The world is in dire straights. Only God’s grace and His Word can straighten it out. As we see in Acts, Paul faced innumerable challenges back then, risking his life for the Gospel's sake.
Chapter 20 picks up where chapter 19 left off.
What outraged the Ephesians? We saw the answer in chapter 19:27, that the idol trade would diminish or even end, if Jesus was accepted as Lord and Savior, and consequently, even temple worship and selling idols of Artemis could end and they, the idol makers, would be out of business.
The preaching of Jesus as God, Lord and Savior, pushed all of the idols aside as false gods, and impacted all who earned their living on making those idols, and those who attended the pagan temples.
Paul stayed in contact with the churches he had established.
Paul did not let a lot of time elapse regarding further contact with those churches. Offering them both instructions and encouragement with letters (epistles). It's believed Paul may have written other letters not included in the N.T. By the time Paul writes 2nd Corinthians, it's noted that he's already written three other letters, 1st Corinthians and two other letters that aren't in Scripture, according to Pastor John Mac Arthur.
The uproar in v.1 refers back to the attacks against Paul in chapter 19. Before leaving Ephesus for Greece, Paul offered encouragement to the Ephesian Christians. All they had regarding staying in the faith, beside the Holy Spirit, was what Paul taught them verbally, and what they wrote down for further instruction, even encouragement and edification, and even for bringing others to Christ.
In v.2-3, Paul traveled from Ephesus through Macedonia to Greece, where once again he ran into Jews who were outraged against “the preaching of Christ”, which they considered a heresy, and just as they had done in Ephesus plotted against him (v.3). Planning to set sail for Antioch, Syria (v.3), Paul decided to travel back through Macedonia, as shown on the map on next slide.
Map shows Paul’s travels, which constitutes his 3rd missionary journey that began in Antioch, Syria, as described in Acts 18 thru 21.
Paul traveled with 7 companions, named in v. 4; (So-pa-ter), (P-rus), (A-ri-star-kus), (Se-cun-dus), (Ty-chi-cus), (Tro-phi-mus) –in case you’re wondering how to pronounce their names. Again, Paul takes a sea journey from Philippi back to Troas, in the Roman province of Asia (the region that is now Turkey and Islamic).
First day of the week being Sunday—breaking bread would constitute the Lord’s Supper. Paul spoke a long time because he had intended to leave the city of Troas (v.7); even Paul’s long sermons can put some people to sleep. V.9, gives us yet another Greek name: Eu-ta-chus.
Did the boy die or was he unconscious? Scripture doesn’t tell us other than Paul saying the boy wasn’t dead. It seems the people believed Paul brought the boy back to life, in that it states that they brought him home alive, which would indicate he had died. If not, why would this event even be included as such, since the N.T. letters, including Acts, were first written to and circulated throughout the early church?
Map shows the locations of the cities in v.13-14. Paul walked from Troas (9) to Assos (10), where Paul boarded the ship to Mitylene (11). Why spend so much time tracing Paul’s travels? Only because Luke took the time to record it, and since every word of it was inspired by the Holy Spirit, He must have done so to edify our understanding of what was involved in spreading the Gospel of saving grace throughout the Roman Empire. In today’s culture we have a tendency to “gloss over” a lot of detail, especially the written word, but the Holy Spirit inspired it, Luke wrote it, and consequently, I believe we need get the full value of it as the Church, both then and now.
Reading the words in v.13-14, it sounds like a hop, skip and jump, BUT, the map shows a different story as Paul continued his travels, none of which is easy to grasp without a map. My intent is to provide a perspective that allows us to travel alongside of Paul. Hopefully, the maps will help us do so, not just read about Paul’s travels, but accompany him. If reading about it seems difficult, can you imagine what is was like for Paul and his companions who lived it. Perhaps we'll get a chance to discuss it with them in heaven.
Paul traveled by boat between those cities, apparently without a stop over, perhaps preaching along the way when the opportunity arose, but without delay, because as v.16 tells us, he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem.
Paul was both an evangelist and founding pastor across much of the eastern Roman world. This marked the ending of Paul’s 3rd & final mission journey—about 12 yrs. all told, from AD 45 to 57, except for his journey to Rome to stand trial. He planted churches across the then known world in Asia Minor and Greece. The entire time, being plotted against by the Jews in each of those cities.
Paul did not water down his message in order not to offend devout Jews or practicing pagan Greeks. He spoke the Word as empowered by the Holy Spirit to do so.
Though he was at the end of his missionary journey, encountering many hardships, the Holy Spirit wasn’t finished with Paul. He had many Jewish enemies in Jerusalem. There is so much jammed into these few verses.
This is Paul’s last farewell to those in Ephesus, including the elders that he has given charge over the church (v.28). He didn’t plan on returning. He had participated in the stoning of Stephen but knew he was no longer guilty before God, being forgiven in Christ Jesus. He is turning over the duties of pastor to those elders, as he did in the other churches.
The "savage wolves" are those who distorted the gospel of grace, with a works-righteousness. Those Paul may be speaking of are most likely the Judaizes (circumcision/law of Moses)—i.e., bondage of works righteousness. Perhaps even some gentiles who couldn’t accept the simplicity of the Gospel of Grace.
We are reminded that Paul supported himself and his travel companion, working via his trade as a tentmaker, so as not to overburden those he stayed with.
He also reminds us that giving is a blessing not a loss, since everything we have is a gift from God.
V.36-38 give us Paul’s final departure and sendoff. It's obvious that they saw Paul as their pastor and teacher. His message regarding the Gospel of God’s grace liberated them from bondage—both Jew and Greek. End of Chap. 20
Two things to ponder about Paul. He persecuted Christians in God's name, even participating in stoning Stephen to death—it is so easy to forget that. He then gave up everything to serve Jesus Christ, and eventually, even his own life.
We saw the extensive travel and hardships Paul underwent in spreading the Gospel of saving grace with a pagan world full of false gods. Travel by both land and ship at that time, had its share of hardship. The next slide show his success in Ephesus, one of, if not the most prominent and prosperous city in the Roman province of Asia, serving as a focal point for spreading the word, even after Paul’s participation ended, except for his letters. Can we say the same about the American church today? If not, why not?
What were some of the fruits of Paul’s travels? The chart provides insight. Ephesus was once the center of Artemis (Greek)/Diana (Roman) worship, which over time, and thanks to Paul’s efforts, eventually became a center of Christian evangelism in the region.
Crisis in America! The Taliban in Afghanistan took control of $90 billion in U.S. weapons, including armored vehicles and Blackhawk helicopters, and other weapons including small arms such as 126,000 handguns; how many will end up on the streets of American cities via the black market? A surge in Covid-19 variants is hitting the country. Tens of thousands of illegals, from around the world, are pouring across our southern border, both undocumented and unvaccinated yet being dispersed throughout the U.S.A. by our own government. Hurricane Ida has swept across Louisiana and the Northeast with many deaths and extensive destruction in its wake. Do we need to turn back to God as a nation and as a people? Absolutely! Some will see it as political challenges, some as spiritual challenges. As Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Perhaps this is a wakeup call from God. Pray for America, for the Church, and for our pastor and his family. Amen!!!
End of
The Acts of the Apostles
Chapter 20
