Introduction
Today’s passage is really in two parts. It begins with a brief travelogue, with Luke listing the places Paul and his companions passed through once they left Troas. Troas, you might remember from last week, was the place where Eutychus fell asleep while Paul was preaching late into the night; and he fell through an open window and was killed when he hit the ground, three storeys below. But wonderfully, miraculously, Paul was able to bring Eutychus back to life so that he was able to go home safe and well.
And after Paul and his companions left Troas, they passed through all the places mentioned in verses 13 to 16 as they made their way to Jerusalem. You can see from verse 16 that Paul wanted to get to Jerusalem by the day of Pentecost. And so, he was in a bit of a hurry, because it was a long way.
So, the first part of the passage is Luke’s travelogue. And that’s all I’m going to say about it today. The second part of the passage is Paul’s farewell speech to the elders from Ephesus. So, you might also remember that Paul had spent a long time in Ephesus. When he went to that city, he spent the first three months preaching in the Jewish synagogue. When some of them became obstinate and abusive, he left the synagogue and went next door to the hall of Tyrannus, where he spent the next two years preaching every day and proclaiming the word of the Lord. And Luke tells us that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the Roman province of Asia heard thew word of the Lord. The word of God went out from that hall into the surrounding area and the lives of the people were transformed by it. They gave up their false gods and they gave up their sorcery and other their evil deeds and they turned to the one, true and living God through Jesus Christ his Son.
But eventually it was time for Paul to leave Ephesus and he went back to some of the churches he had planted previously to encourage the believers. And now he’s heading for Jerusalem. And since he was passing near Ephesus, he decided to send for the elders so that he could make this farewell speech to them and give them some last minute instructions.
And it’s a sad and moving occasion, isn’t it? In verse 25, Paul says to the elders from Ephesus that none of them will ever see him again. And when he had finished his speech, they all knelt down and prayed. And all the elders wept as they embraced Paul for the last time. And they kissed him farewell. And Luke adds at the end that what grieved them the most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Clearly they loved him very much. And they would therefore miss him. His leaving them like this was like a bereavement, because they would never see him again. And so, they wept and they grieved for him. It’s a sad and moving occasion.
But this passage is one of those passages which I come across from time to time in the Bible and I think to myself that this would be a great passage to preach on at an ordination service. So, when a minister is being ordained, I could preach from this passage and what Paul says about his ministry. Or if elders are being ordained, I could preach from this passage and what Paul says about the eldership.
Of course, ministers today are not apostles like Paul. However, there’s some overlap between the two roles, because both involve preaching. And Paul refers to his preaching ministry in his speech. And he also refers in his speech to the work of the elders. And the work of the elder hasn’t really changed, because the work of the elder then and the work of the elder today is to watch over the church just as a shepherd watches over his sheep. And so, this passage would be a great one to preach on at an ordination service. Today is not an ordination service, but there are still things for us to learn from this passage.
And we can divide his speech into two halves. In verses 18 to 27 he reviews his own ministry in Ephesus. And in verses 28 to 35 he exhorts the elders to keep watch over the church. We’ll only have time to focus on the first part today. So, we’ll spend our time today on verses 18 to 27 and we’ll come back to verses 28 to 35 another day.
Verses 18 to 21
So, in verses 18 to 27, he reviews his own ministry in Ephesus. He says to them in verse 18 that they know how he lived among them. So, they’re familiar with the way that he conducted himself and his ministry. They therefore know how he served the Lord with great humility and with tears and he was severely tested by the plots of the Jews.
So, Paul regarded himself as the servant of the Lord. Many people don’t like anyone telling them what to do. People want to be free to make up their own mind and to make their own decisions. They don’t want people controlling them. But Paul regarded himself as the Lord’s servant. He didn’t see himself as a free man, but as a man who was under the authority of the Lord and whose role in life was to do his Master’s will. And people with a servant’s heart like that will not try to rule over other people. So, Paul did not come to Ephesus to rule over the members of the church. He didn’t come to boss them around so that they would do his will. He did not come to rule, but to serve them with humility.
