CRITICAL REMARKS
Acts 20:17. Miletus.—Thirty-six miles south of Ephesus, and on the south-west of the Latmian Gulf. “Now a desolation: then an emporium of trade with four ports or docks crowded with shipping” (Lewin). The stay at Miletus must have continued over three or four days.
Acts 20:19. Omit many before tears, and for lying in wait read plots.
Acts 20:22. Bound in the spirit.—I.e., his own spirit (Kuinoel, De Wette, Ewald, Holtzmann, Wendt, Hackett, Spence, and others), not the Holy Spirit (Calvin, Beza, Wordsworth, Zöckler).
Acts 20:23. The Holy Ghost witnesseth.—Not in the apostle’s own spirit, but through the voices of prophets.
Acts 20:24. But none of these things move me.—Lit., I make account of nothing—i.e., which I may suffer, neither count I my life as dear unto myself.—Or, drawing the clauses together, but I hold not my life of any account as dear unto me (Tischendorf, Meyer, Holtzmann, Zöckler, R.V.). So that.—Is sometimes rendered, though wrongly, as a comparative, thus: “neither count I my life so dear to me as the finishing of my course,” etc. (Bengel).
Acts 20:25. Shall see my face no more.—Literally fulfilled, though perhaps not in the sense anticipated by the Apostle, who appears to have exacted an early death.
Acts 20:26. Pure from the blood of all men.—As in Acts 18:6.
Acts 20:28. Overseers.—Translated bishops (R.V.), were the same as “elders” (Acts 20:17). Not so much a term of office as a characterisation of function. The elder’s duty was to oversee the flock (John 21:15-17; 1 Peter 5:2). It has been suggested that Gentile Churches were governed by “bishops” and Jewish Churches by “elders” (Lindsay); but this seems a doubtful distinction in face of Paul’s use of the words here. The Church of God.—Or, according to many ancient authorities, of the Lord—i.e., Christ. In favour of the former reading, ἐκκλησία τοῦ θεοῦ, stands the fact that this expression occurs in Paul’s epistles eleven times, and the reading, ἐκκλησία τοῦ κυρίου, never; in favour of the latter witness the preponderance of external testimony, the circumstance that the customary reading is more likely to have been substituted for an unusual one than vice versâ, and the expression “with His own blood,” which is confessedly more appropriately applied to Christ than to God. If the former reading be adopted then “God” must refer to Christ.
Acts 20:29. After my departing.—An ambiguous phrase, but probably signifying here, “after my death” (Alford, De Wette), rather than “after my leaving” (Hackett), or, “after my coming,” Primum venit Paulus, deinde venient lupi (Bengel, Hackett). Baur sees in the use of this phrase a proof the whole speech was a vatieinium post eventum put into the apostle’s mouth by the writer of the Acts!!
Acts 20:31. Watch.—That the apostle’s admonition was not in vain see Revelation 2:2-3.
Acts 20:32. The best MSS. omit brethren; and some read the Lord instead of God. Whether which should be read (Kuinoel) or who (Calvin, Bengel, De Wette, Meyer, Alford, Hackett, Holtzmann, and others) is debated, though the personal reference is the better. An should be the inheritance. Compare Ephesians 1:13.
Acts 20:33. I have coveted, better, I coveted no man’s silver, etc. (compare 1 Corinthians 9:4-18; 2 Corinthians 11:7-12; 2 Corinthians 12:14-18; 2 Thessalonians 3:8-9).
Acts 20:34. These hands.—Probably holding them up to view. Them that were with me meant Timothy, Erastus, Luke, and others. This allusion to Paul’s manual labour in Ephesus, though not mentioned by Luke (Acts 19:1), is rendered credible by what is recorded of his practice while in Corinth (Acts 18:3; 1 Corinthians 4:11-12).
Acts 20:35. The weak were not the feeble in faith, as in Romans 14:1; 1 Corinthians 8:9 (Calvin, Bengel, Neander, Meyer, Tholuck, Lechler, Holtzmann, Zöckler) but the poor in worldly estate, the necessitous in temporal means (Chrysostom. Kuinoel, Olshausen, De Wette, Hackett, Alford, Plumptre, and others). The words of the Lord Jesus were sayings, alluded to by Paul as familiar, which had not found a place in the gospel records but had been handed down by tradition. Many such must have been in existence daring the apostolic age. See “Hints.”
HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.—Acts 20:17-38
A Halt at Miletus; or, a Meeting with the Elders of Ephesus
I. Introductory notes.—
1. The parties summoned. The elders, presbyters, or overseers (Acts 20:28) of the Ephesian Church. That these were not bishops in the modern Anglican sense of diocesan prelates, but only in the ministerial sense of presiding over separate congregations, is generally conceded.
