Peacemaking in the Midst of Conflict

Passage: Acts 19:23-41

Is there a more contemporary text in Scripture?  We live in a day of riots and mobs, of political turmoil, of great confusion, of crowds shouting down other crowds, people taking up sides, of things considered sacred being attacked, and growing anti-Christian sentiment.

Does it help you at all that in a time of great uncertainty, fear and anger, there is nothing new under the sun, that today’s issues were first yesterday’s issues?  The Bible is real and relevant.  It’s wisdom is modern.  It speaks to our needs and issues and fears.

Let me begin with a brief explanation of the context and background for our text.

Ephesus was a great city, a commercial, political and religious center in the Roman empire.  It was on the Aegean Sea on the western edge of modern Turkey.  You can visit the ruins of this city today.  You can still sit in the 25,000 seat outdoor theater.

The great temple to Artemis in Ephesus was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

In Greek religion, Artemis was the goddess of hunting, nature and fertility.  In Roman religion, Diana was her equivalent (in KJV).

It was a sensual cult, sexual immorality was a center piece.  It was a religion of the flesh, it appealed to the baser appetites and attracted lots of visitors and tourists.

The silver shrines were small replicas of the goddess and her temple.  They were like souvenirs for all the visitors to the great Artemis cult.  Money and sex, the same idols we have today.