“After the uproar
ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell
and departed for Macedonia. When he had
gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to
Greece. There he spent three months…we
came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days. On the first day of the
week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them
intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until
midnight…And being overcome by sleep, he (Eutychus) fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. But Paul went down and bent over him, and
taking him in his arms, said, ‘Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.’…Now
from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to
him…’In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must
help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, It
is more blessed to give than to receive.’ And when he had said these things, he
knelt down and prayed with them all. And
there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him,
being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would
not see his face again. And they
accompanied him to the ship.” –Acts
20:1-3a; 6b-7; 9-10; 17, 35-38 (ESV.
Read Acts 20).
Acts
20 is a very important chapter as it tells of Paul’s farewells to the churches
he visited and of his diligence in collecting a love offering for the suffering
and persecuted Christians in Jerusalem.
The names given in 20:4-5 are official representatives of the various
churches who were charged with helping Paul with the collection for the
saints. Their presence would give safety
from robbers but also stand as testimony to the integrity of Paul and the
others in handling the funds. Even in this Paul set a precedent for subsequent
churches, for it is always wise and prudent to have the funds of the church
handled in a judicious manner. Notice
also the use of the pronouns “us” and “we” beginning in verse 5. Luke would have joined the team. The use of first person plural pronouns in
Acts shows that he had joined the group. We have in Acts 20:7 the mention that the
church gathered “on the first day of the week.”
This is the first reference in Acts to worship on Sunday. Scholars believe that the reason the service
was held at night was because people still followed the Jewish calendar, and
the first day of the week would be a secular work day, since the Sabbath was
the day of rest. The sermon was long and
continued to midnight; this was to be Paul’s last time with them and he had
much to tell them. At this service s
young lad, Eutychus, could not keep awake.
He fell from a third story window while Paul preached, and the impact of
his fall killed him. Paul stopped his
sermon long enough to go down and bring him back to life, an action that
comforted the congregants greatly. Paul and
company left Troas, he on foot and the others by ship to Assos where Paul boarded
and they sailed to Mitylene, to Chios, to Samos and to Miletus. His reason for not going to Ephesus was that
he was rushing to get to Jerusalem before the day of Pentecost.
At
Miletus, Paul sent to invite the elders of the Ephesus church to come and talk
with him. Paul’s message to these
gathered bishops, pastors, overseers, shepherds of the church at Ephesus can be
read in Acts 20:18-35. He felt a
compulsion to give them instruction for he truly felt that he would not see
them again. It was a sad gathering but
one of enrichment and warning. The
points of Paul’s sermon included (1) a review of the past (vv.18-21), a
testimony of the present (vv. 22-27) and a warning about the future (vv.
28-38). In these points he told of
motive, manner and method of ministry.
He told of being accountable, of being faithful as a runner to finish
the race, and faithful as a witness and herald of the gospel. He warned the
elders that they should be careful of their manner of life and faithfulness,
avoiding careless actions, shallowness of example, laziness and
selfishness. Then in verse 35 he gives
words of Jesus that are not recorded in any of the four gospels but were
accepted by word-of-mouth as the Lord’s teaching: “It is
more blessed to give than to receive.” When
Paul had earnestly taught the elders from Ephesus, he knelt down and prayed
with them. It was an emotional goodbye,
with recognition on Paul’s part that he would not be back and on the elders’
part that they would not see their teacher again. From personal experience of moving with my
husband from one church field to a new one, I can attest to how deeply
emotional and heart-rending goodbyes are.
A part of one’s heart and life are left behind with each necessary move
by the Holy Spirit. One day a great reunion will come in heaven. Selah!
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