Disruption of Economies

That'll get them agitated.

Luke 11:42-54 } Acts 19:18-41

Sometimes understanding Jesus’ relationship with money takes some creative thought. Jesus acknowledges the existence of money and certainly calls out its abuse and over-abundance. And yet, he seems to have no desire to give money power it doesn’t deserve. But surely, Jesus measures value with a commodity other than money and wealth.

This passage in Luke may be one of the most obscure in the gospels. His words for the Pharisees and religious are pretty harsh.

The passage in Acts provides even more examples in which the work of God in Christ significantly interrupts local economies. We’ve already seen this in acts with the Philippians who owned the fortune-telling slave girl. When economies and streams of income are disrupted, those who have been benefitting from them will be upset.

Usually this is a small group. But often, they whine and flop around enough to stretch truths to those around them in such a way that a mob can soon enough grow and fester. Luke’s description of the crowd in Ephesus is almost comical, if not familiar: most of the crowd didn’t know why they had gathered. Isn’t that the nature of a crowd? Lots of fervor, little actual purpose.

Judgment and discernment in such situations takes intentionality. But hold on to Christ and who you know him to be in the gospels: one for the weak, unestablished, disinherited, and otherwise unimpressive.

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Luke 11:42-54

“How terrible for you Pharisees! You give a tenth of your mint, rue, and garden herbs of all kinds, while neglecting justice and love for God. These you ought to have done without neglecting the others.

“How terrible for you Pharisees! You love the most prominent seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.

“How terrible for you! You are like unmarked graves, and people walk on them without recognizing it.”

One of the legal experts responded, “Teacher, when you say these things, you are insulting us too.”

Jesus said, “How terrible for you legal experts too! You load people down with impossible burdens and you refuse to lift a single finger to help them.

“How terrible for you! You built memorials to the prophets, whom your ancestors killed. In this way, you testify that you approve of your ancestors’ deeds. They killed the prophets, and you build memorials! Therefore, God’s wisdom has said, ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them and they will harass and kill some of them.’ As a result, this generation will be charged with the murder of all the prophets since the beginning of time. This includes the murder of every prophet—from Abel to Zechariah—who was killed between the altar and the holy place. Yes, I’m telling you, this generation will be charged with it.

“How terrible for you legal experts! You snatched away the key of knowledge. You didn’t enter yourselves, and you stood in the way of those who were entering.”

As he left there, the legal experts and Pharisees began to resent him deeply and to ask him pointed questions about many things. They plotted against him, trying to trap him in his words.

Acts 19:18-41

Many of those who had come to believe came, confessing their past practices. This included a number of people who practiced sorcery. They collected their sorcery texts and burned them publicly. The value of those materials was calculated at more than someone might make if they worked for one hundred sixty-five years. In this way the Lord’s word grew abundantly and strengthened powerfully.

Once these things had come to an end, Paul, guided by the Spirit, decided to return to Jerusalem, taking a route that would carry him through the provinces of Macedonia and Achaia. He said, “After I have been there, I must visit Rome as well.” He sent two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he remained awhile in the province of Asia.

At that time a great disturbance erupted about the Way. There was a silversmith named Demetrius. He made silver models of Artemis’ temple, and his business generated a lot of profit for the craftspeople. He called a meeting with these craftspeople and others working in related trades and said, “Friends, you know that we make an easy living from this business. And you can see and hear that this Paul has convinced and misled a lot of people, not only in Ephesus but also throughout most of the province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands aren’t really gods. This poses a danger not only by discrediting our trade but also by completely dishonoring the great goddess Artemis. The whole province of Asia—indeed, the entire civilized world—worships her, but her splendor will soon be extinguished.”

Once they heard this, they were beside themselves with anger and began to shout, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

The city was thrown into turmoil. They rushed as one into the theater. They seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from the province of Macedonia. Paul wanted to appear before the assembly, but the disciples wouldn’t allow him. Even some officials of the province of Asia, who were Paul’s friends, sent word to him, urging him not to risk going into the theater. Meanwhile, the assembly was in a state of confusion. Some shouted one thing, others shouted something else, and most of the crowd didn’t know why they had gathered. The Jews sent Alexander to the front, and some of the crowd directed their words toward him. He gestured that he wanted to offer a defense before the assembly, but when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” This continued for about two hours.

The city manager brought order to the crowd and said, “People of Ephesus, doesn’t everyone know that the city of Ephesus is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you must calm down. Don’t be reckless. The men you brought here have neither robbed the temple nor slandered our goddess. Therefore, if Demetrius and the craftspeople with him have a charge against anyone, the courts are in session and governors are available. They can press charges against each other there. Additional disputes can be resolved in a legal assembly. As for us, we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since we can’t justify this unruly gathering.” After he said this, he dismissed the assembly.

Prayer

God,

Thank you for another new day with the sun rising, oxygen available, and purpose at hand. Make me to do well with these things.

Make me a conduit of your love today, full of hope and opportunity.

By your spirit & in Christ,
Amen.