Lechem Panim #211 “Paul Leaves Ephesus” (Acts 20:1-6) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. If you have your Bible, go ahead and turn with me to Acts chapter 20. We will look at verses 1-6 today. And as you are turning there, let me remind you that Paul is preparing at this point to leave the city of Ephesus due to a riot that has taken place, caused by Demetrius (a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis/Diana). He saw how Paul’s message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was pulling people away from worship of Artemis and therefore hurting his business; and so he riles up all the other craftsmen in similar trades and instigates a riot. Now the riot is quelled, but apparently Paul took this riot as a sign that it was time for him to put his plan to go to Jerusalem (and eventually to Rome) into motion. And so it says…

Acts 20:1 (LSB)— 1 Now after the uproar had ceased, Paul having summoned and exhorted the disciples, said farewell and left to go to Macedonia.

Visiting His Church— Now the reason the Paul wanted to visit Macedonia first was because he wanted to collect an offering for the much poorer church in Jerusalem; but also he wanted to pay at least one more visit to these various churches that he had helped to found in that region. And that was because he deeply cared for every single one of those churches. We see in 2 Corinthians 11:23–28 that the "The care of all the churches" was his greatest joy and (at the same time) his heaviest burden. He wasn’t just a preacher; he was a pastor; he was a shepherd, one who truly loved each and every person he ministered to. He was the kind of pastor who worried constantly about his spiritual children and would do anything he could to minister to their physical and spiritual needs.

Departing for Macedonia— And so he leaves Ephesus and begins heading towards Macedonia and Achaia (Acts 19:21). He probably went first to Philippi. Now we know that sometime during his final days in Ephesus, after writing 1 Corinthians, Paul had had a considerable amount of conflict with the Corinthian church. He visited them (likely by sea); and what he saw grieved his heart. And upon returning to Ephesus he wrote to them a “tearful” letter, which we see in 2 Corinthians 7:8-9 that he at first regretted having sent. He had sender’s remorse. I don’t know if that has ever happened to you.

The Angry Letter— I remember a number of years ago, when I was just starting off in ministry, I made some typical mistakes that many new pastors make. And one was that I was too willing to absorb elements of ministry I had no business absorbing. I was preaching three times a week, visiting many people in their homes and in the hospitals (most of which were far away) leading prayer meetings, sometimes leading Sunday school, leading a monthly men’s breakfast, leading a monthly Veteran’s home ministry, and then being the chief organizer of most of our church events. Anywhere where there was slack, I thought it was my duty to be a nice pastor and pick it up. And I remember one day in particular when the lady doing the bulletin at that time said that it had become too much for her and she would have to give it up. Well, who do you think volunteered to do it? I did. And while I was at it, I also absorbed all the secretarial duties (us not having a secretary at the time). And all the while I felt I was being a good pastor. It was only later I realized how much this absorbing way of doing ministry can actually damage a church and cripple its ministries (because nothing is getting done as well when one person is doing most of it); and so I learned to take a more biblical approach and started delegating. And I also learned the freeing power of “no”; politely refusing those things that are not part of what God wanted me to do; and which are also opportunities for somebody else to step up and find their place within the body of Christ. But it was in that time and context of absorbing that I had a member of my congregation criticize me in a very harsh and unfair way, implying I wasn’t doing enough. And I went home very angry. And I sat down and wrote an angry letter, which basically laid out everything I was doing and was lashing back at this person. But (thank the Lord) I showed it to my mentor first, a wonderful man of God that I owe so much to, especially in those early years of ministry. He listened as I read aloud my angry letter and said “Cameron, everything you said was true. But you can’t deliver it.” And I was bummed about that. But I listened and instead allowed myself to cool down and addressed the issue in a much calmer and wiser fashion. And you know what, looking back I realize now that virtually no one in my church had any idea how much I had absorbed. Not even my board knew. Stuff was getting done but I never was communicating what it was I was doing. It was a complete failure of communication on my part. And so this person’s criticism (although not based on fact) was actually my fault, not theirs. And if I had delivered my angry letter, I would have wounded that person (and maybe my church) irreparably.

Burning the First Letter— You know it’s interesting, [When Abraham Lincoln had to write a letter to someone who had irritated him, he would often write two letters. The first letter was deliberately insulting. Then, having gotten those feelings out of his system, he would tear it up and write a second letter, this one tactful and discreet.] And that is a very good practice.

