THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
THIRD MISSIONARY JOURNEY
(Acts 20:17-35)
Whereas Paul's second missionary journey began the Christian work around the western shores of the Aegean Sea (Philippi, Berea, Thessalonica, Athens, and Corinth), his third missionary journey not only consolidated that work, it also concentrated on the eastern shores of the Aegean Sea. During those 3+ years he not only work extensively with the Corinthian church by writing 4 letters to it, he also spent the bulk of his time in Ephesus establishing a major church in that city. This became one of the great churches in Christianity as evidenced by the fact that many of the books/letters in the NT revolve around the Ephesian church: Gospel of John, Ephesians, 1 and 2 Timothy, 1 John, and Revelation.
Towards the end of that third missionary journey though, Paul felt led to collect an offering to help relieve the sufferings of the Jewish Christians living in Jerusalem and Judea. In fulfillment of Agabus' prophecy hard times befell the church in that region (Acts 11:28). The Jewish Christians especially felt the hardships because the temple, which served as the headquarters for charity in Jerusalem, would have refused to aid the Jerusalem Christians. This was one reason Paul goes to the churches throughout Asia (western Turkey), Galatia (eastern Turkey), Macedonia (northern Greece), and Achaia (southern Greece) and raises a relief offering.
Another more important reason though was driving Paul throughout this campaign to raise a relief offering. The agreement in Jerusalem (Acts 15) simply did not work. As long as the Jewish Christians felt that they had to keep the Law in order to be saved and yet the Gentile Christians did not, there was going to be division in the church. Since the Jewish Christians believed it was necessary for them to keep the Law, it was but a short step before they felt that even the Gentiles had to keep it--no matter what James and Peter had said. Serious hostility emerges against Paul not simply from the non-Christian Jews headed by the high priest but also from Jewish Christians themselves as James himself later admits (Acts 21:20-25). Paul wants to create unity within the church because disunity within the church undermines the message that Jesus is Lord. Now we as Christians know that Christians fight each other because at least one of them is not following the Lord and that this has nothing to do with the fact that Jesus is Lord. Non-Christians though don't see it that way. What they see is that 2 different people claim that Jesus is Lord and yet they don't get along. Their response then is that Jesus is not Lord, that He is truly not divine. In order to create unity and to preserve the message that Jesus is Lord, Paul takes it upon himself to raise this relief offering and bring it personally to Jerusalem. He hopes that this relief offering will endear the Gentile churches to the Jewish Christians. On his way to Jerusalem with the relief offering he stops outside Ephesus where he bids farewell to the leaders of the Ephesian church.
Two important elements about this passage. First, this is the only episode in Acts we have in which Paul is addressing believers. We've already seen him address the Jews in Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:16-41) and the Gentile pagans in Lystra and in Athens (Acts 14:15-17; 17:22-31). Later he will address the Jewish non-Christians (Acts 22:1-21), the Jewish Sanhedrin (Acts 23:1-10), the Roman governors Felix and Festus (Acts 24:10-21; 25:6-12), and the Jewish king Herod Agrippa II (Acts 26:1-29). This is the only message that he addresses to Christians, and for this reason it has a special appeal for us.
Next, notice whom he addresses in this message: the elders of the church at Ephesus. This would seem to indicate that this message has no importance for you and me. The term "elders" in this passage though refers to the pastors of the different house churches that made up the one Ephesian church, one Ephesian church with many individual house churches. Why are these elders in truth pastors? Later Paul calls them "overseers," (literally episkopoi which some translate as "bishops"). He also calls them "shepherds" (which is another term for pastor). The 3 terms describe different aspects of the pastor. The term "elder" means that he is to be mature (age and maturity normally go together). The term "overseer" refers to his role as supervisor of the church, overseeing its different functions, while the term "shepherd" refers to his role of feeding and leading the flock. These are the traditional roles served by the pastor in local churches.
