1Timothy 1:3 - Why Ephesus?
Well, it’s good to be with you here tonight. Welcome to Midweek. Some of you are freaking out because we moved your cheese—meaning, we moved your chairs. You’re like, “I’m a fourth-row aisle guy! What are you doing to me?” Every once in a while here at The Well, we just like to mess with your life, so you’re welcome.
This was actually the original vision for Midweek, by the way. When we started this some years ago, people would have pizzas delivered and the whole nine yards. They’d bring dinner and hang out, and then when we were done with the message, they would just do a life group right here because they had just heard the teaching and could immediately talk about it. We’ve moved a little bit away from that, but we had an event yesterday and we have an event tomorrow, so I just said, “Hey, let’s keep the tables up.” I apologize if that bothers you, but remember: we came for the Word of God. That’s why we’re here.
Setting the Stage
If you were here last week, you heard a great message from Mike. We are doing a lot of backstory work. Two weeks ago, we launched this series talking about the apostle Paul and spent our entire time introducing you to him. Last week, we heard about the recipient, young Timothy. This week, we’re going to talk about the city of Ephesus and build some backstory there.
As we start, I want to read a text. For those of you who were with us for the last two weeks, I want to ask if this means something a little different to you now:
1 Timothy 1:1-2 (NASB)
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, [who is] our hope, To Timothy, [my] true child in [the] faith: Grace, mercy [and] peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Does that mean more to you today than it did, say, three weeks ago? The hope is yes. If you are new with us here at The Well, we are very committed to the Word of God. We believe that it is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training. We think that apart from the Word of God, we don’t have a whole lot to say that’s worth coming to check out. In these crazy times, where you’re one contact in Walmart away from ten days of quarantine, it’s just good to find a blessed hope in Jesus Christ.
As you assemble here, whether it’s on a Thursday or a Sunday, our commitment to you is to handle the Word of God well and to teach you the Scriptures so that you learn more about the hero of the Scriptures—which is Jesus, who is pretty stinking awesome. With that in mind, we’re going to continue in 1 Timothy. My name’s Brad, if you’re a guest with us, and I’m really delighted you’re here.
Mike was exactly right: if we go at this pace, this will be a twenty-nine-year series. We will pick up the pace eventually, but we thought it would be good to do a little bit of the backstory. When you get to verse 3, you see Paul talking to Timothy:
1 Timothy 1:3 (NASB)
As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines,
The Land of Your Bible
Paul says, “I urged you upon my departure from Macedonia to remain in Ephesus.” So we thought, where is Macedonia, and where is Ephesus?
Welcome to the land of your Bible. The lion’s share of your Bible takes place here in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean. You have the land of Canaan, known today as the land of Israel, and the city of Jerusalem. When we saw that the gospel began in Acts 1:8, it went from Jerusalem to Judea, to Samaria, to the remotest parts of the earth. Just south of Jerusalem is the Desert of Judea. Just north of Jerusalem are the mountains of Samaria. Literally, it’s saying to the south and to the north. Why didn’t it say to the west? Because there’s nothing to the west but the Mediterranean Sea! It’s the Bible’s way of saying it’s starting to go everywhere.
What were the “remotest parts of the earth”? It was the Roman Empire at that time. That is where the gospel began to spread. Just north of Jerusalem, up in Syria, is Damascus. Paul, in Acts 9, had letters to go to Damascus to stomp out this movement of Christianity. That didn’t go so well for him. If you remember, he ended up getting sent home to the city of Tarsus in Eastern Turkey. Nearby in Syria was the city of Antioch. Gentiles started coming to faith there in large numbers, and Barnabas was sent to do recon. He needed a teacher, so he made the short trip to Tarsus, found Paul, and brought him back to Antioch, where Christians were first called Christians.
Paul then went on his first missionary journey into Galatia. While he was there, he encountered people who were not very fond of him. In the three-city trifecta of Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, they stoned Paul and left him for dead. Yet while he was there, he found a young man named Timothy, the recipient of our letter.
On the western coast of Turkey sits the city of Ephesus. In verse 3, Paul mentions Macedonia, which is mainland Greece. You also have Italy and the distinct boot shape with Rome. The Roman Empire was expansive, reaching all the way into Spain, Portugal, and Britain.
You can see the geographic significance of Ephesus, Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), and the land bridge of Israel. The Roman trade system was incredible, with over 50,000 miles of paved roads. You could leave Rome on the Appian Way, take a boat over to Macedonia, get on the Egnatian Way, travel through to modern-day Istanbul, cross the Bosphorus, and take the Royal Road. Coming out of Ephesus, there were three separate major roads and a massive port. You could travel the Royal Road to connect to the Silk Road into the Far East, or head south down the Via Maris or the King’s Highway into Africa.
