Commentary - Biblelive.org

Book

Chapter

Read

Acts 19

Acts 20

Acts 21

Acts 20 — Commentary 4

Listen

Click Play to listen

Voice

Speed

Pitch

Benson

Benson Commentary Acts 20:1 And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them , and departed for to go into Macedonia. Acts 20:1 . After the uproar, Paul called unto him the disciples — To comfort and encourage them; and departed — From Ephesus, after the long abode he had made there; to go into Macedonia — To visit the churches at Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. This, however, does not necessarily imply his immediate departure: he may have remained in Ephesus and its neighbourhood some months after the riot, to comfort the disciples, and establish the churches of Asia, whose salutation he sent in the conclusion of his first letter to the Corinthians. Besides, from Paul’s own account, it appears that he remained in the neighbourhood of Ephesus, waiting for the coming of Titus from Corinth. But Titus not arriving within the time appointed him, the apostle became impatient, and went forward to Troas, in the hope of meeting with him there. But being disappointed in that expectation also, he passed over into Macedonia, where at length Titus came to him. Acts 20:2 And when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece, Acts 20:2 . And when he had gone over those parts — Zealously pursuing everywhere the work in which he was engaged; and had given much exhortation — To the Christians whom he found there, or had exhorted them with much discourse; he came into Greece — That part of it which lay between Macedonia and Achaia. In going through Macedonia, the apostle had those outward fightings and inward fears, of which he speaks, 2 Corinthians 7:5 . But, after great anxiety in his mind, he was at length comforted by the coming of Titus, who brought him a pleasing account of the state of affairs at Corinth. And in particular, what he said of their liberal disposition gave the apostle reason to glory in them, and to excite the Macedonians to imitate their generosity in assisting the contribution he was now raising for the poor Christians in Judea, which was one part of his business in this journey, 2 Corinthians 9:2 ; 2 Corinthians 8:1-14 . The second epistle to the Corinthians was therefore written from Macedonia at this time, as these passages manifest, and was sent by Titus, who, on this occasion, returned to get the collection in still greater forwardness. This journey through the different towns of Macedonia, in which churches were established, of course took up several months; and no doubt many circumstances occurred, at most of these places, which made his presence with them for a while highly expedient. Perhaps also it was at this time that he preached the gospel on the confines of Illyricum, as mentioned, Romans 15:19 . Acts 20:3 And there abode three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia. Acts 20:3 . And there — Namely, in Greece; he abode three months — Meeting, it seems, with business there as he often did in other places, which detained him longer than he expected. During this time, he received from the churches of Achaia the money which they had collected for the saints in Judea, agreeably to his direction to the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 16:1-3 . At this time also he wrote his epistle to the Romans, of whose affairs he had heard by Aquila and Priscilla. For, it plainly appears, that epistle was written before his imprisonment at Rome; and in it he speaks of a collection made by the churches of Macedonia and Achaia, with which he was hastening to Jerusalem, Romans 15:25-27 ; a circumstance which fixes it to this time. It appears, also, from Romans 16:21 , that Timothy and Sosipater (or Sopater, one of the noble Bereans) were with him when that epistle was written, which agrees with verse four of this chapter, by which we find they both attended him into Asia. And when the Jews had laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he — Upon this account; purposed — ??????? ????? , the thought, or design, occurred, or he conceived the intention; to return through Macedonia — The fact seems to be, that having finished all his matters in Greece, he had proposed to sail directly into Syria. But the Jews, who had heard of the money he was carrying to Jerusalem; and who, besides, hated him as an enemy to their religion, lying in wait for him in Cenchrea, the eastern port of Corinth, where he was to embark, he changed his resolution. So that avoiding that port, which was about nine miles from Corinth, he returned by land, through Macedonia, in such time that he left Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and so began his voyage into Syria. Acts 20:4 And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus. Acts 20:4-6 . And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea, &c. — The several persons mentioned in this verse are thought by some to have been joined with Paul as messengers of the churches, in carrying their contributions to the poor brethren at Jerusalem. We know but few particulars of most of them. Sopater is thought to be the same with Sosipater, mentioned by Paul as his kinsman, Romans 16:21 . Aristarchus and Secundus are the Macedonians of whom he speaks, 2 Corinthians 9:4 ; and Gaius of Derbe, the person who, with Aristarchus, was hurried into the theatre at Ephesus during the riot; he was baptized by Paul at Corinth, 1 Corinthians 1:14 ; and entertained him as his host, while he abode there, Romans 16:23 ; and afterward John directs his third epistle to him. Of Timothy, see Acts 16:1 , &c. Tychicus of Asia, was often sent on messages by Paul, 2 Timothy 4:12 ; Titus 3:12 ; and more than once is recommended by him to the churches, as a beloved brother, and fellow-servant in the Lord, whom he employed, not only to acquaint them with his own affairs, but that he might know their state, and comfort their hearts, Ephesians 6:21-22 ; Colossians 4:7-8 . Trophimus, who was of Ephesus, appears to have been a Gentile convert, whom we find afterward with Paul at Jerusalem, Acts 21:29 ; and who attended him in other journeys, till he left him at Miletum sick, 2 Timothy 4:20 . These two last, being distinguished here from Timothy and Gaius, who were of Lystra and Derbe, which lay in Asia Minor; and yet being said to be Asiatics, must have been so called, because they were natives of the proconsular Asia. These, going before, tarried for us at Troas — It appears from the construction of the original, that this refers not to all the persons mentioned in the preceding verse, but only to the two last named, Tychicus and Trophimus. And we sailed from Philippi — Some time after the forementioned persons left us; (Luke was now with Paul again, as we learn from his manner of expressing himself;) after the days of unleavened bread — That is, after the passover week was ended; and came to Troas in five days — Paul, in his former progress, crossed over from Troas to Philippi in two days; where we abode seven days — Conversing with the Christians there. This Paul might choose to do so much the rather as he had declined such great views of service as were here opened to him, when he passed through it before, in his way to Macedonia. See 2 Corinthians 2:12-13 . Acts 20:5 These going before tarried for us at Troas. Acts 20:6 And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days. Acts 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. Acts 20:7-10 . And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples — As was usual with them on that day; came together — From different parts; to break bread — That is, to celebrate the Lord’s supper. It is well known the primitive Christians administered the eucharist every Lord’s day, and as that was the most solemn and appropriate, as well as the concluding act of their worship, it is no wonder that it should be mentioned as the end of their assembling. Paul preached unto them — With great fervency, being now to take his leave of them, and depart on the morrow — And his heart was so enlarged in love to his hearers, and concern for their salvation, that he continued his speech until midnight — Through uncommon fervour of spirit. And there were many lights — Or lamps; in the upper chamber where they were assembled — For, whatever the malice of their enemies might insinuate, the Christians held not their assemblies in darkness, but took all prudent precautions to avoid every circumstance that might incur censure, or even suspicion. And there sat in a window — Kept open to prevent heat, both from the lamps and the number of people; a young man, named Eutychus, who, having fallen into a deep sleep, as Paul was long preaching, fell down from the third loft — And no wonder, if, like the eastern windows, described by Chardin, this was very large, and even with the floor; and was taken up dead — Really and properly so; and (the whole assembly, doubtless, being thrown into disorder) Paul — Breaking off his discourse; went down and fell on him — It is observable, our Lord never used this gesture, but Elijah and Elisha did, as well as Paul; and embracing high — In his arms; said, Trouble not yourselves — Be not in any disorder about it; for his life is in him — He is come to life again. Paul, doubtless, restored him to life by a miracle. When he therefore was come up again — Into the chamber where the assembly met; (for, having composed and quieted their minds, he returned to his work;) and had broken bread — And conversed a considerable time; even till break of day, he departed — From Troas, without taking any rest at all. And they brought the young man alive — And well into the room; and were not a little comforted — At so happy an event; and the rather, as they might apprehend that some reproach would have been occasioned by his death, if he had not been so recovered, because it happened in a Christian assembly, which had been protracted so long beyond the usual bounds of time, on this extraordinary occasion. But, alas! how many of those that have allowed themselves to sleep under sermons, or, as it were, to dream awake, have perished for ever, with the neglected sound of the gospel in their ears; have slept the sleep of eternal death, and are fallen to rise no