These were the parting words of Paul to the leaders of a church that he had helped to plant and one that he dearly loved.
(1) How could Paul claim that he was “innocent of the blood of all men" (referring to those in Ephesus) (v.26)? How did his words echo that of Ezekiel 3:18-19?
(2) Paul admonished the elders of Ephesus to “watch over” themselves and all the flock. What does it mean to “watch over” oneself and the flock?
(3) How did Paul describe the church in v.28? How should this description impact the way to interact with (or lead) brothers and sisters in the church?
(4) Knowing that wolves would enter the church and distort the truth, what did Paul do (in v. 32)? How did he expect the church to withstand heresies?
(5) This is the only place that quotes these words of Jesus, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (v. 35). How did Paul practice this saying of Jesus? How then can you also practice this saying, apart from during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons?
(6) The last three verses of this chapter give us a very moving scene of farewell. What might be the thing that touches you most?
(7) What is the main message to you today?
In his farewell speech to the elders of Ephesus, Paul urges them saying, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock.” (Acts 20:28)
I have come across quite a few cases where the shepherd has done quite a good job watching over the flock, but failed to watch over himself and his family. The result is often tragic in that as God moves them out of their ministry, the flock fails to understand why they have to leave their ministry. I think Paul, in urging the elders of Ephesus to be shepherds of the church of God, makes the priority very clear. We have to keep watch over ourselves first, otherwise we cannot truly watch over our flock.
In asking us to watch over ourselves, Paul in his exhortation to Timothy urges him to watch over his doctrine closely (1 Tim. 4:16). It is obviously very important for all ministers of the Word. If we do not diligently study and understand the Word ourselves, how can we properly feed the flock with the pure milk of the gospel? I have been very encouraged in recent years to see a revival in expositional preaching among pastors. Ministries like 9 Marks are making an important impact on such a revival. Not that the topical sermon does not have its place, but it cannot be the regular diet of the flock, otherwise, they will not be able to eat solid food and have their appetite whetted to pursue the Word themselves. And preachers too, will easily slacken in their preparation, without necessarily having to properly analyze and digest the text for themselves.
But even in exhorting Timothy, Paul also makes clear the priority as he says, “Watch your life and doctrine closely.” Ultimately, we cannot truly impact our flock with words only; we have to preach with our life, first and foremost. We may fool our flock with well-worded sermons most of the time, but in the long run, we have to preach what we practice. Otherwise, even if the flock is not well-trained enough to detect our follies, God does. He will not tolerate us contaminating His church which He bought with His own blood.
(1) From here on, we will read repeatedly that the Holy Spirit urged Paul not to go to Jerusalem through some of the disciples, and yet Paul was determined to go (see 20:23-24). Was Paul being disobedient to the Spirit? If not, what purpose did it serve for the Holy Spirit to warn Paul in advance?
(2) Here was another scene of farewell. How did it resemble the farewell at the end of the last chapter?
(3) We came across Philip earlier in 6:5 (being one of the seven deacons), 8:4-13 (pioneering evangelism among the Samaritans) and 8:26-40 (converting the first recorded gentile in Acts). Now we know more about him in this chapter. What does it tell you about Philip, given the fact that all four of his daughters also prophesied?
(4) It appears that the Holy Spirit sent Agabus all the way from Judea to warn Paul, and this time like an old-fashioned prophet, he used himself as a visual aid. Why would the Holy Spirit give Paul so many warnings?
(5) What was Paul’s reply? How does his reply speak to you?
(6) When Paul would not be dissuaded, who, according to Luke, gave up? If you were Luke, would you continue to accompany Paul to Jerusalem? Why or why not?
(7) What is the main message to you today?
For the most part of his life after conversion, Paul tirelessly preached the gospel to the Gentiles, and experienced tremendous suffering in the process. Listen to his testimony in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27:
“I have…been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea. I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.”
And yet as the Apostle to the Gentiles, his heart remains with his own people. Listen to how he bares his soul in the epistle to the Romans:
“I speak the truth in Christ — I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel” (Rom. 9:1-3).
This explains why, even though the Holy Spirit explicitly warns him that prison and hardships are facing him, Paul is determined to go to Jerusalem so that his own people may be aroused and some may be saved. (Rom. 11:14)
With such love for his own people and such determination to suffer for the sake of Christ, it is no wonder Paul could be so greatly used by God.
