WHEN THE UPROAR had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said good-by and set out for Macedonia. 2He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece, 3where he stayed three months. Because the Jews made a plot against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia. 4He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. 5These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas. 6But we sailed from Philippi after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days.
7On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. 8There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. 9Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. 10Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” 11Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. 12The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.
13We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot. 14When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. 15The next day we set sail from there and arrived off Kios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus. 16Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.
17From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. 18When they arrived, he said to them: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. 19I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews. 20You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. 21I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
22“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.
25“Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. 26Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
32“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. 34You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 35In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
36When he had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. 38What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.
Original Meaning
CHAPTER 20 DESCRIBES Paul’s ministry of encouraging the churches, most of which he had helped start. It goes through this fairly extended ministry rather quickly and then gives a sampling of one of the messages he gave on this journey. We can fill in some details from what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians and Romans, composed during this time.
Encouraging the Churches in Macedonia and Greece (20:1–6)
AFTER ENCOURAGING THE Ephesians Paul leaves for Macedonia (v. 1). He travels through the area speaking many words of encouragement; eventually he reaches Greece (v. 2). Luke strangely omits the fact that from Ephesus Paul first went to Troas and restlessly waited for Titus to come with news of the situation in Corinth. Because the latter did not arrive there, Paul “had no peace of mind”; as a result, he went to Macedonia, where he received good news of the situation in Corinth (2 Cor. 2:12–14; 7:6–7).1
Encouragement is a key theme of this chapter. The verb parakaleo (“to encourage”) appears three times (vv. 1, 2, 12), and verses 18–35 give a sample of the content of the encouragement Paul gave. The wording of verse 2 suggests that he spent a substantial time in Macedonia, unlike his first visit where he had to leave three Macedonian cities in a hurry. Some scholars suggest that he stayed one to two years in this area. During this time he wrote 2 Corinthians. He may have done some pioneer evangelism—for example, in Illyricum (which occupies the lands of the former Yugoslavia), the province northwest of Macedonia (see Rom. 15:18–19).2 By now Paul had established churches in a good portion of the Greek world. His next plan was to reach the Latin world, possibly using Rome as his base of operations.
Paul may have wanted to go to Jerusalem in time for the Passover. He was about to sail from Corinth on a ship bound for Syria, which possibly carried Jewish pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for this feast. But he found out about a plot against him, possibly by some of the people traveling on this ship (v. 3). As a result, he decided to take the long route on foot through Macedonia, traveling north instead of east. He spent Passover in Philippi (v. 6), a city that had had such a small Jewish population that it did not even have a synagogue. According to his revised plan, he hoped to be in Jerusalem in time for the next feast, Pentecost (v. 16).
An important task during these days was to raise a substantial gift for the poor in the church in Jerusalem. There is only one allusion to this collection in Acts (24:17), but it was a topic Paul often brought up in his letters (Rom. 15:25–32; 1 Cor. 16:1–4; 2 Cor. 8–9). Just as prominent representatives of the Diaspora Jewish communities took their annual temple tax to Jerusalem,3 Paul was planning to take this contribution of the churches as a tangible expression of the solidarity of the Gentile Christians with the church from which the gospel first radiated. The long list of traveling companions mentioned in verse 4 probably represented the churches that had made contributions. Almost all of Paul’s Gentile churches are mentioned. Corinth is not mentioned, but that may be either because Paul represented Corinth or because of strained relations between him and the Corinthian church.4 Philippi is also not mentioned, but Luke, who has now joined the group, probably represents Philippi. The “we” section that came to a stop after the first visit to Philippi (16:16) starts again here (v. 6).
A Midnight Miracle in Troas (20:7–12)
FROM PHILIPPI PAUL and Luke sailed to Troas (v. 6), where there is a church that had probably not been started by Paul. There the Christians meet “on the first day of the week . . . to break bread” (v. 7). Here is the first clear reference in Scripture to the believers meeting for worship on the first day of the week.5 We are not sure whether Sunday worship had already become a regular practice in the church or whether this meeting’s being on a Sunday was coincidental. By the time the Didache was written (late first or early second century) Sunday worship seems to have become commonplace.6 As friends often did in those days when they met after a long absence, they talked into the night (v. 7b).7 Luke may be referring here to conversation rather than a long sermon, for he uses the word dialegomai in verse 7.8
Luke adds an observation about “many lamps in the upstairs room” (v. 8), possibly to clear his hero Paul of responsibility for Eutychus’s falling asleep.9 Bruce explains what seems to have happened: “The hot, oily atmosphere caused by the crowd and the torches made it difficult for a youth who may have put in a hard day’s work to keep awake, despite the priceless opportunity of learning truth from apostolic lips.”10 Doctor Luke must have been satisfied that Eutychus was indeed dead, unlike in Lystra, where Paul’s opponents thought he was dead but were mistaken (14:19). Paul’s comment, “Don’t be alarmed, he’s alive!” (v. 10b), refers to the young man’s state after he was healed. This is the last of eight occurrences of raising the dead in the Bible.
