The Third Missionary Journey, Part 7

Jim ButlerActs 20:33–38

Acts 20:32–38 concludes Paul's farewell address to the Ephesian elders at Miletus, functioning as a pastoral charge that moves from doctrinal grounding to ethical example to affectionate departure. The sermon treats three movements: Paul's commendation of the elders to God and the Word of His grace as the only sufficient resource for long-term ministry, Paul's example of non-covetousness and manual labor as a rebuke against ministerial greed, and the tearful parting as a model of godly gratitude for the instruments of grace. A sustained excursus defends the biblical warrant for paying pastors from 1 Corinthians 9, 1 Timothy 5, and 2 Timothy 2, establishing that Paul's voluntary self-support was the exercise of a right, not the abolition of one. The sermon closes with a call to pray for faithful ministers and to value the means God ordains for the salvation of sinners.