243. PAUL'S FAREWELL TO THE EPHESIANS

"And now brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified".

After the disturbance in Ephesus, Paul waited to be sure that peace and quiet were restored before acting on his plans to return to Jerusalem. He spent some time in travelling throughout Asia, including a three-month visit to Corinth.

Hearing of a vicious plot to capture him as he was about to leave for Syria, Paul changed his plans of going by ship to Syria. The new route took him through Macedonia, but took so much time that he was forced to proceed with great haste if he were to be in Jerusalem for Pentecost.

The return journey of this third preaching campaign was around the Aegean Sea, by land from Corinth to Neapolis (640 Km.), and a sea journey of over 1,600 Km. via Troas, Miletus, Rhodes to Patara, changing vessels to Tyre and Caesarea, then entering Jerusalem for the last time. Reference should be made to the map of Paul's 3rd journey.

Acts 20

EUTYCHUS IN THE WINDOW (verses 1-12).

Paul and Luke parted from their fellow-travellers, who left them to travel by ship to Troas. After a long walk, Paul and Luke rejoined them at Troas where they met together for a memorial meeting. The meeting was to be held on the first day of the week, which, since the Jews reckon­ed the day began and ended at sundown — making the Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday — would therefore have been on Sunday. It was appropriate that they should remember their Lord on that day for it was also the day that Christ rose from the dead (cp. 1 Cor. 16:2). Their meeting began after sundown and since Paul intended to leave the next day, we are told that they continued long into the night.

In Troas, there were a number of disciples. We can imagine how thrilled they were to have Paul with them, to hear from him the word of exhortation and other help from the word, and to have visitors from other countries as well: men and women from different lands, but all united by the one truth they shared. So they came together, as Jesus taught his disciples at the "Last Supper", on the night he was betrayed and crucified (cp. Luke 22:7-20), so that they could remember the great love and sacrifice of their Master: "For as often as yet eat this bread and drink his cup, ye do show the Lord's death until he come" (see 1 Cor. 11:23-29).

The combination of the closely packed crowd, the fumes from the lamps, and the lateness of the hour would have affected many. Eutychus, a young man, was sitting in a window. The stifling atmosphere and weariness caused him to gradually sag in sleep. The young man relaxed in sleep, and overbalanced and tumbled headlong out of the window, falling onto the ground so far below. The brethren raced to him and found him to be dead, killed in the fall of three stories.

Paul was deeply concerned. He immediately stopped speaking and hurried downstairs (the stairs being located on the outside of the building), and fell on the young man and embraced him. Paul knew that he had been given the miraculous power of God's Holy Spirit, and he now appealed for God's help, and the lad's life was restored.

By this time, many were crying out in tearful grief: but Paul interrupted to calm them down and restore quietness and order. "Trouble not yourselves" he said, "for his life is in him". Since there was no apparent after-effects, Paul and the others returned to the room where they had a
memorial service. Paul continued to speak with them for the remainder of the night, and when morning came, he continued his journey toward Jerusalem.

PAUL'S FAREWELL TO THE EPHESIANS (verses 13-38).

After a walk of 35 km., Paul boarded a ship in Assos which sailed along the coast, touching at Mitylene and Samos before reaching Miletus. From this point, Paul sent a message to the elders of the Ephesian ecclesia to come to him. He had deliberately sailed past Ephesus in order to save time in his now anxious journey, to spend Pentecost in Jerusalem, but since he had a special message for the Ephesian ecclesia, he asked the leaders to come to talk with him.

Declaring that his service in Christ while in Asia had been witnessed by them, Paul prepared them for a strong warning. They had all witnessed Paul's willingness to speak out even when in danger. He had left no doubts that even when rebuking some, he always had the best interests of the ecclesia at heart. He was a true shepherd of the flock.

Paul explained that the Holy Spirit was compelling him to push on toward Jerusalem, knowing that the Jews were becoming increasingly resentful and more and more threatening in their actions toward him. He wasn't to be sidetracked from his mission, because he realised that there would be many hardships and even prison in store for him. Jesus Christ, himself, had given Paul his commission to preach the word to the Gentiles so he had little care for his own safety — being concerned only with carrying out the task assigned to him in the best way he could (vv. 22-27).

