EPHESUS OF THE BIBLE

 

Ephesus of the Bible

 

Ephesus was the capital city of a Roman province in Asia. Ephesus was a significant center of trade, located near a harbor at the mouth of the Cayster River on the Aegean Sea in western Asia Minor. The city lay in a long, fertile valley. Major roads connected Ephesus to all the other significant cities in Asia Minor.  The word Ephesus means desirable, and in many ways it was certainly a desirable place to live. In the ancient world, Ephesus was a center of travel and commerce.  The city was one of the greatest seaports of the ancient world. Three major roads led from the seaport:

 

One road went east towards Babylon via Laodicea

Another to the north via Smyrna

A third south to the Meander Valley

 

Ephesus was known for its amphitheater, the largest in the world, designed to hold up to 50,000 spectators. Ephesus was also the location of the great temple of Artemis, or Diana, built in 550 BC. This temple, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was “425 ft. long and 220 ft. wide; each of its 127 pillars which supported the roof of its colonnade was 60 ft. high”  Much Ephesian industry was related to this temple. Craftsmen sold shrines and household images of the goddess that worshipers could take with them on long journeys. The Ephesians were proud of their religious heritage and its accompanying legends (Acts 19:35).

 

Ephesus is mentioned often in Scripture. Paul journeyed to Ephesus during his second missionary trip and stayed there for two years so that “all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord” (Acts 19:10). Ephesus was a prime site for evangelizing the whole province, due to the city’s accessibility and prominence in the region. It was in Ephesus that Paul and his companions were taken into the massive amphitheater where for two hours the mob shouted, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians” (Acts 19:23–41). Despite the strong objections to the gospel, many Ephesians came to faith in Christ through the faithful ministry of Paul and his companions. A church began there, and a few years later, Paul wrote to them a letter that we now call the book of Ephesians. Four hundred years later, Ephesus was the site of a major church meeting known as the Council of Ephesus.

 

Ephesus was the setting for many New Testament events:

 

·        Paul arrived in Ephesus and had a public meeting in the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined. 21 But as he left, he promised, “I will come back if it is God’s will.”  He left Priscilla and Aquila at Ephesus.  Ephesus 18:19-21

·        He returns by road to Ephesus where he meets twelve men and asked if they had receive the Holy Spirit and they had not and only were aware of John’s baptism there were baptized and then the Holy Spirit came down on them  where they spoke in tongues and prophesized.  This is called the Ephesian Pentecost.

·        Paul spoke for three months on the synagogue but some refused to believe and even spoke against the gospel and so Paul had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.   This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.

·         God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, such that even handkerchiefs and aprons touched by him healed sickness and cast out demons (Acts 19:11).

·        The seven sons of Sceva, Jewish exorcists, attempted to imitate Paul’s power and were attacked by demons because the demons did not recognize their spiritual authority (Acts 19:13–16)

·        Many new believers “who had practiced magic arts brought their books and burned them in front of everyone” (Acts 19:19, BSB). The total value of the sorcery books they destroyed was 50,000 silver pieces.

·        There was a riot in Ephesus over the gospel because of loss of income to the Artemis or Diana temples.    The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus.  Paul wanted to go and speak to the crowd but the people with him kept him from going.  The city clerk calmed down the crowd and urged the business people to settle the matter in court.  Paul left after that.

·        Paul wrote the epistle of 1 Corinthians.

·        Priscilla and Aquilla discipled Apollos (Acts 18:24–26).

·        Timothy had his first pastorate (1 Timothy 1:3).

·        It’s thought that the apostle John and Jesus’ mother, Mary, lived in Ephesus after Jesus returned to heaven (see John 19:26–27).

·        Paul may have faced wild beasts in the amphitheater (1 Corinthians 15:32).

·        Ephesus became the home of the Apostle John (mid-late 60’s).  He was released and died during the reign of Trajan according to Iraneus (an early church historian). It is said that at a very old age John, too feeble to walk, would be carried into this church’s assembly and would admonish the members, as little children, to love one another.

·        Jesus directed to Ephesus one of His seven letters in the book of Revelation (Revelation 2:1–7).

·        Jesus’ letter to the church at Ephesus contains Jesus’ famous rebuke: “You have left your first love” (Revelation 2:4). The believers at Ephesus, struggling beneath the weight of a godless and immoral culture, had maintained the letter of the law but had lost the Spirit of the law (see Romans 2:29). Jesus commended them for their hard work, perseverance, rejection of false teaching, and hatred of sin. But He was grieved that they had become routine in their service for Him rather than serve Him with the passion they once had. Their actions were there, but their hearts were not.

·        Ephesus was a leading city for the councils of the early Roman church.

·        Jesus’ words to the believers in Ephesus should challenge all servants of the Lord. It is easy to get caught up in the busyness of ministry, church work, or volunteering and not realize our passion for the Lord has cooled. We are no longer propelled into service by love, but by some other selfish or worldly motivation. We may think God doesn’t mind, as long as we are outwardly obeying, but He does mind. It hurts Him, and it violates the greatest commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength” (Mark 12:30).

·        Jesus gave the church at Ephesus time to repent, and He gives us time as well. Every moment we resist His call to humble ourselves and return to our first love is one more moment that we forfeit the love, joy, and peace He offers (1 Peter 5:6; Galatians 5:22–23). Jesus was so concerned about the church at Ephesus that He dictated a letter through the apostle John (Revelation 1:1–2). And He is so concerned about the church of today that He made certain that letter was preserved for us (Revelation 1:3; 22:18–19).