EXCURSUS A. On the Observance of the First Day of the Week by the Early Christians. Neander well remarks: ‘Since the sufferings of Christ appeared as the central point of all religious experience and life, since His resurrection was considered as the foundation of all Christian joy and hope, it was... [ Continue Reading ]
_Paul's Journey through MacedoniaHe remains at Corinth (probably) three months_, _and then returns by way of Philippi to Asia,_ 1-6. 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. There is no evidence to show... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:2. AND WHEN HE HAD GONE OVER THOSE PARTS, AND HAD GIVEN THEM MUCH EXHORTATION, HE CAME INTO GREECE. That is, when St. Paul had visited the cities Philippi, Berea, Thessalonica, etc., on the eastern or _Ægean_ side of Northern Greece or Macedonia, and had preached his Master's gospel on the e... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:3. AND THERE ABODE THREE MONTHS. With these few words the writer of the ‘Acts' refers to this second and shorter residence of the apostle in his old Corinthian home. Much had happened in that restless, busy centre since his first long stay, when he laid the foundation stories of the church t... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:4. AND THERE ACCOMPANIED HIM INTO ASIA, SOPATER OF BEREA; AND OF THE THESSALONIANS, ARISTARCHUS AND SECUNDUS; AND GAINS OF DERBE, AND TIMOTHEUS; AND OF ASIA, TYCHICUS AND TROPHIMUS. Of these companions of the apostles three were natives of Macedonia and four of Asia Minor. In the older MSS.... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:5. THESE, GOING BEFORE, TARRIED FOR US AT TROAS. Here the language of the narrative (see remarks on the preceding verse) suddenly changes from the third person to the first. Briefly to recapitulate, the close personal connection of Luke and Paul appears to have dated from the years 51-52. Th... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:6. AND CAME UNTO THEM IN TROAS IN FIVE DAYS. This lengthy voyage was, no doubt, owing to contrary winds, or perhaps to a calm. On a former occasion, we read of this voyage being made in two days (see Acts 16:11).... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Journey to JerusalemThe Communion Feast and Miracle at Troas_, 7-12. Acts 20:7. AND UPON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, WHEN THE DISCIPLES CAME TOGETHER. This was evidently no accidental coincidence, this meeting together of the disciples on the first day of the week, because Paul was about to dep... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:8. AND THERE WERE MANY LIGHTS IN THE UPPER CHAMBER, WHERE THEY WERE GATHERED TOGETHER. All the little details of this memorable scene are carefully recorded; the very appearance of the brilliantly-lighted upper chamber; the lateness of the hour; the length of Paul's sermon. The writer, Luke,... [ Continue Reading ]
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. ‘The place was an upper room, with a recess or balcony projecting over the stree... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:10. AND PAUL WENT DOWN, AND FELL ON HIM, AND, EMBRACING HIM, SAID, TROUBLE NOT YOURSELVES; FOR HIS LIFE IS IN HIM. The example here of Elijah when he restored to life the dead son of the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:21), and of Elisha when he raised from the dead the only child of his kind... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:11. WHEN HE THEREFORE WAS COME UP AGAIN, AND HAD BROKEN BREAD, AND EATEN. The ‘breaking of bread,' the solemn conclusion to the long service of prayer and exhortation, doubtless had been interrupted by the accident to Eutychus. The bread was, in these early ‘communions,' literally broken. ‘T... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:12. AND THEY BROUGHT THE YOUNG MAN ALIVE, AND WERE NOT A LITTLE COMFORTED. As in the case of the little daughter of Jairus, when the Lord commanded that something should be given to her to eat at once, so here evidently some special care and attention was given to the young man that nature m... [ Continue Reading ]