Paul urged the Ephesian elders to guide their ecclesia well, since the forces of evil were already working in some areas of their ecclesial life. The dangers posed by wicked and power hungry individuals from within their own ranks was very great, and was one which they must continue to guard against. The elders had accepted a very grave responsibility when chosen by Paul, and were now to use their training to be worthy leaders of their ecclesia. He especially warned them that some of the wicked ones would be so convincing that there would be danger that some might be drawn away (vv. 28-30).

By way of encouragement, Paul reminded them how he had acted unstintingly while with them; how he had spared nothing — not even himself — in order to preach the Truth to them. He reminded them that the prize for the faithful far outweighs any discomforts or dangers which we might experience in this life. He ended his charge to them with the encouragement . . . "and now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified" (v.32). They knelt in prayer to seek God's blessing on them all. With grieving hearts and tearful eyes, they bade Paul an affectionate and sorrowful farewell, escorting the travellers down to the ship at the wharf. Note that in ch. 21:1 "after we were gotten from them" is rendered "having torn ourselves from them in Rotherham's translation. We can profit from Paul's final exhortation, for his example of dedication and self sacrifice encouraged the Ephesian elders, and can encourage us to witness to God's Truth.

From Paul's work and writings, we can be sure that this advice was given in a spirit of deep humility. His love of Christ, to all those in Christ, was always uppermost in his mind. Paul's sense of responsibility to the brotherhood was so constant that he told the Corinthians that besides the sufferings he endured for Christ's sake, he had the care of the ecclesias on his mind daily (2 Cor. 11:28).

The love the brethren had for Paul was shown by the spirit in which they received his message. They were deeply alarmed and saddened to hear Paul say that they would not see him again before the Kingdom age. They knew of the trials and the bitter end Paul faced, and we can understand their pleas for him to change his plans and to avoid the Jews in Jerusalem.

He was determined to fulfil the course marked out for him by Jesus Christ, and is therefore an outstanding example of courageous service, despite many Holy Spirit predictions of impending persecution and imprisonment.

LESSONS FOR US:

Life in the Truth is not Tilled with the physical dangers that Paul experienced, but the power of his prophetical message, that we must beware of evil, "wolf-like" intruders, is every bit as meaningful today as it was in his day. The fact that there are no physical dangers can dull our senses to the very real threats to our walk in the Truth. We are still surrounded by deceitful enemies of God's Truth who are just as eager to turn us away from the path to the kingdom as they were in the first century.

So that we can understand what God wants us to do, it is obvious that we must turn to the record He left for us - the Scriptures. To see the difference between good and evil, we must know what the good is and develop our characters the way God wants us to, we must study His word. With the aid of additional works by the Christadelphian pioneers, we can clearly choose the right way from the wrong - and by so doing follow the way of Jesus Christ who went before us as an example of how God wants us to live and think.

The Ephesian Ecclesia struggled and even came to the condition that Paul feared when he said, ". . . all they that are in Asia turned away from me." But the example Paul left must have been remembered by some there, for Christ was later able to say ". . .1 know thy works and thy labour and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars ..." (Rev. 2:2).

May it be that Christ will be able to say the same of us; that we labour in patience and hate all that is evil. In so doing we will have followed his own example, for of him it is written that he "loved righteousness and hated iniquity" (Heb. 1:9).

REFERENCE LIBRARY:

"Paul the Apostle" (W. Boulton)—Chapter 14.

"Story of the Bible" (H.P. Mansfield)—Vol. 14, pp. 27-60.

PARAGRAPH QUESTIONS:

1. Why did the ecclesia meet on the first day of the week at Troas?

2. What did Paul do for Eutychus?

3. What dangers faced the Ephesian ecclesia as described by Paul in Acts 20?

ESSAY QUESTIONS:

1. Outline the substance of Paul's message to the Ephesian elders at Miletus.

2. Explain the responsibility Paul declared had been given to the elders of the Ephesian ecclesia.