Background info...Paul in Ephesus:
The book of Acts contains the travels of St. Paul and hence
the "background info" behind his epistle to the Ephesians. Paul
stopped at Ephesus at the end of his second missionary journey, left Priscilla
and Aquila there, and returned to Antioch (Acts 18:18-21).
Apollos preached in Ephesus soon thereafter and met Priscilla and Aquila who
“expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly” (Acts 18:26).
Acts 18:18 Paul stayed on in Corinth for
some time. Then he left the believers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by
Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at
Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken. 19 They arrived at
Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the
synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him
to spend more time with them, he declined. 21 But as he left,
he promised, "I will come back if it is God's will." Then he set
sail from Ephesus. 22 When he landed at Caesarea, he went
up to Jerusalem and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch. 23 After
spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there and traveled from place
to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening
all the disciples. 24 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a
native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a
thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25 He had been
instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and
taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He
began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard
him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more
adequately. 27 When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the
believers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him.
When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. 28 For
he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the
Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.
Paul, on his third journey, spent more than two years
in Ephesus teaching and preaching in the synagogue and in the hall of Tyrannus.
The success of his preaching at Ephesus triggered a riot headed by the
silversmiths who feared that their business of selling miniature replicas of
Artemis (Diana) or her temple would suffer severely (Acts 19:24-41).
After the town clerk quelled the disturbance, Paul left Ephesus for Macedonia.
Acts 19:1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul
took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. 8 Paul
entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing
persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 But 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. 10 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. 18
Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. 19
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
fifty thousand drachmas. 20 In this way the word of the Lord spread
widely and grew in power. 21
23 About that time there arose a great
disturbance about the Way. 24 A silversmith named Demetrius, who made
silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the skilled
workers there. 25 He called them together, along with the workers in
related trades, and said: "You know, my friends, that we receive a good
income from this business. 26 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 gods made by human hands
are no gods at all. 27 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 worshiped throughout the province
of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty." 28
When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: "Great is
Artemis of the Ephesians!" 29 Soon the whole city was in an uproar.
The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from
Macedonia, and all of them rushed together into the theater. 30 Paul
wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. 31
Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message
begging him not to venture into the theater. 32 The assembly was in
confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did
not even know why they were there. 33 The Jews in the crowd pushed
Alexander to the front, and they shouted instructions to him. He motioned for
silence in order to make a defense before the people. 34 But when they
realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours:
"Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" 35 The city clerk quieted
the crowd and said: "People of Ephesus, doesn't all the world know that
the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of
her image, which fell from heaven? 36 Therefore, since these facts are
undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash. 37 You have
brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed
our goddess. 38 If, then, Demetrius and his associates have a grievance
against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press
charges. 39 If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must
be settled in a legal assembly. 40 As it is, we are in danger of being
charged with rioting because of what happened today. In that case we would not
be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it." 41
After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
At the conclusion of this missionary endeavor, on his way
back to Palestine, Paul stopped at Miletus and sent for the elders of the
church in Ephesus so that he might speak with them (Acts 20:17).
Acts 20:13 We went on ahead to the ship and
sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this
arrangement because he was going there on foot. 14 When he met us at
Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. 15 The next day we
set sail from there and arrived off Chios. The day after that we crossed over
to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus. 16 Paul had
decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia,
for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.
17 From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. 18
When they arrived, he said to them: "You know how I lived the whole time I
was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. 19 I
served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe
testing by the plots of the Jews. 20 You know that I have not hesitated
to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly
and from house to house. 21 I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that
they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus. 22
"And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing
what will happen to me there. 23 I only know that in every city the Holy
Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24 However, I
consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and
complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the
good news of God's grace. 25 "Now I know that none of you among
whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. 26
Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of everyone. 27
For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made
you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own
blood. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among
you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number some will
arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31
So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each
of you night and day with tears. 32 "Now I commit you to God and to
the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among
all those who are sanctified. 33 I have not coveted anyone's silver or
gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have
supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 35 In everything I
did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak,
remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give
than to receive.' " 36 When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt
down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept as they embraced him
and kissed him. 38 What grieved them most was his statement that they
would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.
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