Keep Watch!

Acts 20

Last week we talked about Paul staying in Ephesus for a while. In chapter twenty Paul is going to be doing a lot more moving around. Now that we are getting closer to the end of Acts, Luke is doing a lot of summarizing with his writing. In the last chapter he covered a lot of ground with a small amount of words, and he does it again in this chapter. We are also getting closer and closer to Paul being arrested, and Paul knows it. In this chapter he is saying goodbye to people and telling them they will not see him again. The Holy Spirit is simultaneously telling him to press on and that prison and hardships await. In fact, this is the last full chapter where Paul remains free.

There are many interesting things to dig out of this chapter, so let’s not waste any time and kick things off with prayer!

Pray

As I said, Luke does a bunch of summarizing here and covers a lot of ground with his writing. This is quite literal, because in the first six verses of the chapter, Paul does a lot of travelling. You can see where he goes in this map. Who knows why Luke didn’t write much about this, but Nate Sala does a pretty good job of putting information together about what happens during this time, so I will just read what he wrote:

For some reason Luke only summarizes these events very briefly. But we get more information about what was happening on the ground when we read 2 Corinthians 1-7. Based on the overlap between Acts 19-20 and 2 Corinthians we can piece together this specific timeline:

At some point during Paul’s 3 year stay in Ephesus, Paul writes two letters to the church in Corinth. The first one is in our Bibles and is called “1 Corinthians.” The second letter is lost to history and was written “out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears” (2 Corinthians 2:4). This second letter was written in response to a “painful visit” that Paul made to Corinth — probably during the latter part of his time in Ephesus. That means (probably), somewhere between Acts 19:21-20:1, Paul made a quick visit to Corinth and then immediately returned to Ephesus; and that quick visit did not go well (see 2 Corinthians 2:5-8)!

In Acts 20:1 Paul travels through Macedonia and likely encourages the churches in places like Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. During this time Paul writes a third letter to Corinth — what we call “2 Corinthians.” This third letter to the Corinthians is written out of reflection and response to Paul’s prior “painful” visit to Corinth (somewhere between Acts 19:21-20:1).

Paul, then, travels all the way to Corinth (i.e. “Greece,” see Acts 20:2) and spends three months with the Corinthian church. According to most biblical scholars, this three month period is also when Paul wrote the Book of Romans.

Averting a plot by the Jews, Paul decides to travel back through Macedonia (Acts 20:3) and lands in Troas where he stays to fellowship with the Christians there (vv. 6-7).

In short, while Paul was staying in Ephesus (Acts 19) he wrote 1 Corinthians. Then he makes a quick visit to Corinth and it didn’t go well so, in tears and anguish, he writes another letter to the church at Corinth. Next he wrote 2 Corinthians, which is actually the third letter he sent to them. Finally, at the beginning of chapter 20, Paul goes back to Corinth for a three month stay. While there he wrote Romans.

Assuming this is correct, there is a lot going on at this moment in Paul’s life. I think that part of Luke’s goal in this chapter leading up to Paul’s arrest is to give us more connections to the Old Testament in order to show Paul as a New Covenant prophet. All throughout Acts we have seen Old Testament connections in Luke’s writing and he has made connections and references between people like Paul, Peter, and Steven to Old Testament prophets and even Jesus.

This is exactly what the next story in this chapter does. This is one of my favorite stories in Acts. I know Luke probably didn’t intend for this to be a funny story, but I can find humor in almost anything. Let’s read it, starting in verse seven…

Acts 20:7–9 NIV

7 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. 8 There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. 9 Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on…

Let’s pause for a second. I think one of the reasons I find this story funny is because this is one of my fears about public speaking. I can still picture my first-ever speech:

Standing nervously at the front of Mrs. Southard’s Spanish class, I was giving a five minute presentation on the country of Spain. I was terrified that I would just stand up there stuttering for two or three minutes trying to share boring trivia about Spain, and then “umm” and “uhhh” for the remainder of the five minutes.

When I finished I asked her if I made it the full five minutes and she said, “Yes. Actually your presentation was twenty-five minutes.” Talk about swinging an emotional pendulum from one direction to another! I think that is one reason I tend to speak fast now and am incapable of ‘pausing for effect.’ Fortunately, when I gave that speech, nobody was sitting in a window. Also, if I do ever get long-winded up here just remember that it could be worse. I could do like Paul and talk until midnight with no signs of stopping!

Even though kids were falling asleep in windows, Paul wasn’t done. He had at least six hours left in him…

Acts 20:9–12 NIV

9 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. 10 Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” 11 Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. 12 The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.