This occurrence has similarities with the two resurrections performed through Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 17:17–24; 2 Kings 4:32–37).11 “Paul . . . threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him” (v. 10a). The embrace was an extension of the more common practice of laying hands on a person during the act of healing. J. A. Alexander is probably right that “it was intended to connect a miraculous effect with the person by whom it was caused or brought about.”12 Note how “Jesus realized that power had gone out from him” when the woman with an issue of blood was healed (Mark 5:30), suggesting a close connection between the healing and the medium through whom the miracle was performed. After breaking bread, Paul talked until daylight and left (v. 11), with the Christians greatly encouraged (parakaleo again).
Traveling on to Miletus (20:13–16)
PAUL’S COMPANIONS TOOK a ship bound for Assos, but Paul left a little later and journeyed on foot (v. 13b). Was this so that he could avoid choppy weather? Did he want to stay a little longer to ensure that young Eutychus was well? Or did he just want to be alone? Or did he keep changing his plans because he was carrying a lot of money for the Christians in Jerusalem and did not want others (apart from his close colleagues) to know where he would be at a particular time? Whatever the reason, the twenty-mile walk alone would have done him a lot of good. From Assos Paul headed for Miletus by ship (vv. 14–15). These two ports were on the western coast of the mainland of Asia Minor. Between them were the island ports of Mitylene, Kios, and Samos. Paul avoided going to Ephesus (v. 16) possibly to save time since he was subject to the schedule of the ship or possibly because it would have been dangerous for him to go there.
Encouraging the Ephesian Elders (20:17–38)
THOUGH PAUL AVOIDED Ephesus, he sent for the elders of that church to come to Miletus (about thirty miles by land), possibly while the ship was loading and unloading its cargo. His talk to this group follows the form of farewell speeches familiar at that time.13 The language of this speech is more like Paul’s than Luke’s. Keener observes that “because presumably Luke had little access to Paul’s letters (they were not collected from various churches until long after Paul’s death), he must have learned Paul’s style from direct contact with him.”14
This is the only record we have of a speech that Paul gave to believers, and its contents are remarkably similar to his letters (also addressed to believers). This is a strong point against those who allege that Acts cannot be historically reliable because of alleged differences between the Paul of Acts and of the letters. The Pastoral Letters were written to elders, and they have a remarkable number of points in common with this speech.15
Paul’s talk has three main themes. (1) He defends his behavior, presenting it as an example to Ephesian elders (vv. 18–27, 33–35). (2) He presents a charge along with a warning (vv. 28–30). (3) Finally, he commits them to God (v. 32).
Paul’s example (20:18–27). The first and most prominent theme of the speech is Paul’s example—an element typical of farewell addresses. He says he was an example in four things. (1) He identified with the people, living among them (v. 18), serving God with humility and tears (v. 19), and going from house to house (v. 20). This enabled him to know what they needed to hear, so that he was able to preach everything that was helpful to them (v. 20a). He obviously had what might be called an openhearted approach to ministry. This is why he could spend a whole night chatting with the believers in Troas (vv. 9–10), and this is why he shed so many tears among the Ephesians (vv. 19, 31).
(2) Paul was a teacher. He taught the Ephesians everything that was helpful to them, and did so publicly and from house to house (v. 20). His teaching was relevant to their needs.
(3) Paul was a witness to the gospel (v. 21). Paul uses the word diamartyromai, translated “declared” here (cf. comments on 18:5). This word conveys the idea that evangelism is a serious responsibility as it calls people to repentance and faith. Later Paul says that the preaching was comprehensive in that he did not hesitate “to proclaim to [them] the whole will of God” (v. 27). Because of that he was able to declare that he was innocent of their blood (v. 26). Verses 21, 26–27 remind us of the call to be a watchman, with a responsibility to warn people adequately as described in Ezekiel 3:16–21; 33:1–9.
(4) Paul’s commitment to evangelism is closely tied in with the fourth area where he was an example: Paul suffered because of obedience. In verses 22–23 he attributes two actions to the Holy Spirit: a compulsion that is now driving him to Jerusalem and a regular warning (diamartyromai) that he will suffer if he goes to Jerusalem. Verse 24 explains how these two seemingly contradictory messages can be reconciled: the goal of life is not to preserve our lives but to be faithful to our calling to testify to the gospel. If such faithfulness involves suffering and imprisonment, then such experiences will be taken on willingly.
After presenting what the Holy Spirit has communicated to him, Paul presents a personal conviction that he will not see them again (v. 25). That, in turn, prompts his declaration that he is “innocent of the blood of all men” because he has warned them of God’s truth (vv. 26–27).
A charge and a warning (20:28–31). Paul is aware of the danger of things going wrong in Ephesus. He therefore both charges them and sternly warns them. The charge consists of three points. (1) Most important, the elders must keep watch over themselves (v. 28).