2. The place of meeting. Why Paul did not call them to Trogyllium, which lay considerably nearer to Ephesus than Miletus, can only be conjectured. Possibly the ship’s stay at Trogyllium was too short for such an interview as Paul contemplated. Perhaps the means of communication between Miletus and Ephesus were better than those between Trogyllium and Ephesus. Perhaps, according to the best text, the ship did not call at Trogyllium at all. But, in any case, Miletus, to which they were summoned, was in Paul’s day a seaport of considerable importance and a strong rival to Ephesus, being the political, as Ephesus was the religious, metropolis of Western Asia (Zöckler). The locality where they assembled, though not stated by the historian, was most likely “some solitary spot upon the shore.”
3. The messenger despatched. This also is left unrecorded, but may have been Luke himself, who, with becoming modesty, says nothing of any services performed by himself.
4. The arrival of the elders. The journey to Ephesus, a distance of from thirty to forty miles, would easily be accomplished in a day. If the messenger get out immediately on the ship’s arrival at Miletus, which might be at noon, the elders might reach Miletus on the second day after. If they hurried off at once, they would most probably come alone. If time were allowed for the news to spread, they might easily be attended by presbyters “from the neighbouring towns where churches had been established” (Hackett).
5. The person of the speaker. Paul, who had laboured for three years in the city of Ephesus as their honoured teacher and beloved friend, and who was now to look upon their faces for the last time. The emotion with which both speaker and hearers confronted each other can be better imagined than described.
II. The farewell address.—
1. An outline of its contents. Two main divisions.
(1) Relative to Paul himself. First, a retrospect of his past labours at Ephesus (Acts 20:18-21), setting forth the character of his ministry in that city as one that had been carried on (α) with whole-hearted consecration to the Lord—i.e., the glorified Christ (Acts 20:18); (β) with profound personal humility (Acts 20:18)—compare Ephesians 3:8; (γ) with fervent sympathy, amounting even to tears (Acts 20:18)—compare Acts 20:31; 2 Corinthians 2:4; Philippians 3:18; (δ) with great bodily risk, arising from the “temptations” or “trials” which befell him from the plots of the Jews (Acts 20:19)—compare 1 Corinthians 15:31-32; 1 Corinthians 16:9; 2 Corinthians 1:8-10; (ε) with unreserved fulness, which kept back nothing from his hearers which might be spiritually profitable unto them (Acts 20:20), not shunning to declare unto them the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27)—compare 2 Corinthians 4:2; Galatians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:4; (ζ) with unwearied diligence, which caused him to teach publicly in the synagogue first (Acts 19:8), and latterly in the school of Tyrannus (Acts 19:9), and privately from house to house or in private assemblies (Acts 20:20)—compare Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 15:19; (η) with unambiguous plainness, insisting on repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ as the only and the all-sufficient way of salvation (Acts 20:21)—compare Acts 17:30, Acts 26:20; Gil. Acts 2:20; 2 Timothy 1:12. Secondly, an outlook into his future career (Acts 20:22-27), declaring (α) his irrepressible conviction that trials and dangers, he knew not of what sort, perhaps amounting to death, lay before him, the Holy Ghost witnessing to him to that effect in every city (Acts 20:23), by means of prophetic communications through others, which, though not specified, may have been made to him at Philippi, Troas, and Assos, as afterwards they were at Tyre (Acts 21:4) and at Cæsarea (Acts 21:11); (β) his firm determination, notwithstanding, to proceed in the path of duty which pointed towards Jerusalem (Acts 20:22); (γ) his absolute willingness to lay down his life rather than fail in accomplishing the ministry he had received from the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24)—compare Philippians 2:17; 2 Timothy 4:6-8; (δ) his perfect knowledge that he and they “amongst whom he had gone preaching the kingdom” would see his face no more (Acts 20:25)—compare Acts 20:29, and see “Critical Remarks”; (ε) his clear consciousness of having faithfully performed his duty towards them as a minister, so that with unfaltering confidence he could call God to witness he had declared unto them the whole counsel of God, and so was “pure from their blood” (Acts 20:26-27)—compare Acts 18:6; Ezekiel 3:18.
