Acts 19:27

"You see and hear that not at Ephesus alone, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are no gods that are made with hands."

Key Reflection

Acts 19:27 describes a situation where the reputation of Paul and his teachings about idols had spread far beyond Ephesus, reaching almost all of Asia Minor. The original audience would have understood that the making and worship of physical objects as gods was widespread in the Greco-Roman world. Thus, Paul’s message challenging these beliefs was seen as both significant and potentially threatening to local religious practices and economic interests tied to idolatry.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Verse 27. So that not only, etc. The grounds of the charge which Demetrius made against Paul were two:--first, that the business of the craftsmen would be destroyed--usually the first thing that strikes the mind of a sinner who is influenced by self-interest alone; and second, that the worship of Diana would cease if Paul and his fellow-labourers were suffered to continue their efforts. This our craft. This business in which we are engaged, and on which we are dependent. Greek, This part to merov which pertains to us, To be set at nought. To be brought into contempt. It will become so much an object of ridicule and contempt that we shall have no further employment.

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