Compelled by the Spirit

 Acts 20:1-38

Good morning!  Today, we are going to tackle the whole chapter 20 from the book of Acts.  It’s a time of major transition in the life and ministry of the apostle Paul.  If you remember from the last few weeks, Paul has been on his third church planting journey.

In the last two weeks, we have been following Paul during his time in Ephesus, a major city of ancient times where Paul spent at least two years and three months.  Through that time, the gospel went forth powerfully in the region of Asia Minor, the western half of modern-day Turkey.  Acts 19:10 tells us that all the people of the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord which would have been two million people or more.  What an incredible impact, especially when you consider the limitations of communication and travel in antiquity.

As so many people came to the Lord and gave up idol worship, sorcery, and other areas of sin, entire industries were impacted.  They weren’t destroyed outright, but certain businesses also needed to go through a transformation, as well.

Of course, not everyone was willing to give up what they had depended on for so long.  Carl explained for us last week how the guild of craftsmen including workers in precious metals, this group, incited a riot in Ephesus as their leader implied a slight against their trade of making idols and shrines of idols and even against the goddess of their city, Artemis.  Demetrius, who prompted the riot, explains Paul’s message in a powerfully accurate way, saying, “This fellow Paul … says that man-made gods are no gods at all.” (Acts 19:26)

That’s exactly what God had been showing to the people of Ephesus over the previous two years.  Acts 19:11 says that God did many extraordinary miracles through Paul.  Many, many people had been healed.  Many, many were freed from demons.  And one demon even had testified to the authority of Jesus.  It was an incredible time where the schemes of men and their man-made gods were shown to be powerless.

And yet, Demetrius was effective in pushing the right buttons of the proud citizens of Ephesus, and they give way to a riot involving thousands, many of whom didn’t understand what the riot was even about.  Through it all, God protected Paul and kept him from going in front of the crowd, but it seems that Paul would have been more than willing to speak to such a large audience.  After some hours of chaos, the city clerk was able to quiet and dismiss the crowd.  That concluded chapter 19.  Let’s pray and then dive into chapter 20.

Lord Jesus, speak to us through Your Word, we pray.  Help us to see the truths that we each need to have reinforced today as we cover such a broad pallet of events and experiences.  Glorify Your Name, we pray in Your Name Jesus, Amen.

Chapter 20, verse 1 ...

When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said goodbye and set out for Macedonia. He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece, where he stayed three months.  –Acts 20:1-3

Three of Paul’s letters were written just before and during this time.  I Corinthians was written from Ephesus.  II Corinthians was written during Paul’s time in Macedonia described here.  Then, Romans was written from Greece during this three month stay.  Using Acts 20 and these three letters, we can see additional details and motivations behind their travels.

After the big riot, Paul had several things in mind.  First, it was time to leave Ephesus.  Then, II Corinthians tells us that Paul had a plan to go to Troas to preach the gospel (II Corinthians 2:12-13).  He had also expected to meet Titus at Troas with a report on Corinth as Paul had written the first letter to the Corinthians from Ephesus.  When Paul did not find Titus at Troas, he went on to Macedonia.

I kind of start to feel bad for poor Troas.  In Acts 16, Paul went to Troas, and that was the place where Paul had the vision of a Macedonian man standing and begging Paul to come over to Macedonia and help them.  They all got ready and went at once to Macedonia.  Now Paul is not staying in Troas again.  In a few verses, we will see Paul does return to Troas, and that wasn’t his only visit.  We don’t get the full story of Paul’s work in Troas, but in II Timothy 4:13, Paul tells Timothy to bring his cloak that that he left with Carpus at Troas.  That makes me think that Paul had spent time later at Troas making disciples and even leaving some of his belongings there.  Troas is not forsaken.

The little phrase “traveled throughout the area” is an open door to understand something Paul wrote in Romans 15:19.  There he says that he had fully proclaimed the gospel from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum.  If you don’t remember Illyricum, that’s okay because it’s not in the book of Acts.  So, we haven’t gotten to see when that happened.  If you remember in Acts 17, we talked about the Via Egnatia which ran through Macedonia which is on the west coast of the peninsula of Greece.  Illyricum is the province on the west side bordering the east side of the Adriatic.  It seems Paul most likely visited Illyricum during this time.

