western harbors and up its river roads. (Read again the words of Cicero, already given in Chapter XV.)

Paul's predecessors. When Paul sailed for Syria the year before, he left Aquila and Priscilla in Ephesus, probably to arrange for his own coming and the beginning of the active Christian mission in that city. They found here a number of disciples of John the Baptist, and among them a famous preacher, Apollos, of Alexandria, who had been "taught by word of mouth the way of the Lord." He was a man "fervent in spirit," and he "spoke and taught carefully all he knew about Jesus," though his only baptism was that of John. He was preaching boldly in the synagogue when Aquila and Priscilla heard him; after the service they took him home with them, and expounded more fully the "way of God," that is, the life and teaching of Jesus, his resurrection, and the work of the Holy Spirit sent from him.

Soon after, Apollos made up his mind to cross over to Achaia-just as Paul and others traveled about preaching their message, so did Apollos. Upon this the "brethren" encouraged him, and wrote to the disciples in Corinth to receive him. The letter gave him a valuable introduction, and his work in Corinth was successful from the start. He engaged in public controversy with the Jews, and proved from the Scriptures that the Messiah was indeed Jesus of Nazareth.

Paul arrives.-At last Paul, having crossed Asia Minor by much the same route which he followed on his second journey, but not being "forbidden by the Holy Spirit" this time "to preach the word in Asia,” arrived in Ephesus. Almost the first question he asked of John the Baptist's disciples was this, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" This was, as we

have seen, a most conspicuous mark of the disciples of Jesus. Prophecy, speaking with tongues, gifts of healing were all marks of the possession of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist had announced the coming of the Spirit as one of the marks of the coming age, the Messianic era or kingdom of God (Mark 1:8). Jesus also had spoken of the Spirit, both as present in his own work (Matthew 12:28; Luke 4: 18) and as the future possession of his disciples (Acts 1:4-5). Hence Paul's question was a significant one.

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They answered simply, "No; we have not even heard of the Holy Spirit." Paul then inquired, "What sort of baptism did you receive?" And they answered, “John's." Then Paul reminded them of John's own prophecy of the Coming One, which was fulfilled in Jesus, and they were baptized again, this time "into the name of the Lord Jesus.' And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, as was the custom, the Holy Spirit "came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied." The number of these converts was twelve. They now formed, together with Priscilla and Aquila and certain "brethren" (who possibly like them came from elsewhere), the nucleus of the Christian church in Ephesus. Only twelve men-but it was a significant beginning. Jesus himself had begun his ministry with twelve.

IN THE SCHOOL OF TYRANNUS

A beautifully colonnaded street ran a straight mile from the immense open-air theater (whose ruins may still be seen) on the eastern side of the city to the harbor on the west. Down this street persons sitting in the theater could look, and see, beyond the shining marble gateway of the city, the ships lying at anchor in the

harbor or sailing across the broad, blue, island-sheltered bay. Along this magnificent avenue were the libraries, the lecture halls, the shrines, the homes of the wealthier citizens. In one of these halls, most likely, was the lecture-room of Tyrannus. Paul had begun, as usual, by preaching in the synagogue. And, as usual, the Jews had listened at first with interest, but soon became incensed and angry. So Paul left them and began teaching daily in the school of Tyrannus.

Paul's success. With such a prominent meetingplace, and almost recommended to the people of Ephesus by the owner of the school, Paul's preaching reached far and wide—until, in fact, as Luke says, "all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks." So great was the enthusiasm over Paul that simple-minded people treasured even such things as his handkerchiefs and working aprons, and took them to the sick, "and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out."

The sons of Sceva.-One story told of this time is almost humorous. Certain wandering charlatans, who professed to be able to cast out demons (no doubt "for a consideration"), seeing Paul's success and influence, undertook to exorcize in the name of the Lord Jesus. They would say, "I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches." There were seven brothers, who pretended to be sons of a Jewish priest and who undertook to exorcize in this manner. But the evil spirit (that is, the poor sick man suffering from this dementia or hallucination) answered, "Jesus I recognize, and Paul I recognize; but who are you?" And with that he leaped upon the exorcists with uncontrollable fury, wounding them and driving them out of the house. When the story became known, no doubt many smiled at it; but no doubt

many more understood it as proof of the truth and power of the gospel. At least, even by this means "the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified."

Burning the books. Seeing the success of Paul's message, and the healings which accompanied his preaching, many who had dabbled in this kind of "sorcery" came, confessed their deeds, and were baptized.

"And not a few of those who practiced magical arts brought their books together, and burned them in public. And when their cost was figured up, it amounted to fifty thousand pieces of silver [$10,000]. So mightily grew the word of the Lord, and prevailed.”—Acts 19:19-20.

"GREAT IS ARTEMIS"

But not even in Ephesus was Paul to complete his ministry in peace. Opposition was rising against him, not from the exorcists, but from the makers of tiny statuettes of the goddess Artemis, whose shrine at Ephesus was world-famous and visited by multitudes of pilgrims every year. These statuettes were sold to the pilgrims for souvenirs (or perhaps as charms), and the business was very lucrative. The workmen engaged in this craft started a riot, which lasted for several hours and ended in the great theater on the eastern side of the city. It might have been very serious. But the cityclerk got the mob under control, thus probably saving the lives of Paul and several of the "brethren."

It began on the very eve of Paul's departure for Athens. He had been planning to visit the churches in Macedonia and Achaia once more, then return to Jerusalem and set forth on another westward journey, this time to Rome and after that, to Spain. Timothy and

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