Acts 20:17-24
Faithful ministry is marked by humility, perseverance in trials, full proclamation, and courageous obedience despite suffering.
17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called to himself the elders of the assembly.
18 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 all the time,
19 serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears, and with trials which happened to me by the plots of the Jews;
20 how I didn’t shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, teaching you publicly and from house to house,
21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus.
22 Now, behold, I go bound by the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there;
23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions wait for me.
24 But these things don’t count; nor do I hold my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to fully testify to the Good News of the grace of God.
Faithful ministry is marked by humility, perseverance in trials, full proclamation, and courageous obedience despite suffering.
To present Paul’s pastoral self-testimony to the Ephesian elders and his Spirit-bound resolve to suffer for the sake of the gospel.
This passage opens Paul’s farewell discourse to the Ephesian elders, the only extended speech in Acts addressed specifically to Christian leaders. It transitions from travel narrative to pastoral reflection and prophetic anticipation. The tone is sober, affectionate, and resolute as Paul prepares for suffering.
Paul calls the Ephesian elders to Miletus rather than returning to Ephesus. This address occurs near the end of his third missionary journey, shortly before his arrest in Jerusalem. The speech reflects years of ministry in Asia and anticipates coming imprisonment.
Paul’s Farewell Charge to Shepherd the Church of God
Acts 20 shows that faithful ministry proclaims the whole counsel of God, testifies to the gospel of grace, shepherds the blood-bought church, and remains vigilant against dangers from without and within.