Guarding the Blood-Bought Flock Text: Acts 20:13-38
Introduction: Shepherds or CEOs?
We live in an age that has thoroughly domesticated the Christian ministry. We have turned the pastoral office into a manageable, professional career path. We have traded shepherds for CEOs, watchmen for life coaches, and prophets for motivational speakers. We want our church leaders to be affirming, therapeutic, and above all, inoffensive. We want them to manage budgets, run slick programs, and keep the institutional machinery humming along smoothly. We want peace, but it is often a false peace, purchased at the cost of truth.
Into this tranquilized and beige religious landscape, Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders lands like a cannonball. This is not a polite retirement speech at a denominational luncheon. This is a raw, passionate, and tear-soaked transfer of command on the front lines of a spiritual war. This is a man who knows that suffering and chains await him, and his final concern is not for his own safety, but for the safety of the flock he is leaving behind. He knows that the church is a precious treasure, purchased at an infinite price, and that it is constantly beset by ravenous wolves, both from without and from within.
This address is one of the most potent summaries of pastoral ministry found anywhere in the Scriptures. It is a bracing corrective to our modern sentimentalism. It shows us a ministry defined by humility and tears, by courage in the face of opposition, by an unyielding commitment to the whole counsel of God, and by a fierce, protective love for the people of God. This is the job description. If we are to be faithful in our generation, we must measure ourselves against this standard, and not the flimsy metrics of the world.
The Text
But we, going ahead to the ship, set sail for Assos, intending from there to take Paul on board; for so he had arranged it, intending himself to go by land. And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene. And sailing from there, we arrived the following day opposite Chios; and the next day we crossed over to Samos; and the day following we came to Miletus. For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them, "You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that chains and afflictions await me. But I do not make my life of any account nor dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be watchful, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who have been sanctified. I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to those who were with me. In everything I showed you that by laboring in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And they began to weep aloud and falling on Paul’s neck, they were kissing him, being in agony especially over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were accompanying him to the ship.
(Acts 20:13-38 LSB)
A Clear Conscience (vv. 18-27)
Paul begins his charge by calling the elders to witness his own conduct among them. He is not asking them to do something he has not modeled himself. A faithful leader must be able to say, "Follow me as I follow Christ."
"You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials... how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable..." (Acts 20:18-20)
His ministry was characterized by three things: humility, tears, and trials. This is not the resume of a modern church growth consultant. Humility, because he knew he was a servant of the Lord, not a master of the people. Tears, because he loved the flock and agonized over their souls. And trials, because a faithful gospel ministry will always provoke the hostility of the world, in this case, through "the plots of the Jews."
And what was the content of this tear-soaked ministry? He did not shrink from declaring anything that was profitable. The standard was not what was popular, or what was palatable, or what would draw a crowd. The standard was what was profitable for their souls. This included the hard truths. Specifically, he preached "repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ" to everyone, Jew and Greek alike. This is the unalterable core of the gospel. You must turn from your sin, and you must trust in Christ alone. Any message that softens this, bypasses it, or buries it under layers of self-help jargon is not the gospel.
Paul then turns from his past ministry to his present reality. He is "bound by the Spirit," compelled to go to Jerusalem, fully aware that "chains and afflictions await" him. This is not a man motivated by personal comfort or self-preservation. This leads to one of the great statements of Christian consecration in all of Scripture.
"But I do not make my life of any account nor dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God." (Acts 20:24)
Here is the heart of a true servant. His life is not his own. It is a tool, a resource to be spent completely in the service of his Master. The goal is not a long life, or a happy life, or a successful life by the world's standards. The goal is to finish the course, to complete the assigned task. And that task is to bear witness to the gospel. This mentality is the absolute antithesis of our therapeutic, self-centered age. The mission is everything.
Because he has this resolve, and because he has been faithful, he can make a staggering claim: "I am innocent of the blood of all." How can he say this? "For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God." Pastoral innocence is tied directly to doctrinal comprehensiveness. A minister who intentionally omits the difficult parts of Scripture, the doctrines of sin, judgment, hell, God's sovereignty, or the demands of discipleship, does so with blood on his hands. He is a watchman who saw the sword coming but refused to blow the trumpet. Paul had a clear conscience because he left nothing unsaid. He gave them the whole counsel, the complete story, from Genesis to the final Amen.