more! Acts 20:8 And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together. Acts 20:9 And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. Acts 20:10 And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him. Acts 20:11 When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed. Acts 20:12 And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted. Acts 20:13 And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot. Acts 20:13-16 . And we went before to ship — Namely, those that were to go with Paul; and sailed unto Assos — A city to the south of Troas; there intending to take in Paul — Who went thither on foot — The place being much nearer by land than by sea; and in order that, being alone for a while, he might employ himself in meditation and prayer, his public work allowing him little time for retirement and private devotion: or, perhaps, he might intend to call on some friends by the way. And when he met us — At Assos, according to his own appointment; we took him in, and came to Mitylene — The chief city of the island of Lesbos, about seven miles distant from the Asiatic coast; and came the next day over against Chios — The island so famous for producing some of the best Grecian wines. The day following they touched at Samos, and, making a short stay at Trogyllium, came the next day to Miletus — A city of Caria, south of Trogyllium. For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus — Which lay on the other side of the bay, without calling there; because he would not spend the time in Asia — Having now no time to spare; for he hasted to be at Jerusalem, by the day of pentecost — Knowing that a great concourse of people from all parts of Judea, and from distant provinces, would be there, as usual, ( Acts 2:1-5 ,) to celebrate that festival, and that he should thus have an opportunity of testifying the gospel of the grace of God to many, both Jews and proselytes, and of thereby enlarging the kingdom of the Lord Jesus. Besides, the feast of pentecost had been rendered particularly famous among the Christians, by the extraordinary effusion of the Holy Spirit at that time. Acts 20:14 And when he met with us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene. Acts 20:15 And we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios; and the next day we arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogyllium; and the next day we came to Miletus. Acts 20:16 For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost. Acts 20:17 And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. Acts 20:17 . And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus — Though Paul’s concern to be at Jerusalem by the feast of pentecost, prevented his going in person to visit the Christians at Ephesus, yet, as he was now only about ten miles distant from that city, and was desirous to know the state of the church there, and to contribute all in his power to its prosperity, he called the elders of it to come to him, that he might receive from them such information as he wished to obtain, and might give them such instructions and admonitions as he judged to be needful, and calculated to encourage and excite them to zeal and diligence, in the execution of their important office. And, on this occasion, he spake to them one of the most pathetic and edifying discourses which was ever delivered to a company of ministers; a discourse which the sacred historian has accurately recorded, and which, like the precepts of Moses, deserves to be written on the door- posts of the houses of all ministers, that, in going out and in, they may have it continually in their view, and adjust their conduct by it, as in a looking- glass. Acts 20:18 And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, Acts 20:18-19 . And he said, Ye know, &c. — Happy is that minister who can thus appeal to the consciences of his hearers; from the first day that I came into Asia — From the first time of my appearing among you; after what manner I have been with you — How I have conducted myself toward God, toward you, and toward all men; at all seasons — ??? ????? ?????? , the whole time; every day and hour, in private and public; serving the Lord — Not only instructing men in the principles of divine truth, but in the whole tenor of my conduct serving the Lord Jesus Christ; seeking, not my own honour, interest, or pleasure, but his honour, the interest of his kingdom, and the pleasing of him; making his will my rule, and his glory my end, in all my actions; with all humility of mind — In all instances of condescension, modesty, and self-abasement; conscious that I am unworthy to be permitted to serve him, that he does me a great and undeserved honour to employ me in his service, and that my best services are utterly unworthy of his acceptance; and with many tears — Of tender affection and deep concern for your present and eternal salvation; and in sympathy with you under your trials and troubles. Though Paul’s acquaintance with them was of late standing, yet, so near did they lie to his heart, that he wept with them that wept, and mingled his tears with theirs upon every occasion; and temptations — ????????? , trials; namely, of his faith, patience, and courage; such trials as, perhaps, were sometimes temptations to him, if not to desist from, yet to abate of his zeal and diligence in the work of the Lord; which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews — Who were still plotting some mischief or other against him. These three things, humility, tears, and trials, are the concomitants of the true and faithful service of Christ in the ministry of the gospel. The service itself is described more particularly in the two following verses. The humility here spoken of, he recommends to the Ephesians themselves, Ephesians 4:2 . His tears are mentioned again, Acts 20:31 ; as also, 2 Corinthians 2:4 , and Php 3:18 . These passages laid together supply us with the genuine character of Paul. Holy tears, from those who seldom weep on account of natural occurrences, are no mean specimen of the efficacy, and proof of the truth of Christianity; yet joy is well consistent therewith, ( Acts 20:24 ,) for the same person may be sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. Acts 20:19 Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: Acts 20:20 And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you , but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, Acts 20:20-21 . How I kept back nothing that was profitable — Nothing that was calculated to instruct, renew, or comfort you — to render you wise and good, holy and happy; Greek, ????? ???????????? ??? ??????????? , ??? ?? ?????????? ???? ??? ??????? , I have withheld nothing, or none, of the things advantageous to you; that is, which could be of any service to your edification; so as not to declare to you the whole gospel of Christ, and teach you all its truths, duties, privileges, and blessings; publicly — In worshipping assemblies; and from house to house — As God gave me opportunity; inculcating, in visits and in private meetings, the same great doctrines which I declared in the synagogue and other places of concourse and resort. Testifying — In the most serious and solemn manner, and with the greatest earnestness and affection; both to the Jews and also to the Greeks — To all descriptions of persons, the great importance and absolute necessity of repentance toward God — To be evidenced by fruits worthy of repentance, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ — As the only Saviour of lost sinners, the infallible Teacher, prevalent Mediator, and righteous Governor of his church and people, and the final Judge of all mankind; a faith living, cordial, and powerful. Observe, reader, if the apostle had neglected thus to act, if he had not taught from house to house, as well as publicly, he would not have been pure from the blood of these people. Even he, though an apostle, could not discharge his duty by public preaching only; how much less can an ordinary pastor! Acts 20:21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 20:22 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Acts 20:22-24 . And behold I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem — Strongly impelled by the Spirit which intimates my duty to me in such a manner, that I can neither omit nor delay it. I am, therefore, fully resolved to proceed, being well assured that it is by a divine direction and influence that I am so, and not from any humour, fancy, or will of my own. Or, the expression may mean, “foreseeing by the Spirit that I shall be bound,” as it follows in the next verse. So Grotius and Whitby understand him. Not knowing — Particularly; the things that shall befall me there — What I shall suffer in that city, or what shall happen to me when I come thither; save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth — Namely, by other persons; (for it was God’s good pleasure to reveal these things to him, not immediately, but by the ministry of others;) in every city — Almost, through which I passed; saying — By the mouths of divinely-inspired prophets; that bonds and afflictions abide — Or await, me — This I know in the general, though the particulars of those sufferings I know not; such as, whence they shall spring, what shall be the occasion of them, what the circumstances, and to what degree they shall rise. These things God had not thought fit to reveal to him. Reader, it is for our good to be kept ignorant of future events, that we may be always waiting on God, and waiting for him. But none of these things more me — Greek, ??? ’ ??????? ????? ???????? , I make no account of any of those things; neither count I my life dear — ?????? , precious; to myself — On such an occasion. It adds a great force to this, and all the other passages of Scripture, in which the apostles express their contempt of the world, that they were not uttered by persons like Seneca and Antoninus, who talked elegantly of despising the world in the full affluence of all its enjoyments; but by men who daily underwent the greatest calamities, and exposed their lives in proof of the truth of their assertions. So that I might finish my course — Of duty and of suffering, as a Christian and an apostle; with joy — Arising from the testimony