And then, by mentioning his tears, he means it was a difficult ministry. It was a difficult ministry because of the way he was tested time and time again by those who did not believe. So, when he began his ministry in the synagogue, those who did not believe became abusive: so abusive, that he had to leave and find somewhere else to preach. So, it was a difficult ministry.
And yet, he remained faithful to his calling and he did not hesitate to preach anything that would be helpful to the Lord’s people in that place. So, despite the trials he suffered, he persevered in the work which the Lord assigned to him, which was to preach to the people. And he taught the people publicly and from house to house. So, he taught them publicly in the hall of Tyrannus, where anyone could come along and listen to him. And he also taught them privately and personally, going into people’s homes and talking to them about the things of God.
And more specially, he declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in the Lord Jesus. This was the message he proclaimed wherever he went: declaring to Jews and Greeks — or to Jews and Gentiles — that they needed to turn from their sin and unbelief and turn with faith to the only Saviour of the world.
We all need to repent, because all of us are sinners who sin against the Lord continually. Even those of us who have been believers for many years need to repent every day, because every day we disobey the Lord our God and we fall short of doing his will. We all need to repent because all of us are sinners who sin against the Lord continually. And so, every day we need to turn from our sins; and every day we need to turn back to God, confessing our sins and asking him to forgive us. And he will forgive us, but not because of anything we have done, but because of Christ who gave up his life on the cross to pay for our sins and who shed his blood to cleanse us of our guilt.
Verses 22 to 24
And in verse 22, Paul, the servant of the Lord, reveals that the reason he’s going to Jerusalem is because this is the will of God for him. God the Holy Spirit is compelling him to go there. The Holy Spirit is leading him there. We don’t know how the Spirit made his will known to Paul, but it’s clear that he did. And though Paul knows that the Holy Spirit wants him in Jerusalem, he doesn’t know what will happen to him there. He doesn’t know exactly, but he can guess what will happen to him there. He can guess what will happen to him, because he says in verse 23 that the Holy Spirit has made clear to him that wherever he goes, he’ll face prison and hardships. So, think back to the time when he was in Philippi and how he and Silas were flogged and then thrown into prison. And in Lystra he was stoned so badly that his enemies thought he had died. Paul suffered so very much as he served the Lord and he can guess that the same sort of thing will happen to him in Jerusalem when he gets there.
However, look what he says in verse 24: he considered his life worth nothing to him. In other words, he did not regard his life as a precious thing. If you have something precious, you’ll do everything you can to keep it safe. If it’s something small, you might wrap it in tissue paper and put it in a drawer. And when we regard our life as precious, we’ll do everything we can to keep it safe. We’ll keep ourselves from harm’s way. But there are many people who have to put their life in danger. Think of people who work for the emergency services. Think of soldiers who go off to war. They’re willing to put their life at risk out of a sense of duty to others. And Paul was willing to put his life at risk out of a sense of duty to the Lord his God.
And because of that sense of duty to the Lord his God, he wanted to finish the race and to complete the task, which the Lord had given him. Some runners run part way and then they give up. Other feel like giving up, but they persevere. And Paul wants to be one of the runners who perseveres and doesn’t give up. But he’s not thinking of a literal race, but of the work the Lord has given to do. It’s difficult and it’s demanding and it’s painful. But he will not give up. Instead he will keep going to the end.
And what is the task which he has been given as an apostle of Jesus Christ? It’s the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace. The word gospel means good news. And the message of God’s grace is good news, because God’s grace is his kindness to sinners. Instead of treating us as our sins deserve, and condemning us, he’s willing to forgive us. And he’s willing to forgive us, because of Christ the Saviour who took the blame for sinners when he died on the cross. He took the blame for sinners and was punished in their place. And everyone who trusts in him and in his death on the cross for sinners receives forgiveness from God. We don’t deserve it, but God graciously forgives us because of Christ. And Paul wants to complete the task of testifying to the grace of God wherever the Lord sends him.
