Overnight we sailed to Kusadasi, Turkey and disembarked early this morning for a bus ride to ancient Ephesus. Right off the bat I had one of my questions answered. I had noticed that on a map, Ephesus is a good little distance from the water. That didn’t make any sense to me.
Our tour guide explained the phenomenon this way. At first Ephesus was, indeed, a harbor town. Over time, however, the local rivers laid down layer after layer of silt until it finally filled in the harbor and covered the town. Oh, and an earthquake contributed to its demise, sending its inhabitants packing.
In the 1800s when a railway was being built, two statues were unearthed. No one in the region had any idea that there was anything hidden there. So the excavating began. Now, about 200 years later, only 10-20% of Ephesus has been unearthed.
By the way, during our walking tour today, we came across a man who was one of the oldest archeologists from this site.
Our tour started at the top of the hill and went slowly down toward the harbor. To say that there is no way to adequately depict the size and complexity of the ruins would be an understatement. So, honestly, I’m not going to try. Instead I’m going to pick out a few things that I found particularly interesting in light of the Apostle Paul’s travels.
As we ambled down this street that was constructed in the first century AD, it was amazing to walk where Paul had been. With a little imagination it was easy to see and hear the people milling about so long ago, selling their wares and solving the world’s problems.
Paul liked to meet people where they were, use their situations to engage them in conversation and lead them to the Lord. He met them in churches and public places. He reasoned with the scholars. He followed the Holy Spirit’s leadership in his life to spread the Gospel.
Paul might have even engaged people in a game of backgammon, breaking the ice with them in order to talk seriously with them about their faith.
This picture depicts a stretch of shops (where the arches are) that would have had a roof overhead stretching out to the pillars to protect the merchants and the customers from the sun. He likely would have encountered businessmen there some of whom would have been ready to talk about Jesus.
Paul would have encountered people on a daily basis who would have known first-hand the premise behind stacking boulders to make a foundation or a wall. And he would have used that knowledge to teach them.
“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
Ephesians 2:19-22 NIV
Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. He spoke with conviction. And he knew how to connect with people in ways that they would understand.
Being in Ephesus, walking where he walked, imagining the shops and the temples, seeing the library and the theater—it was all wonderful.
And our guide was icing on the cake.
As if Ephesus weren’t enough, we hopped over to Patmos for a quick look at where John received the Revelation from God.
This was a beautiful ending to a full day.
LORD, You are our rock and our foundation. On you we build our lives. Thank you for your strength and reliability. Amen.
This was so informative and beautiful! Thank you!
ReplyDelete