of my own conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity I have had my conversation in the world; from evidences of my having pleased God, and been accounted faithful by him, and from a lively expectation of being approved of by him in the day of final accounts, and of enjoying felicity and glory with him for ever; and the ministry — The infinitely-important ministry; which I have received of the Lord Jesus — With which he has graciously intrusted me; to testify the gospel of the grace of God — To which grace, free and abundant as it is, I am myself obliged beyond all expression, and beyond all the returns I can ever make by any labour or sufferings I may undergo in its service. Acts 20:23 Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. Acts 20:25 And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. Acts 20:25-27 . I know that ye all — Though you may have letters from me; shall see my face no more — He wisely observes this, that what follows might make the deeper impression. It is probable the apostle had received some particular revelation, that if he should ever return to these parts of Asia again, (as from Philem. Acts 20:22 it seems likely he might,) yet that he should not have an opportunity of calling at Ephesus, or of seeing the elders whom he now addressed. Wherefore — Seeing my ministry is at an end with you, it concerns both you and me to reflect on our past conduct respecting it; and I take you to record — Greek, ?????????? ???? , I testify to you, and affirm, and I dare appeal to yourselves concerning it; that I am pure from the blood of all men — From the guilt of destroying men’s souls; if any of you, or of me people under your care, perish, it will not be through my default, having faithfully showed you and them the way of life, and earnestly persuaded you all to walk in it. See notes on Ezekiel 3:19-21 . For I have not shunned — Declined, or omitted; to declare unto you all the counsel of God — Respecting your salvation; God’s purpose finally to save all that believe in Christ with their hearts unto righteousness; or, the whole doctrine of Christianity, relating to our redemption and salvation by Christ, and the way to eternal happiness through him; and this I have done in the most plain and faithful manner, whatever censure, contempt, or opposition I might incur by so doing. Acts 20:26 Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men . Acts 20:27 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. Acts 20:28 . Take heed therefore — I now devolve my care upon you; first, to yourselves — That you thoroughly understand all the doctrines, experience all the graces, enjoy all the blessing, and practise all the duties of genuine Christianity; and that you fully understand and faithfully execute every part of your important office. And to all the flock — That they may possess the same Christian knowledge and experience, may enjoy the same blessings, and perform the same duties; may be wise unto salvation, holy and useful; not living unto themselves, but unto him that died for them and rose again. Over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers — Greek, ?????????? , bishops, or inspectors. It seems evident from every part of the New Testament, that there was no distinction, when the Acts and the Epistles were written, between elders, or presbyters, and bishops in the Christian Church. All the elders were bishops, inspectors, or overseers. Thus, ( 1 Peter 5:1-2 ,) The elders which are among you I exhort, feed the flock of God, taking the oversight thereof, Greek, ????????????? , acting the part of bishops, or inspectors. It is probable, however, that when, in any city or district, the elders became numerous, it was found expedient to appoint some to take the oversight of the rest, and see that they did their duty. The apostle’s expression here, The Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, implies that no man, or number of men, can constitute an overseer, bishop, or any Christian minister. To do this is the peculiar work of the Holy Ghost; to feed the church of God — That is, the believing, loving, obedient, holy children of God, only such being true members of the church of Christ; which he hath purchased with his own blood — How precious is it then in his sight! Here the blood of Christ, the only begotten of the Father, is termed the blood of God; for it is the blood of the WORD, who was in the beginning with God, and was God, John 1:1 . Acts 20:29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Acts 20:29-30 . For I know this — As if he had said, Wonder not that I give you this charge in so strict a manner; for, besides the weighty reasons for it which I have already intimated, I know, that after my departure — From the churches in these parts, or my removal out of this life, notwithstanding all I have done to preserve discipline and truth among you; grievous wolves shall enter in — From without, that is, seducing teachers, who shall endeavour to make a prey of you, and, by introducing false and heretical doctrines, shall divide and scatter you, as wolves make a prey of, divide, and scatter the sheep. He seems to mean those Judaizing and false teachers, who, though they had before this time done much mischief at Corinth and elsewhere, had not yet got any footing at Ephesus; not sparing the flock — Having no mercy on them, but, with voracious eagerness, and overbearing violence, making terrible havoc of God’s church, out of a mean and wicked regard to their own private and secular interests. Also of your own selves — From within; shall men arise — Proud and factious men; speaking perverse things — Broaching false and pernicious tenets, which they will endeavour to establish by perverting the Scriptures; to draw away disciples after them — From the purity of the gospel, and the unity of the body; or to make a party for themselves, that shall admire, be led by them, and contribute to their support and exaltation. By these, distinguished from those termed grievous wolves, in the foregoing verse, the apostle may mean such as Phygellus, Hermogenes, Hymeneus, and Philetus: as also those that afterward introduced the Nicolaitan principles and practices, of which Christ complains as prevailing here, ( Revelation 2:6 ,) as well as in the neighbouring city Pergamus, Revelation 2:14-15 . Acts 20:30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Acts 20:31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. Acts 20:31 . Therefore watch — With all diligence and care; take heed yourselves, and warn others to take heed; and remember, that by the space of three years, (for so long had he been preaching at Ephesus and the parts adjacent,) I ceased not to warn every one — To whom I had access; night and day with tears — This was watching indeed! Who copies after this example? Let it then, as if he had said, be your care, that a church planted by me with so much labour and solicitude, may not be ravaged and overthrown by the enemy, but that it may long continue to flourish. Observe here, reader, 1st, Paul, like a faithful watchman, had warned them publicly, by preaching, and by the warnings he thus gave them was instrumental in prevailing with them to receive the truth and turn to God. 2d, He warned every one. Besides the public warnings he gave to all in general that attended his ministry, he applied himself to particular persons, according as he saw their case called for it. 3d, He was constant in giving warning; he warned them night and day, his time was filled up with this work. 4th, He was indefatigable in it, he ceased not to warn; though some might be obstinate and persist in sin, disregarding his warnings, yet he persevered, hoping, that at length, by the grace of God, they would be reformed. And though others might appear to comply with his warnings, yet still he did not desist, fearing lest, although they were now righteous, they should, through the power of temptation, be overcome in some unguarded hour, and turn from their righteousness, Ezekiel 3:18 to Ezekiel 21:5 th, He addressed them, whether in public or private, with a great deal of affection and concern; he warned them with tears, namely, with tears of compassion; thereby showing how much he was himself affected with the danger an misery of those who were in a sinful state and false way; or with tears of love and gratitude to God in behalf of those who were savingly converted to him and adorned his gospel. Acts 20:32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. Acts 20:32 . And now, brethren — Since the providence of God is calling me away, and appointing me other scenes of labour or suffering; I commend you to God — To his watchful providence and grace, for guidance, protection, support, preservation, and the supply of all your wants, ghostly and bodily; and to the word of his grace — That word which is the grand channel of his grace to believers as well as unbelievers. He recommends them to attend to this in their public ministrations and private conversation, and that, not only as the foundation of their hope here and hereafter, and the source of their joy, but as the rule of their doctrine and practice; I commend you to God as the master you are to serve, and to the word of his grace, as the means by which you are to know your work, and to govern your conduct; which is able to build you up — To confirm and increase your faith, love, and holiness. God can thus build us up without the ministry of his word, or the instrumentality of any teachers. But he does in fact build us up by them, and we must beware of supposing that we have less need of human teachers after we know Christ, and are made partakers of his salvation, than before. As the apostle was speaking here to ministers, he must be considered as signifying that, in preaching the word of God’s grace, and in all their ministerial duties, they were to have a regard to their own edification, as well as to that of those to and for whom they ministered. And to give you an inheritance — Of eternal glory; among them that are sanctified — And so made meet for it. A large number of these Paul, doubtless, knew and remembered before God. It seems that the words ?? ???????? , who is able, refer to God, the last person named, and not the word by which God works, but which,