(2) They must watch over the flock as overseers (v. 28). The word translated “overseer” (episkopos) has often been rendered “bishop.” As elsewhere in Scripture it is a synonym for “elder” (see v. 17). Whereas “elder” focuses on the maturity of the individual, “overseer” focuses on the function, which is to take care of the people. In this verse (and in Heb. 13:17) this task takes the form of keeping watch over them. Believers are to be especially on guard for “savage wolves,” who will come even from within the church and distort the truth (vv. 29–30). When Paul was there he had warned people about this danger day and night with tears (v. 31).
(3) The elders must shepherd the flock (see also 1 Peter 5:2–3), which is so valuable that it was bought by Christ’s own blood. Shepherding involves “tending, caring for, feeding, protecting, and leading.”16 The reference to Christ’s act of purchasing the church with his own blood reminds us that just as the good shepherd gave his life for the sheep (cf. John 10:11), we too must give our lives for the sheep.
Committing the people to God and his word (20:32). Paul finally commits the elders “to God and to the word of his grace.” The message they received will enable them to stay close to God. Today we have this message in the Scriptures. Though Paul may not have intended both Old and New Testament here, we can legitimately extend it to the entire Bible, for unlike the time of the first apostles, when their message carried final authority, today we have the Word of God in which that message is contained.
Paul’s example (again) (20:33–35). Paul concludes his speech by once more presenting the challenge of his own life as an example for the elders to follow. When he was with them, he showed sincere commitment. He did not covet what others had (v. 33). Rather, he worked hard with his own hands to provide for the needs of the team (v. 34), and in the process he demonstrated one of the Christian aims for earning money: helping those who are in need (see also Eph. 4:28). There is a ring of credibility to his appeals for money for the poor because he himself led the way by being generous in his own giving.
The farewell (20:36–38). The grief expressed at Paul’s departure gives us an indication of how much he was loved. He had paid the price of opening his life to these people. They, in turn, reciprocated by opening their lives to him. They now accompany him to the ship, and he proceeds on his journey to Jerusalem—just like his Master, who also “resolutely set out for Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51), knowing that death awaited him there.
Bridging Contexts
WE SEE TWO significant themes that seem repeated in this section:17 the complex situations involving Paul and the Jews, and his encouraging the churches.
Paul and the Jewish reaction. Though it is perhaps a secondary theme to this passage, the issue of Paul and the Jewish reaction to the gospel is an important part of the tension that Luke is building up as he moves toward the close of his book. Twice Luke records plots against him (vv. 3, 19), and the plots in Asia were described as severe tests to Paul (v. 19). He describes his impending visit to Jerusalem as promising hardship to him (vv. 22–24). Paul specifically mentions his faithfulness in proclaiming the message to the Jews (v. 21). We are also told about Paul in relation to the Jewish festivals (vv. 6, 16). We know that this trip will result in his arrest, and that a patriotic act of Paul will be interpreted as having defiled the temple.
The Jews reacted to Paul’s message in the same way as they reacted to Jesus’ message (see Luke 4:16–31). In his Gospel Luke built up the tension relating to the significant final trip that Jesus made to Jerusalem. This begins as early as 9:51: “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” Immediately after that he said that “the people [of Samaria] did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem” (9:53). A little later Luke mentioned that “Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem” (13:22). Jesus himself said in connection with his journey that “surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!” (13:33). This prompted the lament: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together” (13:34).
Later Luke again reported that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem (Luke 17:11), and Jesus added that he would die and be raised up (18:31–33). As he neared Jerusalem the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once (19:11), prompting a parable. This buildup came to climax with the events of Palm Sunday, when Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly, but the leaders rejected the people’s welcoming cries. Jesus wept over Jerusalem and predicted its destruction. Then he cleared the temple of the money changers and continued to teach, while the leaders looked for a way to kill him (ch. 19). A comment by the disciples about the grandeur of the temple prompted him to give a discourse about the coming events, particularly Jerusalem’s doom (ch. 21). The next climax, of course, was the death of Jesus.
With what drama and pathos Luke has recorded how God’s people rejected the Son of God! Luke records a similar drama and pathos in his second volume in his report on the journey of one of the great sons of the Israelites to Jerusalem. As with Jesus there are ominous signs of trouble, but Paul persists with the same assurance of impending crisis and the same resoluteness that Jesus had (Acts 20:22–25). Rejection by his own people was not easy for Paul to take. In fact he “was severely tested by the plots of the Jews” (v. 19). It was during this period of his life that he wrote the letter to the Romans, with his sublime theological reflection on the Jewish rejection of the gospel. This theological discourse begins with an expression of his deep sorrow over this rejection (Rom. 9:1–4a).
I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel.
