Sometimes it is hard to determine who Bible characters are simply because at times there are many with the same name and often when mentioned, little or nothing is said about whom they are. Take the man named Alexander in Acts 19:33. Who is this man? Is there biblical evidence to identify him amongst the other Alexanders in the New Testament?
(1)
Mk 15:21 A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.
This one seems unlikely to be him.
(2)
Ac 4:6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest’s family.
He too seems unlikely to be the one.
(3)
Ac 19:33 The Jews pushed Alexander to the front, and some of the crowd shouted instructions to him.
(4)
1 Tim 1:20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.
(5)
2Ti 4:14 Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. 15 You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.
There is no question that Alexander whom Paul handed over to satan and Alexander the metalworker whom the Lord will repay are one and the same person. It seems as though he was a Jew and the same person as the Alexander of Acts 19:33. Please read:
Ac 19:30 Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. 31 Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater. 32 The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there. 33 The Jews pushed Alexander to the front, and some of the crowd shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people. 34 But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
1) Paul wanted to defend himself and his ministry after Gaius and Aristarchus were seize and dragged into the theatre. He was the apostle and pastor and brother in Christ. As a good pastor he saw himself responsible for Gaius and Aristarchus. Why should they, his helpers be accountable and responsible for his evangelism of the Ephesians? He had a heart for his people and fellow workers. This is precisely how it ought to be. If the world looks after its own, why ought we not to do the same?
2) Paul was prevented from entering the theater. The Christians in Ephesus realized how deadly these out of control trade unionists could be and prevented him from doing as he wanted. The words “would not let him” actually mean, the Christians “refused to permit” Paul to go into the theater. In this way they protected him from the mob. Others begged him not to go to the theater. They were … officials of the province. The Greek for this phrase is “Asiarch”. In Greek mythology, the autumn equinox is a celebration marking the return of the goddess Persephone to the underworld for three months, where she is reunited with her husband, Hades. Because Ephesus is in the Northern Hemisphere, the autumn equinox would be on either the 22 or 23 September, as the Sun crosses the celestial equator going south. On this day, the proconsuls of each Asian city would gather the most wealthy and eminent citizens together. Normally ten people were short listed, who would form a committee to organize the Gladiator Games. One was selected to preside over the committee. They were all called “Asiarchs”. It seems as though some of these high ranking officials (wealthy, influential and powerful) from the Province of Asia were friends of Paul. They begged him not to enter the theater. On the one hand we see Paul trying to reach out and protect or save Gaius and Aristarchus, yet on the other hand we see Christian and non-Christians reaching out to protect Paul, the servant of God. Where we expect this from Christians … the unexpected are the Asiarchs. These were people drawn from the Imperial Cult. In Paul’s day this was associated with the Roman Empire. Once an emperor died, he was deified … commonly called emperor worship. At this stage of the Christian Movement, it seems as though there was no friction from the side of the Imperial Cult towards Christianity with Paul making good friends from amongst their leaders. There must have been trust and love, why would they have begged him not to enter the theater? Paul listened to his fellow Christians and friends from the Imperial Cult. There is no reason why we Christians today can’t be like Paul and make friends with people who are in politics, other religions and business. Who knows, like Paul, we might have the privilege of leading some of them to Jesus and salvation.
3) Mayhem in the theater.
Ac 19:32 The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there.
Over the last few years we have seen this when some political meetings are organized in a stadium. The idea of verse 32 is that different things shouted from one side to the other and visa-versa was nothing short of pouring ideas together (commingle) which disturbed the minds of the people to the point where most of them did not even know the purpose of their gathering. Evil minds can never agree … that is why we Christians are called to follow the mind of God in Scripture, not our own mind or will.
4) An attempt to protect Judaism. Remember the Jews had a synagogue and its existence was at the mercy of Rome. It seems as though verse 33 speaks of Jews pushing their man Alexander forward to defend and protect their Jewish religion.
Ac 19:33 The Jews pushed Alexander to the front, and some of the crowd shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people. 34 But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
His fellow Jews were shouting words of advice as what to say. But soon the mob realized he was a Jew, defending another religion which was against the worship of Artemis … and then chanted … “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” for the next two hours. There are two matters to reflect upon before continuing tomorrow.
(a) Evil will destroy evil. It does not matter how strong they appear to be in them standing against the cause of the Lord Jesus … they shall lose! As Christians we never measure our strength by numbers. We measure our strength by our sovereign, all powerful God, who alone is the true God! Our strength is in Him for it is in Him that we live and exist. Also be encouraged that God has said to you that He shall never leave you nor forsake you.
(b) Christians protect Christians. As a body we have been adopted into our Father’s everlasting family. We therefore belong to each other which requires we look after and care for each other. Just as Paul was “other person” focused when he wanted to rescue Gaius and Aristarchus, so ought we to be. This necessitates being watchful and prayerful.
Our Father, the time might well come when we or our brothers and sisters in Christ are in danger. If this happens, give us courage to defend and protect them and Your Cause because together we are You beloved Children. Amen.