NOTES for Act 20:17-27

Paul's words that he is "innocent of the blood of all" because throughout his ministry he proclaimed God's will to everyone recall words spoken by God to one of Israel's great prophets, Ezekiel, whose meaning came down to this: the prophet's task is to bear witness to what God has revealed to him.

The reaction of those to whom he testifies to what they have heard is not his concern. If a person does not listen to the witness's words, that will be his sin and his responsibility, and the witness, having done his work, will not bear responsibility for the one who did not listen to his words.

But if the witness keeps silent, hides his testimony, and the one whom he should have rebuked sins while the prophet is silent, then the prophet will be responsible for the sinner's sin to the same extent as the one who sinned. The principle, as we can see, is simple: a silent witness who refuses to testify becomes an accomplice in another's sin.

Paul evidently holds the same position: he always remained a faithful witness of Christ and the Kingdom, never hid his testimony from anyone, and now the one who did not consider it necessary to listen to his words will answer himself for the consequences of his choice. But in Paul's case, of course, the matter is further complicated by a new measure of responsibility both for the testimony and for its rejection.

Of course, the ancient prophets too testified about things spiritually vital. If, for example, they rebuked individual people or whole nations for violating the commandments, the matter often really concerned life and death, the path of righteousness leading to life and the path of sin leading to death.

But here the matter was still a choice within the present, untransformed order of things. Paul, however, testifies about Christ and the Kingdom, placing the hearer in a situation of absolute choice, a choice between final salvation and final destruction.

Without question, the responsibility of the witness in such a situation is immeasurably higher. But the hearer's responsibility for the choice he has made is also much more serious. And, understanding this, the apostle sums up his ministry: he pushed no one away, hid nothing from anyone, and did everything he could. The rest depends only on the listeners themselves.

The speech Paul addressed to the brethren before leaving for Jerusalem recalls Christ’s farewell words at the Last Supper, and this cannot surprise us, for Paul himself asked Christians: “...imitate me, as I imitate Christ” (1 Cor. 4:16). This is not imitation in the bad sense of the word, for Paul does not mimic the Teacher’s appearance and manner, as the many false christs and false prophets do; rather, he consciously carries out the task entrusted to him, measuring his words and actions against Christ.

Facing the trials ahead, Paul takes stock of his ministry. We know that it is not finished and that Paul still has much to do, but at this moment, as at any moment, he is ready to answer for what he has or has not managed to accomplish.

Having warned the brethren he is leaving about the dangers, Paul entrusts them not to the authoritative leadership of any apostle or other experienced church person, but to God and the word of His grace. Paul does not replace God and His will with human undertakings: however well designed and necessary they may be, they will not help without Him.

This conversation of the apostle Paul with the Ephesian presbyters is one of the most dramatic passages in the book of Acts. Paul knows that he is going to meet trials, and that he will no longer see most of his brothers and coworkers. Therefore his words to them are a kind of spiritual testament, the most important thing he can say to the disciples of Christ.

Thus he reminds them that he did not preach a new teaching, a new law, or a new religion to them; he simply became a servant and witness of the beginning of their own direct relationship with God. He does not call them to cling to external authorities, but to pay attention to themselves and to the flock in which the Spirit dwells, the flock that Christ the Savior acquired for Himself. Now God will guide His Church, and the presbyters are only His servants. And finally, let them remember the words of Jesus, words that Paul himself fulfilled to the end: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Paul proved that these words are not so much about money as about everything a person has: soul, time, strength, his whole life.