What principles can we derive from this for us today? (1) It describes for us the mysterious phenomenon of Jewish rejection of the gospel. Like Paul we too should say, “My heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved” (Rom. 10:1). We too should, like Paul, yearn for the salvation of the Jews and support Jewish evangelism.18
(2) I believe, however, that this biblical phenomenon of God’s representatives being rejected by their own people has a wider application. It speaks a word of comfort and challenge to all those who in obedience to God are living as pilgrims, are paying the price of obedience, and are rejected by those who should know better. Jesus “came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him” (John 1:11). We should not expect anything different for ourselves. Jesus said, “ ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.” But Jesus said immediately thereafter: “If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also” (John 15:20). Along with disappointments will be a few successes that make the price paid worthwhile.
More on Luke’s theology of suffering. Paul’s approach to his impending suffering adds a new dimension to Luke’s theology of suffering, an important theme of Acts. Paul received a dual message from the Spirit: He must go to Jerusalem, and if he goes there he will suffer. Of course, as Calvin reminds us, he did “not rashly rush into the midst of dangers.”19 Thus, he took the longer route to Jerusalem, arriving there later than originally planned (v. 3). But if obedience was at stake, he willingly suffered. This was not suffering just for the sake of suffering; rather, it came out of a deep ambition that drove Paul—the ambition to finish the race and complete the task God gave him (v. 24). That ambition overcame the legitimate, though secondary, task of protecting his life. This approach to life is consistent with what Paul wrote in his letters. The instinct to self-preservation and personal advancement was always subsumed by his ambition to see God’s kingdom grow through his obedience.
Paul’s primary issue was the fulfilling of his mission. Second Corinthians 4 is a key passage here. In verse 7 he presents his glorious mission: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” This body—this person—of ours, which people give so much time and energy trying to nurture and beautify, is just a jar of clay when considered from the perspective of eternal realities. Only in connection with those realities does life find its worth. Thus Paul writes in verses 8–12 that he was willing to be subjected to pain and hardship if it helped further this cause that gave him significance:
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
This perspective convinces Paul that he is not really at a loss through his sacrifices: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Cor. 4:16–17). In a similar vein, in 1 Corinthians 9, after listing the many sacrifices he made on behalf of the gospel, Paul exclaims, “What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it. . . . I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings” (vv. 18, 23). In other words, Acts 20 and Paul’s letters tell us that the cause of the gospel is so great that any price is worth paying in order to advance it (v. 24).
It is important to note that in Acts 20 Paul presents his willingness to suffer for the gospel as part of his attempt to encourage the Ephesian elders to be faithful to their task. This is a common theme with Paul. He often appeals to his own sufferings when he wants to influence his readers about something important (see 1 and 2 Corinthians; Gal. 6:17; Eph. 4:1). Note also what Hebrews says: After writing how Jesus, “for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God,” the author goes on: “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Heb. 12:2–3, italics added). Leaders who suffer encourage others to take on suffering themselves.
Related to this is the point hinted at in Acts 20:28, that leaders are shepherds who die for their flock. Since this thought rarely comes to our minds when we think of leadership, we need to expand it from Scripture. Jesus is our model, so that what he did for us, we do for others (cf. John 13:14). As the Father sent him into the world, we are sent into the world (20:21)—which means that as he laid down his life for us, we must be willing to lay down our lives for our friends (15:12–13). The good shepherd is so committed to the sheep that he dies for them (10:11–15). Paul specifically asks us to follow the example of Jesus, who “though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9).
Paul’s life fully exemplified this principle. He informs us how he took on the death of Christ in his body for the sake of the church (2 Cor. 4:10–11): “So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. . . . All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God” (4:12, 15; see Col. 1:24–25). Therefore, a leader’s calling is to shepherd the flock by being willing to die for it.
In summary, then, this passage teaches us three things about suffering. (1) Christians take on suffering that they can easily avoid because of their commitment to the glorious gospel of Christ, a cause that makes such suffering worthwhile. (2) People will be motivated to suffer for the gospel when they see their leaders suffer for it. (3) Leaders not only suffer for the gospel, they suffer for those whom they lead.
The itinerant ministry of encouragement. Encouragement is the major theme of this chapter. This is why Paul visits each city, and encouragement is indicated by the threefold repetition of the word parakaleo. Paul’s speech (vv. 18–35) gives a sampling of the content of his “many words of encouragement” (v. 2). Note that the evangelistic preacher is an encourager here. In the Bible evangelism and encouragement are often done by the same person—a healthy combination for anyone doing evangelism. There is no place in the Bible for a specialist evangelist who concentrates solely on his public ministry, leaving personal ministry to others.
Like God, Paul encouraged the people through three means. (1) God encourages us through his presence, expressed in the incarnation of Christ and through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Similarly Christian leaders encourage other Christians through their being with people and identifying with them. (2) Just as God encourages us through his Word, human encouragers do it through expounding the Word in teaching. (3) As God encourages us through his actions on our behalf, we encourage others through deeds of kindness. Let us look at these three means of encouragement in more detail.
