Acts 20 Devotional
By Pastor Lawrence

All throughout this chapter, Paul is eager to make his way back to Jerusalem to be there in time for Pentecost, even though he knows from the Lord that this trip will lead to his imprisonment. Nevertheless, on the way he makes a very important stop at the city of Miletus to speak to the Ephesian elders again before he is imprisoned. Believing this would be the last time he would ever see them face to face, he gives them a very serious word of warning and exhortation concerning the dangers and the duties of their calling as elders in the city of Ephesus.

In vv.20 and 27 Paul reminds them twice that he did not shrink from declaring to them the whole counsel of God, setting an example for them to do the same for their people, continually preaching the need for faith and repentance of sin. Of course, teaching about faith is not all that difficult to do, but it is a temptation for many to leave out the doctrine of repentance in their preaching. In the Westminster Confession of Faith, pastors are never told explicitly to preach faith in Christ, for it is assumed that they will do that naturally. But they are commanded to teach the doctrine of repentance, since so many are tempted to overlook it. It is precisely because Paul pointed out their particular sin that the Jews wanted to kill him and that he would soon be bound in chains for Rome. Nevertheless, he says in v.24 that he does not account his life so precious that he would not continue to preach in this way by declaring the whole counsel of God in giving them the true gospel of grace.

As a result of this faithful ministry, Paul tells them in v.26 that he is “innocent of the blood of all men” because he “did not shrink from declaring the whole will of God.” Here, Paul uses the language Ezekiel 3:17-19 when the Lord says to the prophet, “I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered his soul.” So, Paul is saying that he did his job; he faithfully stood on his watchtower and cried out as the Lord had told him to do so. He did not shrink from declaring the coming judgment of God. And now he is laying that same call upon the elders of the church in Ephesus, charging them to this same faithful duty.

Because there is such a weightiness to this calling, Paul warns the elders in v.28 to pay careful attention to themselves in addition to caring for their flocks. It’s just like the instructions that are given on an airplane in case the cabin loses air pressure. Parents are told to put on their own oxygen masks before seeking to help their children to put on theirs. One of the greatest dangers of an overseer and a leader in the church today is to be so busy teaching others and helping others, that he fails to watch over himself. There is a reason that Jesus tells us in the Lord’s Prayer to ask that the Lord would not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. Satan loves to attack the leaders first, for if they are weak, the whole body will be weak as well. It’s a definite truth that if the shepherd is taken out, the sheep will scatter. So it is extremely important for the leaders in the church to be vigilant, prayerful and grounded in the word that they themselves might not drift away from the faith that is in Jesus Christ.

Then, in the second half of that same exhortation, Paul tells the elders also to “care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” There could be no greater motivation for the elder to watch over his flock than to know that he is watching over the very people for whom Christ shed his own blood. Surely, this aspect of the elder’s job is not to be taken lightly. If Jesus laid down his life for the sake of the church, and purchased her for his own possession, surely he requires much of his elders in caring for her, in praying for her, in leading her in the way she should go. God has no patience for mere hired hands that do not care for the sheep. He desires shepherds who will tend to the sheep and go after the ones who have strayed.

Then, in addition to strays, Paul also warns the elders in v.29 of the wolves that will come in among them and seek to devour their flocks. Even from among their own number men would arise and distort the truth in order to draw the sheep away. Whether from without or within the church, there will always be some who will seek to devour the sheep, who will distort the Word of God and will try to lead the sheep into the evil schemes of this world, even causing some of them to fall away into mortal sin.

Because of the great weightiness of the calling of the elder in terms of caring for the souls of men as well as the many potential dangers facing the church on any given day, it is very important that the elders themselves remain healthy, watchful and prayerful. So let us remember to pray for our elders. For as goes the elder, so goes the church.