Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while. About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”
Paul resolved in the Spirit - "He 'set it (firmly) in his spirit', the whole plan, however, being conceived in the Holy Ghost." (Walker)
"The question has often been raised how the purposing of Paul in the spirit to go again to Jerusalem is to be understood. Is the word 'spirit' to be written with a capital 'S' or not? In other words, did he purpose in the Spirit of God after prolonged prayer, to go up to Jerusalem? Did the Holy Spirit guide him to take up to the city of his fathers the contributions from Achaia and Macedonia for the poor saints (Rom 15:25-26). It could not have been the Spirit of God who prompted him to go once more to Jerusalem, for we find that during the journey the Holy Spirit warned him a number of times not to go to Jerusalem. These warnings were not heeded, but they prove conclusively that Paul purposed in his own spirit. He was called to evangelize; to continue to preach the glorious Gospel, and it was a turning aside from the great ministry committed unto him. But behind his burning desire to go up to Jerusalem stood the mighty constraint of love for his own beloved brethren. How he did love them and how his heart, filled with the love of God, yearned over them! This love is so fully expressed in his epistle to the Romans. 'I say the truth in Christ, I like not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed (or separated) from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh' (Rom 9:1-2). 'Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved' (Rom 10:1). This holy love and courage prompted him to say, when once more his brethren had besought him by the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem, 'What mean ye to weep and break my heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus' (Acts 21:13). And the Lord in His mercy, who knows the motives of the heart, over-ruled the error of His servant. Later from the prison in Rome, Paul could write in his joyous epistle to the Philippians. 'But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the Gospel; so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places' (Phil 1:12-13). All things, even our mistakes, must work together for good." (Gaebelein) [Don't know that I agree with him but his argument is compelling.]
to pass through Macedonia and Achaia - "The epistle which we know as First Corinthians, then, was almost certainly written between the public bonfire of Acts 19:19 and the uproar over Diana, or during the 'season' referred to in Ver. 22. Evidently the church at Ephesus, or a segment of it, met in the home of Aquila and Priscilla at this time (1 Cor 16:19). The plan to visit Macedonia and Achaia again was doubtless largely due to continued disturbing reports from the church at Corinth. Members of 'the house of Chloe' had reported that a factious spirit prevailed among the believers there. The constant intercourse between Ephesus and Corinth must have brought many believers from one city to the other, for the apostle had also learned of their going to court one against another, their disorderly conduct at their services and many other serious failings. Indeed, the most serious defection of all was 'commonly report': immorality so wanton that even the heathen considered it too disgraceful to speak of (1 Cor 5:1)." (Stam)
Erastus - "Probably to be identified with the person of that name in 2 Tim. 4:20, where also he appears as St. Paul's fellow-worker, having recently proceeded to Corinth at the time of the latter's second Roman imprisonment. He is, it would seem, to be distinguished from the Erastus of Rom. 16:23, since the office of 'treasurer of the city' (of Corinth), if he still held it, would hardly be compatible with an itinerant missionary life." (Walker)
silver shrines - "Small shrines in a niche, representing Artemis (Latin, Diana), for worshipers to dedicate in the temple. No silver ones have been found, only some in terra-cotta." (Ryrie)
"These shrines were miniature models, varying in size, of the goddess represented as seated in a niche, or shrine, with lions or stags beside her. They were fashioned not in silver only, also in marble and terra-cotta, and specimens are still extant. They were purchased by votaries chiefly for the purpose of dedicating them as votive offerings to the temple; though many were, doubtless, also carried away by worshippers as household idols. They may have been worn, too, in certain cases, as amulets." (Walker)
brought no little business - "Big profits are clearly implied." (Ryrie)
there is danger - "The gospel was endangering the business of these idol-makers. In order to stir up opposition against the Christians, the craftsmen appealed to the civic pride of the Ephesians. The temple of Artemis was one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world—a magnificent structure with 127 columns 60 feet high standing on an area 425 ft long and 220 ft wide (130 x 67 m)." (Ryrie)
"The temple of itself was a magnificent structure. Some parts may be seen in the British Museum. The structure was about 420 feet long and nearly 250 wide. Hundreds of persons, such as priests, eunuchs, temple wardens, virgin priestesses, were in connection with the temple. The temple was stored with rich treasures of gold and silver. A large part of the city lived on the trade, which had been created by the existence of the great temple and the thousands of pilgrims which flocked to the idolatrous festivities and games. There was a guild of silversmiths, and they manufactured shrines of Artemis and most likely all kinds of souvenirs, little models of the temple and the goddess." (Gaebelein)
"Pliny says that the temple took two hundred and twenty years to complete (Lib. 36, C. 14) ... Ironically, however, Diana, whom 'all Asia and the world' was once said to have worshipped, is not worshipped by a single man today, and her magnificent temple lay buried in the dust for centuries until fragments of it were uncovered by Mr. J.T. Wood for the British Museum in the late eighteen hundreds." (Stam)
the great goddess Artemis - "'Diana' is the Latin name of the Greek Artemis, the doggess of hunting, usually represented with a bow and quiver, and accompanied by two white stags. Sometimes she is depicted as holding a lion by one hand and a panther by the other. The Ephesian goddess, however, though the name Artemis had been conferred upon her through Greek influence, was really the deity of an indigenous Asiatic cult, the impersonation of the vitality and reproductive power of nature. She was represented by a rude idol, in shape partly human, the upper part being that of a woman, while the lower part was merely an upright block, without distinction of legs or feet, covered with symbols and figures of animals. Stags were shewn on either side of her." (Walker)
"The image of Diana was supposed to have fallen from heaven, sent down to earth by Jupiter, but it is easily possible, especially considering its unshapely form, that it was nothing more than a meteor made into a crude statue." (Stam)
Paul resolved in the Spirit - "He 'set it (firmly) in his spirit', the whole plan, however, being conceived in the Holy Ghost." (Walker)
"The question has often been raised how the purposing of Paul in the spirit to go again to Jerusalem is to be understood. Is the word 'spirit' to be written with a capital 'S' or not? In other words, did he purpose in the Spirit of God after prolonged prayer, to go up to Jerusalem? Did the Holy Spirit guide him to take up to the city of his fathers the contributions from Achaia and Macedonia for the poor saints (Rom 15:25-26). It could not have been the Spirit of God who prompted him to go once more to Jerusalem, for we find that during the journey the Holy Spirit warned him a number of times not to go to Jerusalem. These warnings were not heeded, but they prove conclusively that Paul purposed in his own spirit. He was called to evangelize; to continue to preach the glorious Gospel, and it was a turning aside from the great ministry committed unto him. But behind his burning desire to go up to Jerusalem stood the mighty constraint of love for his own beloved brethren. How he did love them and how his heart, filled with the love of God, yearned over them! This love is so fully expressed in his epistle to the Romans. 'I say the truth in Christ, I like not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed (or separated) from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh' (Rom 9:1-2). 'Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved' (Rom 10:1). This holy love and courage prompted him to say, when once more his brethren had besought him by the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem, 'What mean ye to weep and break my heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus' (Acts 21:13). And the Lord in His mercy, who knows the motives of the heart, over-ruled the error of His servant. Later from the prison in Rome, Paul could write in his joyous epistle to the Philippians. 'But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the Gospel; so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places' (Phil 1:12-13). All things, even our mistakes, must work together for good." (Gaebelein) [Don't know that I agree with him but his argument is compelling.]
