Day 05 - Ephesus: A City of Power, Truth, and First Love

Today’s Journey took us to the city of Ephesus. In the first century, this city was a hub of commerce, culture, religion, and empire. It boasted one of the largest harbors, the grandest agoras, and was among the wealthiest cities in the Roman Empire.

But Ephesus was more than marble and markets.

It was Neokoros—the official temple warden of the imperial cult, housing temples to Domitian and Artemis. It was a city where ideas were exchanged, goods were sold, and humans were trafficked. Power was everywhere—religious, economic, and political. Yet into this very city, Paul brought the gospel (Acts 19).

And what followed was nothing short of a spiritual earthquake.

Over the next two years, the gospel spread from Ephesus to all of Asia Minor. The message of Jesus confronted demons, broke the enchantment of magic, and toppled the sway of Artemis. As the gospel moved through the streets, lives were changed, scrolls were burned, idols were abandoned, and disciples were made.

Decades later, John would write a letter to the church here—a church formed in the fires of revival and rooted in the soil of hard truth. In Revelation 2, Jesus commends them:

“I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance… You have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.”

This was a church of doctrinal clarity, moral conviction, and spiritual endurance. They took Paul’s teaching seriously. They were no longer tossed by every wind and wave of doctrine, like the ships that once filled their harbor.

But Jesus had a word of warning.

“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.”

They were saying the right things, doing the right things, but somewhere along the way, they were doing them the wrong way. In their pursuit of truth, they had let go of love.

Jesus didn’t tell them to stop holding the line. He told them to come back to their first love, to remember that truth and love are not enemies, but partners. That truth without love hardens, and love without truth softens, but together they transform.

John, the pastor of this church, echoed this when he wrote:

“If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar.”

— 1 John 4:20

Today, as we stood among the ruins of temples and theaters, streets and shops, we were reminded:

                •             Hold to truth. Don’t compromise.

                •             Persevere in the faith. Don’t grow weary.

                •             But above all—love well.

So let us be people who speak truth, but even more, live love.

Let us never treat love as an optional commodity, but as the currency of the kingdom.

Love,

Jerrell

Truth without love hardens the heart. Love without truth loses its way. But when truth and love walk together, the gospel sets cities on fire.