Verses 25 to 27
And he describes the task he was given in another way in verse 25. He refers to it in that verse as preaching the kingdom. The Lord Jesus Christ is the King who rules over all things from his throne in heaven. And one day he’s coming again to judge the living and the dead. And he commands everyone everywhere to repent and to believe the good news. And when sinners repent and believe, he rescues them from their sin and misery in this life and from the devil’s tyranny and from death and he adds them to his own kingdom of grace, where there is forgiveness and joy and life for ever more. Preaching the kingdom is preaching a message of liberation, because it’s about freedom from sin and misery and the devil and death.
And Paul describes his task in another way in verse 27. His task was to proclaim the whole will of God. The whole will of God is God’s will for our salvation. It’s also his will for how we’re to live as his people. So, God saves us from our sin and misery through faith in his Son who died for us. And once God has saved us from our sin and misery through faith in his Son, he then directs us how to live as his people. He needs to save us, because we’re sinners who do what’s wrong. And once he saves us, he commands us to do what is right. And by proclaiming the whole will of God, Paul taught the people that God is willing to save us; and Paul taught the people that God’s will for us, after he saves us, is for us to do what is right and to live good and upright lives.
And because Paul has carried out the task the Lord has given him, and he’s testified to the grace of God and he’s preached the kingdom and he’s proclaimed to them the whole will of God, then Paul can say in verse 26 that he is innocent of the blood of all men. He means that God will not hold him accountable for anyone in Ephesus who has not turned from their sin. God will not blame Paul for their unbelief, because Paul did not hesitate from making known to them God’s word and God’s will for their salvation. He faithfully preached God’s word to them. And so, if anyone did not listen to him, Paul can’t be blamed, because he faithfully discharged his duty.
A preacher cannot make anyone listen or believe. All a preacher can do is proclaim the good news as clearly and as persuasively and as faithfully as possible. But a preacher cannot make anyone listen or believe. If a preacher fails in his duty to preach the word of God, then he must answer to God for his failure. But if the preacher preaches the word of God and the people refuse to listen or believe, then the preacher has done his duty. He has fulfilled his task. He has pleased the Lord. And those who refuse to listen to God’s word will answer to God for their unbelief.
Application 1
That’s as far as we’ll get today and we’ll come back to the rest of his speech the next time. But as I said at the beginning, this passage would be a great one to preach on at the ordination of a minister. Again, apostles and ministers are not the same. But there’s some overlap in their roles, because apostles and ministers are called to preach God’s word. That’s the main thing they’re called to do. And so, this would be a great passage to preach on at the ordination of a new minister or when any preacher is being installed in a church, because any new minister or preacher can learn from Paul’s example.
So, preachers should be humble like Paul, because they’re not appointed to rule the people, but to serve the Lord by teaching the people from his word.
And preachers should be ready to suffer for the gospel, because there are many who do not believe and they are many who find the gospel message offensive. It’s offensive, because people don’t like to hear that they’re sinners who deserve to be condemned and punished by God for all that they have done wrong. We prefer to think that we’re good people. And it’s offensive, because people don’t like to hear that we can’t save ourselves. People don’t like to hear that they have nothing to offer God for their salvation and that there’s nothing they can do to make up for their shortcomings. And it’s offensive, because people don’t like to hear that there’s only one Saviour and there’s only one way to be saved and it’s through faith in Christ the Lord. People find the gospel message offensive. And so, those who preach it will face unbelief and opposition and even persecution.
And above all ministers and preachers must preach. How did Paul describe his work? He said he did not hesitate to preach anything that would be helpful. He said he taught them publicly and from house to house. He said he declared that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in the Saviour. He said he testified to the gospel of the grace of God. He said he preached the kingdom. He said he did not hesitate to proclaim the whole will of God. By saying all these things, Paul made clear that his work among them was to preach to them. And through the reading and preaching of God’s word, the Lord calls sinners to himself for salvation and he builds his church on the earth and he transforms our lives for the better.
