Acts 19:29

So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s travel companions. Acts 19:29

To match the Greek, these words are more closely rendered, “And the city was filled – the outpouring – and rushed single-mindedly to the theater, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, fellow-travelers of Paul” (CG).

In the previous verse, the silversmiths had gotten lathered up at the words of Demetrius and cried out, saying “Great is Diana of the Ephesians.” With that, people began to take notice of their excited cries and Luke next notes, “And the city was filled – the outpouring.”

It is a noun found only here in Scripture, sugchusis.

It comes from the verb sugcheó, meaning to pour out together. Figuratively, it refers to being confused or confounded. As the noun form is used, the word outpouring (an outburst of strong emotion) gives a close sense. The people heard the shouts of the silversmiths, the word was passed on from there concerning what was going on, and everyone poured out of their homes and businesses in a heat of emotion. From there, it next notes, “and rushed single-mindedly to the theater.”

Here is a word, homothumadon, found eleven times in the New Testament, ten of those instances are in Acts, and this is the last use in Acts. Its root words signify “same” and “passion.” Thus, it describes having the same passion or the same desire. The minds agree and thus “single-mindedly” gives the sense.

Even if they didn’t know why they were going to the theater, they were propelled by a herd mentality with one purpose. As for the theater mentioned here, it was next to the temple of Artemis and is said to have been able to hold 25,000 people according to Ellicott. Vincent’s Word Studies says it held 56,000. Apparently, it was built for gladiator combat of the day, but it was also a theater for drama and public debates. It would have been a perfect place for the gathering to meet.

Concerning the mob, in verse 32, it will note that most of the people didn’t even know why they had come together. They had simply followed the growing mob, one after another. However, of those that did know why they had come together, it next notes, “having seized Gaius and Aristarchus.”

As the crowd rushed towards the focal point of the confused mob, those who knew that it was because of the spreading of the gospel together snatched these two men by force and carried them off.

As for their names, Gaius probably comes from gaia, earth or land. Thus, it means Of the Land. This could be taken as “he is a man of the land” like a farmer, or it could signify “he is made from the earth” like Adam. The name Gaius was one of the most common names of the time. It is the same as the Roman Caius. Several men will be noted with this same name in the New Testament. There could be overlap in them so that one or two are the same person, but this is not certain.

The second name, Aristarchus, comes from ariston, breakfast or midday meal (signifying the best meal), and archó, to rule. Thus, his name means Best Ruler. He will be seen again in Acts 20:4 where he is noted as being from Thessalonica. In Colossians 4:10 he is noted as Paul's fellow prisoner. He came to Christ through Paul and stayed close to him through thick and thin. He is also seen in Acts 27:2 and Philemon 1:24.

Of these men, Paul notes that both were “Macedonians.” As they are in Ephesus, they are not local to the area and had become targets of the crowd because they were also “fellow-travelers of Paul.”

This is a new noun sunekdémos. It comes from three words meaning “with,” “out of,” and “people,” but people of a like commonality. They are those who traveled with Paul, out of another place, and thus “fellow-travelers.”

Life application: One can see how a tumult raised by one group has grown into a general crowd that is gathered into a mob. This is as common as gravel on a driveway. Once a little ruckus gets going outside a store, people will start to gather to see what is going on. Often, without even knowing the circumstances, there will be someone to egg things on. “That guy was minding his own business and the cops started pounding on him.”

From there, the crowd starts yelling at the cops, maybe throwing stuff at them. General disarray erupts, the riot police have to be called, and people get thrown into jail. The person was a shoplifter, he turned on the cops and started pounding on them, they took action to subdue him, the crowd was in the wrong, cops were beaten, and one was killed. All because someone made up a false story.

Solomon says –

“He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own
Is like one who takes a dog by the ears.” Proverbs 26:17

Grabbing a dog by the ears is not smart. They will usually attack and bite the person who does it. When you see a tussle going on outside, the best thing to do is to keep your distance and not get involved. To get more such wisdom, be sure to read the Proverbs from time to time. It is filled with good information like this. Pay attention to it and keep yourself from disaster.

Lord God, help us to make the Bible a priority in our daily lives. It is certain that it will fill us with wisdom and also keep us from harm. Above all, thank You for Jesus Christ our Lord who will save us from this world of woe, even if we get caught up in it from time to time because we failed to read Your word. In the end, we shall be secure. Amen.