After the Apostle Pau had said that he must go to Rome, he said in Acts 19:22, he sent 2 of his co-workers, Timothy and Erastus to Macedonia. What do we know about these 2 men? There is a lot of info in the Word of God about Timothy. Concerning Erastus, Garreth Reese writes,

“Erastus is probably the man who was the treasurer in the city of Corinth, (1 Cor. 4:17), even though the name Erastus was common in the an­cient world. He was a very useful person to be sent with Timothy for the pur­pose of making the collection for the poor at Jerusalem. Paul was wise to employ a man accustomed to monetary transactions as a helper and advisor to the churches involved in this financial campaign.”

We’re told that Paul stayed in the Province of Asia for while longer after he sent Timothy and Erastus to Macedonia, though we’re not told how long. What are some of the events that took place in the interim before the Riot in Ephesus? Gareth Reese tells us of these thngs,

  • I. Corinthians was written from Ephesus after Timothy and Erastus had been sent. (1 Cor. 4:17) After the two had departed on their journey, very disturb­ing news came from Corinth. People from Chloe’s household brought a letter and news by mouth (1 Cor. 1:11;7:11). Since one of the places where Timothy was to go on this mission was Corinth, now that Paul had learned of the lack of harmony in the congregation there, and knowing how easy it would be for them to ruin the you preacher, Paul admonishes the Corinthian church to treat him with kindness when he arrives (1 Cor. 16:10-11).

  • Paul also expected Timothy to return to Ephesus and report. When Timothy did finally arrive back and report to Paul, the news that the 1 Corinthians letter was not well received caused Paul to make an immediate trip to Corinth. (2 Cor. 12:14; 13:1

 

When that mission failed, Paul returned to Ephesus, and then sent Titus to to Corinth in the hope that he could accomplish what both he and Timothy had not quite succeeded in doing. Titus also had instructions to meet Paul in Troas where he had finished with his effort to correct the problems at Corinth.”

The remainder of Acts 19 tell us of the riot that transpired in the city of Ephesus.