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¹ While Apollos was working in Corinth, Paul left Antioch in Syria and made his way through the mountains. His westerly travel finally brought him to Ephesus on the coast of the Aegean Sea. There he found some cowboys riding for the Lord and ² he asked them, "Did y'all boys get the Holy Spirit when you started riding for the Lord?"

They said, "We've never even heard about a Holy Spirit."

³ Paul inquired, "What type of baptism did you have?"

"John's baptism," they responded.

⁴ "I see," said Paul. "John was baptizing folks to get 'em ready to ride for the Top Hand. John's baptism taught folks to turn away from their wicked ways and be ready to saddle up for the Boss." ⁵ When they heard this, they were all baptized in the name of Jesus. ⁶ Paul put his hands on them and the Holy Spirit filled their lives. They instantly began to preach and speak in languages they didn't know before. ⁷ There were around twelve cowboys who saddled up for the Lord that day.

⁸ While in Ephesus, Paul once again went to the Jewish church and talked convincingly to them about God's outfit for about three months. ⁹ Despite his great arguments, some of the folks there spurned his message and spoke out publicly against Paul and the cowboy he rode for. So, Paul washed his hands of the Jewish church there and left, taking the believers with him. They moved their talks to a big room at Tyrannus. ¹⁰ Paul taught there for about two years. Everyone in the province of Asia (Greeks and Jews) who wanted to hear about God's outfit had an opportunity to hear what Paul had to say.

¹¹ God did some mighty powerful things through Paul while he was there. ¹² If a wild rag or even a scarf touched Paul, they could take that item and heal the sick with it. These items Paul touched also had the power to kick demons out of good folks.

¹³ A group of Jewish gypsies was going from town to town and claiming to cast demons out of people. They tried to imitate Paul in their little show and said, "By the power of Jesus, who Paul talks about, I'm ordering you to shuck out." ¹⁴ These gypsies were the seven sons of a Jewish preacher named Sceva. ¹⁵ One time while they were doing their little song and dance, a demon spoke back to them and said, "I know Jesus. I've even heard of this cowboy named Paul. But you are neither of these!" ¹⁶ The demon-possessed man then lit into all seven of the men and whipped them like puppies. They barely escaped. They got out with their lives, but not without their clothes.

¹⁷ Word of this spread like wildfire. Everyone living in Ephesus got real nervous, but the name of Jesus was held in high regard after that. ¹⁸ A whole herd of folks who believed came forward and confessed their sins. They had finally realized this wasn't a game. ¹⁹ Even some people who'd practiced witchcraft came forward and burned all their scrolls and books. The value of all the burned books and scrolls was several million dollars. ²⁰ Because of this, God's message spread to the far corners of every pasture around there.

²¹ The Holy Spirit then told Paul to head off for Macedonia and Achaia on his way to Jerusalem. "That's where I'm headed," Paul said, "and then I'm off to Rome." ²² He told his two most trusted cowboys, Timothy and Erastus, to head to Macedonia and he'd join them shortly.

The Brawl in Ephesus

²³ About this time, tempers began to flare about the cowboys who rode for the Way. ²⁴ A blacksmith who made silver idols of the Greek goddess Artemis had hired a bunch of craftsmen and Paul's message had been bad for business. ²⁵ The blacksmith got everyone together and said, "Y'all know this is how we make our living. You also know how profitable making these idols are. ²⁶ You also know this cowboy named Paul has been taking customers away from us. And he ain't just doing it here in Ephesus, but the whole province of Asia. He convinces folks that man-made idols are worthless. ²⁷ If we don't do something, our business is going to dry up and our great Artemis is going get a bad name. Folks will stop worshiping her and we will lose everything."

²⁸ Now, this really got 'em riled up. They all began chanting, "Artemis! Artemis! Artemis!" ²⁹ The chant spread throughout the city of Ephesus. The chant turned to violence as Paul's buddies from Macedonia, Gaius and Aristarchus, were grabbed and taken to the stadium. ³⁰ Paul wanted to go and save them, but the cowboys with him kept him from rushing in there. ³¹ There were even city officials who were friends of Paul who sent him a message to stay away from the stadium or he would likely be killed.

³² Inside the stadium, people were in a frenzy. Everyone was shouting something different and confusion reigned. Most people had just been caught up in action and didn't know why they were even there. ³³ The Jews pushed Alexander to the stage and he got everyone quieted down for just a second. ³⁴ But when they realized Alexander was a Jew, the Greeks started their chant up again. "Artemis! Artemis! Artemis!" This went on for nearly two hours.

³⁵ Finally, the mayor of Ephesus was able to get them under control for just a second as he spoke, "Good folks of Ephesus," he said. "Everyone knows Ephesus is the home of the great goddess Artemis. Her image came down to us from heaven itself. ³⁶ No one can dispute this fact. So why are you worked up so much? ³⁷ These boys you brought in have not stolen, damaged, or spoke against Artemis."

³⁸ The mayor continued, "If Demetrius and his workers have something against them, let it be settled in the courts like civilized men. Let them file their complaint and state their case. ³⁹ If there are other matters as well, let us handle them like adults. ⁴⁰ Because if we don't, then Rome is going to think we are rioting and we'll be in a real mess then." ⁴¹ The mayor asked them all to go home and the crowd went away in grumbling agreement.