(1) Paul encouraged people through his presence. The arrival of the key leader of the Gentile mission in a city must have been an event of great encouragement to the believers there, especially since the visit was made primarily to encourage them. Paul’s presence was not the detached presence of a specialist who does his public ministry and then retreats to his private world. He really became one with the people, identifying with their hurts and aspirations. The speech to the Ephesians shows that Paul’s presence was manifested in costly identification with the people (vv. 18–20, 31, 35). Perhaps the best example of identification through presence is the way he chatted through the night with the people (vv. 7, 9, 11); this is something friends do. Paul’s method of encouragement also included getting alongside people in their homes (v. 20).
When Paul got alongside people, they were able to observe him. He says to them here: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you” (v. 18). He later told Timothy, “You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured” (2 Tim. 3:10–11). Timothy knew Paul through and through because his life was like an open book. Therefore, he could send Timothy out on a mission as his representative and claim, “He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church” (1 Cor. 4:17).
In this process of identification and open friendship close ties developed, which made Paul vulnerable to being hurt. And he was hurt, for three times in this passage we find references to tears or weeping (vv. 19, 31, 37). But that is the cost of openhearted identification.
(2) Paul encouraged people through his words. He “traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people” (v. 2). Verses 7 and 9 report the marathon talking session in Troas. Verses 18–35 give a sample of his message of encouragement. Teaching the Word, of course, is vital in encouragement. Thus, while Paul’s first visits to most of the places mentioned in our passage were for evangelism, the second visits were primarily for teaching. Barnabas and Saul, who were outstanding evangelists, taught for a whole year in Antioch (11:26). Earlier we noted that in the evangelism in Acts, the evangelists preached and taught the gospel and also demonstrated it through their actions, especially through miracles.20 Now we see that this is the same for nurture. Just as conversion takes place through faith, growth in grace also takes place through faith. The faith awakened through the evangelist by word and deed is nurtured through the encourager by word and deed. In the Bible the evangelist and the encourager are often the same person (cf. 20:20–21).
The above evidence should make us cautious about driving a wedge between evangelism and nurture, between preaching and teaching. While we are grateful for people like C. H. Dodd, who highlighted the importance of the kerygma (the proclaimed gospel) in distinction to the didache (the teaching), we must not draw too much of the distinction between the two.
Paul’s identification with the people undoubtedly helped make his teaching concrete. He knew the Word and the people to whom he spoke, so that he was able to teach relevantly to their situation. If we live close to people, our teaching becomes relevant to them. Note too Paul’s final comment to these people before leaving them: He commits them “to God and to the word of his grace” (v. 32, italics added). God’s work of keeping his children safe is done primarily through the truth of the gospel, which is now contained in the written Word, the Bible. This passage, then, challenges us to teach the Word relevantly to our people for that will help them remain close to God.
(3) Paul encouraged people through his actions. The great encouragement of the people in verse 12 is directly connected with the raising up of Eutychus. Paul’s house-to-house visits (v. 20) can be regarded as acts of kindness, as is whatever was involved in his “[serving] the Lord with great humility and with tears” (v. 19). He also worked hard with his hands and showed them that “by this kind of hard work we must help the weak” (v. 35). These are all actions that helped encourage these Christians.
Priorities for leaders. Paul’s solemn parting charge to the elders (vv. 28–31) gives three significant priorities for leaders. (1) They must keep watch over themselves (v. 28a). We are reminded of Paul’s charge to Timothy: “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Tim. 4:16). The biggest battle the Christian leader has is to ensure that his or her life is in order. We are reminded of the comment by Robert Murray McCheyne, “My people’s greatest need is my personal holiness.” Paul’s charge to Timothy to “persevere in them” reminds us that some who start well do not end well because they have not kept watch over themselves.
(2) Leaders must be overseers of the flock (v. 28a). One way to do that is to be alert to false teaching (vv. 29–30), just as Paul was (v. 31). Christianity is a religion of revelation from a God, whose thoughts are higher than ours (Isa. 55:8–9). It is therefore easy for human wisdom to supplant or radically reinterpret God’s Word because it seems so unreasonable to those whose minds are not in tune with him. This danger will be with us always, and we must continue to warn people about the danger of aberrations of the truth entering the church.
(3) They must shepherd the flock (v. 28b) (this element is discussed above in the context of Luke’s theology of suffering).
Contemporary Significance
REJECTION BY OUR own. We noted that just as Jesus and Paul were rejected by their own, we too may face rejection from our own people. The day before I wrote this I was at the police station, trying to secure the release of my assistant, who is like a son to me. He is from the other major race in our country. Some from his race are trying to divide our land through civil war. He was arrested and had the humiliation of staying twelve hours in a smelly, crowded, warm, and humid cell. He felt rejected by the nation he loves, having been arrested under suspicion of belonging to a group whose activities he himself detests.