A kid fell out a window and died! Why is this funny to me? Well, that part isn’t funny, but in the end he lives so we can laugh about it now. It’s funny to me because in my head I just see Paul run downstairs, pick the boy up, and then say, “It’s okay! He’s alive! Go back inside and I will continue. There is no need to go home now. You feel okay, right? Eutychus says he’s fine and wants me to continue. He will probably trade seats with someone though.”

On a serious note, this story is another way in which Paul is mirroring Old Testament prophets. Just like a prophet, Paul is travelling all over sharing God’s word. He is sharing God’s light of salvation to all of the nations and to the end of the earth, fulfilling Isaiah 49…

Isaiah 49:6 NIV

6 he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

This story gives us another image of Paul being like a prophet. Prophets like Elijah and Elisha travelled from place to place proclaiming God’s word. They also did something Paul experienced here. No, not talking a guy to death. The opposite! When the boy was dead, Paul threw himself over the boy and put his arms around him. Elijah was staying with a widow when her son died. How did Elijah respond to the boy’s death?

1 Kings 17:21–22 NIV

21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” 22 The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.

Elisha does the same thing in 2 Kings 4:34-35. A woman’s son died so Elisha laid on top of the boy and he came back to life. There are a lot of interesting connections to the prophets to consider. Not only does Luke show similarities between Paul and the prophets, but Paul’s farewell speech echoes the farewell speeches of Moses, Joshua, and Samuel. I don’t want to bore you with a bunch of technical comparisons, so I have just included Nate’s summary in your notes so that you can discover them in your own quiet time with God.

To sum up what happens in the rest of this chapter, Paul is in a hurry to get back to Jerusalem. He is trying to get there by Pentecost, so he decides to bypass Ephesus. Instead of meeting with the entire church at Ephesus he sends for the Elders and they come to him. That’s when he gives them this goodbye speech. He gives them encouragement. He reassures them that he did what God called him there to do. Then he says…

Acts 20:22–24 NIV

22 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24 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.

Then Paul uses a phrase that prophets used in the Old Testament. He says, “I am innocent of the blood of any of you.” At first glance it seems a little out of place, but it is a phrase that is used by a watchman to declare that he has fulfilled his duty. He is no longer responsible for the people he was sent to engage. This statement comes at the start of a warning…

Acts 20:26–31 NIV

26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. 27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28 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. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

“I’ve taken you as far as I can, the rest is up to you now.” There is a ton of wisdom in this speech. Wisdom for more than just leaders of churches. This is important for all Christians. In fact, notice who he tells the elders to watch over. The first person Paul tells them to watch over is themselves. Let’s take that perspective and look at this passage again with that in mind…

Acts 20:28–30 NIV

28 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. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.

Keep watch over yourselves… Be shepherds of your life, which he bought with his own blood. After I leave, savage wolves will not spare you. People you know and trust will distort the truth in order to draw you away from God.

The point I am trying to make is that Paul wasn’t just telling these guys to look after their church. He was warning them about what they would face as well. He was warning us about what we will face. Don’t let your guard down, God purchased you with His blood so be on guard as a shepherd guards his flock. When you let your guard down, wolves will not show mercy. The enemy will use anything and anyone to draw you away from God.

The enemy won’t even stop when you are down or defeated. Listen to this description of evil rulers who act like wolves in Zephaniah…

Zephaniah 3:3 NIV

3 Her officials within her are roaring lions; her rulers are evening wolves, who leave nothing for the morning.

They don’t stop until there is nothing left. The enemy doesn’t just want to neutralize you, Satan wants to completely devour you until there is nothing left but a stain where you once stood. A distant memory that fades the next time it rains.

Have you ever watched predators like lions and wolves on the discovery channel? They are masters at their craft. They have patience. They will sit and watch their prey. God warned Cain that sin was crouching at his door, patiently waiting for him to show his weakness. Waiting for an injury to expose his weakness. Predators have patience and they wait for a weakness. An injured animal goes for a drink of water, then they attack. They chase it until it gets tired and can’t run anymore, then they bite at an exposed vulnerability.

If you’ve ever watched wild animals on TV it is vicious and merciless. Our spiritual enemy is no different. He isn’t sitting back hoping you will offer an opening, he is actively hunting you! Stalking you! He doesn’t hope for a chance to attack you where you are weak, he is ready and WILL attack you the second you let your guard down. Your weakness doesn’t have to even be some big scary bad word like lust or greed either. In fact, if your weakness is something that you don’t even realize is a weakness then all the better!

I don’t know what your weakness is, but that is why Paul’s full warning is so critical. Keep watch over yourselves! But not just yourselves…

Acts 20:28 NIV

28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers…

Don’t just look out for yourself. We have to look out for each other. We need to be there for each other. We need to disciple each other. We need to watch each other’s back so we aren’t easy targets for the wolves.