I’ve said before that there’s a shortage of ministers in the PCI at the present time. There aren’t enough ministers for all the vacant churches, let alone enough ministers to plant new churches and to go overseas as missionaries. And so, we should pray and pray and pray again to the Lord, asking that he will raise up more and more preachers like Paul: preachers who will be humble; and preachers who will be prepared to work hard and to suffer for the gospel; preachers who will be determined to run the race to the end and to complete the work they’ve been given which is to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ to men and women and boys and girls.
And we should pray that ministers today will not be distracted from the task which the Lord has given them, which is to preach and teach God’s word. People talk about mission creep, when some good work expands beyond its original focus and eventually the original focus is lost. And in our churches it’s easy for ministers to lose their focus and to start taking on more and more tasks which may be worthwhile, but it’s not what the Lord has called them to do. And so, we should pray and pray and pray again for our ministers that they won’t lose their focus, but will keep preaching and teaching God’s word.
And so, we should pray for more ministers and we should pray for focussed ministers.
Application 2
But this passage is also useful for those who are not ministers. God may not have called you to be a minister in his church, but he still calls you to serve him. He calls you to serve him in your daily life. He calls you to serve him in the home as a husband or wife or parent or grandparent or child. He also calls you to serve him as a good neighbour. And he calls you to serve him in the workplace. And he calls you to serve him as a member of his church. And he wants you to serve him humbly; and to put up with the many troubles and trials we face in this troubled life; and he wants you to finish the race and complete the task he has given you.
So, that might mean loving your spouse day by day for the rest of your life. Parents and grandparents are to keep guiding your children along the right path throughout their lives. Children are to honour their parents throughout their lives. We’re to love and serve our neighbours as we have opportunity. And in the workplace, you’re to do your work to the best of your ability, because you’re serving the Lord as well as your boss. And in the church, you’re to love and serve your fellow believers and you’re to be patient with them and you’re to spur them on towards love and good deeds.
And from time to time, because of your commitment to the Lord, you’ll be faced with trials and temptations. You’ll have to put up with people who make your life difficult because of what you believe. You’ll have to say no to something, because the Lord forbids it. And the Lord wants you to put up with those things and not to give up.
And the Lord wants us to keep going and to keep serving him wherever he has placed us. He wants us to finish the race and to complete the task he has given us. And though you may not be a preacher, there will be times when someone asks you about what you believe. They’ll ask you for the reason for your hope. And when those opportunities come, you serve the Lord by taking them and pointing people to the Saviour. And there are those who serve the Lord in one of our organisations. And there you have the task of teaching God’s word to those who come to those organisations.
And so, you may not be a minister or a preacher, but if you’re a believer then you’re the servant of the Lord and you’re to serve the Lord wherever he has placed you.
Application 3
Finally, let me underline once again the message Paul preached which is that we must turn to God in repentance and have faith in the Lord Jesus. We all need to repent, because all of us are sinners. And so, we need to turn from our sins and turn to God for forgiveness. Even if you’ve been a Christian all your life, you still sin and fall short every day. And so, every day, you should turn from your sins and turn to God for forgiveness, which he’s willing to give you, because of Christ who died for you.
But who knows? There may be someone here today and you’re not yet a Christian; and you’ve never turned to God in repentance; and you haven’t yet believed in the Saviour. But God is coming to you today in the preaching of his word and he’s saying to you today that now is the time to turn from your sin and unbelief and now is the time to put your faith in Christ.
God made you to glorify him and to enjoy him for ever. He made you to be eternally happy in his presence. And the only thing keeping you from that is your own sin and unbelief: your rejection of God and his love for you and his purposes for you. And so, now is the time to give up your sin and unbelief and to turn to God through Christ for forgiveness and for the hope of everlasting life and everlasting joy and happiness in his presence in the life to come. God is coming to you in the preaching of his word and he’s saying to you today: turn from your sin and unbelief and turn to God through Christ to receive the free gift of eternal life.
Sermons and Stuff 