What does Acts 20:29 mean?
When Paul entered the city of Ephesus, it was filled with demons, witchcraft, and idols. The city was home to the temple of Artemis; however, this was not the Greek goddess of hunting and the moon. Rather, it was a local fertility goddess given the name so the people could worship their native goddess while maintaining nominal loyalty to the Empire's gods. The Holy Spirit empowered Paul to perform mighty acts of healing and exorcisms to validate his message of repentance and acceptance of Jesus. He made such an impression, and so many people chose to follow Jesus, that the local idol-makers started a riot attempting to keep their businesses going (Acts 19:11–34).A few months later, Paul meets with the elders of the church in Ephesus and warns them that their people will be vulnerable to false teachers—including some from their own congregation (Acts 20:30). There's no indication that Paul had specific knowledge of such a thing happening in Ephesus, but he did elsewhere. In Corinth, the church members broke into sects, some following Apollos, Peter, Jesus, or himself (1 Corinthians 1:10–17). In Galatia, legalistic Jewish Christians tried to convince the Gentile Jesus-followers they had to be circumcised and follow the Jewish calendar (Galatians 4:9–11; 5:2–12).
The Ephesian elders do well in this. Decades later, Jesus will praise the church for testing those who claim to be apostles but are false teachers. Sadly, Jesus also notes that they have lost their first love: of Him (Revelation 2:2–4). The church that was founded on repentance needs to return to that humility and remember what Jesus has saved them from (Acts 19:1–4, 17–20; Revelation 2:5). Ignatius will later write the church a letter indicating they did just that.
Acts 20:28–35 records Paul's last words to the elders of Ephesus. He has reminded them of his own faithful service to them and the church. He has told them he is going to Jerusalem where he will be imprisoned; they will never see him again (Acts 20:18–27). Now, he exhorts them to follow his example in leading the church, protecting their people from false teachers, and sacrificing worldly gain to bring others to Christ. Paul will live out this last point as he spends the next five years in custody but still preaching and writing to the churches (Acts 28:30–31).
Acts 20 finishes Paul's third missionary journey. He leaves Ephesus after three years and travels to Macedonia and Corinth. Threats from the Corinthian Jews send him and his team back to Macedonia and Troas. In Troas, Paul gives a very long sermon and raises Eutychus from the dead after he falls—both asleep and out a window. In Miletus, Paul meets with the Ephesian elders. He reminds them to beware of false teachers and tells them he is going to be imprisoned and will not see them again. After a tearful farewell, he boards a ship for Judea.