Expositors

Expositor's Bible Commentary Acts 20:1 And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them , and departed for to go into Macedonia. Chapter 16 ST. PAUL AND THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. Acts 20:1 ; Acts 20:7 ; Acts 20:17-19 ; Acts 20:28 THE period of St. Paul’s career at which we have now arrived was full of life, vigour, activity. He was in the very height of his powers, was surrounded with responsibilities, was pressed with cares and anxieties; and yet the character of the sacred narrative is very peculiar. From the passover of the year 57, soon after which the Apostle had to leave Ephesus, till the passover of the next year, we learn but very little of St. Paul’s work from the narrative of St. Luke. The five verses with which the twentieth chapter begins tell us all that St. Luke apparently knew about the Apostle’s actions during that time. He gives us the story of a mere outsider, who knew next to nothing of the work St. Paul was doing. The Apostle left Ephesus and went into Macedonia, whence he departed into Greece. Three months were occupied in teaching at Corinth, and then, intending to sail from Cenchreae to Ephesus, he suddenly changed his mind upon the discovery of a Jewish plot, altered his route, disappointed his foes, and paid a second visit to Macedonia. In this narrative, which is all St. Luke gives, we have the account, brief and concise, of one who was acquainted merely with the bare outlines of the Apostle’s work, and knew nothing of his inner life and trials. St. Luke, in fact, was so much taken up with his own duties at Philippi, where he had been labouring for the previous five years, that he had no time to think of what was going on elsewhere. At any rate his friend and pupil Theophilus had simply asked him for a narrative so far as he knew it of the progress of the gospel. He had no idea that he was writing anything more than a story for the private use of Theophilus, and he therefore put down what he knew and had experienced, without troubling himself concerning other matters. I have read criticisms of the Acts-proceeding principally, I must confess, from German sources-which seem to proceed on the supposition that St. Luke was consciously writing an ecclesiastical history of the whole early Church which he knew and felt was destined to serve for ages. But this was evidently not the case. St. Luke was consciously writing a story merely for a friend’s study, and dreamt not of the wider fame and use destined for his. book. This accounts in a simple and natural way, not only for what St. Luke inserts, but also for what he leaves out, and he manifestly left out a great deal. We may take this passage at which we have now arrived as an illustration of his methods of writing sacred history. This period of ten months, from the time St. Paul left Ephesus till he returned to Philippi at the following Easter season, was filled with most important labours which have borne fruit unto all ages of the Church, yet St. Luke dismisses them in a few words. Just let us realise what happened in these eventful months. St. Paul wrote First Corinthians in April A.D. 57. In May he passed to Troas, where, as we learn from Second Corinthians, he laboured for a short time with much success. He then passed into Macedonia, urged on by his restless anxiety concerning the Corinthian Church. In Macedonia. he laboured during the following five or six months. How intense and absorbing must have been his work during that time! It was then that he preached the gospel with signs and wonders round about even unto Illyricum, as he notes in Romans 16:19 , an epistle written this very year from Corinth. The last time that he had been in Macedonia he was a hunted fugitive fleeing from place to place. Now he seems to have lived in comparative peace, so far at least as the Jewish synagogues were concerned. He penetrated, therefore, into the mountainous districts west of Beroea, bearing the gospel tidings into cities and villages which had as yet heard nothing of them. But preaching was not his only work in Macedonia. He had written his first Epistle to Corinth from Ephesus a few months before. In Macedonia he received from Titus, his messenger, an account of the manner in which that epistle had been received, and so from Macedonia he despatched his second Corinthian Epistle, which must be carefully studied if we desire to get an adequate idea of the labours and anxieties amid which the Apostle was then immersed. {see 2 Corinthians 2:13 , and 2 Corinthians 7:5-6 } And then he passed into Greece, where he spent three months at Corinth, settling the affairs of that very celebrated but very disorderly Christian community. The three months spent there must have been a period of overwhelming business. Let us recount the subjects which must have taken up every moment of St. Paul’s time. First there were the affairs ‘of the Corinthian Church itself. He had to reprove, comfort, direct, set in order. The whole moral, spiritual, social, intellectual conceptions of Corinth had gone wrong. There was not a question, from the most elementary topic of morals and the social considerations connected with female dress and activities, to the most solemn points of doctrine and worship, the Resurrection and the Holy Communion, concerning which difficulties, disorders, and dissensions had not been raised. All these had to be investigated and decided by the Apostle. Then, again, the Jewish controversy, anti the oppositions to himself personally which the Judaising party had excited, demanded his careful attention. This controversy was a troublesome one in Corinth just then, but it was a still more troublesome one in Galatia, and was fast raising its head in Rome. The affairs of both these great and important churches, the one in the East, the other in the West, were pressing upon St. Paul at this very time. While he was immersed in all the local troubles of Corinth, he had to find time at Corinth to write the Epistle to the Galatians and the Epistle to the Romans. How hard it must have been for the Apostle to concentrate his attention on the affairs of Corinth when his heart and brain were torn with anxieties about the schisms, divisions, and false doctrines which were flourishing among his Galatian converts, or threatening to invade the Church at Rome, where as yet he had not been able to set forth his own conception of gospel truth, and thus fortify the disciples against the attacks of those subtle foes of Christ who were doing their best to turn the Catholic Church into a mere narrow Jewish sect, devoid of all spiritual power and life. But this was not all, or nearly all. St. Paul was at the same time engaged in organising a great collection throughout all the churches where he had ministered on behalf of the poor Christians at Jerusalem, and he was compelled to walk most warily and carefully in this matter. Every step he took was watched by foes ready to interpret it unfavourably; every appointment he made, every arrangement, no matter how wise or prudent, was the subject of keenest scrutiny and criticism. With all these various matters accumulating upon him it is no wonder that St. Paul should have written of himself at this very period in words which vividly describe his distractions: "Beside those things that are without, there is that which presseth upon me daily, the care of all the churches." And yet St. Paul gives us a glimpse of the greatness of his soul as we read the epistles which were the outcome of this period of intense but fruitful labour. He carried a mighty load, but yet he carried it lightly. His present anxieties were numerous, but they did not shut out all thoughts upon other topics. The busiest man then was just the same as the busiest man still. He was the man who had the most time and leisure to bestow thought upon the future. The anxieties and worries of the present were