(2) Relative to his hearers, the elders of Ephesus. First, a solemn caution (Acts 20:28-31), in which are expounded—(a) the exalted character of the Church to which they belonged and in which they were office-bearers, as the Church of God—i.e., of Jesus Christ—who was thus expressly by Paul declared to be Divine (see “Critical Remarks”), as a Church which had been purchased for Himself as a possession by His own blood, and as a Church which was superintended and governed by the Holy Ghost (Acts 20:28); (β) the important relation in which they as office-bearers stood towards the Church and its members, being bishops, overseers, or (under) shepherds of the flock, whose great (Hebrews 13:20) or chief (1 Peter 5:4) Shepherd Christ is (John 10:14; John 10:16), and holding their appointment not from the flock, but from the Holy Ghost or Divine personal representative of Christ; (γ) the specific duties they were expected to perform towards the flock, not to act as lords over it (1 Peter 5:3), but to feed it with spiritual nourishment (John 21:15-17; 1 Peter 5:2), the tender lambs or babes in Christ with the sincere milk of the word (1 Peter 2:2; Hebrews 5:13), those of mature age with the strong meat of Christian doctrine (Hebrews 5:14); (δ) the constant watchfulness they would require to exercise over both themselves and their flock (compare 1 Timothy 4:16), lest either they or their flock should grow remiss in Christian duty, and so decline from Christian faith; (ε) the impending peril which would render necessary such faithful superintendence of themselves and those committed to their charge—viz., the certainty that subsequent to his departure, first after his sailing from them, and next after his decease, which he believed to be not distant, false teachers, whom he designated “grievous wolves” (compare Matthew 7:15), would intrude themselves from without into the fold, not sparing but devouring the flock (compare 2 Timothy 3:1-8), and would even arise from within (1 Timothy 1:19-20; 2 Timothy 1:15; 2 Timothy 2:17-18), speaking perverse things and drawing away disciples after them (Acts 20:29-30); (ζ) the touching argument by which he hoped to incite them to watchfulness, the recollection of his own anxious ministry among them for three years, during which he “ceased not to admonish every one night and day with tears” (Acts 20:31). Secondly, a fervent commendation, in which the elders and those over whom they presided were (a) committed to the care of God and the word of His grace (see “Critical Remarks”), which (or who) was able to build them up (compare Ephesians 2:20-21; Ephesians 4:12; Ephesians 4:16; Ephesians 4:29), and give them an inheritance among them who were sanctified (compare Acts 26:18; Ephesians 1:18); and (β) encouraged to eschew the sin of covetousness in discharging their sacred duties (compare 1 Timothy 3:3; 1 Timothy 6:11; Titus 1:11; 1 Peter 5:2), by recalling the example of himself (Paul), who coveted no man’s silver or gold or apparel, but whose own hands ministered to his necessities and those of his fellow-labourers (Acts 18:3; 1 Corinthians 4:12; 2 Thessalonians 3:8), and to practise the Christian virtue of liberality, the strong labouring to help the weak (Ephesians 4:28), by remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, of which perhaps he (Paul) had been wont to speak (in his preachings), how He said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (compare Matthew 5:42; Luke 6:38).
2. A proof of its genuineness. That this address to the elders of Miletus was not historical, but manufactured by the writer of the Acts and put into the mouth of Paul, has been argued (Baur, Zeller, Weizsäcker, and others) chiefly on the ground that it closely corresponds in thought and language to the pastoral epistles, which it is assumed (without satisfactory evidence) were of a later date than Paul. But if, on other grounds, the Pauline origin of this speech can be established, the harmony between it and the pastoral epistles will contribute an important element in proof of the authenticity of these. Now, that this speech was actually delivered by Paul may be inferred from the following considerations: its perfect agreement with the situation as well as with the history, character, doctrine, and style of Paul, as these are set forth in the Acts and Epistles.
(1) It is precisely such an address as Paul might have been expected to deliver to the elders of a Christian Church whom he had summoned to a farewell interview, and accordingly is different from all his previous addresses which were spoken in the hearing either of Jews (Acts 13:16-41) or of Greeks (Acts 17:22-31).
(2) It agrees with the history of Paul, which represents him as having laboured for nearly three years in Ephesus, teaching in the synagogue and in the school of Tyralnus, and working with his own hands for his support (Acts 18:3, Acts 19:8-10; 1 Corinthians 4:12; 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12).
(3) It harmonises with the character of Paul, manifesting the same tender solicitude as he was ever accustomed to show towards his converts (2 Corinthians 1:14; 2 Corinthians 1:24; 2 Corinthians 6:11; 2 Corinthians 11:21; Philippians 1:8; Galatians 4:19; Colossians 1:29) and the same care to give no offence that the ministry might not be blamed (2 Corinthians 6:3).
(4) It accords with the Pauline doctrines of salvation by grace through faith and unto holiness (Ephesians 1:4-6; Ephesians 2:8-10), of redemption by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 1:7), and of sanctification through the truth (Ephesians 5:26; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:6).
