19:30,31
Two of Paul’s travelling companions were seized, and they all rushed into the theatre. Paul wanted to appeal to the crowds to explain, but the disciples realised the effect that this was likely to have. Maybe this is an example of not throwing pearls to pigs. The crowd were in no state to listen to rational argument. The “officials” were called “Asiarchs”, and they begged Paul not to appear. It is believed that the theatre had a capacity of about twenty thousand.
19:32-34
There was general mayhem in the assembly, with all sorts of things being shouted. “Most people did not even know why they were there”. We need to appreciate that crowds are not always very sensible. It is unclear who Alexander was, but it seems that he was a Jewish leader of sorts, and they wanted him to make clear that the Jews and Christians were not the same. He sought to address the crowd, but as soon as he spoke they realised he was a Jew (and the Jews did not worship Artemis, or any other idol), so they started shouting “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians”. This went on for two hours.
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