to pass through Macedonia and Achaia - "The epistle which we know as First Corinthians, then, was almost certainly written between the public bonfire of Acts 19:19 and the uproar over Diana, or during the 'season' referred to in Ver. 22. Evidently the church at Ephesus, or a segment of it, met in the home of Aquila and Priscilla at this time (1 Cor 16:19). The plan to visit Macedonia and Achaia again was doubtless largely due to continued disturbing reports from the church at Corinth. Members of 'the house of Chloe' had reported that a factious spirit prevailed among the believers there. The constant intercourse between Ephesus and Corinth must have brought many believers from one city to the other, for the apostle had also learned of their going to court one against another, their disorderly conduct at their services and many other serious failings. Indeed, the most serious defection of all was 'commonly report': immorality so wanton that even the heathen considered it too disgraceful to speak of (1 Cor 5:1)." (Stam)
Erastus - "Probably to be identified with the person of that name in 2 Tim. 4:20, where also he appears as St. Paul's fellow-worker, having recently proceeded to Corinth at the time of the latter's second Roman imprisonment. He is, it would seem, to be distinguished from the Erastus of Rom. 16:23, since the office of 'treasurer of the city' (of Corinth), if he still held it, would hardly be compatible with an itinerant missionary life." (Walker)
silver shrines - "Small shrines in a niche, representing Artemis (Latin, Diana), for worshipers to dedicate in the temple. No silver ones have been found, only some in terra-cotta." (Ryrie)
"These shrines were miniature models, varying in size, of the goddess represented as seated in a niche, or shrine, with lions or stags beside her. They were fashioned not in silver only, also in marble and terra-cotta, and specimens are still extant. They were purchased by votaries chiefly for the purpose of dedicating them as votive offerings to the temple; though many were, doubtless, also carried away by worshippers as household idols. They may have been worn, too, in certain cases, as amulets." (Walker)
brought no little business - "Big profits are clearly implied." (Ryrie)
there is danger - "The gospel was endangering the business of these idol-makers. In order to stir up opposition against the Christians, the craftsmen appealed to the civic pride of the Ephesians. The temple of Artemis was one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world—a magnificent structure with 127 columns 60 feet high standing on an area 425 ft long and 220 ft wide (130 x 67 m)." (Ryrie)
"The temple of itself was a magnificent structure. Some parts may be seen in the British Museum. The structure was about 420 feet long and nearly 250 wide. Hundreds of persons, such as priests, eunuchs, temple wardens, virgin priestesses, were in connection with the temple. The temple was stored with rich treasures of gold and silver. A large part of the city lived on the trade, which had been created by the existence of the great temple and the thousands of pilgrims which flocked to the idolatrous festivities and games. There was a guild of silversmiths, and they manufactured shrines of Artemis and most likely all kinds of souvenirs, little models of the temple and the goddess." (Gaebelein)
"Pliny says that the temple took two hundred and twenty years to complete (Lib. 36, C. 14) ... Ironically, however, Diana, whom 'all Asia and the world' was once said to have worshipped, is not worshipped by a single man today, and her magnificent temple lay buried in the dust for centuries until fragments of it were uncovered by Mr. J.T. Wood for the British Museum in the late eighteen hundreds." (Stam)
the great goddess Artemis - "'Diana' is the Latin name of the Greek Artemis, the doggess of hunting, usually represented with a bow and quiver, and accompanied by two white stags. Sometimes she is depicted as holding a lion by one hand and a panther by the other. The Ephesian goddess, however, though the name Artemis had been conferred upon her through Greek influence, was really the deity of an indigenous Asiatic cult, the impersonation of the vitality and reproductive power of nature. She was represented by a rude idol, in shape partly human, the upper part being that of a woman, while the lower part was merely an upright block, without distinction of legs or feet, covered with symbols and figures of animals. Stags were shewn on either side of her." (Walker)
"The image of Diana was supposed to have fallen from heaven, sent down to earth by Jupiter, but it is easily possible, especially considering its unshapely form, that it was nothing more than a meteor made into a crude statue." (Stam)
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