Europe, Asia, and Africa were all connected through this land bridge. It wasn’t just goods and services moving along those roads; it was the exporting of ideas, culture, and people. Under the Roman Empire, for the first time in human history, you could travel from point A to point B with relative ease and safety.
The Fullness of Time
Geography and history matter because the Bible does not take place in a vacuum. Sometimes we imagine the Bible is like Middle-earth or Narnia—somewhere out there in fantasy land. No, the Bible takes place at real points in time, in real history.
When you read the birth narrative of Jesus at Christmas, you read this:
Luke 2:1 (NASB)
Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.
That gives you a geographic and historical marker. Caesar Augustus was the first emperor of Rome. Across Roman history, there were eighty-six emperors. Only eleven covered the span of the New Testament, and only four are mentioned in the text: Augustus; Tiberius (mentioned in Matthew 22); Claudius (in Acts 11); and Nero (in Acts 25). You also hear about secular rulers like Herod the Great and Pontius Pilate.
God wasn’t playing “pin the tail on the donkey” with human history, saying, “Boop, I guess I’ll send the Savior now.” Not at all.
Galatians 4:4 (NASB)
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
If the plan was Jesus from eternity past—which it was—God was waiting for the exact fullness of time. Peter puts it this way in Acts: Jesus was delivered up according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God. In all of human history, God chose the backdrop of the Roman world for the Messiah to be born.
Why? Because the Roman world brought the Pax Romana—the Roman Peace. It initiated about two hundred years of unprecedented stability. Cities no longer needed defensive walls because there were no invading armies. Rome exported culture, boomed economically, and took over media and the arts through theaters, sculptures, and bathhouses. They took over education through libraries and schools. They elevated athletics.
Religiously, the Romans were tolerant. Their attitude was, “As long as you’re not exclusive in who you worship, we’ll take it. You want to worship a little of this and a little of that? Bring it on in!” But you can see where the dilemma comes when Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” The gospel does not play well in a “coexist” environment because the gospel, by its very nature, is exclusive.
Rome had the golden milestone in the Forum—mile marker zero—where the phrase “all roads lead to Rome” originated. They had ease of travel, rapid military deployment, fluid commerce, and a common language: Koine Greek, the very language of the New Testament. Spices from India, ivory from Africa, wine from Italy, and oil from Spain moved freely because Pompey the Great had swept the Mediterranean clean of pirates. It was the perfect moment in history for ideas—and the gospel—to spread rapidly.
Ephesus: The Crown Jewel of Asia
That brings us to Ephesus. In biblical times, there were villages, towns, metropolitan trade centers, and then the cream of the crop: cities with major ports. Ephesus was the fourth-largest city in the entire Roman Empire, with an estimated peak population of 250,000 people. Its port was massive. (If you go today, you’ll be disappointed to find the ruins six miles inland due to centuries of river silt, but back then, it was the place to be.)
Ephesus was ridiculously wealthy. Excavations reveal homes with heated mosaic floors, wall frescoes, and private running water connected to indoor latrines. That was unheard of luxury for the ancient world!
When we get to 1 Timothy 6, Paul speaks to the wealthy in such an affirming way. If you are a person of means, 1 Timothy 6 will set you free from the false guilt that godliness requires poverty. Some people have the Midas touch, and Paul tells them to enjoy what God has provided, use it for good, and simply ensure their hope is fixed on God rather than riches.
Ephesus also operated under strict Roman family codes. It was an intensely patriarchal, paternalistic, and misogynistic culture. Roman males held extensive rights; women and slaves held virtually none. But as diverse philosophies poured into Ephesus, people began rebelling against these rigid codes. Some threw out all social order and rejected the distinct roles of manhood and womanhood entirely, creating chaos.
This is why in 1 Timothy chapters 2, 3, and 5, Paul gets very specific about practical living. He outlines how men should conduct themselves, how women should conduct themselves, how to treat older men and older women, and how to care for widows. People had cast off cultural norms, and now they were asking, “In Christ, do we keep the Roman codes, or do we burn everything down? What does the gospel say about being a husband, a father, a wife, or a mother?”
This is why Paul writes:
1 Timothy 3:14-15 (NASB)
I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, [I write] so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.
Paul is saying, “I’m writing so you will know how to behave in the household of God.” This isn’t mere moralism; it is about how the gospel transforms the way we live and treat one another.
Ephesus was also deeply immoral. It was famous for its brothels. If you visit the ruins of Ephesus today, you can still see carvings on the sidewalk showing footprints and symbols pointing the way to the brothel. Sailors would come into port after months at sea, and with no moral plumb line, anything went. Sexuality was even integrated into their worship through the cult of Dionysus (or Bacchus), which celebrated drunken orgies.
In that context, listen to how radical Paul’s words in Ephesians sound:
Ephesians 5:3-5 (NASB)
But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and [there must be no] filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
Imagine a young sailor in Ephesus who had frequented brothels his whole life, who then comes to faith in Jesus. Suddenly he’s told, “You can’t do that anymore. God has a better design: the covenant of marriage between a husband and a wife. Leave your old life behind.” That was revolutionary.