(5) It bears the stamp of Paul’s style, as the following examples show: “Serving the Lord” (Acts 20:19), found six times in Paul, occurs elsewhere only in Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13; “Lowliness of mind” (Acts 20:19), five times in Paul, once only elsewhere, in 1 Peter 5:5; “Kept back” in Acts 20:20; Acts 20:27, and again in Galatians 2:12; “That was profitable” (Acts 20:20), once in Hebrews 12:20, and three times in 1 Cor.; “I take you to record,” or “I testify” (Acts 20:26), also in Galatians 5:3 and Ephesians 4:17; “Remember” (Acts 20:31), seven times in Paul; “Watch” (Acts 20:31), elsewhere only in 1 Corinthians 16:13.
III. The closing scene.—
1. The last prayer. Kneeling down upon the sea-beach (compare Acts 21:5), he prayed with them all, in words which Luke appears to have felt too sacred to report. Kneeling “was the attitude in prayer which prevailed among the early Christians, except on the Sabbath and during the seven weeks before Pentecost, when they generally stood” (Hackett).
2. The parting embrace. They all fell upon the apostle’s neck, as Joseph did on that of Benjamin his brother (Genesis 45:14) and of Jacob his father (Genesis 46:29), shedding tears of holy grief and kissing him tenderly again and again, with mingled love and anguish, sorrowing most of all for the word he had spoken that they should see his face no more.
3. The final separation. Unwilling to be parted from him till the last moment, they accompanied him to the ship (compare Acts 21:5), which soon after weighed anchor and bore him from their anxious gaze.
Learn.—
1. The care which a true shepherd ever takes of his flock.
2. The fidelity with which a true preacher should declare the counsel of God.
3. The affection which Christian people should ever manifest towards their teachers.
4. The grief which ever arises when true pastors are separated from their flocks.
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Acts 20:17. The Elders of the Church.
I. Their designations.—Presbyters. So called, because usually selected from the elder brethren.
II. Their functions.—
1. Primarily to rule, superintend the flock, and generally guard the spiritual interests of the believing community.
2. Secondarily, to teach—more especially when and where the services of the apostles, prophets, and teachers of the early Church were not available.
III. Their election.—By the people. In this respect they differed essentially from the above-named apostles, prophets, and teachers who were both qualified for and called to their offices by the Holy Ghost.
IV. Their ordination.—By the apostles originally, afterwards by the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery (1 Timothy 4:14).
“Originally there were in the separate communities only a multiplicity of chosen office-bearers, who were promiscuously designated as Ἐπίσκοποι (overseers) and πρεσβύτεροι (presbyters or elders), as bearers of one and the same office. This office is not a branch of the apostolic teaching office, since for this had the oldest communities along with the apostles other teachers, and the work of teaching was free to all believers (later certainly the office of teaching was combined with that of bishop or presbyter), but it consisted primarily in the disciplinary oversight of the community (or congregation), in the administration of the community’s goods, and the conducting of the (community’s) regular worship. This community office, but not a Church constitution, did the apostles ordain.” (Sell. Forschungen der Gegenwart über Begriff und Entstehung der Kirche, Zeitschrift fur Theologie und Kirche, 1894, p. 357). “Hatch finds that the later Church constitution, bishop, college of presbyters and deacons, as distinguished from the people, is not to be explained out of an original office of community superintendence like that of presbyter-bishop, but that this organisation arose through a combination of a number of equally original institutions which had been developed according to previously existing analogies. Communities in which care of the poor, public Divine worship, and mutual fellowship of the brotherhood played a great roll, possessed administration officers, finance officers, who along with their assistants, after the analogy of the club treasurers of antiquity, looked after the important business of administering the society’s goods. These officials were the Ἐπίσκοποι (overseers) and διάκονοι (deacons), who were also divided into different classes, the old, the mature, or middle aged, and the young; while for the determination of questions of manners and customs, for Church discipline, for the decision of legal controversies, and afterwards for admonition, a special order in the community—viz., the presbyters” (Ibid., pp. 359, 360) “Harnack, in his edition of the Teaching of the Twelve, has drawn attention to this, that in the oldest believing communities, along with the bishops, deacons, and presbyters, there were other charismatically endowed persons—viz., apostles, prophets, and teachers, who, as servants, belonged not to individual congregations, but to the whole Church of Christ, and who were not chosen, but ordained by the Holy Ghost” (Ibid., p. 360).
Acts 20:18-35. Paul’s Address to the Elders at Miletus. “This, the third long speech attributed to Paul in the Acts, was certainly from a pastoral theological point of view the most important, as that in Athens was, dogmatically and apologetically considered, and that in Antioch of Pisidia when regarded in an evangelistic or missionary light. It divides itself into four sections of almost equal length:—
I. A reminiscence of the Apostle’s long continued and self-sacrificing labour among the Ephesians (Acts 20:18-21).
II. An expression of prophetic anticipation as to tribulation and danger awaiting him in Jerusalem (Acts 20:22-27).
III. An admonition to the elders or overseers to faithful shepherding and courageous protection of the flock (Acts 20:28-31); and
IV. An exhortation to unselfish exercise of their office, after Paul’s example and in accordance with the Lord’s word (Acts 20:32-35). Zöckler, Die Apostelgeschichte, p. 246.)
Acts 20:19. Minister’s tears. These may be either—
1. Tears of love (Acts 20:31);
2. Tears of sorrow (Philippians 3:18); or
3. Tears of joy; or thus;
Minister’s tears:
1. A painful tax of human weakness.
2. A precious ornament of holy souls.
3. A fruitful seed for a harvest of joy (Gerok).
Acts 20:19-21. Marks of a True Minister of Jesus Christ.
I. Devotion to Christ whom he serves.
II. Humility with regard to himself.
III. Sympathy with those he desires to teach.
IV. Fortitude in face of foes from without.
V. Fidelity to the truth he preaches.
VI. Diligence in the work he undertakes.
VII. Authority in the message he proclaims.
Acts 20:20. Precepts for Preachers.
I. The theme of their preaching.—
1. What it should not be. It should never be only what is new, or learned, or beautiful, or sublime, or rare. These certainly, if they can be made subservient to the highest ends of the ministry. But never these if they interfere with this.
2. What it should be. Only what is profitable for the hearers—for their conviction and conversion, for their edification and instruction in righteousness, for their reproof or correction, for their enlightenment and growth in grace.
II. The manner of their preaching.—
1. With personal humility, counting themselves less than the least of all saints (Ephesians 3:8).
2. With tenderness of speech, addressing their hearers with melting tones and moving them with tears (Philippians 3:18).
3. With holy courage, fearing not the face of man or the opposition of the world (Ephesians 6:19-20).
4. With absolute fidelity, keeping back nothing (Acts 20:20) but declaring the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), so as to be free from the blood of all men (Acts 20:26).
III. The place of their preaching.—
1. In the public assembly, wherever men congregate, in the church from the pulpit, or in the hall from the platform.
2. In private houses, by a due discharge of the pastoral office.
Acts 20:21. The Substance of the Faith.
I. Repentance toward God.—Implies—
1. Acknowledgment of sin against God. 2 Humility of heart before God.
3. Submission of soul to God.
4. Hope of the Spirit in God.
II. Faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.—Involves—
1. Belief in the supreme divinity of His person.
2. Trust in the atoning efficacy of His work.
3. Confidence in the steadfastness of His promised word.
III. The relations between the two.—
1. Faith without repentance is like a house without a foundation, and like a tree without either root or fruit. Faith of a saving sort springs from a sense of guilt and sin, and leads to godly sorrow and heart contrition. “The pupil of faith is a broken heart.”
2. “Repentance without faith is either inconsolable and ends in despair, or self-righteous and ends in making redemption superfluous.”
Acts 20:22. Bound in the Spirit; or, the True Preacher’s “Necessity” (1 Corinthians 9:16).
I. To go wherever the Spirit of Christ directs (Acts 20:22).
II. To leave the future in the hands of his heavenly Master (Acts 20:22).
III. To confront all sorts of peril, even death itself, in the discharge of his ministry (Acts 20:23).
IV. To be faithful unto death, in testifying the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24).
Acts 20:24. The Gospel of the Grace of God.—The grace of God is—
I. The fountain whence the gospel flows.
II. The burden of the gospel message.
III. The blessing which the gospel bestows.
IV. The end at which the gospel aims. All for the glory of His grace (Ephesians 1:6).
The Gospel of the Grace of God.
I. The gospel as the gospel of the grace of God.—
1. There is grace in the method by which its blessings are secured. The substitution and sacrifice of Christ.
2. There is grace in the influence by which its blessings are applied. The influence of the Holy Spirit in the principle and in the mode of His operation.
3. There is grace in the nature of its blessings. The privileges of the righteous.
4. There is grace in the extent to which its blessings are diffused. It is fitted and designed to be a universal religion.
II. Our duty in reference to it.—
1. We should cordially believe it. It is revealed not for speculation but for belief, and it is authenticated by the most conclusive evidence.
2. We should steadily adhere to it. Let us strenuously resist all who deny, or modify, or philosophise, or explain away the doctrines of grace.
3. We should zealously propagate it. Every Christian should be a missionary.—G. Brooks.
The Office of the Ministry.
I. From whom it is received.—The Lord Jesus. Not only is it in general of Christ’s appointment (1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11), but in every separate instance it is of His bestowal. No man should take this office upon himself, but wait until He receives it from Christ, who will intimate His will by
(1) the inward prompting of the Spirit in the individual’s heart,
(2) by imparting the requisite qualifications for the office, and
(3) by sending him the call of his brethen to undertake the office. “No one should force himself, purchase himself, marry himself, or beg himself into the ministry and thus run and preach without a divine mission and call, but wait until he receives it and is sent” (Starke, quoted in Lange).
II. For what it is appointed.—To testify the gospel of the grace of God. Not to teach morals, science, or philosophy, but to publish to sinful men the glad tidings of salvation from sin and death—salvation proceeding from the grace of God, through the obedience unto death of Jesus Christ and the sanctifying influence of the Holy Ghost. “Millions of moral sermons, and folios of moral books will not, in a thousand years, bring you so far as this despised little word ‘grace’ will bring you in one minute, when faith understands and the heart embraces it” (Gossner, in Lange).
III. How it should be executed.—
1. With self-sacrificing devotion that counts not life itself dear in order to fulfil it faithfully and truly.
2. With persevering resolution that will not slack in the sacred work till life itself ends.
3. With solemn earnestness, as realising the immediate neighbourhood of death (Acts 20:25).
IV. How it will be rewarded.—
1. With a sentence of acquittal, declaring the faithful preacher free from the blood of all men (Acts 20:26).
2. With an influx of heavenly joy, when the Master says, “Well done! good and faithful servant: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
Acts 20:28. Take heed; or, Words of Warning for Christian Ministers.
I. The minister’s relation to his people.—
1. That of a shepherd towards his master’s flock. The image of a flock which had been employed in Old Testament to describe Israel was selected by Christ to designate His Church (Matthew 26:31; Luke 12:32; John 21:15-17), and from Him adopted by both Peter (1 Peter 5:2) and by Paul. As of this flock Christ was the good (John 10:14), the chief (1 Peter 5:4), and the great (Hebrews 11:20) Shepherd, so were the elders, or bishops, or presbyters undershepherds.
2. That of an overseer over his master’s property. Christ’s proprietor ship in the Church rests on the fact that He has purchased it with His own blood (compare Ephesians 1:14); hence elders, bishops, presbyters, and ministers generally cannot be owners of the flock, but only its keepers; or lords of the congregation (1 Peter 5:3), but only its overseers.
II. The minister’s duty to his people.—
1. To take heed unto himself (1 Timothy 4:16). Since Otherwise he cannot take heed unto them. In order to properly discharge his duty as a shepherd and an overseer, the minister must see
(1) to his own personal relation to the Master whom he serves;
(2) to the liveliness of his own faith;
(3) to the extent and correctness of his own knowledge in religion;
(4) to the purity of his own heart and life,
(5) to the sincerity and uprightness of his own motives. A true minister takes heed to himself when he nourishes his own soul by sound doctrine, purifies his own heart by loving obedience to the truth, strengthens his own spirit by habitual devotion, and generally lives in inward communion and fellowship with Jesus Christ.
2. To take heed unto his flock—in which at least three things are comprised:
(1) feeding the flock (John 21:15-17; 1 Peter 5:2)—i.e., nourishing them up in sound doctrine (1 Timothy 4:6), instructing them with “wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and with “the doctrine which is according to godliness” (1 Timothy 6:3), exhorting them with sound speech that cannot be condemned” (Titus 2:8);
(2) tending the flock, or taking the oversight of it (1 Peter 5:2), watching over the character and deportment of its several members, and administering such discipline as may serve to promote their religious welfare (1 Corinthians 5:4-5; 2 Corinthians 2:6; Galatians 6:1; 2 Thessalonians 3:6; 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15; 1 Timothy 5:1; 2 Timothy 4:2; Titus 1:13; Titus 3:10;
(3) guarding the flock against the entrance of “grievous wolves” or false teachers (Acts 20:29), who by promulgating erroneous doctrine should subvert the faith of the ignorant and unwary (1 Timothy 1:3-4; 1 Timothy 1:6-7; 1 Timothy 1:19; 1 Timothy 4:1; 1 Timothy 6:5; 2 Timothy 2:18; 2 Timothy 3:6; Titus 1:10; 2 Peter 2:1-3; 1 John 4:1).
“Take heed to yourselves.”—A sermon for ministers.
I. How?—
1. Lest you should be void of that saving grace which you offer to others and be strangers to the effectual workings of that gospel which you preach. 2. Lest you live in those actual sins which you preach against in others.
3. Lest you be unfit for the great employment you have undertaken, since he must not be a babe in knowledge that will teach men all those mysterious things that are to be known in order to salvation.
4. Lost your example contradict your doctrine and you lay such stumbling blocks before the blind as may be the occasion of their ruin.
II. Why?—Because—
1. “You have heaven to win or lose for yourselves, and souls that must be happy or miserable for ever.
2. You have a depraved nature and sinful inclinations as well as others.
3. Such works as yours do put men on greater use and trial of their graces, and have greater temptations than most other men.
4. The tempter will make his first and sharpest onset upon you.
5. There are many eyes upon you, and therefore there will be many observers of your fall.
6. Your sins have more heinous aggravations than those of other men.
7. The honour of your Lord and Master, and of His holy truth and ways, doth lie more on you than on other men.
8. The souls of your hearers, and the success of your labours, do very much depend on your taking heed unto yourselves” (Baxter, The Reformed Pastor, chap. I.).
A Pastor’s Duty towards his Flock.
I. To feed the flock by diligent preaching of the word.—A work requiring—
1. Spiritual wisdom and understanding in the mysteries of the gospel (1 Corinthians 2:4-7; Ephesians 3:8-11).
2. Experience of the power of the truth (John 3:11; 2 Corinthians 4:13).
3. Skill to divide the word aright (2 Timothy 2:15).
4. A prudent consideration of the state of the flock.
5. Zeal for the glory of God and compassion for the souls of men.
II. To continue in fervent prayer for the flock (Acts 6:4).—
1. For the success of the word among its members.
2. For their protection against those temptations to which they are generally exposed.
3. For the especial state and condition of individuals, as these become known to him.
4. For the presence of Christ in the assemblies of the Church.
III. To administer the seals of the covenant—i.e., the sacraments.
1. At suitable times.
2. According to Christ’s appointment.
3. Unto those only who are meet and worthy.
IV. To preserve the truth or doctrine of the gospel received and professed in the Church, and to defend it against all opposition (Philippians 1:17; 1 Timothy 1:3-4; 1 Timothy 4:6-7; 1 Timothy 4:16; 1 Timothy 6:20; 2 Timothy 1:14; 2 Timothy 2:25; 2 Timothy 3:14-17).
V. To labour for the conversion of souls unto God.—To enlarge the kingdom of Christ, to diffuse the light and savour of the gospel, to be subservient unto the calling of the elect, or gathering all the sheep of Christ unto His fold, are things that God designs by His Churches in the world.—From Owen., vol. xvi., chap. v.
Acts 20:28-30. Characteristics of the Church.
I. Owned by God.
II. Redeemed by Jesus Christ.
III. Ruled by the Holy Ghost.
IV. Served by Christian elders.
V. Assailed by false teachers.
VI. Betrayed by insincere friends.
Acts 20:28-29. Three Things of which Christian Pastors should take heed.
I. Of themselves.—
1. Lest preaching to others they should themselves be castaways (1 Corinthians 9:27).
2. Lest while preaching they should publish another gospel which is not another (Galatians 1:6-9).
II. Of the flock.—
1. Lest any of them should be lost.
2. Lest any of them should be sickly or weak (1 Corinthians 11:30).
III. Of the wolves.—
1. Lest any should arise within the fold.
2. Lest any should break into it from without.
Acts 20:32. A Pastor’s Farewell.
I. His affectionate regard for his people.—Designating them as his brethren, which they are in a double sense.
1. By nature, as being partakers of the same flesh and blood (Acts 17:29): and
2. By grace, as being members of the same houshold of faith (Galatians 6:10).
II. His fervent desire for his people.—
1. That they should be edified or built up in faith, love, and holiness (Ephesians 4:16; Jude 1:20).
2. That they should at last obtain an inheritance among the sanctified, i.e., among the spirits of just men made perfect (Hebrews 12:23).
III. His solemn commendation of his people.; or
1. To God.
(1) To whom they rightly belong, being His children by creation and regeneration;
(2) because He alone is able to build them up and bring them to the heavenly inheritance; and
(3) has graciously promised to preserve and perfect all that trust in Him and believe upon His Song of Song of Solomon 2. To the word of His grace. Meaning not the personal word, but the truth of the gospel, and signifying that he, Paul, prayed that his brethren might be enlightened by, and sanctified through that truth, since through that alone does God advance His gracious work in the souls of His people (John 17:17).
Acts 20:35. The Duty of the Strong towards the Weak.
I. Its nature.—To extend material aid to the poor.
II. Its imperativeness.—Ye ought. The relief of poorer brethren is not optional, but obligatory on Christians.
III. Its motive.—Obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ.
IV. Its blessedness.—It is more blessed to give than to receive.
More Blessed to Give than to Receive.
I. Because it delivers us from ourselves.—
1. From the bonds of selfishness.
2. From the cares of superfluity.
3. From the burden of dependence.
II. Because it unites us to the brethren.—
1. By their friendly attachment.
2. By their active gratitude.
3. By their blessed intercession.
III. Because it brings us nearer to God.—Making us
1. Imitators of God, the All Good.
2. Sharers in the delight of the All Loving.
3. Expectants of the reward of the Eternal Rewarder.—From “Gerok.”
The Unrecorded Words of Jesus.—Of these Dr. Westcott (Introduction to the Gospels, Appendix C.) gives the following list:
1. Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, How He said. It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35; compare Luke 6:30)
2. On the same day, having seen one working on the Sabbath, He said to him, O man, if indeed thou knowest what thou doest, thou art blessed; but if thou knowest not, thou art cursed and art a transgressor of the law (Cod. D.; after Luke 6:4).
3. But ye seek to increase from little, and from greater to be less (Cod. D.)
4. The Son of God says: Let us resist all iniquity and hold it in hatred (Epistle of Barnabas, 4).
5. Thus He (Christ) saith, They who wish to see Me and to lay hold on My kingdom must receive Me by suffering and affliction (Epistle of Barnabas, 7).
6. Shew yourselves tried money-changers (Origen in Joann. xix).
7. He that wonders shall reign; and he that reigns shall rest (Ex. Ev. Hebr. Ap. Clem. Al., Strom). Look with wonder at that which is before you (Ap. Clem. Al., Strom., ii. 9, 45.
8. I came to put an end to sacrifices, and unless ye cease from sacrificing (God’s) anger will not cease from you (Ev. Ebion. Ap. Epiph. Hær., xxx. 16).
9. Jesus said to His disciples, Ask great things and the small shall be added unto you; and ask heavenly things and the earthly shall be added unto you (Origen, de Orat., 2).
10. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, In whatsoever I may find you in this I also will judge you (Clem. Al., Juisdives, 40). Such as I may find thee, I will judge thee, saith the Lord (Nilus., Ap. Anast. Sin., Quæst., 3).
11. The Saviour himself says, He who is near Me is near the fire; he who is far from Me is far from the kingdom (Orig., Hom. in Jeremiah 3., p. 778; Didymus in Psalms 88:8).
12. The Lord says in the gospel, If ye kept not that which is small, who will give you that which is great? For I say unto you, that he that is faithful in very little, is faithful also in much (Clem. Rom., Ep., 2:8)
13. The Lord says, Keep the flesh pure, and the soul unspotted, that we (perhaps ye) may receive eternal life (Clem. Rom., Cop., ii. 8).
14. The Lord himself having been asked by some one when His kingdom will come, saith, When the two shall be one, and that which is without as that which is within, and the male with the female, neither male nor female (Clem. Rom., Ep., 2:12).
15. Jesus says, For those that are sick, I was sick, and for those that hunger I suffered hunger, and for those that thirst I suffered thirst (Orig. in Matt., tom. xiii. 2).
16. In the Hebrew gospel, the Lord says to His disciples, Never be joyful except when ye shall look on your brother in love (Hieron. in Ephes., 5:3).
17. After the Resurrection Christ said to Peter and the apostles, Take hold, handle Me, and see that I am not an incorporeal spirit (Ignat., ad Smyrn. 3).
18. Christ said, Good must needs come, but blessed is he through whom it comes (Clem., Hom., xii. 29).
19. It was not through unwillingness to impart His blessings that the Lord announced in some gospel or other, My mystery is for Me and for the sons of My house. We remember our Lord and Master, how He said to us, Keep My mysteries for Me and for the sons of My house (Clem. Alex., Strom., Acts 20:10-38).
20. I will select to myself these things: very very excellent are those whom My Father who is in heaven has given to Me (Eusebius, Theophania, iv. 13)
21. The Lord taught of those days (of His future kingdom on earth) and said, The days will come in which vines shall spring up, each having ten thousand stocks, and on each stock ten thousand branches, and on each branch ten thousand shoots, and on each shoot ten thousand bunches, and on each bunch ten thousand grapes, and each grape when pressed shall give five-and-twenty measures of wine. And when any saint shall have seized one bunch another shall cry, I am a better bunch; take me; through me bless the Lord.… And when Judas the traitor believed not and asked, How then shall such productions proceed from the Lord? The Lord said, They shall see who shall come to these times (Papias; compare Irenæus, 5:5, 33, 53). Concerning some of these it is practically certain that they were not uttered by Christ; it is extremely doubtful if any one of them was except the first, which has been recorded by Luke.