Ephesus! It’s Ancient, It’s Biblical and Amazing to Walk Around

For years, my husband and I have wanted to visit Ephesus. Every time we would watch a documentary on it or something on the History Channel, my eyes would be glued to the screen. And all I could think was that I would love to visit that place. They would always talk about the wall from the library that somehow still stands. So many places from this ancient city are gone, but somehow this wall is still up. And then there is the Biblical aspect to Ephesus, the city that Paul went to many times to talk to these imperfect people about Jesus.

In July, we went on a Mediterranean Cruise for our 31st wedding anniversary, and one of the excursions was to Ephesus. That one excursion is the only reason why we went on this cruise. It was at the end of our cruise and worth the wait. Our ship docked in Kusadasi and from there we took a bus to Ephesus. I don’t think the ride was anymore then 30 minutes. I can’t explain to you how excited I was to finally see Ephesus, one of the many cities that are written in the Bible. I have read the book of Ephesians many times over the years and each time I’ve read it I’ve wondered what it looked like back then when Paul was teaching people about Jesus and wondering what it looks like today.

While we walked on this tour of Ephesus our guide was explaining to us how they are excavating the ancient city still. There are some many things they have found and it was truly amazing to walk around what they have already found. We got to walk through ancient homes called the terrace houses. The architecture is beautiful that they have found. It’s all amazing to see. And we got to see the stadium where Paul wanted to talk to the people even though he knew they wanted to kill him. I absolutley love walking around ruins and when it comes to Biblical ruins I’m even more curious.

Not to long ago I was remind about all the bad stuff that happened way back when in the ancient city of Ephesus and I was reminded that you can not sanitize the Bible. I was reminded of the prostitutes, the violence, and many other bad things. What a lot of people seem to forget though is that there is also grace, and forgiveness and love and redemption and those are just a few of the reasons why Paul was in Ephesus to remind the people of way back when. If I could have spent more time exploring that ancient Biblical city of Ephesus I would have. I think if I could have sat on those stones for a while and listened to the book of Ephesians on my phone I would have. I also think there would have been a good chance that I would have cried, which is not a bad thing.

So yeah, Ephesus is an ancient Biblical city that had a lot of bad things going on in it, but at the same time that’s why Paul was there to tell the people about Jesus and his redeeming love and how they could come to know him. I’m sure some of them believed what Paul had to say and I know there were also a lot of people who got mad at Paul for teaching them about Jesus. But you know the same is still true today. Some people are willing to believe and some people only want to hate. It’s always either or.

Kathleen Smith is the author of Miscarriages: My Journey From Heartache to Healing, and other books. Blogs about a variety of things. Her podcast is Kathleens Korner and she is the CEO of BearsWithApps. OH, let’s not forget her YouTube channel