The Complexity of Ephesus
Recently, while driving through Des Moines, we saw a group of men standing on a street corner, dressed in purple and gold clothing, holding signs with a religious message. As we passed in our car, my wife turned to me and asked, do you know what religion they are promoting? Seeing a religious group on a street corner is not a new thing. We’ve encountered all sorts of groups from any flavor of Christian denomination, those who might claim to be Christians but aren’t, and various religious movements from around the world. The group we saw was a group of men from the Hebrew Israelite movement. This religious group is classified as a new religious movement, as it is only around 100 years old.[1] After a brief discourse of their particularly modern beliefs, my wife reflected on how strikingly complex the first century was in terms of religious and political thought and opinions. And she is right.
This Sunday, we will begin our study through the book of Ephesians. If we’re not careful, we might casually read it through a very sanitized lens, thinking that life, society, and the cultural landscape of Ephesus was neat and ordered. The truth, however, is the very opposite. Paul writes to the Ephesian churches as they are trying to live faithfully in a very complex and diverse setting. The more we understand their setting, the more we will come to realize just how relevant and needed Paul’s words are to us today in our specific setting. That is why my wife’s reflection was so poignant. Driving around our cities and neighborhoods, we increasingly see indications of differing belief systems if we know what to look for. When we jump onto social media, they seem to be all we can see. This awareness can be unsettling or energizing, depending on our personalities. But the truth is that just as the gospel bore fruit in a complex place like Ephesus, it can bear fruit in our context, too!
So, how was Ephesus complex?
- Asia Minor – The Ephesian church is, both geographically and culturally speaking, far away from the settings of the Gospels. The churches in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) were deeply entrenched in Roman politics, religious worship, and cultural dynamics that were vastly different from their brothers and sisters in the churches around Jerusalem. Ephesus was a harbor city with cultural ideas coming and going with every ship and sailor that came and went. Ephesus was the most important of the seven cities. Though Pergamum was apparently the official capital of the province of Asia, Ephesus was its greatest city (population 250,000+). It was a large town and a seat of proconsular government (Acts 19:38). When a proconsul took up his appointment, he had to enter his province at Ephesus.[2] This prominence and flow of trade contributed to its complexity.
- Roman Politics and Emperor Worship –Paying taxes and observing the laws of the Roman Empire were not simply observing rules and giving the government its due. They were actions that were connected to the perceived “divinity” of the ruling emperor. This is a far cry from the world that we currently live in. Roman coins were inscribed with “PON MAX”, which stands for “Pontifex Maximus” or “Greatest Priest.” The title denoted the position of emperor as the head of the state religion. In 29 BC, a delegation from Asia Minor had asked permission to set up a cult to worship Caesar. Although Augustus, the Caesar at the time, refused, he did allow a cult devoted to the god of Roma (which included a temple with his statue). It was the start of an imperial cult that grew over time. When Augustus died, the Roman Senate voted to deify him, and so his son, Tiberius (emperor during the ministry of Jesus), was called “the son of God.” The Emperors also began to be known as “the savior of the world,” “the lord,” and “benefactor” (Mark 10:42). A generation later, Emperor Caligula proclaimed the “good news” that he had been deified and because he was so feared, no one objected.
- The Temple and Cult of Artemis – Emperor worship was not the only religious expression common in Ephesus. The dominating figure was Artemis. She (Artemis is her Greek name; her Roman name is Diana) was the most powerful divinity in the area and had been for a long time. In the distant past, a meteorite had smashed into the surface of the earth somewhere near Ephesus, and the local people regarded it as a gift from heaven, a statue of the goddess herself. Artemis was known as a goddess of fertility and as “mistress of the wild beasts,” a daughter of Zeus and Leto, and a sister of Apollo. In this cult, she was a virgin who helped women in childbirth, a huntress with a bow and arrow, and the goddess of death. Statues depict her as wearing a zodiac necklace, showing her authority over the stars and events. A weeklong festival to her, known as Artemision, took place each spring. Her shrine in Ephesus was a major site, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. She was worshiped in many places since we know of thirty-three shrines to her, but the major site for her worship in Asia Minor was at Ephesus. Here, the temple to her was four times the size of the Parthenon. It had pillars 60 feet high and was about 425 feet by 225 feet, much larger than a football field.[3] When you think of this temple, think of Jack Trice Stadium. That is the comparable equivalent in our context, and we know how the very presence of Jack Trice informs our identity as residents of Ames.
So, as we read and study Paul’s letter to the churches in Ephesus, we are not reading a letter written to a sterile, mundane, or vanilla context. It was a diverse and complex place where being a Christian was a far cry from the norm and was often challenging. Ephesians is an important letter that will speak to us today as we try to remain faithful in an increasingly complex culture.
The gospel thrived there, and it can thrive here too.
[1] For a more in-depth understanding of this group, see Urban Apologetics: Restoring Black Dignity with the Gospel, chap. 7. (Eric Mason; ed. 2021)
[2] Leon Morris, Revelation: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 20, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1987), 63.
[3] Larkin 1995: 282