A highly qualified professional rejects many lucrative offers of jobs in order to work for the state for a much lower salary but where she can perform a great service to the most needy people in the land. Rather than being appreciated and praised for the sacrifices she makes, she encounters jealousy and a mass of red tape that takes away much pleasantness from her job.
There are many people like this today. Some work in banking projects that help the poor build houses. Some teach in inner-city schools, where they are considered a nuisance by parents, students, and colleagues who have little ambitions for the students. Some work with AIDS patients, who in their bitterness reject the love caregivers try to bestow. Some have parents who are angry about the sacrifices their children have made for the sake of the kingdom.
As both Jesus and Paul found rejection emotionally difficult to take, we too will find this hard on our emotions. That is inevitable, for we have a special love for these people and rejection by them is tough to take. Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Paul had great sorrow and unceasing anguish in his heart over the Jews. We too should not be surprised if we struggle with bitterness over rejection by our own. But we must fight such feelings and remain obedient to God’s call. We must keep yearning for these people until the day we die, remembering that we are pilgrims who may see the fruit of our labors only in heaven.
Bringing back the theology of suffering to the church. It is well known that church leaders today find it difficult to motivate others to suffer for the cause of Christ. In fact, they often find it difficult to motivate Christians even to take on inconvenience for the sake of Christ. The three principles about suffering gleaned from this passage can help us here. (1) Realizing the greatness of the cause of Christ should fire us with an ambition to take on suffering as a natural response (v. 24). Have we presented the glory of this cause in our proclamation? Or has our proclamation been so this-worldly, so related to our little human desires, that people have lost sight of the glory of the gospel cause? In focusing so much on felt needs, have we neglected the grand theme of the kingdom of God, which is a cause worth dying for? This passage challenges us to rethink our proclamation so that our people will be fired up by the greatness of the cause of Christ. Then they too can say with Paul, “When I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Cor. 9:16).
How important it is to recover this biblical sense of the glory of suffering for a great cause. Perhaps because people have become obsessed with lesser causes today, those who suffer for the gospel are viewed as failures and are pitied in the church rather than admired. Fatigue, unpopularity, inconvenience, or loss of prestige on earth, taken on because of obedience, are regarded as signs of weakness and folly rather than strength and wisdom. This is particularly a problem in richer countries, where economic and technological advancement have made it possible for people to have many conveniences. Convenience itself has become a major goal in life. Even Christians today avoid inconvenience for the gospel and resent it when they are inconvenienced.
This pattern has posed a major problem to churches in poorer countries. They send some of their most capable people to richer countries for education, and these people return expecting convenience. They have become soft and do not want to suffer; when they do, they resent it. Not only do they end up having ineffective ministries, they also drag the church down to their low level of commitment. We should work hard at trying to restore a sense of the glory of suffering in the church.
(2) Leaders can motivate others to suffer for the gospel by themselves being examples of suffering. It is no secret that commitment breeds commitment. When a leader is willing to die for a cause, those who follow are also fired by enthusiasm. A leader’s willingness to die impresses others of the urgency of the task they are involved in, thrills them with its significance, and motivates them to commitment. Our Youth for Christ ministry in Sri Lanka works primarily through volunteers. One of the things we have found is that if the leader works hard at personal cost to himself or herself, that leader usually can recruit and keep committed volunteers. If the leader does not work hard, volunteers often get demotivated and are unwilling to pay a price.
(3) To this discussion we must add the third priority of leadership gleaned from verse 28: Leaders are good shepherds who die for their sheep. Not only do we die for the cause, we also die for the people we lead. This principle is often violated by Christian leaders today. A gifted pastor leaves a struggling church that needs him badly when he receives an invitation to go to a vibrant church that pays a much higher salary. A professor leaves the struggling seminary of her small denomination that is desperately short of teachers, to go to a famous school that offers her a bigger salary for teaching less hours, along with a generous package that gives time for writing. A Sunday school teacher rejects the request of a distraught student to go home with him to help resolve a crisis with his parents because it is after 11:00 P.M. These people are not willing to die for their flock. Such lack of commitment begets a selfish Christianity.
One of the keys to solving the commitment crisis in the church is for a few people to be willing to die for their flock. When a leader is willing to die for those whom he or she leads, they in turn become willing to die for the movement or church they are part of. We need to raise up a generation of radical Christians willing to pay the necessary price for us to shake this world with the revolutionary message of Christ. Most leaders are not willing to die for others because no one has been willing to die for them. They have not had a model to follow. But we do have the model of Jesus and Paul. If we start using that model, we may breed a new generation of leaders who will die for others and help multiply generations of committed Christians.