Since Paul is addressing the pastors, is he speaking to us who are not ministers? Yes. Some have wrongly claimed that ministers are held to a higher standard. That is simply bogus. There is only one standard--following Jesus Christ. It's just that ministers must definitely hold to this standard because if they do not, then the church never will. The church may rise up to the level of its leadership; however, it as a whole will never rise above it.
PAUL'S PAST EXPERIENCES WITH THE EPHESIAN CHURCH (20:18-21)
Paul starts his address to the Ephesian pastors by recounting his past experiences with them. First, when he was with them, he was humble towards them. Most people have misunderstood the concept of humility. They think that if they put themselves down then they are humble. That is not humility; it is pusillanimity. According to C. S. Lewis, whenever I put myself down, I am still focusing on me. Lewis states that humility simply means I don't focus on myself. In other words, LIFE IS NOT ABOUT ME! It's about Jesus Christ. Paul in describing his own life said, "For to me to live is Christ" (Phil. 1:21). Why do I teach? Why do I reach out to others? Is it so that I can find fulfillment in my own life? If so, it is about me and not about Jesus. True, I do find fulfillment in reaching out to others, but that should not be my goal because one day that just might not fulfill me any longer.
Paul next states that he was with them "with tears." In other words, he was constantly worrying (in a positive sense) about the Christians he was ministering to. He hurt when they hurt. He grieved when they fell into sin. In other words, he was in the trenches with them. Some ministers are so good about putting on programs. That's a safe way to deal with people; however, it doesn't change lives. The only thing that really changes lives is actually being involved with those people in their lives and helping them walk the path Christ has laid out before them. "Tears" means LIFE IS ABOUT OTHERS!
Third, Paul says that he was with them in "trials that came upon him through the plots of the Jews." Paul didn't have to suffer. He could have avoided a lot of suffering if he had just simply told the Gentiles to circumcise their baby boys and their grown men, and if he had preached that they were to try to keep the Law of Moses as best as possible. He could have preached about Jesus all day long and not suffered at all if he had just preached these 2 things. The only problem with that though is that he would have been leading them astray. For Paul LIFE IS NOT ABOUT COMFORT! It is about Jesus, about others, and about telling the truth about salvation.
Fourth, Paul says that he did not "shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable." This statement seems to be repeating what he just said about the trials that came upon him through the plots of the Jews. Yet it is an advance on what he just said. He spoke to Christians the truth--about themselves and their situations. Too many ministers are so afraid of losing their jobs or being the target of criticism that they shrink from telling their flock the truth. (Or else they speak the truth so subtly that the congregation doesn't "get" what the pastor is saying to them.) Paul never shrank from that! Just read 1 and 2 Corinthians to see how Paul spoke the truth to the Corinthians. Not just any truth but truth that applied specifically to their situation: division in the church, immorality, frivolous lawsuits against fellow Christians, divorce, etc. He flat out told them that they were acting so badly that he was glad he had not even baptized most of them! Now that is shooting straight and to the point with the congregation. Some people want to shear the sheep all the time. That's wrong; however, late spring does come when it is time to shear sheep. The true minister is going to know when that time has come and will step up to the plate in order to be an effective minister with his flock. Always remember that people cannot respond to the truth if they never hear it.
Fifth, Paul states that the content of his message to the churches was "repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." The stunning part of Paul's message was not repentance towards God. Ninety-five per cent of the world believes there is a God; therefore, when Christians think they are doing a world of good by talking exclusively about God, they are deluding themselves. For Paul repentance towards God means that a person places his faith in Jesus Christ, not simply the faith which is exercised at the point of salvation but the faith which Christians should exercise daily by following the leadership of Jesus' Spirit in all areas of his life. That is what makes the Christian message unique, not talk about God but talk about Jesus. [The truth is that you can talk about God all day long and never mention Jesus (the Muslims do it all the time); however, you cannot talk about Jesus and not talk about God. When you've said "Jesus." you've said. "God."]
Is Paul simply reminiscing about his ministry when he relates these facts to the Ephesian pastors? No. He is reminding them of the way he ministered to them so that they will in turn imitate him and his ministry. He and his ministry are models for ministers and their ministries.
