- Covered In His Dust
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- Acts Chapter 19 (part 3)
"When disciples followed a rabbi, they followed him closely so they would never be out of his sight, never be someplace where they couldn’t hear him speak. They followed him so closely that his sandals often kicked up dust."
May you be covered in His dust.
If this is your first time getting Covered in His Dust, WELCOME!
👉🏽 Read Chapter 19 HERE before reading my notes. If you don’t, my notes won’t make sense.
You can access previous notes on Acts and Luke HERE.
Good morning Saints! ☀️
We’re wrapping up Chapter 19 today so let me get you caught up.
Paul spent more time in Ephesus than anywhere else during his missionary journeys—about three years.
And it wasn’t a quiet ministry.
From the moment he arrived, things moved fast.
He met disciples who had never heard of the Holy Spirit. He preached Jesus, baptized them, and the Spirit came.
God began doing extraordinary miracles through Paul—healing the sick and casting out demons, even through handkerchiefs and aprons.
A failed exorcism shook the city. The name of Jesus was no longer something people used lightly.
Fear fell.
Confessions came.
Scrolls burned.
People who had followed Jesus—but were still dabbling in darkness—let it all go.
And the result?
The word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.
Ephesus would never be the same.
Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”
Without getting ahead of ourselves, Acts 19:21 is almost like Luke is giving us the roadmap for the rest of the book.
Paul’s mind is set, the Spirit is leading, and everything from here on out moves toward Rome.
But man… Paul has NO idea.
Arrests.
Trials.
Shipwrecks.
Prisons.
He’s heading to Jerusalem—and eventually Rome—but it’s not going to unfold the way he expects.
And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.
This verse just sounds like travel plans, but there’s more going on here.
Paul had already made up his mind—he was going to Jerusalem, and then to Rome. But he wasn’t in a rush. He stayed behind in Ephesus while sending Timothy and Erastus ahead.
He was starting to put things in motion.
And he didn’t send just anyone. Timothy was like a son to him. Faithful and steady.
This wasn’t random. Paul was Spirit-led, but he was also strategic. He was thinking ahead, making moves, laying the groundwork.
He just didn’t know chaos was about to erupt.
About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way.
Luke says “no little disturbance”—which is just a really calm way of saying a huge riot broke out.
Before believers were called Christians, they were known as followers of “the Way.”
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen.
To understand Ephesus, you had to understand their devotion to Artemis.
The Temple of Artemis (Diana) wasn’t just a place of worship. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Massive.
Glorious.
Covered in marble.
People came from all over the Roman Empire to visit.
Restored according to JT Wood
Artemis was believed to be the goddess of fertility, protection, and hunting.
But in Ephesus, the city's identity, economy, and fame were all tied to her.
Worship of Artemis in Ephesus had taken on a life of its own. She wasn’t portrayed like the chaste Greek version. Here, she was the center of a powerful fertility cult.
Her temple rituals probably involved sexual practices and prostitution, all done in the name of worship. It was spiritual darkness—wrapped in religion and drenched in money.
And the people loved it.
So what happened when Paul showed up preaching Jesus?
A threat to Artemis meant a threat to Ephesus.
People were turning from idols. Sorcery was collapsing. The message of Jesus wasn’t just shaking hearts—it was shaking the entire system.
That’s why the silversmiths, like Demetrius, were freaking out.
They made their living selling little statues of Artemis—and now people didn’t want them.
Paul wasn’t just preaching a different God. He was disrupting their economy, their religion, and their way of life.
And that’s what sparked the riot.
These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said,
“Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods.
And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”
Basically, Demetrius was saying, “Paul and his friends are crashing the economy.”
He tried to make it sound like he was defending Artemis, but really, he was defending his bank account.
Demetrius knew exactly what buttons to push.
He didn’t just talk about money. He talked about honor. About tradition.
About Artemis.
He stood in front of the craftsmen—men who carved, molded, and hammered their livelihoods out of silver—and lit a match.
“This Paul is turning people away. Saying our gods are fake. If he keeps this up, the temple of Artemis will be worthless. Our entire city will be disgraced.”
And just like that, the room ignited.
When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
The anger spread like wildfire.
Voices rose.
Fists clenched.
And then came the chant: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
Over and over again.
So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s companions in travel.
But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater.
The crowd didn’t run to the temple. They ran to the theater.
The theater in Ephesus was massive—cut into the side of a hill and able to hold around 25,000 people. It was built for speeches and plays, but on that day, it became a riot.
And right on cue, Paul wants to run into a burning building. But that’s Paul. When most people run from the fire— he moves toward it with the gospel.
The Asiarchs were local officials.
Powerful men.
Well-respected.
They helped organize public festivals and events in honor of the Roman gods and the emperor.
Some of them were friends with Paul and were urging him not to go into the theater. Even they could see how dangerous it was.
If the Asiarchs were worried, you knew things were about to explode.
Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward.
And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
It was chaos.
People were yelling all kinds of things— most of them didn’t even know why they were there.
Just noise, confusion and anger.
Then a man named Alexander stood up. The Jews had pushed him forward, hoping he could calm the crowd.
He motioned with his hand, trying to speak. Maybe to explain that the Jews weren’t with Paul.
But the moment they realized he was Jewish— the shouting only got louder.
They drowned him out.
And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky?
Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess.
If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly.
Most scholars believe it was likely a meteorite— something that literally fell from the sky and the people believed it was from the gods.
They kept it in the temple and tied it to Artemis.
To them, it was proof— Ephesus was chosen. Special.
So the town clerk is basically saying, “Everyone knows who we are. We don’t need to panic.”
Trying to calm them down. Trying to stop the riot.
For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
Rome allowed cities like Ephesus a good amount of freedom— as long as they kept the peace.
But riots? That was a problem.
If Rome got word that Ephesus couldn’t control its people, they could step in— send soldiers, remove local leaders, or even strip the city of its privileges.
So the town clerk wasn’t just trying to calm a religious crowd. He was trying to protect the city from Rome’s wrath.
They chanted for hours. “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
Thirty-nine places of worship. A temple so massive, that people came from all over the empire just to see it.
And now? This is what’s left.
One pillar.
The once-great temple of Artemis— gone.
But the name they tried to silence? The message they tried to crush?
Two thousand years later…
The gospel has spread across the world. The followers of the Way have grown. And instead of one temple—
There are millions.
Because now, every believer is a temple of the living God.
MAN, HOW DO YOU NOT JUST LOVE READING SCRIPTURE???
I’m sitting in the Miami airport on my way to Cuba, getting this ready to post. I stayed up until 1 AM writing— then I couldn’t sleep, because this chapter wrecked me.
I LOVE the Apostle Paul.
He didn’t just preach. He shook cities and toppled idols!
And 2,000 years later, the gospel still does the same thing.
If my notes helped you see Acts 19 in a new way—pass this on to a friend.
Let’s keep uncovering Scripture together.
I love you,
George
Uncovering Scripture
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George Sisneros is a full-time missionary in Guatemala and the founder of Ordinary Missionaries and the El Rosario Christian Academy for Boys.
He’s been married to his wife, Vonda, for 26 years. He’s a father to nine children, five adopted.
In 2024, George and his wife expanded to Cuba, joining forces with nine pastors committed to transforming lives through the gospel.