Summary: Paul stays in Ephesus this time for over two years. He finds a small sect of believers in John the Baptist; he heals in Jesus' name, and others fail greatly when they try to cast out demons in Paul's name; and he resolves to go to Jerusalem before heading to Rome (going southeast to then backtrack West through the sea). Before he can go, though, yet more trouble is had when tradesmen connected to the worship of Greek god Artemis riot in Ephesus. Paul tries to enter the building they've occupied, but is forced to watch from the sidelines as one of his own is shouted down for two hours straight.
Response: [Okay so the guy in verse 33, Alexander, was probably going to try to deflect blame from Jews in general over to Paul, but that's okay, close enough for now] So we have a few aesops here if we want them, that we can't ride on someone else's coattails, and that there are things the Spirit will just veto regardless of how much we want/wish/need it at the time.
But I've been thinking about sacrifice. By tithing, by the choices and purchases we make, that affects our ability to give and, as we saw here, it can make a sizeable financial message to those who don't know Jesus.
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