Acts 19:35-41 35And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, for what people is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the honorary temple keeper of the great Artemis and of the image that fell from the sky? 36Therefore, these things being undeniable, is necessary for you to be restrained and do nothing reckless. 37For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38If 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. 39But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the lawful assembly. 40For we also run the risk of being charged with insurrection today, since there is no cause that we are able to give a word about this commotion.” 41And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
The crowd had become unruly for two hours, chanting praises to the goddess Artimus. The town clerk, the chief administrator of the city, had to step in to quiet things down and keep the peace, lest Ephesus develop a bad reputation and become known as a riotous city or even draw the attention of the Romans. Ephesus had maintained a degree of independence from Rome, and a riot would not bode well if word got back to the emperor.
Luke summarizes the magistrate’s speech, like many other speeches in Acts. The speech is a logical appeal to history and context. He uses a form of deductive arguement that connected emotionally with audience through the use of a rhetorical question. He first sets up the premise by appealing to what the audience assumed. It was a common and core belief of the majority of inhabitants of Ephesus that their temple to Artemis was magnificent. It was this way because their goddess was magnificent. Another premise that adds support to the premise is the sacred stone, likely a meteor that fell from the sky. Meteors often were used in various cultic worship as evidence of a deity. No meteor has been excavated at Ephesus, but there was likely some stone that was honored as a sign from Artemis.
The magistrate then gave his conclusion based on his evidence with an appeal to calmness. The crowd should quiet down and not do something they might regret later. If things got out of hand, it would look bad on them, the city, and could even reflect badly on their sacred goddess. If Artemis were so great, how could a small group of people be a threat to such a great goddess? Why do gods need humans to defend them? His logic was enough to get the people to think more rationally and not just be caught up in the emotion of the moment.
The magistrate then gave the crowd, and more specifically, Demetrius and the silversmiths, two options. One, they could lodge a formal complaint in court. Or, they could call a regular assembly, referring to a town meeting where organized input could be given. Both of these were scheduled events and not controlled by a mob. The highly politically sensitive magistrate wanted to avoid a riot or have the city have the reputation of an insurrection. He did not see a religious matter as worthy of such commotion. The crowd must have agreed because they all left at his words. Some of what the magistrate said made sense from a Christian perspective and even became a form of apology for the growing church, even though he did not intend it that way. God can use situations like this to create a safer or more welcoming situation in which the church can share the gospel.