_St. Paul pursues his Journey to JerusalemFrom Assos he sails along the Coasts of AsiaOn his Arrival at Miletus he sends for the Elders of the Church of Ephesus,_ 13-17. Acts 20:13. AND WE WENT BEFORE TO SHIP, AND SAILED UNTO ASSOS, THERE INTENDING TO TAKE IN PAUL: FOR SO HE HAD APPOINTED, MINDING H... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:14. AND WHEN HE MET WITH US AT ASSOS, WE TOOK HIM IN, and CAME TO MITYLENE. Mitylene is about thirty miles from Assos, and is the capital of the island of Lesbos. Horace styles it ‘fair Mitylene' _(Epist. i._ (1-17). It is famed for its beautiful situation and the magnificence of its buildin... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:15. AND WE SAILED THENCE, AND CAME THE NEXT DAY OVER AGAINST CHIOS. Chios was an island off the coast of Ionia, celebrated for its wine. It was the scene of the massacre of the Greeks by the Turks in 1822. Chios was famous, even among these fairest regions of the earth, for its marvellous be... [ Continue Reading ]
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 HE AT JERUSALEM THE DAY OF PENTECOST. The apostle had, when at Trogyllium, been much nearer Ephesus than he was when the ship anchored at Miletus; but t... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:17. AND FROM MILETUS HE SENT TO EPHESUS, AND CALLED THE ELDERS OF THE CHURCH. The elders or presbyters here summoned to hear the parting address of their old master, probably represented several congregations of Ephesus and its neighbourhood. St. Paul had, we know, for a long period made Eph... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:18. YE KNOW, FROM THE FIRST DAY THAT I CAME INTO ASIA, AFTER WHAT MANNER I HAVE BEEN WITH YOU AT ALL SEASONS. The words of Samuel to the people of Israel after the election of King Saul present a most striking parallel to this farewell speech of Paul (see 1 Samuel 12:2-5).... [ Continue Reading ]
_St. Paul's Farewell Address to the Elders of the Church at Ephesus,_ 18-38. In this short epitome of the discourse of the apostle on the occasion of his bidding farewell to his old Ephesian friends and fellow-workers, we have perhaps the most interesting of all the reported sermons and addresses of... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:19. SERVING THE LORD.... WITH MANY TEARS. Three times in this short report of Paul's farewell words at Miletus are ‘tears' referred to: tears of suffering and pain (Acts 20:19); tears of pastoral solicitude (Acts 20:31); tears of natural affection and friendship (Acts 20:37. See also 2 Timot... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:20. HAVE TAUGHT YOU PUBLICLY. Three months, we read, he taught openly in the synagogue, and two years in the school (an open and no doubt well-known lecture hall) of Tyrannus.... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:21. REPENTANCE TOWARD GOD AND FAITH TOWARD OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. These two make up the sum of all Christian doctrine a change of heart, and then a return to God and faith in the Lord Jesus. The one cannot be separated from the other. True faith cannot exist without the sorrowful heart. Aga... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:22. AND NOW, BEHOLD, I GO BOUND IN THE SPIRIT UNTO JERUSALEM, NOT KNOWING THE THINGS WHICH SHALL BEFALL ME THERE. Some commentators have understood these words as though Paul was constrained by the ‘Holy Spirit' to journey to Jerusalem, in other words, ‘was going to Jerusalem on the impulse... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:23. SAVE THAT THE HOLY GHOST WITNESSETH IN EVERY CITY, SAYING THAT BONDS AND AFFLICTIONS ABIDE ME. Such warnings as these here referred to as having happened in the past, do not seem to have been unfrequent in these early days of Christianity. ‘The gift of prophecy' appears to have been no u... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:24. BUT NONE OF THESE THINGS MOVE ME, NEITHER COUNT I MY LIFE DEAR UNTO MYSELF. ‘We note the parallelism with Luther's famous declaration when warned by his friends not to go to Worms, “ _I will go thither, though there should be devils on every house-top_ ”' (Professor Plumptre). SO THAT... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Here Paul expresses his own conviction that he will no more look in life on the faces of his Ephesian brothers in the faith. But it is _almost_ certain that after his libe... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:26. WHEREFORE I TAKE YOU TO RECORD THIS DAY, THAT I AM PURE FROM THE BLOOD OF ALL MEN. The thought and language here was one familiar to Paul. He derived it from the well-known words of the prophet Ezekiel, ‘When I say unto the wicked, They shall surely die; _and thou givest him not warnings... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:27. FOR I HAVE NOT SHUNNED TO DECLARE UNTO YOU ALL THE COUNSEL OF GOD. The counsel of God is His counsel of redemption and grace, and the universality of His redeeming work; and all this he had not only declared in his teaching, but also by his example and life. It has been suggested with co... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:28. TAKE HEED THEREFORE UNTO YOURSELVES, AND TO ALL THE FLOCK OVER WHICH THE HOLY GHOST HATH MADE YOU OVERSEERS. ‘So be watchful,' Paul went on to say. ‘My part is done. For the future the grave responsibility of guiding this precious flock will be yours, elders of the Church of Ephesus your... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:29. FOR I KNOW THIS, THAT AFTER MY DEPARTURE SHALL GRIEVOUS WOLVES ENTER IN AMONG YOU, NOT SPARING THE FLOCK. ‘Primum venit Paulus; deinde venient lupi' (Bengel). Two distinct classes of teachers who should arise after his departure are alluded to by Paul the ‘grievous wolves' who would come... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:30. ALSO OF YOUR OWN SELVES SHALL MEN ARISE, SPEAKING PERVERSE THINGS, TO DRAW AWAY DISCIPLES AFTER THEM. The Church of Ephesus singularly enough became notorious in after days as a famous seat of the great and widespread Gnostic heresy. Even in the New Testament writings, no fewer than six... [ Continue Reading ]
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. We have the statement in Acts 19:8-10 that Paul disputed in the Ephesian synagogue three months, and for two years taught publicly in the school of Tyrannus; added to... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:32. AND NOW, BRETHREN, I COMMEND YOU TO GOD, AND TO THE WORD OF HIS GRACE. In conclusion, Paul commends these brethren of his who are entrusted with the carrying on of his great work, who are charged with the solemn duty of keeping burning in Ephesus the torch of Divine truth to the mighty a... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:33. I HAVE COVETED NO MAN'S SILVER, OR GOLD, OR APPAREL. In other words, ‘I seek not yours, but you.' Even in those early days of the Faith, covetousness, the love of gold and wealth, and the things gold and wealth can purchase, was after all the greatest temptation in a minister's life. The... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:34. YEA, YE YOURSELVES KNOW, THAT THESE HANDS. No doubt here holding up his toil-worn, work-scarred hands. See the reference to St. Paul's custom of working with his own hands in the note above on the preceding (Acts 20:33) verse.... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:35. I HAVE SHOWED YOU ALL THINGS, HOW, etc. ‘All things' here signifies ‘in all ways,' by teaching and by life. Not only have I told you in words what is the duty of a Christ-loving man, but I tried to live the life before you which I told you of. THAT SO LABOURING YE OUGHT TO SUPPORT THE W... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Last Prayer and the FarewellPaul leaves Miletus,_ 36-38. Acts 20:36. AND WHEN HE HAD THUS SPOKEN, HE KNEELED DOWN. We are acquainted with the attitude which prevailed among Christians in very early times. They were in the habit of _kneeling_ in prayer on ordinary occasions, but they considered... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:37. AND FELL ON PAUL'S NECK, AND KISSED HIM. These demonstrative expressions of affection are in accordance with eastern customs (see Genesis 45:14; Genesis 46:29). The word is a strong one, and might be rendered, ‘kept tenderly kissing him.' The Greek word here used we find in the descripti... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 20:38. THAT THEY SHOULD SEE HIS FACE NO MORE. In this both Paul and his companions in work the elders of Ephesus were no doubt wrong. St. Paul most probably did revisit these shores, and no doubt Ephesus and its church, after his liberation from the Roman imprisonment. See the note on Acts 20:2... [ Continue Reading ]