Testing The Waters— Now here in this passage, Paul wasn’t worried about the truth of what he wrote as much as whether or not he was too severe. And we will never know exactly what he wrote because that epistle has been lost; and maybe that was a God-thing. But whatever the case, he had sent it. And now that he’s getting ready to leave Ephesus, he wants to visit Corinth again. However, in light of this harsh letter that he sent, he is afraid of how he might be received by the church there. And so what does he do? He sends Titus ahead of him to “test the waters” at Corinth. And in the meantime (after leaving Ephesus (Acts 20:1), he doesn’t head directly to Corinth by sea. Instead he goes north, [visiting the Christian communities along the way and hoping to meet up with Titus returning from Corinth.] And so he goes [to Troas, and then possibly on to other churches in Macedonia (2 Cor. 2:12-13).] And it is in the region of [Macedonia (perhaps at Philippi, Thessalonica, or Berea) {that} Titus finally joined him and brought the good news that the church {in Corinth} had repented of its opposition to Paul's leadership and had become reconciled to him (2 Cor. 7:5-16). {And so no doubt with huge joy and relief} Paul then wrote 2 Corinthians.] So he’s in Macedonia. And it says in…

Acts 20:2-3 (LSB)— 2 And when he had gone through those districts and had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece {(the greek word is [“Hellas”, which is simply another name for the province of Achaia, where Corinth was located.])}. 3 And there he spent three months, and when a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia.

Paul’s Stay in Corinth— And so we see that Paul stays in Corinth for three months. He [had originally planned to make two visits to Corinth (2 Cor. 1:15-16), but instead he made one visit that lasted three months (Acts 20:3; 1 Cor. 16:5-6).] These were [likely the winter months (see 1 Cor. 16:6), when sea travel was more dangerous.] And it is during this final trip to Corinth that Paul writes his letter to the Romans (c. A.D. 57). And in that letter he explains why he wants to go to Jerusalem, and that was {not just to encourage and strengthen the Christians in those churches, but also} for the purpose of taking an offering [from his Gentile churches to the needy Christians in Jerusalem]. The Church there was very poor and needed a lot of support. And Paul sought to provide that by any means possible. And that was one of his main reasons for revisiting the churches of Macedonia and Achaia this final time, which took Paul [to the churches of Berea, Thessalonica, and Philippi.] He wanted to collect money for that offering. And verses 4-5 tell us…

Acts 20:4  (LSB)— 4 And he was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia.

Church Representation— Now these [men who accompanied him (Acts 20:4) were {official} representatives of the churches, appointed to travel with Paul and help handle the funds (2 Cor. 8:18-24).] [Their presence would give safety from robbery and also would provide a public guarantee of Paul's integrity in handling the funds. The men listed here (Acts 20:4) as accompanying Paul represent all the areas of his missionary work. And it says…

Acts 20:5 (LSB)— 5 But these had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas.

A Jewish Plot— Now although Paul would have sailed from Corinth, we see that there is a plot by the unbelieving Jews to kill him at sea. And sadly (as was almost always the case) that plot came from Paul’s own fellow countrymen (cf. 2 Cor. 11:26). And remember that [The Jewish community of Corinth {in particular} hated Paul because of its humiliating debacle before Gallio (18:12-17), and the stunning conversions of two of its most prominent leaders, Crispus (18:8) and Sosthenes (18:17; 1 Cor. 1:1).] And so some of that Jewish group there in Corinth are plotting to kill Paul. Now [Luke does not record the details of the Jews’ plot, but it undoubtedly involved murdering Paul during the voyage to Syria. The apostle would have been an easy target on a small ship packed with Jewish pilgrims.] They could very easily have pushed him overboard and made Paul (as a Cicilian might say) “sleep with the fishes.” And so (because of this plot) he has to instead travel north [overland through Achaia and Macedonia, {then cross the Aegean Sea to Asia Minor,} sailing from Philippi to Troas, where his “team” agreed to rendezvous.] And so it says…

Acts 20:6 (LSB)— 6 And we sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at Troas within five days; {(it was no doubt due to unfavorable winds that this crossing took 5 days, because when Paul had crossed earlier from Troas to Neapolis (Philippi’s port) it had only taken two days (16:11). But nevertheless, they arrive there at Troas and Luke writes:)} and there we stayed seven days. And next week we will see what happens to Paul during those seven days. But as we close out time together today, I want to encourage you to be courageous enough to speak the truth in love (as Paul learned to do). Learn to burn the first letter. Secondly, we (like Paul) need to always be seeking to meet the needs of other people. There is always at least one person who needs our compassion and love. And we need to be faithful to help them (as Paul was). And thirdly, let us (as we follow Christ) expect opposition and neither be surprised nor afraid when it surfaces. God will be our shield during those times and (even in persecution) will work out His plans and purposes in an amazing way. And so let us trust in Him. Amen.