- Gospels and Acts(NT) Acts 20:1~38
TURN TO JESUS IN REPENTANCE AND FAITH
Question
Study Questions
1. Read verses 1-6. (Compare Romans 15:23-32) What was the uproar? Why did Paul leave Ephesus? Trace his journey to Troas. What cities did he visit in Macedonia? To what city did he go in Greece and how long did he stay there? Who were his traveling companion and what was his destination? (19; 19:21) (When did Luke join them?)
2. Read verses 7-12. How long did Paul stay in Troas? Describe the Sunday Worship service there. What can we learn about Paul here? About resurrection faith?
3. Read verses 13-16. Trace on a map Paul’s journey to Miletus. Read verses 17-21. Where did Paul meet the Ephesian Elders? Why didn’t he go back to Ephesus?
4. See again verses 19-21. What was his attitude in preaching in Ephesus? What were the problems? What was the main point of his message and what was his goal?
5. Read verses 22-24. What did he expect to encounter in Jerusalem? (See Ro 15:31-32) Knowing the danger, why did he insist on going to Jerusalem? What was his attitude toward the danger?
6. Read verses 25-38. What grieved them most? (38,25) Why was he innocent of all men’s blood? What direction and mission did he rekindle? (28) Of what did he warn them? (29-31) Read 31-35. What was his own example? Describe their parting. (36-37) What can we learn from Paul from his farewell conference with the Ephesian Elders?
Manuscript
Message
21-TURN TO JESUS IN REPENTANCE AND FAITH
Acts 20:1-38
Key Verse: 20:21
TURN TO JESUS IN REPENTANCE AND FAITH
Acts 20:1-38
Key Verse: 20:21
“I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus”
Paul is on his way to Jerusalem. He is taking with him evidence of God’s great work among the Gentiles. He is taking gifts from the Gentile churches and representatives of those churches so that the Jews in Jerusalem may see that God is harvesting the fruit of their prayers and labor among the Gentiles. He wants the Church in Jerusalem to have world mission vision. He wants them to see what God is doing in the whole world.
The uproar in Ephesus occurred because of the agitation of a certain silver smith named Demetrius who would suffer great business set backs if people abandoned their idols and worshiped God through Jesus. The riot which he instigated petered out and Paul and the Christians of Ephesus had no problem. Now, it was time for Paul to leave Ephesus. He traveled overland to Troas, then crossed over into Macedonia. His plan was to visit the Macedonian churches of Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea and others, then go south to the province of Achaia. He spend three months in Corinth. Most likely he wrote his letter to the Romans while in Corinth. After this, he traveled north again to visit the Macedonian churches and collect the offerings which they had promised. He also needed their prayer support.
When he arrived in Troas, he was met by Dr. Luke and others who were in their traveling party. When they met on Sunday for the Sunday Worship service, they met in a rather crowded upstairs room. Paul had a lot to say, and as he talked on and on, a young man named Eutychus sank into a deep sleep and fell out of the window from the third story. He was unconscious, perhaps dead. Paul was not shaken. He simply went down to where Eutychus lay, threw himself on the young man– after the example of Elisha in Kings. He put his arms around Eutychus and he woke up and was fine. And Paul kept on talking until dawn. He demonstrated the power of Jesus’ resurrection–the life-giving power of God who raised Jesus from the dead and restored Euyychus to life.
Paul’s tearful farewell to the Ephesian elders occurred when he met the Ephesian elders on the island of Miletus off the shore from Ephesus. Paul was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem before the Day of Pentecost. Stormy weather after Pentecost made traveling very dangerous. So Paul did not stop in Ephesus–the place where he had spent three years in fruitful Bible teaching. Instead, he asked them to come and see him.
When they arrived, he reminded them of his life among them. He served the Lord with humility and tears. He was continually harassed by the Jews, but he did not hesitate to preach to the believers anything that would build them up and give them faith and courage. He taught in the Hall of Tyranus and in the Synagogue publically. He visited them from house to house and had many one to one and one to two and one to three Bible studies in their homes. His message was simple: Turn to God in repentance and have faith in Jesus Christ. He taught the gospel of God’s grace.
He shared with them his plan to go to Jerusalem and he told them that he expected trouble there. The Holy Spirit warned him in every city that he would suffer and maybe even die in Jerusalem. But still, the Holy Spirit compelled him to go to Jerusalem. It was a mission that he could not abandon. It was a mission that was at the very heart of God. He must help the legalistic and narrow-minded Jewish Christians of Jerusalem to have world mission vision.
He gave them the sad news that he would not see them again–but he had no regrets. He had proclaimed to them the whole will of God. He was not responsible for how they accepted his message. It was their responsibility. He then gave them a solemn charge: They must keep watch over themselves and over the flock of God, for they were shepherds of the church of God, shepherds of the people whom Jesus had purchased with his blood. They could expect attacks on the sheep from without and from within. The devil would try in every way to pervert the truth of God and draw disciples away from Jesus, so they must be on their guard. He committed them to God and to his word of grace.
He urged them to live giving lives, not seeking material benefit from anyone. He had set the example as a self-supporting tent maker missionary. He quoted Jesus’ own words, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Then he knelt down with them and prayed. They wept. They were most sorry about his saying that he would not see him again.