Acts 20 reminds me of saying goodbye with tears. My mom hated those emotional times and would sometimes sneak out early to bypass a tearful farewell. It is good to say important things now, because we do not always have an opportunity later. Today’s lesson is about leaving right. We begin with Paul departing Ephesus. “Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said goodbye and set out for Macedonia”. Paul had spent years traveling the known world establishing Christian churches, and would revisit them in his travels, “speaking many words of encouragement to the people”. He was lovingly embraced by the believers, but he was still despised by the Jews in Jerusalem that felt betrayed. He frequently had to move on to avoid arrest. At this point in his life whenever he spoke, the local believers gathered. In Troas, they gathered together “On the first day of the week… to break bread”. Paul intended to leave the next day, so he kept speaking late into the night. One young man seated in a window fell asleep and tumbled out from the third story. Paul paused to bring him back to life, and then kept “talking until daylight”, and then he left them. Friend, are there words of healing that you have left unspoken?
Paul “was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem… by the day of Pentecost”. He sailed past Ephesus; where he would have been surrounded by friends, to go to Jerusalem, where he would undoubtedly face “prison and hardships”. He summoned the elders together at the small port city of Miletus for a final address. First he described his attitude toward his calling. “I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing”. He looked down on no one because he too was a sinner, saved by grace. “I… have taught you publicly and from house to house”. What did Paul say? “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus”. Paul’s message was full of hope. Paul spoke about God’s free gift of total forgiveness, “testifying to the good news of God’s grace”. Peace with God begins with humbly seeking forgiveness, and always leads to an abundance of gratitude. Do you have peace?
Paul knew that he would not return from Jerusalem. “None of you… will ever see me again”. So he chose his words carefully. They now had the responsibility to protect the members of their home churches, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock”. Paul viewed each believer as valuable because their individual sin was paid in full on the cross of Christ. Forgiveness is free, but it comes at a cost. Grace means that Jesus paid my debt “with His own blood”. This is good news to the religious that fall short of perfection, and to the broken hearted that have lost hope. Paul warned, “savage wolves will come in among you”. They “distort the truth in order to draw away disciples… So be on your guard!” The greatest danger to the Christian church remains those that divide by diminishing the complete sufficiency of Jesus. Paul later wrote, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8). We cannot earn forgiveness through our good deeds. He says he taught them “night and day with tears”. Paul continues, “His grace… can build you up and give you an inheritance”. His spoke with confident hope in eternity. Paul exhorts the elders, “we must help the weak”. I believe this means we are to live out true forgiveness for others to see. Before he left, “he knelt down with all of them and prayed. They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him”. We cannot sneak out of this life. My friend, when it is time to depart, will you say goodbye with tears of joy, or tears of regret?