PAUL'S IMMEDIATE FUTURE (20:22-24)
Paul next shares with the Ephesian pastors his future prospects. They are grim. Paul is headed for Jerusalem knowing full well that he is facing certain imprisonment. Now Paul is not some masochistic martyr who loves to be beaten up as some later Christians turned out to be. Whenever Paul has a chance to escape persecution, he takes it (remember Berea, Thessalonica, and his future encounters with the Jews in Jerusalem). In this instance though he has no choice because the Spirit has commanded him to go to Jerusalem and be placed in chains there.
Although Paul realizes that his future is grim, he still obeys the Spirit. Why? "Because I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself in order that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God." This is true courage. I've heard newscasters say that people struck with some kind of serious disease are real heroes because they have endured the disease. That's not heroism because they had no choice in the fate that befell them. All they chose was their response to the situation thrust upon them. Paul though had a choice. He could face chains and imprisonment by obeying the Spirit and going to Jerusalem, or escape the chains and imprisonment by refusing to go to Jerusalem. He's a true hero because he chose the chains by obeying the Spirit.
Second, he said that he chose chains because he wanted to finish the course God had set forth for him. For Paul the Christian life is a marathon race. It's a true race in the sense that it has direction, following the leadership of the Spirit of Jesus on a daily basis. It's a marathon because it is a long race. The race is not over until Christ returns. God has given you and me spiritual gifts with which to serve Him, and until the day we die or the day He returns, He expects us to use them to serve Him. There's no quitting in the Christian life. "He who perseveres to the end shall be saved."
Notice the message of Paul's gospel: "the grace of God." From beginning to end Paul's message is that out of God's sheer grace He sent Jesus to die on the cross in order to make us right with Him. Second, out of God's grace He sent the Spirit of His Son Jesus into our hearts so that we might live the righteous life of love that His Son Himself enjoys. We deserved neither one of these acts. The sending of Jesus to us and the sending of the Spirit of Jesus into our lives result purely from grace. From beginning to end it is nothing but grace.
EPHESIANS' IMMEDIATE FUTURE (20:25-31)
Next Paul shares the immediate prospects the Ephesians themselves are about to face. First, Paul is convinced that they will never see him again. Although we see later that he most likely did see them again (1 Tim. 1:3 which was written after this speech), from Paul's vantage point it just wasn't going to happen. He knew chains awaited him in Jerusalem. How he was going to escape them, he did not know. Moreover, the focus of his ministry was going to shift from the eastern part of the Roman empire to the western part--Spain with Rome as his base of operations (Rom. 15:24). Although Paul knew full well that he would reunite with them in the Lord's presence, he still cared deeply for his flock. Feeling that he would never see them again broke his heart. (So many shallow Christians have maligned Paul. They claim that he was a hard man to be around. I don't think so. Paul must have been such a great person to be around because he was such a people person. Read the ends of his letters to see the number of people he greeted. He was hard only when it came to compromising the gospel and to condoning sin.)
Knowing that he would not see them again, Paul informs them that he is innocent of the blood of all men. Why does he share this with them? Because he wants them too to be innocent of the blood of all men. How was Paul innocent of the blood of all men, and how are we to be innocent in the same way? Paul says that he is innocent of the blood of all men because he did not "shrink from declaring to them the whole purpose of God." Paul is referring to Ezekiel's description of the watchman on the city walls. If the watchman sees the enemy coming and fails to alert the city, then he is responsible for the deaths of the people in the city. On the other hand, if he does alert the city and yet it fails to respond to the threat, then the people in the city itself are responsible for their own deaths. For his part Paul has shared the gospel with all the people he had come into contact with. The ball now is in their court.
The Ephesian pastors also faced a future in which "savage wolves will come in among you not sparing the flock." Jesus had likewise claimed that wolves would come among His flock decked out in sheep's clothing. Jesus and Paul compare them to wolves because like wolves they ravage Jesus' flock. The primary way they ravage God's flock is by false teaching about Jesus (and therefore God) and about the way to experience the life of God. [This was no mere idle threat. Approximately 30 years later when John writes his first letter, he is addressing a situation in which false teachers are wreaking havoc upon the church at Ephesus (1 John 2:19).]