(1) Now when Paul arrived in Jerusalem, meeting with James and the elders of the church, he gave a report of his missionary journeys. What was the focal point of his report?
(2) As much as these Jewish leaders “praised God” in response to Paul’s report, on whom were their minds set, Jews or Gentiles? Why?
(3) Do you think all Jewish Christians in Jerusalem welcomed Paul? What was the reason?
(4) The Jewish Christians were accusing Paul of, “telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs”. Was it true? (Read Gal. 5:2-12 and judge for yourself.)
(5) What did the Jerusalem church leaders propose that Paul do? If you were Paul, would you do it?
(6) Why then would Paul oblige? Do you think he did the right thing? Why or why not?
(7) What is the main message to you today?
I do not think that it was necessarily wrong for James to be concerned about the animosity held by Jewish believers in Jerusalem towards Paul. He was concerned for the unity of the church. It was not necessarily wrong for Paul to participate in the purification rites at the temple because he himself practiced such a ritual at Cenchrea by cutting his hair. (Acts 18:18)
What I believe was wrong was not addressing the issue openly and properly. The Jewish believers appeared to be most concerned with doing away with the rite of circumcision, on which Paul held a very clear position:
“Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.” (Gal. 5:11)
And he
asserted earlier,
“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” (Gal. 5:6)
Presumably James knew Paul’s position very well, and he did not wish to address the issue head-on, and suggested Paul to perform some rite that both could agree upon, and wished to side-step the issue.
And the result was disastrous: A completely unexpected turn of events — a misunderstanding by the Asian Jews that Trophimus the Ephesian had gone into the temple area. It totally rendered such a compromise fruitless.
The lessons for me are that:
(1) If it has something to do with the essence of the gospel, we cannot side-step such an important issue, and
(2) we should not try to solve problems of the church with our own wisdom.
(1) Paul’s action, as advised by the Jerusalem church leaders, was meant to show that Paul was “living in obedience to the law”. Did it work? What lesson may you learn from this? (Note that the arrest was made not by Jewish Christians, but by Jews who were not believers.)
(2) Gentiles were only permitted to enter the outermost court of the temple (the court of the Gentiles), but not further into the court of the women and the court of Israel. They were prevented by a low barrier carrying notices in Greek and Latin, “No foreigners may enter within the barricade which surrounds the temple and enclosure. Anyone who is caught doing so will have himself to blame for his ensuing death.” (TNCT, Marshall, Acts, 347). When you read the commotion that ensued, what insight can you gain about present-day Muslims and how they are zealous in enforcing their Sharia (religious) law?
I would like to share with you a news release forwarded on Nov. 16, 2010 by Pastor K, the former-Muslim pastor who risks his life to share the gospel with Muslim in HK:
For the first time in history Pakistan has sentenced to death a Christian woman for blasphemy. The Court of Sessions passed the death sentence on Asia Bibi yesterday evening. Asia, who is in her 30s - was accused under the blasphemy laws of passing derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammed. Asia, who is from Ittanwali in Punjab province, labored in the fields for a Muslim landlord. She was arrested after a heated discussion about religion with her fellow farm workers. Hers was one of only three Christian families in the village. Some of the women workers had been putting her under pressure to renounce her Christian faith and accept Islam.
On June 19, 2009, the women pressed Asia about Islam. She responded by sharing with them about her faith in Christ. She spoke of how Jesus Christ had died on the cross for their sins and then asked them what Mohammed had done for them. On hearing this response the Muslim women became very angry and began to beat her. Some men took Asia by force and locked her in a room. They used the PA system of a local mosque to broadcast plans to punish Asia by blackening her face and parading her through the village on a donkey.
According to Release partners, a mob formed and Asia was violently abused by Muslim villagers and clerics. Her children were also beaten. However, some Christians informed the police and Asia was taken into protective custody. Pressure to charge her was brought to bear by Muslim leaders. Sentence was passed yesterday.
Note: As of today (2012), Bibi is still in jail.
(3) How might you pray for the Muslims in this case, and for Asia, the persecuted sister? Can you spend some time in prayer for them now?