Evangelists who encourage. The combination of evangelist and encourager is an important one for the health of the church. The Bible has no place for specialist evangelists who do nothing but preach publicly. Unfortunately, with specialization growing in today’s church, this is becoming more common. We have evangelists who do little more than speak at public meetings. The rest of the time they spend in their hotels, often leaving a meeting before the audience is dismissed so as not to be disturbed by the people. True, we must ensure that those in public ministry not be overtaxed, resulting in physical and emotional exhaustion. But we must also guard against the other extreme—having them do so little personal work that they lose touch with the people. This will ultimately render their message ineffective.
Jesus, Peter, and Paul are the most prominent evangelists in the New Testament. The portrait presented of them is of people who excelled in personal ministry. This has been my experience with some of the famous evangelists of today. Though the Christian world knows people like Billy Graham, John Stott, and Leighton Ford through their public ministry, many of us Christian workers know them more through their encouraging words and letters to us.
My first experience of speaking at an international conference was at the Amsterdam ’83 conference for itinerant evangelists. I was thirty-four years old and felt inadequate to address 4,000 evangelists. I spoke on the call for senior evangelists to disciple younger evangelists. One of my points was that evangelists should take younger people with them when they travel and so have a “traveling Bible school,” as Paul did. Billy Graham was not on the platform when I spoke. But at the end of the meeting he came to the platform, thanked me for my message, and told me that he would like to travel with me some day to learn how to minister in Asia. I was stunned! His word of encouragement filled me with joy and multiplied my resolve to encourage younger Christian workers.
Openhearted identification. We must not forget that at the heart of Paul’s ministry of encouragement was his identification with people. Today identification has become a science that is studied in technical ways by anthropologists, sociologists, and missiologists. I do not want to downplay the importance of such studies. They give people an appreciation of cultures that will help people avoid mistakes that some missionaries have made in the past. But far more important is being with the people—being friends with them and chatting with them. Often we have such busy schedules that we find this inconvenient. Consequently, we substitute it with our studies, which can be done under conditions we can control. But this way it is difficult to get to the heart of where a people are. Much of their heart-cry comes out through friendship, and friendship is forged through lingering, as Paul did all night in Troas. This was not an isolated exception, for Jesus did the same thing with two of John’s disciples who became his disciples after a long chatting session (John 1:38–42).
Paul’s ability to linger with those whom he nurtured was the key to his ability to make friends. Bruce, in a book about the friends of Paul, says, “Paul attracted friends around him as a magnet attracts iron filings. His genius for friendship has been spoken of so often that it has become proverbial—almost cliché.”21 The main reason why Paul was able to make such close friends was that he opened his life to them.22 Unfortunately this openhearted approach to ministry is getting less and less popular today. We value our privacy so much that we prefer to keep our private lives and our ministerial lives separate. Even the so-called accountability groups of many Christians are not with colleagues in their ministry (who can observe them best and so help them most) but with people they don’t work closely with. We are not used to bearing the pain of being close to people. Our generation is so committed to feeling good that it fears the experience of such pain. The result is a shallow ministry.
A key to openhearted ministry is lingering in conversation, as Paul did in Troas. Lingering creates an atmosphere for openness. Things come up that would not have come up in a more formal meeting. Such elements are usually the keys to a person’s heart.23 Again, there is a trend against this type of relationship in ministry. I have heard people say that leaders should not get too close to those they lead for they will not be able to lead them properly because of their friendship. That may be the way secular organizations work, but it is alien to a Christian understanding of leadership. Jesus himself told his disciples: “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). That is the openhearted ministry we are talking about. Such ministry has great rewards. Few earthly pleasures can match the joy of true Christian friendship.
People are often afraid of this openhearted approach to ministry because of a fear of burnout, which has reached epidemic proportions in helping professions today. This can happen, of course, and we must be careful to avoid it.24 Three things implied about Paul’s ministry here helped him avoid burnout. (1) His approach left room for relaxed lingering with friends, which is a great antidote to burnout. Driven people are most prone to burnout, and many are so busy with their “mission” that they have no time or inclination to nurture deep friendships.
(2) Paul knew how to be alone, especially with God; this is an even greater antidote to burnout. His huge prayer list (which emerges from the letters) must have taken a long time to cover. Few things refresh us more than being in God’s presence interceding for people. Paul’s twenty-mile walk from Troas to Assos (v. 13) may have been just for the purpose of being alone. Having a day off (a day of Sabbath rest) is important for Christian workers, especially in today’s rushed society.25 We know that when Jesus tried to take time off from the crowds, it was difficult. He said to his disciples, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place” (Mark 6:31–32). But the people caught up with them (v. 33; see also 7:24). Yet he persevered, trying hard to find time to be alone, and finally he succeeded (6:46; see 1:35).