It’s just fascinating that there is so much that we don’t know about even in Paul’s life not to mention in the lives of Luke and Timothy and Titus and Trophimus and Apollos and others.  God was constantly at work then, and He is constantly at work through the ages and to the current day.

During the journey to Greece, Paul focused on encouraging the saints.  But then ...

Because some Jews had plotted against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia. He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas. But we sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days. – Acts 20:3-6

And so, there had been one more reason why Paul had left Ephesus and returned back through Macedonia and over to Greece again.  He was collecting another offering for the church in Judea.  It’s been a while ago, but if you remember at the end of Acts 11, a prophet named Agabus had been filled with spirit and prophesied that a famine would occur in all the Roman world.  At that time, the church in Antioch had taken up an offering and sent it with Barnabas and Paul to Jerusalem.  Now ten years later, there are significant needs in the church at Jerusalem again. 

Both I Corinthians (16:1-4) and II Corinthians (8:1-9:15) talk about the gathering of an offering from the predominantly Gentile churches.  And so, we have this group of people from different churches.  It seems quite likely that they are the representatives from different churches and regions of churches who are traveling with their gifts to help meet the needs of the church at Jerusalem which Paul described in Romans 15:25-27.

Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the Lord's people there. For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the Lord's people in Jerusalem. They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews' spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings. – Romans 15:25-27

The orginal plan was to gather the offering through Macedonia and Achaia and head to Syria by ship.  We talked about how Romans would have been written while spending these 3 months in Greece.  In Romans 16:1, Paul mentions Phoebe a deaconness from Cenchreae.  If you were at Corinth, Cenchreae would have been the place where you would catch a ship for Syria.  Corinth was the big city, but on the west coast of the isthmus.  Cenchreae the smaller one.  It was on the east coast.  A somewhat sizable group of travelers led by Paul waiting in a small coastal port would probably not have been inconspicuous.

And so, there is another conspiracy among the Jews to get Paul.  Somehow, they are made aware of the danger, and Paul changes course for the safety of the trip and those traveling with him and the gifts they were carrying, and the go back around the same route from Corinth by land to the province of Asia coming to Troas.

On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "He's alive!" Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.  –Acts 20:7-12

This is a serious situation, but I think most readers find humor in it.  As a teacher of God’s Word, there is some comfort that even the apostle Paul had drowsy listeners.

They had stayed in Troas for a week so that the could come together on Sunday to break bread, to have communion together.  Even though Paul was in a hurry, it was that important.

Keep in mind that Sunday would have been “just another day in the week.”  Paul’s listeners had likely had a full day’s work.  They didn’t meet in the morning, but rather the evening.  Even still, Paul had been teaching for 6 hours when poor Eutychus fell asleep.

Then, there is the miraculous resurrection after which they had a literal midnight snack, and then Paul resumed talking with the believers there until morning.  That was a high impact conference right there!

We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot. When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. The next day we set sail from there and arrived off Chios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus. Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.  –Acts 20:13-16

So, they split the group.  Perhaps the ship was set to sail at dawn, and Paul wanted every possible moment with the believers in Troas.  Getting from Troas to Assos is 40 miles by sea and 20 miles by land, so depending on the weather, it can be a toss up who gets there first.  After that, they are together on the ship and start this daily hopping along the coast which was so typical of sea travel in that time period.  Sail during the day, anchor or at least come to rest in a sheltered area each night.

They made more than 300 miles in 3 days which is far better than by land.  You’d do well to make 90 miles in 3 days especially traveling in a group.

There was no way for Paul to make a short visit to Ephesus.  There were just too many people he would want to visit and who knows what else might come up while he was there.  But, he did want to have a touch with the church, so ...

From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. When they arrived, he said to them: "You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents. You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus. – Acts 20:17-21

Miletus was 36 miles from Ephesus, so it was a bit of a haul for the elders of Ephesus.  Definitely a full day’s journey one way.

Paul addresses the Ephesian church leaders, and he starts with a refresher of what he did among them.  He reminds them of his example lived out among the Ephesians.  Paul was not a spiritual celebrity among them.  Rather, he was humble.  He served them in spite of the opposition of the Jews.  He didn’t give up.  He loved them and even served them through tears.  Paul sincerely cared about the Ephesian believers.