(4) By the grace of God, the Roman commander arrived in time to stop the mobs, but Paul did not make use of his Roman citizenship until 22:25. Instead, he mentioned only his citizenship in Cilicia, his hometown of high-end culture. What did he achieve by mentioning his hometown? Why did he not mention his Roman citizenship at that point?
(5) What is the main message to you today?
“Christians cannot continue to be at the receiving end. Enough is enough.” These were the words of Owen Nwokolo, an Anglican bishop in southern Nigeria, warning that Christians might retaliate for recent deadly attacks on churches and clergy. The deaths were blamed on the Islamist Boko Haram sect. (CT, October, 2011)
I do hope that the bishop’s words were empty threats only. Paul was dragged by the mobs from the temple and was almost killed, but he uttered no words of threat He only pled with them, not so much to stop their violence, but to share with them the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I know I am not worthy to judge the Nigerian Christians, as I have never been in their shoes before. But in calling us to be His disciples, Jesus has made it plain to us that we will suffer for His sake, and He has set us an example, beautifully depicted in Isaiah 53.
Peter understood this
way of the cross very well as he said,
“When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats.” (1 Pet. 2:23)
He should know, because he was
the one who tried to return violence with violence and drew his sword and
struck the high priest’s servant, only to be rebuked by Jesus,
“Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” (Jn. 18:10-11)
It is not only how we live, but also how we face death that bears the most powerful witness to our hope of eternal life in Christ.
(1) Paul began by addressing the mobs as “brothers and fathers”. Was it merely a ploy? (Refer to Rom. 9:1-4)
(2) In vv. 3-5, Paul shared his past. What was his past marked by (from the perspective of his birth, his law training, his zeal and his “accomplishments”)?
(3) In vv. 6-11 Paul recounted his heavenly encounter. What was the core message of his testimony? Could he expect the crowd to believe him? Why or why not?
(4) If you were to give your testimony of your conversion, what might be the core message of your testimony?
(5) In relaying the story of Ananias, Paul used a very unusual description of Ananias and words that were not mentioned in his conversion account in Acts 9. Highlight these words in your Bible. Do you detect how unusual these words are and what might Paul’s intention in their usage be?
(6) In vv.17-20, Paul shared that he immediately returned to Jerusalem, and in spite of the Lord’s warning. Why would he expect the Jews in Jerusalem to accept him now?
(7) What is the main message to you today?
I cannot believe that as I was reading the story of Paul’s persecution by the Jews in Jerusalem in Acts 21 and 22, I was so captivated by it, as if I was reading it for the first time.
I was amazed at the commotion of the "whole city" caused by Paul’s arrest (21:30). The Jews must have hated Paul to their guts! Some of these Jews must have been friends of Paul before — some must have been his classmates at the feet of Gamaliel; some must have been his friends in the Pharisee’s sect; and some must have joined him in the persecution of Christians (they could also testify that Paul obtained letters from the high priest to persecute Christians in Damascus). They must have hated this traitor and were delighted to see him back so that they might lay their hands on him.
Because of that, I have come to admire the courage of Paul even more! He fully expected this to happen. The Spirit has told him. He must have had his own hunch too. Yet, he did not play his Roman citizen’s trump card right away, but sought only to have the opportunity to share his own testimony of how he met the Risen Christ. By citing his citizenship in Tarsus, it might be the equivalent in saying that he came from Cambridge or Oxford.
No wonder Felix the governor said he was a mad man! Indeed, he was, but all for Christ’s sake and for the sake of the gospel!
(1) The crowd appeared to be listening, but while Paul had yet to give his defense to the charge originally laid against him, his last statement triggered a violent response from the crowd. What was his last statement about?
(2) Why did the Jews react so violently to it? (Interestingly, even the commander did not seem to get it.) Why did they consider Paul, “not fit to live”?
(3) In order to get the “truth” out of Paul, the commander ordered Paul to be flogged. This appeared to be a normal practice in the ancient world to get at the truth, but it was never the case with the Law of Moses (see Deut. 19:15). How different are the two approaches in “getting the truth”?