A Solemn Charge (vv. 28-31)
Having established his own example, Paul now issues his command to these elders. This is the heart of the passage.
"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." (Acts 20:28)
The first duty of a shepherd is to guard his own heart. You cannot lead the flock to green pastures if you are secretly grazing in poisoned fields. Your personal holiness is not a private matter; it is a pastoral necessity. Only then can you guard the flock. Notice their appointment comes from the Holy Spirit. This is a divine calling, not a corporate promotion. And their task is to shepherd, which means to feed, lead, and protect.
And what is this flock? It is "the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." The value of an object is determined by the price paid for it. God the Son paid for the church with His own life. This is the most precious entity on earth. To treat the church lightly, to allow her to be ravaged by false doctrine, or to neglect her care is to trample upon the blood of Christ. The stakes could not be higher.
And the danger is real and imminent. Paul's tone is urgent because he knows what is coming.
"I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them." (Acts 20:29-30)
This is not a hypothetical threat. It is a certainty. The church will be attacked. And the attack will come from two directions. First, external wolves will come in. These are the obvious heretics, the false teachers from outside. But the more insidious threat comes from within. "From among your own selves men will arise." These are men who were once trusted, men who sat on the elder board, who taught Sunday School. They will begin "speaking perverse things," twisting the truth, not for the good of the flock, but "to draw away the disciples after them." All heresy is ultimately rooted in pride and a lust for power. The goal of the wolf is always to create a faction that follows him, not Christ. Therefore, the elders must be "watchful," remembering Paul's own relentless, tearful warnings.
An Unfailing Commendation (vv. 32-38)
After this stark warning, where does Paul leave them? Does he leave them with a five-point plan for church security? No. He leaves them with the only resource that can possibly sustain them.
"And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who have been sanctified." (Acts 20:32)
Their ultimate safety is not in their own vigilance, but in God's keeping power. And the instrument of that power is "the word of His grace." The Word is what builds the church. The Word is what guards the church. The Word is what guarantees our inheritance. A church that is not deeply and constantly rooted in the Bible is a sitting duck for wolves. It is the pastor's job to feed the sheep the Word, not his own clever ideas or the latest cultural trends.
Paul concludes by pointing to his own example of financial integrity and hard work. "I have coveted no one's silver or gold or clothes." He worked with his own hands to support himself and his team. This is a direct polemic against the religious hucksters of any age who see ministry as a means of personal enrichment. A true shepherd gives to the sheep; he does not fleece them.
He summarizes this principle with the words of Jesus: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." This is the economic theory of the kingdom of God, and it is the polar opposite of the world's. The world says accumulate, protect, and consume. Christ says give, sacrifice, and serve. A church led by men who embody this principle is a healthy church.
The scene ends with prayer and tears. This is not the sign of an effeminate, weak ministry. This is the sign of a strong one. These are men bound together by a deep, masculine affection forged in the fires of spiritual warfare. They love Paul, and they love the flock. They are weeping because a great general is leaving them. Their grief is a testimony to the authenticity of their fellowship.
Conclusion: The Price of Faithfulness
Paul's charge to the Ephesian elders is God's charge to His church in every generation. The mission remains the same: to proclaim the whole counsel of God. The central message remains the same: repentance and faith. The dangers remain the same: savage wolves from without and treacherous leaders from within.
And the resources remain the same. We have God Himself, and we have the word of His grace. The cost also remains the same. True ministry will always be marked by humility, by tears, and by trials. It demands that we hold our own lives as nothing, so that we might finish the course laid out for us.
We must ask ourselves if we are content with the safe, professionalized, and often sterile version of church that our culture promotes. Or do we long for this kind of raw, courageous, and blood-earnest Christianity? The kind that guards the flock because it understands the price that was paid for it. The kind that weeps over sin and rejoices in the truth. The kind that is not afraid of wolves. May God grant us elders and a people who will take up this charge, for the glory of Christ and the good of His precious, blood-bought church.