The silversmiths opposed Paul because his gospel turned many Ephesians away from idol worship, threatening their livelihood as idol-makers.
As Les Feldick explains, when the Ephesians were converted to Paul's message, they threw away their idols. The silversmiths, who made these idols, saw their business going down the drain. This economic threat stirred them to raise a riot against Paul and his companions.
Acts 19:28 — The verse records the Ephesians' wrathful cry, 'Great is Diana of the Ephesians,' which Les Feldick cites as the peak of the silversmith-led opposition.
The book of Acts records that 'when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians' (Acts 19:28). 'And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre' (Acts 19:29). These verses show the violent public reaction against Paul and his company in a city devoted to Diana.
Les Feldick explains that the root of the silversmiths' opposition was economic: Paul's gospel was turning multitudes of pagan Ephesians away from idol worship. As the pagans were converted, they pitched or threw away their idols, causing the men who made those idols—the silversmiths—to see their business going down the drain. This loss of income stirred their ire, and they raised a mob by appealing to the Ephesians' devotion to Diana. Les points out that this is not one whit different today when Christianity begins making inroads into idolatrous religious systems. He also notes the city's fervor for Diana was so intense that Paul nearly fled for his life from the 'beasts' of the population at Ephesus.
According to Les Feldick, the silversmiths' reaction was immediate and violent. Because their business was going down the drain, they stirred up the idolatrous Ephesians to turn on Paul and the new converts. This resulted in an ungodly assembly, a city-wide uproar, and a mob that rushed Paul's companions into the theater, crying 'Great is Diana of the Ephesians.'
Les Feldick shows that the silversmiths' livelihood depended on the idolatrous practices of the Ephesians. When the gospel took hold, converts stopped buying idols and threw them away. This directly threatened the wealth and trade of the craftsmen who made these religious objects, and so they opposed Paul.
Les Feldick states that what happened in Ephesus is 'not one whit different' today. When the true gospel begins to make inroads into idolatrous religious systems, those who profit from the existing system will react with hostility. He has taught that this is a constant adversary of true worship, from Babel onward.
Throwing Away Idols
Les teaches that the silversmiths' anger was directly caused by new converts throwing away their idols, which threatened the idol-makers' business.
Business Going Down the Drain
Les shows that the silversmiths saw their trade collapsing and stirred up an ungodly assembly in Ephesus.
Great is Diana
Les quotes the mob's cry 'Great is Diana of the Ephesians' to demonstrate the explosive reaction against Paul and his companions.
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But they were his enemies everywhere he went, they were his constant opposition, especially as he came down the shores of Greece, from Philippi to Thessalonica, down to Berea, down to Athens. They pursued him from city to city, why? Because instead of creating an envy that would bring emulation, they created a hatred. Now then verse 15. Ephesians 4.
Israel's Blindness & the Fullness of the Gentiles — Romans 11:25
A prudent man, he wasn't any dummy, and so for some reason or another he called for Paul and Barnabas, because he had some spiritual interest and questions, and so he desired to hear the Word of God. Now verse 8. But Elimas the sorcerer, this Jew, for so is his name by interpretation, withstood them.
What Most Christians Miss About Grace — 1 Corinthians Explained
But our guide, when we were there in Corinth and were going through the ruins, made them known the fact that at the height of Corinth, this temple up there on the hill to which they worshiped the Athenian goddesses, up to 1,000, sometimes Merlin and I have been trying to remember whether it was 1,000 or 10,000, but it makes no difference. For a city that size, it was a humongous number.
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Verse 28, And he was with them, coming in and going out at Jerusalem. And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians. Now these are not Gentiles, remember. Remember your terminology? A Grecian was a non-Palestine Jew. They were Jews who were citizens of other nations, not Palestine. And so he disputed against the Grecians.
Fervor for Diana
Les notes that Paul's life was in danger because of the Ephesians' fervor for Diana, illustrating the intensity of the opposition.
Acts 19:28: And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
This verse records the immediate, furious reaction of the Ephesians to Paul's gospel and the threat it posed to their idol worship.
Acts 19:29: And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.
This verse shows the city-wide confusion and the seizure of Paul's companions during the riot.
Les Feldick describes them simply as the men who made the idols that the Ephesians worshiped. Their craft was making these religious images, and they depended on the idolatrous trade for their livelihood.
Les explains that it was both, but the immediate trigger was economic. As pagans turned to Paul's gospel, they stopped buying and using idols, which threatened the silversmiths' income. They then used the religious fervor for Diana to stir up the city.
Yes. Les says it is not one whit different today when Christianity makes inroads into idolatrous religions. Those who benefit from the existing religious system will react in opposition to the true gospel.
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