(4) As much as Paul now used his Roman citizenship to his favor, however, it also highlights how discriminatory Roman law was. Remember the inscription on the barrier separating the Gentile court from the inner courts of the temple (see question 2 of Acts 21:27-40 of this devotional guide)? Is the Law of Moses just as discriminatory? Why or why not?
(5) What did Paul’s claim of Roman citizenship result in? Should he have used this “trump card”? Why or why not?
(6) Up to this point in the telling of the life story of the Apostle Paul, how do you see God’s choice of Paul as the Apostle to the Gentiles?
(7) What is the main message to you today?
It was interesting to note that the mobs, which were determined to get rid of Paul, were all silent when they heard Paul speak in Aramaic (Acts 21:40)
As much as some knew Paul very well, it appeared most did not know much of Paul. His ministry to the Gentiles and in Gentile lands appeared to have painted him in the minds of the Jews of Jerusalem as almost a foreigner who could perhaps only speak in Greek. So, as Paul spoke in Aramaic (possible Hebrew), they quickly became silent.
From the ensuing speech that Paul gave, it was obvious that he was trying to further identify himself with their Jewish heritage — a student of the highly respected Gamaliel, thoroughly trained in the law of their fathers, zealous for God and persecutors of Christians. Of course, Paul could only identify with them to a point. He had to part way when he pointed them to Jesus, the Messiah whom they rejected.
But even his conversion story which introduced them to Jesus did not turn them off right away. It was not until he said that the Lord sent him far away to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21) that the mere mention of the word, Gentiles, incited instant commotions and riots. Why was that?
Racial discrimination is bad enough, but spiritual discrimination is far worse!
These Jews took pride in that they “possessed” the One True God, and no one else could claim the same God as theirs! They owned the Law of Moses which has made them a “Holy nation” and a “treasured possession” of God. (Exod. 19:5) But they completely ignored that they were also to be a “kingdom of priests” to the nations.
Today, as followers of “the Way”, we have been given the same privilege and have truly become a holy nation, a chosen people of God and a royal priesthood as well (1 Pet. 2:9a). We may not openly discriminate against others of different faiths like the Jews did, but if we do not “declare the praises of Him who called (us) out of darkness into His wonderful light” (1 Pet. 2:9b) and share with others the good news of Jesus Christ, we are really no better than the Jews of Paul’s time. Like the Jews, we claim Jesus as the One True God, but we are not willing to share Him with others.
(1) On what ground did the High Priest order the people to smack Paul?
(2) What was Paul’s response? Was he right in so saying?
(3) Why then did he apologize? (Presumably he based his apology on Exod. 22:28.)
(4) Paul obviously used the tactic of “divide and conquer” to create an internal division of the Sanhedrin. Should he have used such a tactic (or any tactic, for that matter)?
(5) By stating that he was still a Pharisee and that he believed in the resurrection of the dead, he appeared to get some Pharisees on his side. How did their statement in v. 9 correspond to Paul’s testimony back in chapter 22?
(6) Why did the Lord choose to appear to Paul the following night? What was the essence of His message?
(7) What is the main message to you today?
As I
reflect on Paul’s road back to Jerusalem, it reminds me of the hymn by Zhao Ximen who dedicated his life to reach the people of Xin
Jiang, China. He wrote this hymn sensing
that he and his wife would be arrested for their faith. His wife died in jail in 1960 and her body
was nowhere to be found. Zhao was later
released and lived till 2001. I am not
aware of any English translation of this song which has touched the hearts of
thousands of Christians. Allow me to
share with you my translated version:
Refrain
Follow the Lord to Gethsemane
Follow Him to Golgotha
Enter into the Eternal home
No more sorrow or clouds of darkness1
My soul is panting for the road
The road of the cross
It’s a time of the flame
Urging me to move on without delaySetting my course on the cross
The only road to home
Setting my course on the cross
The only road to home.2
This is the road of the cross
With clouds of sadness and pain
Marked by weakness and dryness
Filled with tears and sorrowsBut His loving hand sustains
Moving forward, not backward
But His loving hand sustains
Moving forward, not backward3
This is the road of cross
A long, lengthy journey
With blood, with tears, with battles
With winds, with rains, with dangersPaved with thousands of years
Of the blood of martyrs
Paved with thousands of years
Of the blood of martyrs.
By Zhao Ximen (1918-2001)