Acts 19:23

‘And about that time there arose no small stir concerning the Way.'

It was at this stage, as his successful ministry in Ephesus was coming to an end, that a crisis came that may even have threatened his life. What follows might be what he was describing in 2 Corinthians 1:8 when he wrote, ‘our affliction which befell us in Asia, that we were weighed down exceedingly, beyond our power, insomuch that we despaired even of life'.

‘No small stir' means a fairly large one, and it was an attack on ‘the Way' which could have been successful had not God prevented it. It arose partly due to the fact that Ephesus, with its silting up harbour, was becoming more and more dependent on revenues associated with the worship of Artemis, and partly because of the grip that the occult had on the worshippers of Artemis. Thus anything which affected those revenues or her name was seen as threatening.