Paul was faithful to the message of the gospel.  He taught publicly and in homes.  His message was simple.  Repent and turn to God and put your faith in Jesus Christ.

This is a good reminder to us no matter where we are in our walk with Christ.  Even a new believer can be a good example of how to be a new believer.  We can all serve the Lord with humility.

With that introduction, Paul goes on ...

"And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace. – Acts 20:22-24

Compelled by the Spirit, Paul will not be dissuaded.  He will not be turned aside from going to Jerusalem.  He’s not going to change his mind.  Paul was following the Lord even though the future appeared to be bad.  Paul’s thinking is incredibly challenging.  He considered his life worth nothing to himself.  Why?  He had a higher aim.  That aim was to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus had given to him.

You’d think Paul might name a special task which we couldn’t relate to, right?  But that’s not what he sets before the Ephesian elders as his most important task.  Paul tells them and us that his most important task is testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

"Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. – Acts 20:25-28

What a mic drop?  You will never see my face again.  They must have been blown away by that possibility.  Paul immediate follows this shock with the things he wants them to know.  Therefore … in light of the fact that you won’t see me again in this life … you need to know …

Paul had a clear conscience toward the Ephesians, why?  Because he had taught them the full counsel of God.  We talked about Paul’s two years of teaching daily in Ephesus, thousands of hours of instruction.  They were equipped and ready.  The Lord would watch over them.  His Spirit was in them.  The church in Ephesus would continue under their leadership.

His counsel to them is interesting.  Keep watch over yourselves first and then all the flock.  The word pastor comes from the Latin where it means shepherd.  Guard and care for the church of God.  Most importantly, feed the sheep as Jesus reminded Peter three times in John 21.  Even though we are sheep, we are valuable sheep purchased with the blood of Jesus.

I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. – Acts 20:29-31

It is probably not overly surprising that there would be dangers from outside the church.  They had just recently experienced the riot about the gospel message not to mention the opposition of the Jews.  In addition to dangers from the outside, there would also arise distorters of the truth from those very leaders who were listening to Paul.  Why?  Why would they distort the truth?  In order to gain their own following.  Hmm.  That would be the thing, human pride.  No, not really surprising.

So, what were they to do against these dangers?  Be on your guard.  And, warn one another.  There are people and demons for that matter who would like to see you turn away from following Christ with your whole heart.  Do not be deceived.  Do not give up.  God is with you.  He is for you.  Stay the course.  Run the race in faith.  Remember Jesus’ words and be encouraged.  “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

"Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' " – Acts 20:32-35

Again, it is the Lord who builds us up.  It is the Lord who gives us an inheritance.  Paul commends the Ephesian leaders to the Lord’s guidance and care.

Again, Paul reminds them of his example.  He worked hard in the gospel.  He was a burden to no one.  His quote of Jesus is not found in the gospels.  It doesn’t mean that Jesus didn’t say it.  It’s just unique in that way.  The gospels record many instances supporting this thought (as do the Psalms and other places in Scripture).  In Luke 14:13-14, Jesus said, “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.”  In Matthew 10:8, Jesus said, “Freely you have received; freely give.”

When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship. – Acts 20:36-38

Paul obviously cared deeply for those he ministered to.  We get another glimpse of that here.  These are people have a deep care for Paul.  They love him and are grieved that they will not see him again in this life.

They don’t return to Ephesus at this parting.  Rather, they go to the ship to see him off.  I can imagine them standing and waving as the boat slowly moved out to sea.  It was not an easy parting as chapter 21 opens with Luke saying, “after we had torn ourselves away from them ...”

Partings are not easy, especially when we know we won’t see someone we love for a long time.  Especially when we don’t even know when that next time will be.

Let’s close here.  I will encourage you to be on your guard against things that distract you from following Jesus.  And, may we all look for opportunities to testify to the good news of God’s grace.  God is good.  Amen?

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, we love You.  Thank You that You watch over us.  Thank You that Your Spirit is in us.  Help us to stand strong.  Help us to remain devoted to You as our first love.  Help us to love one another we pray in Your Name we pray, Amen.