Thus where Paul had planted, Apollos watered, and God gave an abundant increase (1 Cor. iii. 6). Meanwhile that Apostle’s circuit through the Galatian district being ended, in accordance with a promise he had made (Acts xviii. 21) he also came to Ephesus. Here Aquila and Priscilla were awaiting him ready to aid him in his work[1023]. They had already dispatched to the Church of Corinth an eloquent teacher, and now there was present a company of about twelve men (Acts xix. 7), who, like Apollos, were acquainted only with John’s baptism, and who were probably introduced to the Apostle by his friends from Pontus. Thereupon he enquired of them, Did ye receive the Holy Ghost when ye became believers[1024]? To this they replied that they had not so much as heard of Him and of His great outpouring on the day of Pentecost. This led to further enquiry on the part of the Apostle as to the nature of the baptism they had received, and becoming aware that they had only been made partakers of John’s baptism of repentance and preparation, he proceeded to speak of a yet higher baptism to which it was intended to lead up. On this the men were baptized into the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and on the imposition of the Apostle’s hands were endued with miraculous gifts and enabled to speak with tongues and to prophesy (Acts xix. 4–7).
Ephesus now became the centre of St Paul’s missionary labours. Repairing, according to his invariable practice, to the synagogue, he was employed during three whole months (Acts xix. 8) in arguing with the Jews from their own Scriptures, and persuading them that the kingdom of God was truly come, and that Jesus was no other than the long promised Messiah. While some believed and joined themselves to the Christian Church, others were hardened and disobedient, and began openly to calumniate the Apostle’s doctrine before the people. Perceiving this, and resolved that their example should not contaminate the rest, he resolved to abandon his attendance at the synagogue, and separating the disciples transferred his instructions to the school of one Tyrannus, probably a teacher of rhetoric or philosophy to the young of Ephesus, and who may or may not have been himself a convert (Acts xix. 9).
This continued for two years, A.D. 55–57, and during this period the labours of the Apostle were carried on with unceasing energy. Not only in the school of Tyrannus, but from house to house he went about amongst the brethren, instructing them in their most holy faith, and warning them with tears (Acts xx. 20–31) to hold fast that which they had been taught, repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts xx. 21). The result of such labours, carried on by the Apostle himself, and probably by his immediate[1025] converts, was speedily perceptible. An important church was founded at Ephesus itself, over which “presbyters” were appointed to preside (Acts xx. 28), and the Word was made known throughout the Roman province of Asia, and probably contributed to the foundation of the seven famous churches of that region (Acts xix. 10).
Ephesus, it must be borne in mind, was no common city[1026]. The capital of the province, the principal emporium of trade on the nearer side of Mount Taurus, it claimed with Smyrna the honour of being one of the “eyes” of Asia. Though Greek in its origin it was half Oriental in the prevalent worship and the character of its inhabitants, and contained the famous temple of Diana, or Artemis, deemed by the ancients one of the wonders of the world[1027]. The original temple, built at the expense of all the Greek cities in Asia, the erection of which was begun before the Persian, and lasted even through the Peloponnesian war, was set on fire by Herostratus on the night that Alexander the Great was born. But in its place there soon arose a still more sumptuous structure, on which all that art and skill could achieve was freely lavished. The Temple-area was 425 ft. long by 220 in breadth, and was surrounded by 127 marble columns, 60 ft. high, each the gift of kings, and 36 of them beautifully ornamented. The roof was supported by columns of green jasper, eight of which may be seen in the mosque of St Sophia at Constantinople, whither they were removed by the emperor Justinian after the temple had been destroyed by the Goths. The altar, richly adorned, was the work of Praxiteles, and here and there were statues from the chisels of the most eminent sculptors. The walls were adorned with the finest paintings in the world, the master-pieces of Apelles and Parrhasius, while the sacred precincts, to the extent of a furlong from the building, offered an inviolable sanctuary to all who sought an asylum there.
The presiding deity of this magnificent pile was an ancient, black, wooden idol, said to have fallen down from heaven, representing Artemis, not the huntress-goddess of the Greeks, but an Asiatic divinity[1028], the impersonation of nature, the prolific “mother of life,” as shown by the many breasts represented on her image.
Round this worship of Artemis there clustered a host of minor superstitions, and Ephesus was at this time the head-quarters of the magical arts. Here were to be bought charms and incantations of all kinds; amulets to preserve men from bodily danger; formulas to ward off the influence of demons; mysterious symbols called “Ephesian letters,” copied from the inscriptions on various parts of the idol, deemed a safeguard against all kinds of evil. These arts were not studied merely by strolling vagabonds, for the purpose of imposing on idle women and ignorant men; they were believed by the educated, and studied by men of letters, who wrote many books on the subject, opening up the secrets of the art, which were highly valued and fetched great prices.
Here, then, was a new field for the efforts of the Apostle, and in this stronghold of heathenism it pleased God to work special miracles by his hands (Acts xix. 11), so that napkins[1029] and aprons[1029] brought from his body were enabled to communicate a healing power, to expel disease and deliver the possessed. Such miracles produced a deep impression on those who witnessed them, and before long, as in the case of Moses in Egypt, certain Jewish exorcists, who wandered about the Asiatic cities, strove to effect the same marvellous results by their enchantments. Fancying that the Name of Jesus was used by the Apostle as a kind of spell, and was in fact his secret, they also began to pronounce the same over the possessed saying, We adjure you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preacheth (Acts xix. 13).
One particular family, consisting of seven brothers, sons of one Sceva, a Jewish High-priest[1030], were especially addicted to this practice, and on one occasion while thus engaged the evil spirit answered, Jesus I recognise[1031], and Paul I know, but who are ye? and thereupon the possessed flung himself upon them, and with the terrible strength of a madman and a demon drove them forth naked and wounded from the house. This incident was quickly noised abroad throughout all Ephesus, became known both to Jews and Gentiles, and proved that the power of the name of Jesus was one “fatal to counterfeit and impossible to resist.” Fear fell upon all. The magicians of Ephesus confessed that this was the finger of God, and many of the converts, who even as Christians had continued the practice of “curious, or magical arts, and had not parted with their books of charms,” confessed their errors, and publickly burned the magic scrolls in the presence of the Church. An estimate of the value of these books was made, and was found to amount to upwards of 50,000 pieces of silver[1032], so mightily grew the word of the Lord and prevailed (Acts xix. 20).