And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.
The dismissal took place during the yearly festival season for Diana at Ephesus, when special ceremonies held only once a year with utmost pomp and splendor drew great crowds from all parts of the province. It was a trying time for new believers, whose company meeting in the school of Tyrannus clashed with the festivities and faced ridicule, reproach, and insult. Paul's labors had dealt heathen worship a telling blow, causing a perceptible falling off in attendance at the national festival and in the enthusiasm of the worshipers, and his influence reached far beyond actual converts, with many who had not openly accepted the new doctrines becoming enlightened enough to lose all confidence in their heathen gods. It closed more than three years with Ephesus as the center of work in which a flourishing church was raised up and the gospel spread throughout the province of Asia among Jews and Gentiles. Paul had purposed to pass through Macedonia and Achaia to Jerusalem and afterward to Rome, had sent Timothy and Erastus into Macedonia, and had decided to remain in Ephesus until after Pentecost because the cause still needed him, until an event hastened his departure.
The uproar that the dismissal ended had been stirred up because the spread of the gospel threatened the income of image-makers and pagan priests. After the city recorder reasoned with the crowd and explained that the dispute should be handled through lawful procedures, he dismissed the assembly, bringing the Ephesian tumult to an end. The dismissal followed the recorder's ruling that Paul and his companions had committed no unlawful act, a lawful decision that held the angry crowd in check and restrained the mob.
By that lawful handling, the dismissal preserved Paul's life, prevented the mob from harming his companions, and kept Christianity from being discredited by the uproar. The outcome was a triumph of Christianity over error and superstition, in which God used an honorable magistrate to vindicate His apostle and restrain the mob.
The dismissal took place during the yearly festival season for Diana at Ephesus, when special ceremonies held only once a year with utmost pomp and splendor drew great crowds from all parts of the province. It was a trying time for new believers, whose company meeting in the school of Tyrannus clashed with the festivities and faced ridicule, reproach, and insult. Paul's labors had dealt heathen worship a telling blow, causing a perceptible falling off in attendance at the national festival and in the enthusiasm of the worshipers, and his influence reached far beyond actual converts, with many who had not openly accepted the new doctrines becoming enlightened enough to lose all confidence in their heathen gods. It closed more than three years with Ephesus as the center of work in which a flourishing church was raised up and the gospel spread throughout the province of Asia among Jews and Gentiles. Paul had purposed to pass through Macedonia and Achaia to Jerusalem and afterward to Rome, had sent Timothy and Erastus into Macedonia, and had decided to remain in Ephesus until after Pentecost because the cause still needed him, until an event hastened his departure.
The uproar that the dismissal ended had been stirred up because the spread of the gospel threatened the income of image-makers and pagan priests. After the city recorder reasoned with the crowd and explained that the dispute should be handled through lawful procedures, he dismissed the assembly, bringing the Ephesian tumult to an end. The dismissal followed the recorder's ruling that Paul and his companions had committed no unlawful act, a lawful decision that held the angry crowd in check and restrained the mob.
By that lawful handling, the dismissal preserved Paul's life, prevented the mob from harming his companions, and kept Christianity from being discredited by the uproar. The outcome was a triumph of Christianity over error and superstition, in which God used an honorable magistrate to vindicate His apostle and restrain the mob.