numerous and exacting, but St. Paul did not allow his mind to be so swallowed up in them as to shut out all care about other questions equally important. While he was engaged in the manifold cares which present controversies brought, he was all the while meditating a mission to Rome, and contemplating a journey still farther to Spain and Gaul and the bounds of the Western ocean. And then, finally, there was the care of St. Paul’s own soul, the sustenance and development of his spirit by prayer and meditation and worship and reading, which he never neglected under any circumstances. All these things combined must have rendered this period of close upon twelve months one of the Apostle’s busiest and in-tensest times, and yet St. Luke disposes of it in a few brief verses of this twentieth chapter. After St. Paul’s stay at Corinth, he determined to proceed to Jerusalem according to his predetermined plan, bringing with him the proceeds of the collection which he had made. He wished to go by sea, as he had done some three years before, sailing from Cenchreae direct to Syria. The Jews of Corinth, however, were as hostile as ever, and so they hatched a plot to murder him before his embarkation. St. Paul, however, having learned their designs, suddenly changed his route, and took his journey by land through Macedonia, visiting once more his former converts and tarrying to keep the passover at Philippi with the little company of Christian Jews who there resided. This circumstance throws light upon verses 4 and 5 of this twentieth chapter, which run thus: "There accompanied him as far as Asia Sopater of Beroea, the son of Pyrrhus; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus. But these had gone before, and were waiting for us at Troas." St. Paul came to Philippi, found St. Luke there, celebrated the passover, and then sailed away with St. Luke to join the company who had gone before. And they had gone before for a very good reason. They were ‘all, except Timothy, Gentile Christians, persons therefore who, unlike St. Paul, had nothing to do with the national rites and customs of born Jews, and who might be much more profitably exercised in working among the Gentile converts at Troas, free from any danger of either giving or taking offence in connection with the passover, a lively instance of which danger Trophimus, one of their number, subsequently afforded in Jerusalem, when his presence alone in St. Paul’s company caused the spread of a rumour which raised the riot so fatal to St. Paul’s liberty: "For they had seen with him in the city. Trophimus the Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple." { Acts 21:29 } This incident, together with St. Paul’s conduct at Jerusalem, as told in the twenty-sixth verse of the twenty-first chapter, illustrates vividly St. Paul’s view of the Jewish law and Jewish rites and ceremonies. They were for Jews national ceremonies. They had a meaning for them. They commemorated certain national deliverances, and as such might be lawfully used. St. Paul himself could eat the passover and cherish the feelings of a Jew, heartily thankful to God for the deliverance from Egypt wrought out through Moses centuries ago for his ancestors, and his mind could then go on and rejoice over a greater deliverance still wrought out at this same paschal season by a greater than Moses. St. Paul openly proclaimed the, lawfulness of the Jewish rites for Jews, but opposed their imposition upon the Gentiles. He regarded them as tolerabiles ineptiae , and therefore observed them to please his weaker brethren; but sent his Gentile converts on before, lest perhaps the sight of his own example might weaken their faith and lead them to a compliance with that Judaising party who were ever ready to avail themselves of any opportunity to weaken St. Paul’s teaching and authority. St. Paul always strove to unite wisdom and prudence with faithfulness to principle lest by any means his labour should be in vain. St. Luke now joined St. Paul at Philippi, and henceforth gives his own account of what happened on this eventful journey. From Philippi they crossed to Troas. It was the spring-time, and the weather was more boisterous than later in the year, and so the voyage took five days to accomplish, while two days had sufficed on a previous occasion. They came to Troas, and there remained for a week, owing doubtless to the exigencies of the ship and its cargo. On the first day of the week St. Paul assembled the Church for worship. The meeting was held on what we should call Saturday evening; but we must remember that the Jewish first day began from sundown on Saturday or the Sabbath. This is the first notice in the Acts of the observance of the Lord’s Day as the time of special Christian worship. We have, however, earlier notices of the-first day in connection with Christian observances. The apostles, for instance, met together on the first day, as we are told in John 20:19 , and again eight days after, as the twenty-sixth verse of the same chapter tells. St. Paul’s first Epistle to Corinth was written twelve months earlier than this visit to Troas, and it expressly mentions { 1 Corinthians 16:2 } the first day of the week as the time ordered by St. Paul for the setting apart of the Galatian contribution to the collection for the poor saints at Jerusalem; and so here again at Troas we see that the Asiastic Christians observed the same solemn time for worship and the celebration of the Eucharist. Such glimpses-chance notices, we might call them, were there not a higher Providence watching over the unconscious writer-show us how little we can conclude from mere silence about the ritual, worship, and government of the Apostolic Church, and illustrate the vast importance of studying carefully the extant records of the Christian Church in the second century if we wish to gain fresh light upon the history and customs of the apostolic age. If three or four brief texts were blotted out of the New Testament, it would be quite possible to argue from Silence merely that the apostles and their immediate followers did not observe the Lord’s Day in any way whatsoever, and that the custom of stated worship and solemn eucharistic celebrations on that day were a corruption introduced in post-apostolic times. The best interpreters of the New Testament are, as John Wesley long ago well pointed out in his preface to his celebrated but now almost unknown Christian Library, the apostolic fathers and the writers of the age next following the apostles. We may take it for a certain rule of interpretation that, whenever we find a widely established practice or custom mentioned in the writings of a Christian author of the second century, it originated in apostolic times. It was only natural that this should have been the case. We are all inclined to venerate the past, and to cry it up as the golden age. Now this tendency must have been intensified tenfold in the case of the Christians of the second century. The first century was the time of our Lord and the age of the apostles. Sacred memories clustered thick round it, and every ceremony and rite which came from that time must have been profoundly reverenced, while every new ceremony or custom must have been rudely challenged, and its author keenly scrutinised as one who presumptuously thought he could improve upon the wisdom of men respired by the Holy Ghost and miraculously gifted by God. It is for this reason we regard the second-century doctors and apologists as the best commentary upon the sacred writers, because in them we see the Church of the apostolic age living, acting, displaying itself amid the circumstances and scenes of actual life. Just let us take as an illustration the case of this observance of the first day of the week. The Acts of the Apostles tells us but very little about it, simply because there is but little occasion to mention what must have seemed to