Behavior flows from sound doctrine. If you don’t know what the Bible says, you won’t know how to live. Many people struggle with habitual sins simply because they’ve never read the Scriptures and don’t know where the plumb line is. A plumb line gives a true vertical standard. The Word of God is our plumb line. Our goal is to align our lives to the truth, not torque the truth to match our lifestyle.
The Gospel Collides with Ephesus
Let’s trace the biblical history of Ephesus. In Acts 18, Paul arrives on his second missionary journey with Priscilla and Aquila. He leaves them in Ephesus to establish the work. While there, they meet Apollos—an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures but only understood the baptism of John. Priscilla and Aquila pull him aside and explain the way of God more accurately.
In Acts 19, Paul returns on his third missionary journey. He finds disciples who hadn’t even heard of the Holy Spirit, so he teaches them and baptizes them. Paul enters the synagogue and speaks boldly for three months. When some become hardened, he moves his disciples to the school of Tyrannus, where he reasons and teaches daily for over two years. Paul spent more time in Ephesus than in any other city. From this hub, churches were planted in Colossae, Hierapolis, and Laodicea. Paul even wrote 1 Corinthians while ministering in Ephesus.
Ephesus was also the center of worship for the goddess Artemis (known to the Romans as Diana). This wasn’t just any Artemis; this was “Artemis of the Ephesians,” represented by a grotesque, multi-breasted fertility idol that the Ephesians believed had fallen directly from heaven. Her temple in Ephesus was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, boasting 127 marble pillars that stood six stories high. It dominated the skyline.
In Acts 19, the gospel collided directly with this idolatry. Paul preached with such power that people repented and publicly burned their occult magic books. But this revival threatened local commerce. A silversmith named Demetrius made a fortune selling silver shrines of Artemis. Realizing his income was in jeopardy, he gathered the craftsmen and incited a riot, crying out that Paul was convincing people that gods made with hands are no gods at all!
A mob seized Paul’s companions and rushed into the massive 25,000-seat theater. Paul wanted to walk right into the arena to preach, but the disciples and some friendly Roman officials (Asiarchs) held him back. For two solid hours, the confused mob chanted at the top of their lungs: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
Eventually, the town clerk quieted the crowd and dispersed the assembly. But that was the environment of Ephesus: high wealth, rampant immorality, syncretistic religion, violent idolatry, and colliding worldviews.
Standing Firm in the Ungodly City
This brings us right back to our text:
1 Timothy 1:3-4 (NASB)
As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than [furthering] the administration of God which is by faith.
You get the sense Paul had to urge Timothy to stay because Timothy wanted to leave! In chapter 4, we see that people were looking down on him because of his youth. Paul tells him, “Young stud, stay put. You are right where you need to be. Command certain people not to teach strange doctrines.”
Paul tells him to drop the plumb line and refuse to flinch. God’s design is one man and one woman in lifelong marriage. Sexuality belongs within that covenant. Men are called to be godly servant leaders; women are called to honor and partner with their husbands as fellow heirs of grace. Hold the line, Timothy, no matter how pagan the culture is. Do not get distracted by myths and endless genealogies that produce empty speculation rather than godly fruit.
Do you ever feel like it’s hard to live godly in an ungodly city?
We look at our culture today—with smartphones, media, and shifting morals—and we feel the pressure. But imagine walking the streets of Ephesus, with temples and brothels on every corner and neighbors inviting you to pagan revelry. It has always been challenging to live a godly life in a fallen world.
How do we do it? Three essential commitments stand out from this passage:
1. Embrace the gospel. Living godly starts with truly receiving the truth that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. You cannot live the Christian life without the Christ of the gospel transforming your heart from the inside out.
2. Surround yourself with people who embrace the gospel. Bad company corrupts good character. If you run with knuckleheads, don’t be surprised when you live like a knucklehead. If you want to walk faithfully, lock arms with brothers and sisters who love the Lord and will hold you accountable.
3. Hold fast to the Word of God. Even when culture calls you archaic, narrow-minded, or intolerant, lovingly and unashamedly stand on the truth of Scripture. The Word of God is our inspired, unchanging plumb line.
We ought to feel a little uncomfortable in this world because this world is not our home. Our citizenship is in glory. Join me in being willing to look a little different. We don’t participate in the darkness anymore because God has shown us the path to abundant life.
We don’t isolate in judgment; we say to our neighbors, “Come, taste and see that the Lord is good!” The believers in Ephesus took a city known for its idolatry, exported the gospel down every Roman road, and turned their region upside down.
Why not us? Why not right here, faithfully walking with God, holding up the plumb line, and showing our community the life-changing power of Jesus Christ?