Who was Demetrius in Acts 19?
In Acts 19, Demetrius was a silversmith in Ephesus who made silver shrines for Diana and brought no small gain to the craftsmen. He gathered workmen of like occupation, warning that Paul's gospel and the resulting rejection of idols threatened their wealth from the Diana trade.
Les teaches that Acts 19 shows Paul taking the gospel of grace into Asia Minor and Ephesus, where multitudes of pagans were converted and threw away their idols. That angered the idol makers, especially the silversmiths. Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines for Diana, a female goddess, brought no small gain to the craftsmen. He called together workmen of like occupation and said that by making silver shrines of Diana they had their wealth. A no-small stir arose about Paul's way, the gospel of grace. Les also illustrates the engine of economy as greed, recalling a junk bond broker who popularized the saying that there is nothing wrong with greed.