Acts 19:24Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

"He made," it says, "silver shrines of Artemis." Did they really have silver temples? Probably these were small ciboria, likenesses of the temple. Artemis was held in great honor in Ephesus. When her temple was burned, the inhabitants grieved so deeply that they even forbade the name of the one responsible for the fire to be spoken.

"Silver shrines." Perhaps these were small reliquaries. Notice that everywhere idolatry was defended for the sake of money. This Demetrius also was anxious about money. He was not anxious because their impious religion was in danger, but because he was being deprived of the means of gain. He knew that he deceived people by making golden gods and golden reliquaries for them. He feared that his cunning might be exposed by Paul's true teaching. He also feared that the temple of Artemis in Ephesus might vanish altogether. Thus he foretold the disappearance of the temple, which indeed took place.

This Demetrius, who strives to stir up a disturbance against the Way of the Lord, receives his proper name from his works. It is translated "overzealous." Accordingly, the shrines that he makes for Artemis are built precisely of silver, and not of another metal. In Scripture, silver commonly signifies eloquence (cf. Ps 11:7), just as gold signifies meaning. Pagan cleverness usually supports its faith not by meaning, but by the empty brilliance of speech.

Meanwhile, a strong disturbance arose in Ephesus against the apostle. At the same time, it proved the important consequences of his preaching in Asia Minor. In this city they made silver and gold models of the famous temple of Diana located there. These were sent everywhere and brought the city rich income. A certain Demetrius produced such models on a large scale and kept many workers in his employment. Seeing the mighty successes of the Gospel in Asia Minor, and feeling his income diminish as faith in Diana began to decline, he feared that his trade would lose all its course. He gathered those of like mind and could easily inflame their indignation against people who threatened to destroy Diana's glory and deprive them of income. The people were set in motion.

At this time a disturbance arose in Ephesus, stirred up against him by a certain silversmith named Demetrius. His chief craft was making silver models of the famous Ephesian temple of Artemis. Therefore the cooling of the pagans toward the temple of Artemis of Ephesus, which had occurred through the apostle's preaching, threatened the complete decline of his trade. Yet the popular tumult was soon calmed, and the disorderly crowd dispersed through the persuasion of a civil official. Thus Paul, against whom this popular disturbance had been raised, remained unharmed.

Ephesus was the famous city where East and West, Asia and Europe, met one another. Many merchant ships made constant voyages between it and Corinth. Yet despite the influx of Western ideas, it preserved with extraordinary fidelity the religion of the ancient Asian gods. Its most honored deity was Artemis. She was the well-known Asian Astarte, only under a Greek name. Her cult was based on the deification of the crude generative powers of nature, and was marked by the most unbridled license. The temple of Ephesian Artemis was famous throughout the world and was counted one of the wonders of the world. Burned by Herostratus, it was rebuilt with still greater magnificence. By her fame Artemis overshadowed the other deities of Asia.

The instigator of the riot, Demetrius, was a silversmith who made small silver models of the temple of Artemis, or Diana, of Ephesus. The cult of Artemis was very widespread and strong in Asia Minor. Her temple in Ephesus, burned by Herostratus on the day of Alexander the Great's birth, was rebuilt with such magnificence that it was counted among the seven wonders of the world. Small models of this temple and little statues of Diana were in great use among the worshippers of this goddess. They placed them in rooms, took them along on journeys as amulets, and so forth. It is very natural that Demetrius's craft was highly profitable, and that his production of these objects was very extensive. He probably had something like a factory for such things, apparently outside the city, v. 29. Under his direction were both artisans and craftsmen, who worked in their homes either for him or independently.

The uprising against the apostle Paul by Demetrius the silversmith offers a new example of how quickly a crowd changes. Had not all only recently magnified the name of the Lord Jesus preached by Paul? Yet now all were stirred up by one brief and groundless word against the apostle from some artisan. The Way of the Lord is advanced by the Holy Spirit. Therefore the uprising of the silversmith Demetrius, who defended his own work and that of his companions, was vain. The objects of art changed, but artistic work was not abolished. Demetrius could not understand this, since he was narrowly attached to his craft. He had become so accustomed to it that it seemed to him there could be no other work besides making likenesses of the wondrous temple of the goddess Artemis.