Paul says Goodbye to Ephesus - Acts 20

¹³ We 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. ¹⁴ When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. ¹⁵ The next day we set sail from there and arrived off Chios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus. ¹⁶ Paul 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.

Luke describes their daily travels and remarks that Paul is hurrying the trip in order to make it back to Jerusalem.  However, Paul purposely does not travel by Ephesus without saying goodbye.  His greatest success as a missionary has been in Ephesus.

¹⁷ From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church.¹⁸ When 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.¹⁹ I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents. ²⁰ You 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. ²¹ I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.

Paul’s farewell to the Ephesians starts with the important things first.  1) He came as a humble servant and preached to them with great compassion for them.  He didn’t hold anything back even when he was being persecuted.  He preached the good news of the gospel to everyone.  He gave them the full Word of God. 

²² “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. ²³ I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. ²⁴ However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

2)  He is following the Holy Spirit and he has been shown that severe hardships are waiting for him.  In an earlier trip, God had provided a roadblock that kept Paul from traveling in a certain direction.  That is not the case here.  God has shown him what will happen and it is severe.  Yet Paul faithfully follows.  Even so, his life means nothing to him, he will gladly give it up for the purpose of Jesus.  His purpose from God is this: “Testify to the good news of God’s grace.”  Hardships or no hardships, at home or abroad, to brethren Jews or Gentiles, his task is to testify salvation through Jesus and he intends to finish.

²⁵ “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. ²⁶ Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. ²⁷ For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.

3)  He has foreseen that he will not be in Ephesus again.  God is leading him to another place.

4)  He is “innocent of their blood”.  He is not responsible for any of them not knowing or not receiving salvation.  He has poured himself out with great compassion and effort always preaching and teaching at every opportunity for their benefit.  They are now responsible for their walk with God. 

²⁸ Keep 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. ²⁹ I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. ³⁰ Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. ³¹ So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

5)  Paul is speaking to the elders or most learned disciples in the church.  As such, they are to be as shepherds to the rest of the church and guide them to God and His will which they have been taught.  They are to be ready because there are those immediately ready to tear apart the body of believers.

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. ³³ I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. ³⁴ You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. ³⁵ In 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.’ ”

6)  Paul leaves them with God’s Word as their inheritance and he dedicates them to God.  He doesn’t leaven them money or things of the world, but the things of God which can encourage them and heal them.

7)  He did not receive from them earthly goods for his preaching services.  He provided as a laborer for his daily living while preaching and teaching as an example of how to help the weak.