Whom he calling together with the workmen of like occupation, said: Sirs, you know that our gain is by this trade.
ους συναθροισας και τους περι τα τοιαυτα εργατας ειπεν ανδρες επιστασθε οτι εκ ταυτης της εργασιας η ευπορια ημων εστιν
7 Church Fathers comment on this verse
See how idolatry everywhere is sustained by greed. Those people rose against Paul from greed (Acts 16:16), and this man did so from greed. It was not because their worship was in danger, but because they were losing the possibility of profit. Notice also this man's malice. He was rich, and would not have suffered great harm from this. The others, who were poor and lived by daily labor, could have lost more. Yet they say nothing, and only he speaks.
"From this craft." He directed their attention to the danger. We are in danger, he says, of falling from our craft into hunger.
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.
All hurried to the public square, where they usually gathered. Many shouted, not knowing themselves what the matter was. Two of Paul's companions were seized. The Greek people, who made up the chief population of the city, generally hated the Jews who lived there as enemies of the gods. Popular hatred could easily flare into riot over a slight offense, from which the Jews might suffer greatly. In the present case, many still did not know what exactly caused the people's indignation. The Jews heard only that the people were stirred up because of an insult inflicted by enemies of the gods. They at once attributed the cause of this indignation to themselves. A certain man named Alexander appeared, in order to give the people an explanation and, if necessary, to place the blame on the Christians. But the appearance of such a man, who himself belonged among the enemies of the popular religion, only produced stronger irritation. The shouting increased still more. Yet these hostile dispositions toward the apostle seem to have been cherished only by the mob. The city officials knew Paul's manner of life and action during almost three years in Ephesus. This could not fail to give them a favorable judgment of Paul. Some of the city rulers who in that year managed religious affairs in Asia Minor, the Άσιάρχαι, and supervised the public games, even showed concern for his fate. They begged him not to appear before the people during this disturbance. Finally the city clerk succeeded in calming the riotous crowd. He explained that satisfaction should be sought by lawful procedure. He said it was impossible that anyone would rise against the great goddess of Ephesus, and that responsibility for the disturbance had to be feared.
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.
Since this temple possessed the right of asylum, everything criminal and filthy usually gathered around it. This, together with the corrupting influence of the cult itself, made Ephesus one of the most depraved cities in the world. The greatest losses from the decline of reverence toward the goddess and her sanctuary were suffered by a certain silversmith named Demetrius. He sold worshippers small silver models of the temple and images as souvenirs of their visit to Ephesus and its temple. Not only in Ephesus, but in every famous center of pagan worship, demand for such things produced a great supply from manufacturers. Demetrius found that his industry was beginning to be undermined. Covering himself with zeal for the temple and the goddess, he resolved, as far as possible, to take measures to stop the ruin threatening him. He called together all the artisans and ordinary workers engaged in this craft. He addressed them in a speech in which he first stirred their passions by warning them of the ruin threatening them. Then he appealed to their dormant fanaticism for revenge over the insulted majesty of their temple and the declining splendor of the goddess, whom, as he said, all Asia and the whole world worshipped.
Having gathered these men and others like them, partly dependent on him or under his influence, and generally interested in this craft, Demetrius addressed them with an inflammatory speech. In it he brought forward two facts and drew a conclusion from them. The first fact was unquestionable, as they knew by experience: their prosperity depended on this craft. The second was that Paul, by his preaching, had turned no small number of people away from the worship of the gods.
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.
He felt and saw that many other craftsmen thought the same. Therefore he resolved to stir them up, and for this purpose he gathered them and began to inflame them. In the same way, through misunderstanding, many other riots occur, making many people miserable. This happens especially among the blind adherents of the very object over which the disturbance arises. "Again danger, again confusion," exclaims Saint John Chrysostom. "Do we see Paul's excellence? He performed a multitude of signs, and still they attacked him. So varied were the events. See how idolatry is everywhere sustained by greed. He was wealthy, and for him the loss would not have been great. Others could have suffered more, being poor and supported by daily labor. Yet they say nothing, and only he speaks." He made shrines. These were probably small likenesses of the temple. Artemis was held in great honor in Ephesus. When her temple was burned, the inhabitants were so grieved that they even forbade the name of the one responsible for the fire to be spoken. "From the description of the riot, no participation of the temple hierarchy is evident. It may rather be admitted that they cherished a favorable and sympathetic feeling toward the holy apostle. The text of Acts gives full right to regard this riot solely as the work of Demetrius and craftsmen like him. The fabrication of models of the temple of Diana was very extensive and had a regular organization. A mass of workers lived by this work. The apostle's activity in Asia, and especially in Ephesus, for almost three years had almost completely undermined the income of Demetrius's association. Material losses are the most painful blows for ordinary mortals. The manufacturers feared losing their livelihood completely, and they revolted."
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 20 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS