Commentary - Acts 20:13-38

Bird's-eye view

In this passage, we have the conclusion of Paul's third missionary journey, and it culminates in one of the most moving farewells in all of Scripture. This is not simply a travelogue followed by a sentimental goodbye. It is a compact treatise on the nature of faithful pastoral ministry. Luke, the careful historian, first gives us the itinerary, showing the apostle's deliberate haste to get to Jerusalem. Then, having summoned the elders from Ephesus to Miletus, Paul delivers his final charge. He divides his address into three parts. First, he reviews his past ministry among them as the model of faithfulness (vv. 18-21). Second, he looks to his own future, a future of certain suffering embraced for the sake of the gospel (vv. 22-24). Third, he issues a solemn charge to these elders, commanding them to guard the flock that Christ purchased with His own blood against the wolves that will inevitably come (vv. 25-31). He concludes by commending them to God and His Word, reinforcing his teaching with his own example of financial integrity and hard work, and then the whole affair concludes with prayer and tears. This is a raw and potent picture of the heart of a true shepherd.

Outline

Context In Acts

This passage sits at a crucial pivot point in the book of Acts. It marks the end of Paul's expansive missionary work in the Aegean, which has been the focus since chapter 13. Paul is now turning his face toward Jerusalem, and from there, to Rome. This speech is the only major address in Acts delivered exclusively to believers, and more specifically, to church leaders. In this, it functions as Paul's last will and testament to the Gentile churches he founded. It summarizes the character, content, and cost of his ministry, and serves as a timeless mandate for all subsequent generations of Christian pastors. The emotional weight of the scene underscores the deep personal bonds forged in the work of the gospel and anticipates the suffering that Paul knows lies ahead for him in Jerusalem, which will dominate the remaining chapters of the book.

The Whole Counsel of God

Paul's declaration that he "did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God" (v. 27) is central to this passage and to a biblical understanding of ministry. The Greek is pasen tēn boulēn tou theou, the whole counsel, plan, or purpose of God. This stands in stark contrast to a selective, market-driven approach to preaching that offers the congregation only what it wants to hear. The whole counsel includes the difficult doctrines: God's sovereignty, man's depravity, the necessity of repentance, the reality of judgment, the cost of discipleship, and the demand for holiness. It also includes the glorious truths: election, justification, adoption, sanctification, and the certain hope of glory. A pastor's job is not to be a focus group consultant, but a herald of the King. To omit any part of the King's message is an act of pastoral treason, and as Paul states here, it leaves a man with blood on his hands. Faithfulness is measured by completeness.

Shepherding the Church of God

The charge in verse 28 is the bedrock of pastoral theology. The elders are to "be on guard," first for themselves and then for the flock. This is a military term; they are sentries on the wall. They are "overseers" (episkopous), a title indicating their administrative and spiritual authority. But this authority is not self-generated; the Holy Spirit has appointed them. Their central task is to "shepherd" (poimainein) the church. This involves feeding the flock with the Word, leading them into righteousness, protecting them from predators, and caring for their spiritual wounds. The supreme motivation for this work is the value of the flock. This is the "church of God which He purchased with His own blood." The syntax here points to the deity of Christ and the substitutionary nature of His atonement. The church is not a social club; it is a blood-bought flock. To neglect or abuse the sheep is to scorn the price that the Son of God paid for them on the cross. This is why pastoral ministry is such a high and holy calling.

Verse by Verse Commentary

v. 13-16 Luke begins with a travelogue, which is far from being filler. The details of the journey from Troas to Miletus show a mission that is deliberate and purposeful. Paul sends the others ahead by ship while he himself intends to go by land to Assos. This small detail likely indicates Paul's desire for a brief period of solitude, to walk and pray before the momentous encounters that lay ahead. The whole party is hurrying. The reason given is that Paul wants to be in Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost. This is significant. Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, still sees his ministry as organically connected to the covenant calendar of Israel. He is bringing the offering of the Gentile churches to the mother church in Jerusalem at a time of great pilgrimage, demonstrating the unity of the one people of God.

v. 17-18 Paul's decision to bypass the great city of Ephesus and instead summon its elders to the port of Miletus is a matter of apostolic prerogative and Spirit-led time management. He knows that a visit to Ephesus would involve countless personal connections and would delay him for weeks. So he calls the leadership to him. Their willingness to make the thirty-mile journey shows their respect for his authority. This is a formal and solemn assembly, a spiritual passing of the torch.

v. 18-19 Paul begins his address by appealing to their shared history. "You yourselves know." He is not telling them anything new, but reminding them of the character of his ministry. It was consistent, "from the first day" and for "the whole time." And what was that character? It was not one of power, prestige, or popularity. It was marked by three things: humility, tears, and trials. He was "serving the Lord with all humility," not lording it over them. He ministered "with tears," showing his deep pastoral love and anguish for their souls. And he endured "trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews." Faithful gospel ministry will always be opposed by the forces of dead religion. This is the apostolic pattern.

v. 20-21 Here Paul summarizes the content and method of his preaching. He "did not shrink" from declaring what was "profitable." The standard was not what was popular or palatable, but what was spiritually beneficial for their souls. This requires immense courage. His method was comprehensive: "publicly," in the great assembly, and "from house to house," in personal discipleship. The ministry of the Word is not confined to the pulpit. And the core message, the irreducible minimum, was directed to all, "both Jews and Greeks." It consisted of two inseparable components: "repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." You cannot have one without the other. Repentance is turning from sin, and faith is turning to Christ. This is the only gate into the kingdom.

v. 22-23 Having looked back, Paul now looks forward. "And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem." He is a man under divine orders. This is not a career move; it is a spiritual compulsion. He goes with a sober understanding of what awaits him. He does not know the specific details, but the Holy Spirit has made the general reality abundantly clear in every city: "chains and afflictions await me." Notice that the Spirit's testimony here is not a promise of deliverance from suffering, but a promise of entrance into it. The Spirit prepares us for battle, not for a vacation.

v. 24 This is one of the great verses of the Bible, a manifesto for Christian living. "But I do not make my life of any account nor dear to myself." Paul's life is not his own; it has been bought with a price. Its value is not found in self-preservation or self-fulfillment, but in its instrumental purpose. And what is that purpose? "That I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus." Life is a race to be run, a task to be completed. The goal is faithfulness to the end. The ministry itself is defined as the task "to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God." This was Paul's magnificent obsession, the one thing for which he was willing to spend his life.

v. 25-27 The tone shifts to one of great finality. "I know that all of you... will no longer see my face." Because this is his last chance to speak to them, he makes a solemn legal declaration. "I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all." This is the language of a watchman on the wall from Ezekiel 33. A watchman who sees the sword coming and fails to blow the trumpet is guilty of the blood of the slain. Paul is declaring that he blew the trumpet, loud and clear. The basis for his innocence is this: "For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God." He gave them the whole Bible, not just the easy parts. He preached law and gospel, wrath and grace, judgment and mercy. To preach a partial gospel is to be a guilty pastor.

v. 28 Now the charge transfers from him to them. "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock." Pastoral care begins with self-care. A minister must watch his own life and doctrine closely. Only then can he watch over the flock. Their position is a divine appointment: "the Holy Spirit has made you overseers." And their task is to "shepherd the church of God." This is the tender work of feeding, leading, and protecting. The motivation is the infinite worth of the sheep, established by the price paid for them. This church was purchased "with His own blood", the blood of God the Son. This is a high Christology and a high view of the church. To be an elder is to be entrusted with God's most precious possession on earth.

v. 29-30 The need for vigilance is urgent because the danger is certain and comes from two directions. First, external threats: "savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock." These are false teachers who attack the church from the outside. But second, and even more dangerous, are the internal threats: "and from among your own selves men will arise." These are apostates from within the leadership, men who speak "perverse things", twisted truths, half-truths, damnable heresies. Their motive is always pride: "to draw away the disciples after them." They want a following for themselves, not for Christ.

v. 31 The necessary response is to "be watchful." The elders must be alert, discerning, and courageous. Paul again points to his own ministry as the template. For three years, he was constantly ("night and day") and personally ("each one") admonishing them. And he did so "with tears." This was not a cold, academic exercise. It was the heartfelt labor of a spiritual father, pleading for the souls of his children.

v. 32 Paul knows that his warnings, and their best efforts, are not enough. The ultimate security of the church lies outside of them. "And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace." He entrusts them to the sovereign care of God and the sufficient power of His Word. The Word is not just a textbook; it is a living and active agent. It "is able to build you up," providing all necessary spiritual nourishment and edification. And it is able to "give you the inheritance among all those who have been sanctified," securing our final salvation.

v. 33-35 Paul concludes with one final appeal to his own example, this time concerning money. "I have coveted no one's silver or gold or clothes." He preemptively refutes the common slander that preachers are only in it for the money. Not only did he not seek their money, but he worked with his own hands to support himself and his team. "These hands ministered to my own needs." He was a tentmaker. The purpose of this labor was not just to model self-reliance, but to establish a principle of Christian economics: "by laboring in this manner you must help the weak." We work hard not just to get, but to give. He grounds this entire ethic in a saying of Jesus, not recorded in the gospels but preserved in the church: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." This turns the world's wisdom on its head and summarizes the way of the cross.

v. 36-38 The address is over. Doctrine now flows into devotion. "He knelt down and prayed with them all." All true ministry must be saturated in prayer. The response of the elders is deeply emotional. "They began to weep aloud." This is not a sign of unmanly weakness, but of profound, covenantal love. They fell on his neck and kissed him, grieving most of all at the finality of his words, that they would see him no more. Their love is expressed in one final act of service as "they were accompanying him to the ship." It is a beautiful and heartbreaking picture of the bonds that the gospel forges between saints.