St. Luke one of the commonest and best-known facts. But Justin Martyr some eighty years later was describing Christianity for the Roman Emperor. He was defending it against the outrageous and immoral charges brought against it, and depicting the purity, the innocency, and simplicity of its sacred rites. Among other subjects dealt with, he touches upon the time when Christians offered up formal and stated worship. It was absolutely necessary therefore for him to treat of the subject of the Lord’s Day. In the sixty-seventh chapter of Justin’s First "Apology," we find him describing the Christian weekly festival in words which throw back an interesting light upon the language of St. Luke touching the Lord’s Day which St. Paul passed at Troas. Justin writes thus on this topic: "Upon the day called Sunday all who live in cities or in the country gather together unto one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And those who are well to do and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows, and those who through sickness or any other cause are in want, and those who are in bonds, and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead." This passage gives us a full account of Christian customs in the first half of the second century, when thousands must have been still alive who remembered the times of the apostles, enabling us to realise what must have been the character of the assembly and of the worship in which St. Paul played a leading part at Troas. There was, however, a difference between the celebration at Troas and the celebrations of which Justin Martyr speaks, though we learn not of this difference from Justin himself, but from Pliny’s letter to Trajan, concerning which we have often spoken. St. Paul met the Christians of Troas in the evening, and celebrated the Holy Communion with them about midnight. It was the first day of the week according to Jewish computation, though it was what we should call Saturday evening. The ship in which the apostolic company was travelling was about to sail on the morrow, and so St. Paul gladly joined the local church in its weekly breaking of bread. It was exactly the same here at Troas as reported by St. Luke, as it was at Corinth, where the evening celebrations were turned into occasions of gluttony and ostentation, as St. Paul tells us in the eleventh of First Corinthians. The Christians evidently met at this time in the evening to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. It has been often thought that St. Paul, having referred just twelve months before in the First Corinthian Epistle to the gross abuses connected with the evening celebrations at Corinth, and having promised to set the abuses of Corinth in order when he visited that church, did actually change the time of the celebration of Holy Communion from the evening to the morning, when he spent the three months there of which this chapter speaks. Perhaps he did make the change, but we have no information on the point; and if he did make the change for Corinth, it is evident that he did not intend to impose it as a rule upon the whole Christian Church, when a few weeks after leaving Corinth he celebrated the Lord’s Supper at Troas in the evening. By the second century, however, the change had been made. Justin Martyr indeed does not give a hint as to the time when Holy Communion was administered in the passages to which we have referred. He tells us that none but baptised persons were-admitted to partake of it, but gives us no minor details. Pliny, however, writing of the state of affairs in Bithynia, -and it bordered upon the province where Troas was situated, -tells us from the confession extracted out of apostate Christians that "the whole of their fault lay in this, that they were wont to meet together on a stated day, before it was light, and sing among themselves alternately a hymn to Christ as God, and to bind themselves by a sacrament (or oath) not to the commission of any wickedness, but not to be guilty of theft or robbery or adultery." After this early service they then separated, and assembled again in the evening to partake of a common meal. The Agape or Love-Feast was united with the Holy Communion in St. Paul’s day. Experience, however, showed that Such a union must lead to grave abuses, and so in that final consolidation which the Church received during the last quarter of the first century, when the Lord’s Second Coming was seen to be not so immediate as some at first expected, the two institutions were divided; the Holy Communion being appointed as the early morning service of the Lord’s Day, while the Agape was left in its original position as an evening meal. And so have matters continued ever since. The Agape indeed has almost died out. A trace of it perhaps remains in the blessed bread distributed in Roman Catholic Churches on the Continent; while again the love feasts instituted by John Wesley and continued among his followers were an avowed imitation of this primitive institution. The Agape continued indeed in vigorous existence for centuries, but it was almost always found associated with grave abuses. It might have been innocent and useful so long as Christian love continued to burn with the fervour of apostolic days, though even then, as Corinth showed, there were lurking dangers in it; but when we reach the fourth and fifth centuries we find council after council denouncing the evils of the Agape, and restricting its celebration with such effect that during the Middle Ages it ceased to exist as a distinctive Christian ordinance. The change of the Holy Communion to the earlier portion of the day took almost Universal effect, and that from the earliest times. Tertullian ("De Corona," 3.) testifies that in his time the Eucharist was received before daybreak, though Christ had instituted it at a mealtime. Cyprian witnesses to the same usage in his sixty-third Epistle, where he speaks of Christ as instituting the Sacrament in the evening, that "the very hour of the sacrifice might intimate the evening of the world," but then describes himself as "celebrating the resurrection of the Lord in the morning." St. Augustine, as quoted above, writing about 400, speaks of fasting communion as the general rule; so general, indeed, that he regards it as having come down from apostolic appointment. At the same time St. Augustine recognises the time of its original institution, and mentions the custom of the African Church which once a year had an evening communion on Thursday before Easter in remembrance of the Last Supper and of our Lord’s action in connection with it. My own feeling on the matter is, that early fasting communion, when there are health and strength, is far the most edifying. There is an element of self-denial about it, and the more real self-denial there is about our worship the more blessed will that worship be. A worship that costs nothing in mind, body, or estate is but a very poor thing to offer unto the Lord of the universe. But there is no ground either in Holy Scripture or the history of the primitive Church justifying an attempt to put a yoke on the neck of the disciples which they cannot bear and to teach that fasting communion is binding upon all Christians. St. Augustine speaks most strongly in a passage we have already referred to (Epist. 