Paul closes his speech with a final bit of advice by referencing something Jesus taught…

Acts 20:33–35 NIV

33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 35 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.’ ”

In other words, humility and generosity will safeguard you from corruption. Most biblical concepts seem to reduce down to the question of selfishness versus selflessness. Most decisions we make every day even come to that same point. “Is this what I SHOULD do or is it what I WANT/DESIRE to do?”

One final thought about chapter twenty. It’s more of an honorable mention that I wanted to share, though. In verse thirty-one Paul talks about teaching the elders for three years…

Acts 20:31 NIV

31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

I honestly didn’t think much of it, but Nate mentioned that the education of the disciples and of Paul also took three years. When I was scrolling through comments, other people mentioned how they had similar experiences of three years of “learning” before God changed something or put them to work. We talked about Elijah earlier… He hid during a three year drought before confronting the King and his false prophets.

Anyway, this is more anecdotal than anything, but it got me to thinking… Has God ever done anything in my life that took three years? I could be remembering this wrong because I don’t think about it much anymore, but I froze when I realized that there was a pretty big moment in my life that took three years!

I will never forget the day that all the kids my age were called to be baptized one Sunday morning during church when we were still going to the Firstborn church. We all sat in two or three rows of pews, and whoever was telling us that God wanted us to get baptized was just walking down the row. Boop… Boop… Boop… At least until they got to me and passed right over me. (There is probably a good passover joke here.) I think Connie felt bad for me, so later she approached me telling me to get baptised as well.

Anyway, I got baptised. I was twelve and really had no idea what any of it meant, but mom told me to pray for Jesus to forgive me and come into my heart and save me. I’ve never really thought about it like this, but three years later God did something huge! I came home from school and mom was watching a preacher on TV. It wasn’t anything unusual, but for some reason it really captivated me that day. I ended up in front of the TV for hours.

Finally the Power Team was on. I don’t know if you know who they are, but they are a Christian strong-man group. They tear phone books, bend rebar, and jump through blocks of ice for Jesus. It sounds silly, but that is how God got my attention and showed me my need for him. I don’t remember what time it was, but I think it was after midnight before I finally went to bed after asking Jesus to do for me what I could never do for myself. I was fifteen.

What a good memory. Has God ever taken you through a “three year training” experience?

Pray

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Paul’s farewell speech echoes the farewell speeches of Moses, Joshua, and Samuel

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1. Paul and Moses (Deuteronomy 31–33)

Both deliver a farewell address to leaders (Moses to Israel’s elders; Paul to Ephesian elders).

Both announce their departure/death:

Moses: “I am about to die” (Deut 31:14)

Paul: “None of you will see my face again” (Acts 20:25)

Both urge faithfulness to God’s commands and vigilance:

Moses: “Be strong and courageous” (Deut 31:6)

Paul: “Pay careful attention to yourselves and the flock” (Acts 20:28)

Both predict future apostasy:

Moses: “After my death you will act corruptly” (Deut 31:29)

Paul: “Fierce wolves will come in… from among your own selves” (Acts 20:29–30)

Both commend the people to God’s Word:

Moses teaches a song/testimony (Deut 31:19)

Paul: “I commend you to God and to the word of His grace” (Acts 20:32)

2. Paul and Joshua (Joshua 23–24)

Both summon leaders to deliver a final speech.

Both reflect on their personal example and conduct:

Joshua: “You have seen all that the Lord has done” (Josh 23:3)

Paul: “You yourselves know how I lived among you” (Acts 20:18)

Both urge careful obedience:

Joshua: “Be very careful… to love the Lord” (Josh 23:11)

Paul: “Pay careful attention to yourselves and the flock” (Acts 20:28)

Both warn of future compromise or corruption:

Joshua: “Do not mix with these nations” (Josh 23:7)

Paul: “From among your own selves… men speaking twisted things” (Acts 20:30)

Both announce their departure:

Joshua: “I am about to go the way of all the earth” (Josh 23:14)

Paul: “You will not see my face again” (Acts 20:25)

3. Paul and Samuel (1 Samuel 12)

Both defend their personal integrity before the people:

Samuel: “Whose ox have I taken?” (1 Sam 12:3)

Paul: “I coveted no one’s silver or gold” (Acts 20:33)

Both review their public service:

Samuel: “I have walked before you from my youth” (1 Sam 12:2)

Paul: “I did not shrink from declaring anything profitable” (Acts 20:20)

Both call witnesses to confirm their integrity:

Samuel: “The Lord is witness against you” (1 Sam 12:5)

Paul: “You yourselves know” (Acts 20:18, 20, 34)

Both warn of consequences for unfaithfulness:

Samuel: “If you do wickedly, you will be swept away” (1 Sam 12:25)

Paul: “From among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things” (Acts 20:30)