What does Acts 20:30 mean?
Paul has been a church planter for many years. In his first foray into missions, he and Barnabas established several churches in the province of Galatia, in central modern-day Turkey. When they returned home, they discovered that legalistic Jewish Christians who wanted to maintain their standing in the Jewish community had infiltrated the churches in Galatia as well as Syrian Antioch. The Jews tried to convince the Gentile Christians they needed to convert to Judaism—particularly, to be circumcised—before they could follow the Jewish Messiah. Paul rejected their hypocrisy, saying if they depended on works to be saved from their sins, they should go all the way and emasculate themselves (Galatians 5:2–12).So, when Paul meets for the last time with the elders of the church of Ephesus, he understands the pressure they will be under. He warns them, "after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock" (Acts 20:29). Strong leadership will protect the congregation.
Pastors and elders face the same issues today. The culture bombards us with different ideas of what can save us—money, politics, societal justice—and church-attending Christians can get caught up in making these secondary and tertiary issues on par with faith in Jesus. Thus, in Paul's later letter to the Ephesians, he strongly insists that salvation is by the grace of God through the faith He gives us. Not only is salvation not a work, but also any good thing we do is prepared for us by God before we are born (Ephesians 2:8–10).
The Ephesian elders listen and follow Paul's instruction. When John is on the island of Patmos, recording Jesus' revelation to him, Jesus tells him the Ephesians have done well to root out false teaching. Unfortunately, they have forgotten their love for Him and the repentance that first built their church (Revelation 2:2–5; Acts 19:1–4, 17–20). They heed John's warning and Ignatius of Antioch will write the church and praise them for their faith and love in Christ Jesus.
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.
