In the meantime, we boarded the ship and set sail for Assos with the intention of meeting Paul, since this was his expectation of us, and since he planned to take the land route. When our ship sailed into the harbor at Assos, Paul boarded it and we sailed to Mitylene. We left from Mitylene the next day, and reached the port of Chios.
The following morning, we sailed for Samos, and the day after this we sailed into Miletus. Paul had decided not to visit Ephesus, as he hoped to spend very little time in Asia. He assumed he would be in Jerusalem to celebrate the Day of Pentecost.
When the apostle reached Miletus, Paul forwarded a message to Ephesus, and asked to meet with the elders of the fledging new church.
And when they met together in Miletus, he spoke to them in this manner:
"No doubt, you know how I have lived, and served among you from the time I first ministered in Asia. You know how I have faithfully and humbly followed the Lord Jesus. And you are well aware of my tears, which resulted from the trials, turmoil and testing which I have experienced, and the vile plots of our Jewish elders.
You know that I have never withheld any good thing from you, and that I have liberally shared the Gospel message with you, both in public and private. I have pled with Jews and Gentiles, alike to repent, and exercise faith towards God. And as I stand here before you, the Spirit of God has compelled me to ‘set my face like a flint,’ and travel to Jerusalem.
“I have no idea what may occur with me there. However, the blessed Holy Spirit has warned me that incarceration, and physical violence will visit me in every city and province. Honestly, my life is inestimably less valuable than the mission which God has assigned to me. I simply wish to reach the end of the pathway which our Lord has laid out before me, and adequately fulfill my ministry, which is to declare the grace and free gift of God in Jesus Christ.
“And I am sure that none of you who sit in my presence today, and who have heard me preach the Gospel will ever see me again. And I am sincere when I say that my heart and spirit are blameless towards you. For I have always faithfully taught, and admonished you to accomplish the whole will of God.
“Now, be careful that you maintain a blameless conscience, and care for those who the Holy Spirit has set in your pathway, and for whom He has made you responsible. You are the shepherds and stewards of the Church of God, which He purchased with His very blood.
“I am all too aware that after I go on to my reward that evil beasts will infiltrate the Church, and they will take advantage of the flock. I am convinced that deceitful men will come in among you who tell lies disguised as truth, and they will entice you to become members of their personal flock. As a result, I must encourage you to remain vigilant. Remember that over the course of three years, I admonished you. (And I now speak to you with tears in my eyes).
“I commit you to the Lord, and to His message of grace which has the wherewithal to strengthen you, and provide you your own place among the faithful. You know that I have never been jealous of anyone’s gold or silver or possessions. And you are all too aware that I have worked with my own hands that I would not have to depend on you.” (And perhaps Paul extended his hands towards them at this point in his monologue).
“At all times I have served as a model to you, and I have shown you by my unselfish efforts that you should always assist the weak and needy among your number, and you should call to mind the Words of our Lord Jesus Christ when He said, 'It is so much better to give, than to receive.’"
With these words, Paul knelt down with the brothers, and they prayed together. Now, all of the brethren were weeping, they embraced the apostle, and they kissed his face. What upset them most, and caused them the most anxiety were his words,
“You will never see me again.”
And at this point, they walked with the Apostle Paul to the ship.
Excerpt from The Book of Acts, Chapter 20,
"The New Testament, McDonald Paraphrase. Copyright 2018
(Please disregard spacing. It is a website issue)
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