Ephesus
Ephesus. The name sounds rural, quiet, and rurally ancient. Think again. Think about the crowded streets of London, or the cosmopolitan avenues of New York or San Francisco. Ephesus was a bustling, thriving city, loaded with people, humming with noise, the gateway to Asia.
Although Pergamum was the official capital city of the province of Asia, Ephesus was by far its greatest city. All roads, literally, led to Ephesus.
The city boasted fabulous architecture, impressive roadways, a disproportionately large population, and the most important harbour in the province.
Ephesus was:
- The fourth largest city in the world, after Antioch, Alexandria and Rome itself
- A “free” city. In the Roman Empire certain cities were free – self- governing, and exempted from having Roman troops garrisoned there. They had that honour conferred upon them because of services to the Empire
- Host to the famous annual games, which attracted huge crowds of visitors from all over the province
- Graced with a 70 foot wide road lined with pillars that led down to the harbour
- Known as the “supreme metropolis of Asia” where the Asian Governor lived
- Jammed with a population around 250,000
- Known as “the market place of Asia Minor”
- Crowded, with homes built closely together, creating an atmosphere of noise, with the lack of privacy that intense housing brings
- Able to boast about its amazing sports facilities
- Home to a 25,000 seat theatre
- Able to boast about the architecturally stunning Temple of Diana, one of the seven wonders of the world.
- Home to another temple built to honour the Emperor Domitian, with a statue of the emperor four times life size, (a giant forearm survives and can be seen in a museum) depicting the emperor as Zeus, ruler of all the gods
- A city with a strong academic pedigree; an example is the Library of Celsus, the ruins of which still stand and have been carefully restored
- A city with a religious economy. Silversmiths made an excellent living from the worship of Diana - see Acts 19:23-41
- Home to thousands of priests and priestesses, many of whom were “sacred” prostitutes
- Centre of a thriving banking system which helped its sense of affluence
- An asylum for fleeing criminals, which helped contribute to the crime and morality problems in the city
The church at Ephesus was most likely founded jointly by Aquilla and Priscilla and was strengthened by extensive ministry from Paul (Acts 18:18-19, 19:1-10) who stayed longer in Ephesus than in any other city, having found an “open door” there. (1 Cor. 16:8-9)
Paul had tried to visit the church in Ephesus on his second missionary journey, but “had been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia” (Acts 16:6). On his return journey Paul visited there briefly, saw the strategic importance of the city and the church, and settled there for two and half years. He hit up against the main economic and spiritual power base of Ephesus – the silversmiths who profited hugely from Diana worship – (Acts 19).
Timothy was placed in charge of the church there when Paul left the city, thus Timothy was called its first Bishop (1 Timothy 1:3). The tender farewell speech from Paul to the Ephesian elders (when they met together at Miletus) reveals the closeness of friendship between Paul and the believers at Ephesus (Acts 20:17-38). According to tradition, John the Apostle took over from Timothy towards the end of the first century. Legend has it that John brought Mary the mother of Jesus to Ephesus and that she was buried there.