The importance of these two points of enrichment through friends and through aloneness with God is well expressed by the fourth-century bishop of Milan, Ambrose, who writes in his work Duties of the Clergy, “Am I to suppose that he is fit to give me advice who never takes it for himself, or am I to believe that he has time to give me when he has none for himself? . . . How can a person have time for giving counsel when one has none for quiet?”26
(3) Working in a team was important to Paul. In team ministry leaders will not do everything that needs to be done and run themselves into the ground. They depend a lot on others. Thus, a good leader must give high priority to equipping others to do the work. Paul, of course, was a master at this. This is why he called only the leaders of Ephesus to come to Miletus. Though he had a general concern for the entire church at Ephesus, he took on the special responsibility of equipping leaders. When he started churches, he soon appointed leaders (14:23). He gave special instruction to these leaders, as we see here and in the Pastoral Letters. He sent them as his representatives on missionary assignments. He could trust people like Timothy and Titus because he had opened himself to them and taught them comprehensively (1 Cor. 4:17).
Paul’s openhearted approach to ministry is well expressed in a statement he made to the Corinthians, who had closed their hearts to him. Without reciprocating their closure, Paul responded by persisting in his openness since that was the best way to win them back: “We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange . . . open wide your hearts also” (2 Cor. 6:11–13).
The teaching ministry. On several occasions we have discussed the challenge of teaching in today’s world.27 Two unique points about teaching are mentioned in our passage. (1) As a result of Paul’s identification with the people, his teaching was relevant to their needs. We must know the Scriptures and know our people. The best way to know the people is to get close to them. (2) Paul believed in the keeping power of the Word, which caused him to commit them “to God and to the word of his grace” (v. 32). I am reminded of what Susanna Wesley told her son John: “This book will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this book.”
Watching over ourselves. Given the fact that appearance and success are so important in our pragmatic society, Paul’s charge to keep watch over ourselves (v. 28) is significant. We have become used to measuring success by indicators that can be maintained without a holy life—such as the technical quality of our programs, their popularity, and the ability to balance our budgets. We have also become increasingly privatized so that the private life of many leaders remains known only to members of their families, who generally do not publicize the faults of other family members. Sometimes even they are in the dark about what is happening inside a leader. Thus it is possible to go on ministering and appearing successful while our personal lives are in shambles. But in God’s sight we will be disqualified. Therefore Paul said, “I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (1 Cor. 9:27). A. W. Tozer once wrote, “Do you know who gives me the most trouble? Do you know who I pray for the most in my pastoral work? Just myself.”28
Combating false teaching. Seeing that one of the priorities of an overseer is to be alert to the possibility of false teaching affecting the church (vv. 28–31), we should discuss this in light of the theological battles of this century. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century our spiritual ancestors, especially in North America, had to battle for the truth of the gospel against skepticism regarding the supernatural and the trustworthiness of Scripture and an unbiblical optimism about human nature, which opened the door to a lot of other unbiblical doctrines. These teachings came to be known as liberalism.29 The battles were bruising, with extreme reactions on both sides. Evangelicals—or fundamentalists, as they were called then—reacted against many excesses by discarding some truths that had been an important part of the evangelical tradition, such as social concern30 and intellectual engagement with the culture.31
Around the middle of the twentieth century a fresh brand of evangelicalism arose, which had warmer ties with Christians of other perspectives and was more committed to social concern32 and intellectual engagement.33 It was led by scholars like Carl F. H. Henry and Edward John Carnell and churchmen like Harold John Ockenga. Fuller Theological Seminary was its most prominent intellectual center34 and Christianity Today its most prominent periodical. The National Association of Evangelicals was a rallying point and Billy Graham its most prominent preacher. Though British evangelicalism did not have such a serious battle, it produced scholars like F. F. Bruce and churchmen like John R. W. Stott, who advocated a similar brand of evangelicalism.
Many reacted negatively to these changes, which they saw as compromise. Under people like Carl McIntire, they formed rival structures that kept the fundamentalist cause alive. The second half of the century too has seen some bruising battles among evangelicals on such issues as engagement in politics, the charismatic movement,35 and the inerrancy of Scripture.36
With such a background of battling, some of which went to extremes and became unnecessarily acrimonious, many within the evangelical movement have lost interest in theological battles and focused on the experiential aspects of religion. This seems to be fairly representative of mainstream evangelicalism. Many scholars have expressed alarm over this trend37 while others, like Roger Nicole, point to the growth of evangelical scholarship, especially the many evangelical systematic theologies published recently, as evidence of health within evangelicalism.38 However, contemporary surveys reveal an appalling lack of biblical literacy among lay Christians today. Consequently, this situation calls for a serious response.
Whatever our history, we must look to the Scriptures for guidance about our agenda. The Bible gives ample evidence that combating false teaching is an important part of the agenda of the church and of the ministry of Christian leaders.39 History teaches us to be careful when making unguarded accusations against others without fully understanding what they are saying. It should make us cautious about going to extremes and rejecting certain truths that false teachers have carried to an extreme (such as social concern, which became the social gospel). But history also shows us that just as wrong teaching caused havoc in the church throughout the past twenty centuries, it can happen today too. We must therefore be constantly alert to aberrations from the truth. We should also teach our people the truth so that they themselves will be able to discern error when confronted by it.