The Power of the Gospel.

There was an interesting subject when I learnt my English literature course. It was called Greek mythology. It was full of stories of Greek gods and goddesses which made no sense at all. Still, it had so many fascinating elements to it. So, the Greeks had gods and goddesses for love, war, wisdom, hunting, poetry, the sea, the sun, and even for death. The list goes on and on..

Paul encountered one such goddess' temple when he ministered at Ephesus. This temple played a central role in the economy of the city. It was a huge temple, reaching the height of a five-storey building, with huge pillars. The temple was one of the wonders of the ancient world. It was a main tourist attraction. One of the prosperous occupations was selling statues of Artemis.

So, this Artemis was considered to be the goddess of hunting. The women in Ephesus thought they would be protected by this goddess during childbearing. She was looked upon like a Wonder Woman kind of heroic goddess in the ancient world.

So, when Paul saw this and preached the Gospel, we can see him writing a letter to Timothy, a city dweller in Ephesus. He talks about childbearing in 1 Timothy 2:15: “But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.” Paul here was very well aware of pregnant women seeking protection from Artemis. So, he insists that they continue in faith, holiness, and propriety, and also, during pregnancy, they have to be worshipping their Lord God alone.

And the most beautiful transformation that happened in the city is that the statue sellers started to experience loss because of the spreading of the Gospel. We can see Demetrius complaining about Paul to his fellow men and trying to create a riot. It is written that they shouted for two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” There was a big crowd doing that.

I love the verse that continues in Acts 19:32: “Most of the people did not even know why they were there.” But they were there shouting the name of Artemis. Whereas the Word of God was working mightily through Paul in the city, where the statue sellers were losing their business.

In the Old Testament, we have incidents where the statue fell down when the Ark of the Covenant was placed before it. Here, as a result of Paul's preaching of God's salvation through Jesus Christ, Acts 19:19 says the new believers voluntarily brought out their incredibly expensive books of spells and incantations to destroy them, which were worth 50,000 silver coins.

Lives are redeemed, darkness was losing its grip over people, and people were turning away from their old ways. Transformation is happening when God's Word is proclaimed.

Hey friend, you might have heard that a single man's obedience can do much for God's Kingdom. Here, Paul was bringing a transformation or revival to the entire city.

Dear God, thank You for placing us in different cities and villages. May the powers of darkness flee from the places where we step in. May our words be full of wisdom, as Paul's were. May You move mightily in the city as You moved in Ephesus. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.