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The Gospel Makes People Mad
"Here in Ephesus (as elsewhere, see 5:17; 13:45; 17:5) the root of the opposition was jealousy. As in Philippi (16:19), it had primarily an economic reason, though it was couched in religious and patriotic terms when presented in public. The temple of Artemis was a key to the economic stability of Ephesus, for foreigners traveled there to worship and deposited money in the temple. This had become more significant in the time of Paul since the city was beginning to lose its significance as a center for international trade." [1]
The Gospel makes people mad for a lot of reasons. The reason today is very interesting to me: economics. The Gospel was going forth powerfully and changing so many people in Ephesus that it was actually disrupting trade! With the coming of the One True God, people were forsaking their idols, a major industry in that city. In short, people were made because the Truth of God was causing them to lose money.
I can't help me compare this to slavery in the US (and around the world). For centuries it was known and seen that the Gospel gave people a basic sense of human dignity: if all men are made in the image of God, all are valuable. Yet this truth was suppressed, twisted, and denied for the sake of money. People didn't want the eternal truth because it threatened their temporal wealth.
Scary thought, huh? Money can be a trap. Are we willing to lose all things in order to gain Christ? Most throughout history have NOT been. Heed this warning.
The Gospel Makes People Mad
"Here in Ephesus (as elsewhere, see 5:17; 13:45; 17:5) the root of the opposition was jealousy. As in Philippi (16:19), it had primarily an economic reason, though it was couched in religious and patriotic terms when presented in public. The temple of Artemis was a key to the economic stability of Ephesus, for foreigners traveled there to worship and deposited money in the temple. This had become more significant in the time of Paul since the city was beginning to lose its significance as a center for international trade." [1]
The Gospel makes people mad for a lot of reasons. The reason today is very interesting to me: economics. The Gospel was going forth powerfully and changing so many people in Ephesus that it was actually disrupting trade! With the coming of the One True God, people were forsaking their idols, a major industry in that city. In short, people were made because the Truth of God was causing them to lose money.
I can't help me compare this to slavery in the US (and around the world). For centuries it was known and seen that the Gospel gave people a basic sense of human dignity: if all men are made in the image of God, all are valuable. Yet this truth was suppressed, twisted, and denied for the sake of money. People didn't want the eternal truth because it threatened their temporal wealth.
Scary thought, huh? Money can be a trap. Are we willing to lose all things in order to gain Christ? Most throughout history have NOT been. Heed this warning.
[1] Ajith Fernando, Acts, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998), 518.
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