July 24, 2000
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Aug. 20 Lesson
Attitudes and actions affect Christian service
___Acts 20:17-38
___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 have 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. What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.
___By Ronnie Prevost
___Much had happened on Paul's second missionary journey after his visit to Athens and his speech to the Areopagus (as discussed in our lesson last week). He and his group had left Athens for Corinth, a port city on an isthmus less than 100 miles west of Athens. Corinth was a cosmopolitan and religiously diverse city.
___There Paul met Aquila and Priscilla, Jewish Christian tentmakers who had moved to Corinth from Rome. During his one and a half years in Corinth, Paul would live and work with these two. Of course, Paul started his Corinthian ministry as usual--preaching and speaking at the local synagogue, sharing with the Jews the news of the messiahship of Jesus. Violently opposed by some of his hearers, Paul literally and figuratively "shook the dust from his feet." In exasperation he declared that from that moment on his ministry would be to the Gentiles.
___Paul's decision was confirmed in two ways. First, after Paul left the synagogue, he went to the house of a God-fearing Gentile, Titius Justus. There, Titius, Crispus (a leader of the synagogue) and his family and many Corinthians professed faith in Jesus as Lord and were baptized. Second, in a vision, God told Paul to keep on and not be silent. As always, when God commissioned Paul, he promised his presence. Also, as he had encouraged Elijah at Mt. Horeb (1 Kings 19:18), God told Paul he had "many people" in Corinth.
___Paul's Jewish detractors were not done yet, however. They brought Paul before the governor, Gallio, with accusations that Paul was teaching against the Jewish law. Gallio threw out the charges, for they were religious and not civil charges.
___Accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila, Paul left Corinth and began working his way back to Antioch in Syria, the starting place of his journey. This return trip led them through Ephesus, where Aquila and Priscilla would remain.
___After some time in Antioch, Paul set out on a third journey to "strengthen all the disciples." He began retracing his previous steps through Asia Minor and came again to Ephesus. There he heard of Apollos, a Jewish Christian teacher from Alexandria, Egypt. Apollos also sought to learn more about the faith he boldly proclaimed and correctly taught. (He is the same Apollos named in 1 Corinthians 12.) Paul again tried witnessing in the synagogue but eventually led discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus for two years where many--both Greeks and Jews--heard the gospel message. Not only did many believe, there also are miracles, casting out of evil spirits, etc.
___The success of the gospel led Demetrius, an Ephesian silversmith, to incite a riot against Paul and his companions, Gaius and Aristarchus. The city clerk pacified the crowd by pointing out neither Paul nor his friends had desecrated any of the Greek altars and, even if they had, they should be charged in civil court. At this the mob dispersed.
___From there, Paul went again to Macedonia and back to Troas in Asia Minor. In Troas, a young man named Eutychus fell asleep in an upper floor window of a building while listening to Paul preach. He was killed by the fall but resuscitated by Paul.
___It was after this incident in Troas that Paul began his journey to Jerusalem for Passover. Acts reveals this trip to Jerusalem ultimately would lead Paul to Rome.
___His trip took him first to Miletus, an important seaport south of Ephesus. Miletus was located at the mouth of the Maeander River. (It is the current Palatia, which is now inland due to silting.)
___From Miletus, Paul sent for the elders of the church in Ephesus and to them he gave a "farewell address" similar to addresses of Joshua (Joshua 24), Moses (Deuteronomy 29-30) and Samuel (1 Samuel 12). In this address, the only one in Acts made to Christians, Paul reviewed his work in Ephesus and forewarned of his future in Jerusalem. His summary of his ministry stressed his servanthood and his humility. This itself may seem boastful. Of course, one may respond as said the old-time baseball pitcher and announcer Dizzy Dean, "It ain't braggin' if it's true." Certainly Paul's was not a false modesty designed to draw attention to itself.
