Paul and the Ephesian Elders audio (6MB)
Acts 20:13-38
Let’s begin today by thinking about the way Paul exercised his ministry in Acts. We’ve seen how he moved out from Antioch to basically cover the entire region from Jerusalem to Corinth, never staying very long in one place, apart from Corinth and Ephesus. But we saw last week that he not only visited these churches to proclaim the gospel but he later went back to encourage them. He also went back to appoint elders to take over the leadership of the church. He didn’t do that straight away because he and they needed time to discover who had the necessary gifts and wisdom for leadership.
In fact the only place he didn’t revisit appears to have been Ephesus, which is where we come to today. We saw last week that he’d been delayed by a plot to kill him and now he’s in a hurry to get back to Jerusalem in time for what, even then, was a major Christian festival: the feast of Pentecost
Paul can’t spare the time to visit Ephesus so instead he sends a message to their elders to come and meet him in Miletus. The river at Ephesus was becoming silted up and Miletus had become the preferred port for loading and unloading trade goods. So the ship was probably there for 3 or 4 days, giving Paul time to send to Ephesus for the elders to travel to meet him there. And when they arrive he sets out to both encourage and to warn them. He begins by reminding them of his own example of ministry.
His example
Humility v.19
He says he served the Lord with all humility and tears. In his letters, particularly the letters he wrote to Corinth he says how he served God in weakness. Paul wasn’t the sort to lord it over the church. He didn’t impose his leadership. His pattern of ministry was that of Christ himself, of humility and gentleness.
Endurance/perseverance v.19
But it wasn’t weakness of spirit he was showing. It didn’t indicate a lack of courage or perseverance. In fact he says he endured the trials that came to him through the plots of the Jews. You may remember that the Jews were on his case from the start. They followed him from place to place. They incited riots against him so he was hunted out of Antioch and Iconium. He was stoned in Lystra, imprisoned in Philippi. But none of that made him give up or change his message. He continued to preach the gospel despite the things that were done to him.
A Willingness to Try New Things vs20-21
He says “I did not shrink from doing anything helpful, proclaiming the message to you and teaching you publicly and from house to house.” He was willing to try anything to improve his chances of getting through to people. In 1 Cor 9 he explains how he became all things to all people in order that he might win over as many as possible to the gospel.
A willingness to suffer for the sake of ministry vs22-24
In vs 22-24 he talks about how he understands what lies ahead for him. What is it? Imprisonment and persecutions. He knows that this is the last time he’ll see them. That’s why he’s sent for them. But that hasn’t stopped him from going on to Jerusalem. His only concern is that he might finish his course. That’s shorthand for saying his only concern is that he keep preaching the gospel until his dying breath.
Here he is, about to embark on his final journey to Jerusalem, knowing what probably lies ahead for him, and his only concern isn’t that he’ll survive, but that he’ll remain faithful to Christ, that he’ll cross the finishing line, that he’ll be able to keep testifying to the gospel of God’s grace to the end.
Integrity vs 25-27
Having told them that this is the last time he’ll see them face to face he says his responsibility is over. He’s done all he had to do to ensure that they were ready to fend for themselves. He’s conducted his ministry among them with integrity throughout. He’s declared the whole purpose of God.
Notice that word “whole”. That means the hard bits as well as the nice bits. Paul says “I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.” That means judgement as well as salvation. It means discipline as well as freedom. It means law as well as grace.
Providing his own support vs 33-35
Finally, at the end of the speech he reminds them how he provided for his own support rather than burden them with it. His aim was to make it clear that the gospel came as a free gift of God. There’s an element of service in Christian ministry that I sometimes think we may have lost over the last few decades, where we serve for the love of God not for reward.
That may be why it seems to be so much harder to get volunteers to work in Christian ministry today than it was 30 years ago.
Well, finally, let’s think about what Paul has to say to these elders about their role in the Church.
Their Task
Shepherds - pastors
First of all, leadership in the church is about pastoral care. He describes them as shepherds of the sheep. That is, they’re the ones charged with caring for the flock, making sure it gets the right feed, making sure it’s kept safe from predators, etc.
But notice that before they can look after the sheep they have to keep watch over themselves. That is, they have to make sure that they’re eating the right food themselves. A shepherd can’t care for his sheep if he’s weak from hunger. Nor can spiritual shepherds care for their flock if they’re spiritually malnourished. They can’t lead the flock along paths of righteousness if they’re wandering away from the truth themselves.
Watch yourselves
So here’s the first thing to note. I hope you all understand the importance of regular study of God’s word, of daily bible reading, perhaps even of memorising Scripture so you can meditate on it day and night. But that’s even more important if you’re a leader of God’s Church. Then it’s even more important that you keep your path straight. And how can we do that? One of the first verses I memorised when I was a young Christian was Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Knowing God’s word well will help us know the right way to go; the right direction to lead the flock.
And can you see why this is so important? Look at v28. The church of God is of inestimable value. Do you see that? The church are those “that he obtained with the blood of his own Son.” If you’re a leader in God’s church you’d better take great care of those in it, hadn’t you? I sometimes wonder whether those ministers who undermine the value of God’s word in the eyes of their congregation have thought about what God thinks of them or of what they’ll say when he calls them to account for their ministry.
Keep watch over the flock
Not only must they watch themselves, but they also need to keep watch over the flock; to be alert to attacks from predators. And can you see the nature of the threat? Savage wolves will come into your midst. This isn’t talking about attacks from the media or from politicians. No, these wolves will come into our midst. In fact he says some will actually come from within the church itself - enticing disciples to follow them. That’s certainly true of the church today isn’t it? The threat to the church from liberalism has been brought about by Christians who weren’t prepared to accept the plain teaching of Scripture so they began to explore alternative ways of understanding what the Bible teaches. And where they couldn’t explain it away they simply threw it out; consigned it to the too hard basket or the basket of irrelevance.
You see, it isn’t the atheists who are our greatest danger. No, it’s those who claim to be Christians, but who distort the truth to entice others to follow them, who are the modern day wolves. There are also those who simply undermine the leadership of those whom God has placed over them, who don’t like the direction their leaders are taking them so they go behind their backs to complain or build support groups to oppose the leadership. I know it sounds hard to believe but I’ve seen it happen in churches at great cost to the church and its leadership.
So we, like the Ephesian elders, need to keep our eyes and ears open for these attacks. We need to be alert so we can avoid or deflect these attacks, to keep God’s people, God’s church, safe. We need to arm ourselves with God’s word: Eph 6:17: “The sword of the Spirit ... is the word of God.” Don’t you love the economy of that? God’s word will feed you and the flock. But God’s word will also act as your defence against the attacks of the evil one.
Finally, look at v32: “And now I commend you to God and to the message of his grace, a message that is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all who are sanctified.” Not only will God’s word feed us and protect us, but in the end it’ll give us an inheritance with the saints. So that’s a threefold reason for making it a high priority to read it and study it, regularly.
Well, that’s enough from me. This is the only sermon in Acts that’s addressed directly to Christians. All the others are directed either at a Jewish audience or at Gentile nonbelievers. So this has a particular relevance for us. Paul’s example is just as important for us to take notice of as it was for those elders from Ephesus. His words of encouragement and exhortation are likewise just as important for us as they were for them. So let me encourage you to heed them. To feed yourself with God’s word and to keep it in your mind so you can use it as a defence against the attacks of Satan, so that in the end you’ll be ready when the time comes to receive your inheritance with the saints.
