Acts 20:13-27

Meeting with the Elders from Ephesus

The rest of the apostle's company travelled by ship to Assos, while he went on foot. He joined them in the ship at Assos and went on with them to Mitylene, then by Chios, a brief stop at Samos, staying for a time at Trogyllium and a more extended stay at Miletus. Luke explained Paul's longer stay in Miletus by saying Paul intended to sail by Ephesus in hopes of reaching Jerusalem before Pentecost. So, he called for the elders of the church at Ephesus to meet him at Miletus. When they arrived, he reminded them of the struggles he faced while in Asia. He had served the Lord with a humble attitude, even being moved to tears at times and surviving more than one Jewish plot against his life. Yet, he had faithfully declared the truth to them, both publicly, in the synagogue and the school of Tyrannus, and teaching in one house, then another. His preaching had extended to Jews as well as Greeks and included the need for repentance and faith (Acts 20:13-21).

Having reminded them of his time working among them, Paul next told the elders he was compelled to go on to Jerusalem, despite the knowledge of what awaited him there. The Holy Spirit had testified to him, through the voices of prophets and other inspired men (Acts 21:10-11), concerning his impending arrest and the other trials he would confront in Jerusalem. Paul's greatest concern was not for his own personal safety but with completing the special ministry Jesus had given him, or preaching the kingdom, which is one and the same. He did not expect to ever see the faces of those elders again. So, he called upon them to faithfully witness the content of his preaching among those at Ephesus. He had preached the whole truth, thus relieving himself of any responsibility for those who might have remained in sin (Acts 20:22-27).