The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1903-03-13

Ger March ~. lSes-rhe at2
~ Ephesss.
THE LESSON TEXT.
(Arfx IL ~ ~

/ &0&l4 ~ ~@%-yHy
- And the whole city vas 1iied With c.
essiou. and having caught Gaius and Aras
eArchus. men Of Macedonia. Paui's compAn
IONS In travel. they rushed with one accoS,
Into the theatsr.
~ And when Paul would have enters,
N unto The people. the disciples suffered hil
cot.
y. And certain OF the chief Of Asia. uhicl
we're his friends. sent unto him. desiring
him that he would not adventure hsmssil
into the theater.
= Some therefore cried one thing. AMI
sumo another; for the assembly Mas con
fused. and the more part knew not where
fore they were come together.
-. And they drew Alexander out Of thu
uiultituos. the Jews putting him forward
And Alexander beckoned with the hand
and would have made his defense unto thu
| people.
~ But when they knew that he was Z
Jew. al with one voice abou; the space ~
Two hours cried out, Great Is Diana OF the
Ephesians.
3. And when the towncierk had ap.
psased the people. he said. Ye men OF Eph-
| e<us. what man Is there that knoweth not
how that the city Of Ephesians Is q
worshipper OF the great goddess Diana. and
or the image which fell down from Jupiter?
D. Seeing then that these things cannot
| be spoken against. yeought 70 be quiet. and
70 DO nothing rashly.
y. Forge have brought t.ther these men.
which are neither robbers OF churches. nor
yet blasphemers OF your goddess.
IS Wherefore IL Demetrlus. and the
craftsmen which are with him. have a mat
ter against any man. the law is open. and
there are deputies: let them .mplead one
another.
y. But If ye enquire anything concerning
other matters. II shall be determined Ia
lawful aSse mb.y.
90 For We are in danger TO be called in
question for this Gays uproar. there be-
ting no cause whereby We may give an &C
count OF this concourse.
GOLDEN TExT-rhe Lord preservs
eth the baithful.-fHB. 81 s@3.
OUTLINE OF SCRIPTURE SECTION.
Paul's purpose -..................Acts ly.l =.
Great wrath oused.......'....Acis ls.-s-
The rioters uietec-.............Acts 1891.
TIME.-A- ID. -.
PLACE.-Ephesus-
NOTES AND COMMENTS.
These three years OF Pauis minis
try were very fruitful, but probably
they were also the hardest years OF
his life. Paul saw in Ephesus "a
great door and effectuar' opened &c
him. but there were also many adj
versaries" Q. Cor. l6:9). Paurs i'm
mediate plans were shaped by his de-
sire to take a generous collection for
the poor to the church at Jerusalem
SO showing the loyalty of the mission
churches, which were rich, to the
mother church, which was poor.
The opposition here, which was
most prolonged and bitter. was great,
partly because the success was great
There was large class Of men, EN-
ploycrs and employed, who made
their living by the manufacture of lit
tie shrines for the worshipers at the
great temple of Diana. Their bust
ness was actually falling off as a re-
suit of the increasing numbers OF
those of 1.-The Way" as Christianity
was called. Every convert meant the
loss of a customer. Their pockets
were touched and their wrath was
aroused. Observe the witness Deme-
trius bears in his speech to the work
ingmen, to the success CT Paul'f
work. He makes his appeal (D to
their pockets. and (2) to their pride
IN the magnificent temple of Diana
and the worship conferred there. II
was not only religious, but patriotic
pride, for the temple was one of the
of the ancient world.
When Demetrius was done a great 4
.ry of Indignation was raised. An i'm
nense crowd was gathering to see
what the trouble was. The hoarse
shouting continued. and the whole
hrong surged onward into an enor.
,us open air amphitheater which
would have held $4,000 persons. anc
3 still t. be seen on the western
lope OF Mount Prion. Here the con.
usion increased rather than dimin.
shed. The instigators of the mis-
hief had sliced two of Paurs help
rs, and they were now somewhere
n the midst of that bowling mob
'aul determined to go in himself al
ii costs and meet the mob face &c
ace, but the disciples refused to lei
i'm, and the Asiarchs, knowing the
anger. urged him not to 20 in. and
o his life was saved. The FRIENDSHIP
( these Roman officers is an indica.
lon Of the place that Paul had won
pr himself and Christianity at
phesus. The attitude of the Roman
fficials in general was not hostile "a
at this time. The fear
the Jews that the mob. failing 10
Istinguish between Jews and Chris.
ans, would end in an anti-Jewisb
ot. was responsible for Alexander's
title attempt to explain matters.
ne manuscript reads. Great DIANA
re form used in calling upon the
Dddess, instead Of "Great is DIANA
amsay believes this the correct
'ading. Compare the cry: % Baal :
Ear us"
"The townclcrk:" or Secretary Of
e city" The most important Of the
ty officers. His speech was n very
'iilful one. He told the people thai
eir alarm was unnecessary. that the
en- they had seized were not dan. 2
'rous men. and that they were tax. :.
3 wrong way to settle their mi. 4
te grievances. "Proconsuls: Tn, q
lie of the governors of province, =
ntrolled by the Roman senate. Tbe
oconsul Of Asia usually lived n =.
,hesus. =
Figs aaa TAistles.
Many soul has slipped up on frozen