___Paul also predicted trouble for the Ephesian church. He knew those Christians would face attack by persecution from without and heresy from within. For these reasons this church (and all others) would need strong, reliable leaders. Paul's concern was to finish his job by turning it over to other leaders. It was much like a runner finishing a race by handing off the baton to the next runner.
___Paul's challenge to the leaders for the task before them was that they should be vigilant and alert. He used the imagery of a shepherd whose job was to guide his flock to food and water and to protect them from wolves. In his summary, Paul quoted Jesus--the Good Shepherd and the ultimate servant-leader--reminding his hearers a leader is to be a giver, not a taker.
___The persecution Paul foresaw certainly came true under the reign of the emperor Domitian. It was during this time that John, on the island of Patmos (just off the coast of Asia Minor from Ephesus) had his vision of persecution and triumph as recorded in the book of Revelation.
___The elders of the church in Ephesus apparently were older men of the church and had a supervisory role similar to a pattern found in the synagogues. There are other New Testament references to church leaders known as elders. Their office seems to have been at least similar, if no identical to "overseers" or "bishops" as applied in Titus 1:5-7, Philippians 1:1 and 1 Timothy 3:1-2. Their task was to expand the work of the apostles. It was essential that these leaders oversee the family of faith as they did their personal families. They were seen as guardians. They were many; there was not one, monarchical bishop.
___Some have noted Paul's speech to the elders and the pastoral epistles warn so much against avarice and materialism. It may be that these were problems among some leaders of the churches in Asia Minor. If so, Paul wished to be certain the "guardians" were not foxes guarding the hen house. The issue is not that one should reject a well-intentioned gift. Rather, the issue is one of motive.
___The elders were moved to tears at hearing and knowing they never would see Paul again. Certainly they feared for his safety and theirs. The tears also were out of love. Perhaps the elders were a little insecure at losing Paul's strong and assuring leadership and presence. Whatever the case, the Scripture passage indicates a lengthy parting.
___Paul's life and ministry are filled with examples of qualities Christians and their leaders today can and should emulate in their and their churches' lives and ministries. The many events in Paul's life as seen in this lesson offered the apostle/missionary almost countless opportunities for his experiencing impatience, pride, bitterness, egocentricity, greed and many other temptations.
___So Paul also had the same chances to act on those sinful impulses. We must remember that Paul did sin. His own words in Romans 3:23 and in 1 Timothy 1:16 testify to that.
___However, despite the many new Christians who hung on every word from Paul, there is no evidence he used that for his own glory. He did not use miracles to add to his treasury. He shared God's work with others--not because of laziness, but because it was to their and the church's benefit then and in the near future. He knew it was God's work and not his own possession. Paul went on to new areas of work as led by God despite the cost that lay ahead.
___As did the church at Ephesus, churches today need strong, faithful leaders if they are to grow and withstand the pressures of the times. This is not the ministry of any one person. There are numerous leadership roles in churches. Pastors are leaders as are the others who serve on church ministry staffs. However, consistent with the priesthood of all believers is that churches also need leaders who are volunteers or laity.
___Christians today can learn from Paul's example. Christian leaders--both clergy and laity--are susceptible to the same temptations as Paul. The long-treasured Baptist belief in the priesthood of all believers reminds us that though both clergy and laity have their roles, all are called to be guardians of the household of God. Perhaps, if we all emulated Paul more, we would be more effective in our roles. Perhaps we also would be more effective in our witness and service to each other and to the world. ?
___Unfortunately, many Christians refuse to take even a small leadership role. They refuse to function as the priest God has called and equipped them to be. These often find themselves bored in their Christian life and in their church.
___Paul's words in Acts 20:24 have a lot to say to all of us, but especially to bored Christians. Paul expresses the intent of the saying about a team of horses pulling a wagon: "Unless you're the lead horse, the scenery never changes."
___Next week's lesson will show us how the scenery of our ministries can be always fresh and exciting.
For thought and discussion
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