17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church.18 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, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, 21 solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 20:17–21
In Lukes’s account here (actually Acts 20:17-38) of Paul’s farewell address to the elders of the Ephesian church, we have what amounts to a “mini-epistle” delivered in person. He’d later in the early 60’s write them from a Roman prison what we now know as Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.
He recalls that for three years (verse 31) he served them continuously (verse 18), humbly (verse 19), courageously (verses 19-21), innocently (verses 20, 27), seriously (verses 21, 24), selflessly, and unselfishly (verses 33-35).
What’s more, he “did not shrink from” (verses 20, 27) opposition nor did he “cease to” teach them (“solemnly testified” to) “anything that was profitable,” that is, such grand themes as “repentance toward God,” “faith in our Lord Jesus Christ,” “the gospel of the grace of God,” and “the whole purpose of God.”
To shrink from, (hypostello in the Greek) alludes to slackening the sail, making it less taunt and effective. It’s used by Paul in describing Peter’s equivocation to the Jews with regard to dining with Gentiles. “He began to withdraw and hold himself aloof.” Paul never slacked off in his work, and, in fact, got in Peter’s face for doing so (Galatians 2:12). Paul was tightly bound by the Spirit (verse 22).
Further, by his hard work and sacrifice, he taught them charity, for “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” (verse 35)
While in the city, he also took care to prepare church leadership for this very day, when they’d “not see his face again,” that the fate of the church would not rest on the shoulders of one man like his, but on a plurality of leaders.
These men hung on his every word as fiercely as they hung onto his neck in tears when he said goodbye on that beach at Miletus. Would that we all made such an impact on men!
But I do not consider my life of any account as 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
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