What is to be response of the Ephesian pastors? "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock." The primary burden for protecting the flock lies with the ministers. First, they are to protect themselves. If the minister does not protect himself, then he is unable to protect those entrusted to him. (Like on the airplane, you put the oxygen mask on yourself first so that you can live to put the masks on your children. A passed-out parent can't protect anybody.)
How does the minister be on guard for himself? By knowing Jesus and the NT teachings about Him. The attacks are always against Jesus and the way to experience His presence daily. We need to be able to defend the claim that Jesus is truly God's Son. We need to be able to defend the claim our faith in response to God's grace is what brings us into a right relationship with Him. We need to be able to articulate the truth that following the Spirit of Christ on a daily consistent basis is the only way to experience Christ and His life daily. When we are well-grounded, then we can ground the flock in the truths of Christ and Christianity. (Many times Christians find it overwhelming to delve really deeply into these topics; they just want to make sure though that their leaders are ready to respond to these challenges. Paul clearly places the responsibility for this on the shoulders of the ministers.)
To round this off, Paul exhorts the Ephesian ministers: "Therefore, be on the alert." Whenever the early Christians heard the exhortation "Be on the alert," they were reminded of Jesus' instructions to His disciples in Gethsemane to be on the alert. (In fact the exact same Greek word is used in both places.) The specific way that the disciples were to be alert was by praying while Jesus prayed. In order to stay alert, we have to keep sensitive to the Lord in our relationship with Him, not simply praying but also listening to Him and responding immediately and positively whenever He addresses us. (Paul uses his example while among them to motivate them to do the same: "remembering that night and day for a period of 3 years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.")
FINAL PARTINGS (20:32-35)
In conclusion Paul first commends the Ephesian ministers to God and to the word of His grace. What was going to happen to these ministers? For 3+ years Paul had been around to guide them and protect them. What would happen to them now with Paul gone? Although godly people are important in helping others grow in their relationship with God, they are not essential. The only One ultimately essential in a person's growth and protection is God Himself. Whenever we think we are indispensable, we are truly deluding ourselves and lying to others. My ministry should lead others to Jesus, not to myself. If what is being produced through my ministry is a direct result of my own agenda and effort, then it will ultimately go down in flames. The only way to guarantee permanent success is to push Christ's agenda and push it in His own strength and power. God is quite capable of taking care of His people without me around (or Paul too for that matter). (Paul also commends them to God's grace which we discussed earlier.)
Paul finishes the address by pointing to the way he related to wealth and to material possessions. (Although the topic of materialism seems a strange way to end a farewell address, it is not since materialism has destroyed the lives and ministries of so many Christians.) Although Paul strenuously defended his right to be financially supported by the churches because he ministered to them, he refused to exercise that right among most of his churches. (The primary exception seemed to be the churches of Macedonia which seemed to be model churches.) It may be that early charlatans had abused this principle which created a climate of mistrust among the churches. Whatever the reason Paul though refused to accept funds from the Corinthian church because it was accusing Paul of being in the ministry for the money. He told them that he would not accept one red cent from them because of their attitude (2 Cor. 11:7-12).
Here though Paul gives another reason for refusing to accept money from the churches. He wants to demonstrate for them the principle which Jesus Himself articulated: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Sometimes I see people turn up their noses at other people who are disadvantaged. These people are a bother to them. They don't realize though that these disadvantaged people are giving them the opportunity to be like Jesus and to minister to people less fortunate than they. If a person wants to be close to Jesus, then he needs to be involved in what Jesus Himself was involved in--instead of receiving, giving to those who have less than I. [This doesn't mean you're never to receive. It means that the focus of your life should be on giving rather than on receiving. (Just a little side note here. In v. 35 we have a saying of Jesus not found in the Gospels, verification of John's statement [John 20:30] that Jesus said and did a lot more than what the apostles recorded in the gospels.)]