118., "Ad Januar.") about the benefit of fasting communion; but he admits the lawfulness of non-fasting participation, as does also that great Greek divine St. Chrysostom, who quotes the examples of St. Paul and of our Lord Himself in justification of such a course. The celebration of the Eucharist was not the only subject which engaged St. Paul’s attention at Troas. He preached unto the people as well; and following his example we find from Justin Martyr’s narrative that preaching was an essential part of the communion office in the days immediately following the apostles’ age; and then, descending to lower times still, we know that preaching is an equally essential portion of the eucharistic service in the Western Church, the only formal provision for a sermon according to the English liturgy being the rubric in the service for the Holy Communion, which lays down that after the Nicene Creed, "Then shall follow the sermon or one of the Homilies already set forth, or hereafter to be set forth, by authority." St. Paul’s discourse was no mere mechanical homily, however. He was not what man regarded as a powerful, but he was a ready speaker, and one who carried his hearers away by the rapt, intense earnestness of his manner. His whole soul was full of his subject. He was convinced that this was his last visit to the churches of Asia. He foresaw, too, a thousand dangers to which they would be exposed after his departure, and he therefore prolonged his sermon far into the night, so far indeed that human nature asserted its claims upon a young man named Eutychus, who sat in a window of a room Where they were assembled. Human nature indeed was never for a moment absent from these primitive Church assemblies. If it was absent in one shape, it was present in another, just as really as in our modern congregations, and so Eutychus fell fast asleep under the heart-searching exhortations of an inspired apostle, even as men fall asleep. under less powerful sermons of smaller men; and as the natural result, sitting in a window left open for the sake of ventilation, he fell down into the courtyard, and was taken up apparently lifeless. St. Paul was not put out, however. He took interruptions in his work as the Master took them. He was not upset by them, but he seized them, utilised them, and then, having extracted the sweetness and blessedness which they brought with them, he returned from them back to his interrupted work. St. Paul descended to Eutychus, found him in a lifeless state, and then restored him. Men have disputed whether the Apostle worked a miracle on this occasion, or merely perceived that the young man was in a temporary faint. I do not see that it makes any matter which opinion we form. St. Paul’s supernatural and miraculous powers stand on quite an independent ground, no matter what way we decide this particular case. It seems to me indeed from the language of St. Paul-"Make ye no ado; for his life is in him"-that the young man had merely fainted, and that St. Paul recognised this fact as soon as he touched him. But if any one has strong opinions on the opposite side I should be sorry to spend time disputing a question which has absolutely no evidential bearing. The great point is, that Eutychus was restored, that St. Paul’s long sermon was attended by no fatal consequences, and that the Apostle has left us a striking example showing how that, with pastors and people alike, intense enthusiasm, high-strung interest in the affairs of the spiritual world, can enable human nature to rise superior to all human wants, and prove itself master even of the conquering powers of sleep: "And when he was gone up, and had broken the bread, and eaten, and had talked with them a tong while, even till break of day, so he departed." We know nothing of what the particular topics were which engaged St. Paul’s attention at Troas, but we may guess them from the subject-matter of the address to the elders of Ephesus, which takes up the latter half of this twentieth chapter. Troas and Ephesus, in fact, were so near and so similarly circumstanced that the dangers and trials of both must have been much alike. He next passed from Troas to Miletus. This is a considerable journey along the western shore of Asia Minor. St. Paul was eagerly striving to get to Jerusalem by Pentecost, or by Whitsuntide, as we should say. He had left Philippi after Easter, and now there had elapsed more than a fortnight of the seven weeks which remained available for the journey to Jerusalem. How often St. Paul must have chafed against the manifold delays of the trading vessel in which he sailed; how frequently he must have counted the days to see if sufficient time remained to execute his purpose! St. Paul, however, was a rigid economist of time. He saved every fragment of it as carefully as possible. It was thus with him at Troas. The ship in which he was travelling left Troas early in the morning. It had to round a promontory in its way to the port of Assos, which could be reached direct by St. Paul in half the time. The Apostle therefore took the shorter route, while St. Luke and his companions embarked on board the vessel. St. Paul evidently chose the land route because it gave him a time of solitary communion with God and with himself. He felt, in fact, that the perpetual strain upon his spiritual nature demanded special spiritual support and refreshment, which could only be obtained in the case of one who led such a busy life by seizing upon every such occasion as then offered for meditation and prayer. St. Paul left Troas some time on Sunday morning. He joined the ship at Assos, and after three days’ coasting voyage landed at Miletus on Wednesday, whence he despatched a messenger summoning the’ elders of the Church of Ephesus to meet him. The ship was evidently to make a delay of several days at Miletus. We conclude this from the following reason. Miletus is a town separated by a distance of thirty miles from Ephesus. A space therefore of at least two days would be required in order to secure the presence of the Ephesian elders. If a messenger-St. Luke, for instance-started immediately on St. Paul’s arrival at Miletus, no matter how quickly he travelled, he could not arrive at Miletus sooner than Thursday at midday. The work of collecting the elders and making known to them the apostolic summons would take up the afternoon at least, and then the journey to Ephesus, either by land or water, must have occupied the whole of Friday. It is very possible that the sermon recorded in this twentieth of Acts was delivered, on the Sabbath, which, as we have noted above, was as yet kept sacred by Christians as well as by Jews, or else upon the Lord’s Day, when, as upon that day week at Troas, the elders of Ephesus had assembled with the Christians of Miletus in order to commemorate the Lord’s resurrection. We have already pointed out that we know not the subject of St. Paul’s sermon at Troas, but we do know the topics upon which he enlarged at Miletus, and we may conclude that, considering the circumstances of the time, they must have been much the same as those upon which he dwelt at Troas. Some critics have found fault with St. Paul’s sermon as being quite too much taken up with himself and his own vindication. But they forget the peculiar position in which St. Paul was placed, and the manner in which the truth of the gospel was then associated in the closest manner with St. Paul’s own personal character and teaching. The Apostle was just then assailed all over the Christian world wherever he had laboured, and even sometimes where he was only known by name, with the most frightful charges; ambition, pride, covetousness, deceit, lying, all these things and much more were imputed to him by his opponents, who wished to seduce the Gentiles from that simplicity and liberty in Christ into which he had led them. Corinth had been desolated by such teachers; Galatia had succumbed to them; Asia was in great peril. St. Paul therefore, foreseeing future dangers, warned the shepherds of the flock at Ephesus against the machinations of his enemies, who always began their preliminary operations by making attacks upon St. Paul’s character. This sufficiently explains the apologetic tone of St. Paul’s address, of which we have doubtless merely a brief and condensed abstract indicating the subjects of a prolonged conversation with the elders of Ephesus, Miletus, and such neighbouring churches as could be gathered together. We conclude that St. Paul’s conferenc

