Acts 19:21-41
At my church, the Pastor recently finished going through the book of Acts. In its entirety. I've been keeping track, in detail, of my thoughts on what we read every week. It's been...a lot of note taking.
That said, at some point I will like to go through and formalize my thoughts into blog posts.
I'd like to begin first with a discussion on Act 19:21-41. You can read the passage yourself here
In this particular story from Acts, Paul was working in Ephesus and preaching the Way, or the Christian message, to the people there. What happened? People believed. To be fair, the author of Acts is spending the entirety of this book explaining to you how the early church grew over time. This is not an unexpected development.
However, the growth of this new sect displeased some people. In Acts 19:24, we are introduced to an especially angry man named Demetrius. Demetrius was a silversmith. His job was to build silver statues for people who worshipped Artemis of Ephesus. Business was good. That was until Paul rolled into town.
When Paul arrived, it was no longer just local Jewish population who ignored the Temple of Artemis and his associated wares. Ephesians of various ethnicities were listening and beginning to join this Jesus sect. They were following Paul's God and abandoning their former faith. Some were even going as far as to burn the outward signs of their old faith as a sign that they had been changed as individuals (see Acts 19:18-19).
Immediately, Demetrius feared his business could suffer. These people needed to be stopped. So, what could he do? He formed a mob.
Demetrius gathered his fellow silversmiths and angrily marched down the street with chants about how much they love Artemis of Ephesus. He claimed this new religious sect would ruin everything; it would destroy the greatness of their city. He tied the faith of a large section of the population with their identity as citizens. The crowd ate it up and grew. However, quickly this mob was no longer merely a mass of true believers who accepted Demetrius' ideas; it was comprised of folks who did not know why they were there (see Acts 19:32), all they knew was that they were mad and chanted about Artemis of Ephesus.
Let's stop here for a moment to review.
Demetrius and company became wealthy off the religious piety of others. Someone, Paul, showed up in town and proselytized about his faith which led to people this new sect, and abandoning their old faith. In response, Demetrius formed a mob against those who believed differently than him, especially Paul. He tied his faith to the greatness of their city using ethnicity blended with faith as a rallying cry against those who worshipped different than him. Sound familiar?
Look no further than right wing politics in the United States. These politicians use Christianity, and more broadly American Evangelicalism, to generate wealth and power for themselves. They then tie being an American to being a Christian and riles up those who agree with them on a portion of this idea claiming that that anyone who believes differently are the enemy, even if those beliefs are merely different styles of Christianity. Leaders from Trump to Franklin Graham need people to follow their brand of Christianity. They, like Demetrius, feed off the piety of others to generate power and wealth for themselves. These wealthy men blend blind patriotism and faith into a political mob much like the mob at Ephesus. This is Christian nationalism. This is vile. This is dangerous.
As a Christian, we are passing through this world with a mission to spread the Gospel. Our citizenship is not of this world, but of Heaven. As Paul pointed out in Philippians 3:20, we belong to a Heavenly Kingdom and as Jesus Himself said in John 18:36, His kingdom is not of this world. Therefore, when we cling to the kingdoms of this world and treat them as the be all, end all, we are wasting our time. Christ did not call some nations or peoples or ethnic group to join into Him, but all. In John 3:16, Christ said that whosoever should believe in Him shall have eternal life. Not those of certain nations or ethnicities, but of all people. We are all whosoevers. In Galatians 3:28, Paul wrote that there was neither Greek nor Jew, male nor female in Christ. The body of believers are supposed to be one, united in faith to share the Gospel through our words, our acts, and our radical love of others. As Christ said in John 13:35, they will know we are His people by our Love. And remember one of the final commands of Jesus Christ in Matthew 28:19-20 – make disciples of all nations. Not one nation. All. Those who preach a gospel of disunity or exclusion preach contrary to the words of Christ.
Now, back to the narrative in Acts. Demetrius and his fellow silversmiths were mad about money. Remember that. It was never about the greatness of Ephesus or the besmirching of Artemis; their anger at Paul and the new Christians in Ephesus revolved around money. Jesus spoke a lot about money. In Matthew 6:21, He said that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. What you desire the most is what you worship. For Demetrius, that was wealth. In Luke 12:13-15, Christ reminded us to be careful of those who focus on greed and the wealth of this world, like Demetrius. Capital was central to Demetrius' fears; a shift from the status quo could have made him less wealthy. He needed Ephesians and visitors to follow the dominant religion to generate wealth. Therefore, anyone who believed differently was the enemy. This included Christians and Jews alike as in Verses 33-34 when the mob lost it on a Jewish man named Alexander. Jews treated as a scapegoat. Some things never change.
The story ended when a town leader acknowledged the faith of the crowd and told them that rioting is illegal, proselytizing was not, so go home. Which they did. However, the message of this passage does not end there.
First, remain vigilant against those who use faith to gain wealth for themselves. Second, beware the unknowing mobs who rally for nationalist pride, centered on bitterness towards those who are different. And third, focus not on nationalism or wealth, but on the Lord. In 1 Timothy 6:17-18, Paul said to not trust in wealth, but in the Lord. Do not worry about being rich in things, but on being generous. Be wealthy in good deeds and compassion. Love radically.