other · 56 · Ephesus
Demetrius the silversmith put it to his fellow craftsmen commercially and then religiously, in that order: this Paul has persuaded a great many people that gods made with hands are not gods, and there is danger not only that our trade will come into disrepute but that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may count for nothing. The city filled with confusion and rushed into the theatre, dragging with them Aristarchus and Gaius, Paul's Macedonian companions. Paul wanted to go in and the disciples would not let him. Luke then notes, in the driest sentence in the chapter, that most of them did not know why they had come together. It ended with a town clerk pointing out that the courts were open and that they were all in danger of being charged with rioting. It is the clearest picture Acts gives of why the gospel was unwelcome, and the reason is not theology.
To stop a preaching that was ruining the trade in silver shrines of Artemis.
Two hours of shouting, a town clerk restoring order, and the end of Paul's three years in the city.