Illustrator

And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for Macedonia. Acts 20:1-12 Reading between the lines J. Parker, D. D. There does not seem to be much in this section of the apostolic history. We must not, however, judge by appearances. Paul is still here, and wherever you find the great man you find the great worker. Paul does nothing like any other man. Look at — I. THE VARIETY OF PERSONAL MOVEMENT. 1. Paul "embraces" the disciples — a word which hides in it the pathos of a farewell. Paul will often now say "Farewell." He is not quite the man he was. Sometimes he straightens himself up into the old dignity and force, and we say, "Surely he will last many a long year yet"; but, nevertheless, we see age creeping upon his face, and taking the youth out of his figure and mien. 2. Then he "departed to go into Macedonia." We like to go back to old places, to see that the old flag is still flying — yes, and to the green grave to see if it is still there. Paul will go back to Thessalonica, Berea, and Philippi. Who can tell what happened in those visits? At first, when we go to a place, there is nothing but that which is common to other places; but having worked there, when we return we talk over old themes, quote old sayings, and ask for old friends with a doubtful tone lest we should rip up old wounds and tear open the deepest graves of the heart. These are the things that make life sacred and precious. 3. Next Paul "came into Greece," and it is just possible looked in upon Athens once more. Certainly he went to Corinth, but Corinth was changed. The decree which made many exiles had been annulled, and Aquila and Priscilla were no longer there. The friends are the town; and if they are not there, we are mocked by masonry. There is a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother; Aquila and Priscilla will leave the city, but Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, always at home. 4. Paul "abode" in Greece three months. The word "abode" misleads us. Paul cannot merely abide. But what is he doing? That we cannot always tell. Have confidence in faithful men. If you have only confidence in your friend so long as you can see every action, you have no confidence in him at all. What, then, has history shown that Paul was doing amidst all this commonplace movement? Within this period Paul wrote his second letter to the Corinthians, and probably his great letter to the Galatians. There is a written ministry. It is beautiful to read what Luke has to say about Paul, but how infinitely better to read Paul's own words. We do not always want to hear about a man, we long to hear the man himself; one sight of him, and we understand much that can never be explained; one utterance of his voice, and we are able to fill up gaps that vexed us. What we would give for the writing of some men! II. A PERIOD OF WAITING. Paul had written a letter to the Corinthians and wished to know its effect, and Titus was charged to hasten back to Troas with a report. Paul is now waiting at Troas. How did he wait? Read 2 Corinthians 2:12, 13 . That is the same spirit we found at Athens; he soon fell into restlessness. Read 2 Corinthians 1:8 . I thank God for those words and for that trouble. It brings Paul down amongst us. Read 2 Corinthians 12:7 . See how Paul was being educated. Conclusion: Where is the commonplace now? The narrative is full of gaps, but when they are filled up by Paul's own records, we find that within a framework of sentences that merely indicate locomotion we have experiences of the most intensely spiritual nature. We cannot tell all we are doing. There is a public life that the neighbours can see and read and comment upon; but there is a within life, that fills up all the open lines and broken places, and only God sees that interior and solemn existence. You go amongst men as worldly; there may be those who "do not know how you spend half your time." They have no right to know. You will one day hand in your own account to the only Judge who has a right to overlook your life. Fill up your days well; do not ask human criticism to approve you; live ever in the great Taskmaster's eye. ( J. Parker, D. D. )

Matthew Henry

20:1-6 Tumults or opposition may constrain a Christian to remove from his station or alter his purpose, but his work and his pleasure will be the same, wherever he goes. Paul thought it worth while to bestow five days in going to Troas, though it was but for seven days' stay there; but he knew, and so should we, how to redeem even journeying time, and to make it turn to some good account. 20:7-12 Though the disciples read, and meditated, and prayed, and sung apart, and thereby kept up communion with God, yet they came together to worship God, and so kept up their communion with one another. They came together on the first day of the week, the Lord's day. It is to be religiously observed by all disciples of Christ. In the breaking of the bread, not only the breaking of Christ's body for us, to be a sacrifice for our sins, is remembered, but the breaking of Christ's body to us, to be food and a feast for our souls, is signified. In the early times it was the custom to receive the Lord's supper every Lord's day, thus celebrating the memorial of Christ's death. In this assembly Paul preached. The preaching of the gospel ought to go with the sacraments. They were willing to hear, he saw they were so, and continued his speech till midnight. Sleeping when hearing the word, is an evil thing, a sign of low esteem of the word of God. We must do what we can to prevent being sleepy; not put ourselves to sleep, but get our hearts affected with the word we hear, so as to drive sleep far away. Infirmity requires tenderness; but contempt requires severity. It interrupted the apostle's preaching; but was made to confirm his preaching. Eutychus was brought to life again. And as they knew not when they should have Paul's company again, they made the best use of it they could, and reckoned a night's sleep well lost for that purpose. How seldom are hours of repose broken for the purposes of devotion! but how often for mere amusement or sinful revelry! So hard is it for spiritual life to thrive in the heart of man! so naturally do carnal practices flourish there! 20:13-16 Paul hastened to Jerusalem, but tried to do good by the way, when going from place to place, as every good man should do. In doing God's work, our own wills and those of our friends must often be crossed; we must not spend time with them when duty calls us another way. 20:17-27 The elders knew that Paul was no designing, self-seeking man. Those who would in any office serve the Lord acceptably, and profitably to others, must do it with humility. He was a plain preacher, one that spoke his message so as to be understood. He was a powerful preacher; he preached the gospel as a testimony to them if they received it; but as a testimony against them if they rejected it. He was a profitable preacher; one that aimed to inform their judgments, and reform their hearts and lives. He was a painful preacher, very industrious in his work. He was a faithful preacher; he did not keep back reproofs when necessary, nor keep back the preaching of the cross. He was a truly Christian, evangelical preacher; he did not preach notions or doubtful matters; nor affairs of state or the civil government; but he preached faith and repentance. A better summary of these things, without which there is no salvation, cannot be given: even repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, with their fruits and effects. Without these no sinner can escape, and with these none will come short of eternal life. Let them not think that Paul left Asia for fear of persecution; he was in full expectation of trouble, yet resolved to go on, well assured that it was by Divine direction. Thanks be to God that we know not the things which shall befall us during the year, the week, the day which has begun. It is enough for the child of God to know that his strength shall be equal to his day. He knows not, he would not know, what the day before him shall bring forth. The powerful influences of the Holy Spirit bind the true Christian to his duty. Even when he expects persecution and affliction, the love of Christ constrains him to proceed. None of these things moved Paul from his work; they did not deprive him of his comfort. It is the business of our life to provide for a joyful death. Believing that this was the last time they should see him, he appeals concerning his integrity. He had preached to them the whole counsel of God. As he had preached to them the gospel purely, so he had preached it to them entire; he faithfully did his work, whether men would bear or forbear. 20:28-38 If the Holy Ghost has made ministers overseers of the flock, that is, shepherds, they must be true to their trust. Let them consider their Master's concern for the flock committed to their charge. It is the church He has purchased with his own blood. The blood was his as Man; yet so close is the union between the Divine and human nature, that it is there called the blood of God, for it was the blood of Him who is God. This put such dignity and worth into it, as to ransom believers from all evil, and purchase all good. Paul spake about their souls with affection and concern. They were full of care what would become of them. Paul directs them to look up to God with faith, and commends them to the word of God's grace, not only as the foundation of their hope and the fountain of their joy, but as the rule of their walking. The most advanced Christians are capable of growing, and will find the word of grace help their growth. As those cannot be welcome guests to the holy God who are unsanctified; so heaven would be no heaven to them; but to all who are born again, and on whom the image of God is renewed, it is sure, as almighty power and eternal truth make it so. He recommends himself to them as an example of not caring as to things of the present world; this they would find help forward their comfortable passage through it. It might seem a hard saying, therefore Paul adds to it a saying of their Master's, which he would have them always remember; It is more blessed to give than to receive: it seems they were words often used to his disciples. The opinion of the children of this world, is contrary to this; they are afraid of giving, unless in hope of getting. Clear gain, is with them the most blessed thing that can be; but Christ tell us what is more blessed, more excellent. It makes us more like to God, who gives to all, and receives from none; and to the Lord Jesus, who went about doing good. This mind was in Christ Jesus, may it be in us also. It is good for friends, when they part, to part with prayer. Those who exhort and pray for one another, may have many weeping seasons and painful separations, but they will meet before the throne of God, to part no more. It was a comfort to all, that the presence of Christ both went with him and stayed with them.