Have you ever thrown a going away or farewell or bon voyage party? We have had farewells at church, of course. And if it is a serious farewell, it cannot but be sad and painful. It will only not be sad if you didn’t like the person or if they are going away for a short time. You do not want to celebrate that the person is leaving. ‘Excellent, I won’t have to see him or her anymore!’ That is not why you have farewell parties. You simply wish to celebrate a person who is significant in your life.
Juliet says, ‘parting is such sweet sorrow’. She feels a love that hurts when she is apart from Romeo.
In our reading today, we see two farewell parties. And both are sad, or are tinged with sadness, but for different reasons. One became bitterly sad, but that sadness gave way to joy. And one ended on a very sad note, but not without hope.
For Christians, all partings are temporary. For we know there will be that great reunion, that great party, around Jesus Christ in the new heaven and the new earth. But the way to our destination is long and treacherous. Sadly, the danger is that some will fall short of reaching their goal.
Last week we saw Paul spending three years in Ephesus. We saw 12 disciples of John the Baptist Baptised with the Spirit. We saw real, expensive repentance that cost $5 million dollars. And we saw a riot because Christianity had an economic impact on the god-makers.
But after the riot, it seems that Paul’s settled local ministry in Ephesus was no longer viable. So Paul left to re-visit Greece.
Paul spent three months in the churches he founded in Macedonian and Achaia, what we call modern day Greece. So travelling South from Philippi, Thessalonika, Berea, Athens and Corinth[1] all received a second visit from their planter and human founder. And because of a Jewish plot, each city also then received a third visit, as Paul doubled back to travel north overland with his companions[2] (Acts 20:3). And back in Philippi, he boarded a boat, and crossed the Agean to arrive at Troas in Asia Minor.
So Troas is the first farewell that’s recorded for us. On this visit, Paul stayed another week (Acts 20:5-6). And on the day before he left, Paul did another allnighter. So in Troas, we observe a new phenomenon in the church: falling asleep at church!
Well, it’s not that new, is it? I remember in the church of my youth, walking past a bloke who had fallen asleep and remained so after church finished. Every one walked past him sniggering.
I have had little dozes in church myself. It will happen if you hang around church long enough, and especially if the minister hangs around for a long term in his sermons.
Young Eutyches is the first fellow to fall asleep in a sermon, but he wouldn’t be the last. It’s a common complaint. The sermon is too long, it puts me to sleep. Can I say to you now, I’m sorry for the extra words I didn’t need to say. Think of an overly long sermon as a middle eastern host putting out more food than can be consumed, for fear of not having enough. It’s not because he doesn’t love you, but because he does.
I feel better when I read Cranmer’s advice to Latimer. When Latimer went to preach before King Henry the 8th, Cranmer advised him: “stand no longer than an hour, or a hour and a half at the most.”(http://www.churchsociety.org/crossway/documents/Cway_055_Streater-Latimer.pdf)
An hour and a half sermon! How do you think you would go? But even Latimer’s hour and a half might have saved poor young Eutyches in Troas. It’s a Sunday, they’ve spent the day together, they’ve eaten. It’s fallen dark. Young Eutyches is there, probably a youth, a high schooler. But with a full belly, crowded room, not much movement of air, except for the hot air leaving the Apostle’s mouth, he dozes off. Paul speaks till midnight. Now that’s a long sermon, all day and into the night. And as Paul goes on and on, not surprisingly, Eutyches falls asleep. Sadly, he was sitting on the window sill. So he falls from the third storey and ends up dead.
Church and Christianity doesn’t protect us from gravity and the normal realities of life, like making sure OH&S is good.
But remember, the Lord does great miracles through Paul. So Paul rushes down, falls upon him, gathers up the youngster in his arms, and says, Acts 20:10
"Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him." (NIV)
He restores the boy alive to his church and his family. And they all eat, that universal act of consolation. I guess just like on a long haul flight, they feed you to help you endure the travel and to forget the time. And Paul keeps going in his sermon until sunrise.
Well, I guess you’re allowed to preach for 20 hours if for intermission you raise the dead. This is no pattern for modern preachers. And you can remind your preachers that are only allowed to preach for 10 hours like Paul if you can raise the dead like Paul. Acts is descriptive not prescriptive. It tells us what did happen then, not what must happen now.
Perhaps Paul figured he could sleep in the boat and they could sleep once he left. The length of his homily indicates that Paul thought what we was speaking about was very important. And Paul often went without sleep.
So there is the first farewell, at Troas. Long, and with tears. But it issued in the encouragement of the resuscitation of Eutyches.
The second farewell speech is in Miletus, south of Ephesus. Paul has travelled south along the coast of modern day Turkey. And he summons the elders[3] of the Ephesian church.
In Troas, we see the farewell from the outside. All we know is that it was really really long, and Eutyches was raised from dead. But in Miletus, we hear Paul’s farewell from the inside, as a fly on the wall.
They say that real men don’t cry. They also say that real men don’t kiss each other. Of course, such saying are Anglo-Australian cultural attitudes about masculinity. They are not things that Paul really cares about.
And the Ephesian elders love Paul so much they are all over him by the end of the chapter, falling upon his neck. Chapter 20 is wet with tears.
Verse 19, Paul served the Lord with all humility and with tears during his time in Ephesus.
Verse 31, Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.
Verse 37, And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him
Why don’t I cry when I preach to you? Maybe that’s why congregations don’t cry when ministers leave. Well, we might say that we are Aussies. And instead of a kiss, I’m sure my brothers here would prefer a warm handshake and a slap on the back, rather than sandpaper social kisses. I certainly would. Even a long two-handed handshake would be better than blokes kissing, in our culture. Acts is descriptive, not prescriptive. Phew.
Aussies of course shun crocodile tears. But it does make me ask, can I do better, as your pastor? Is there something I can learn from Paul’s love for you from his tears? I think so. I can grow and abound in love for you, so that my care for your eternal welfare would overflow in tears? Not show tears, but tears that show I do care for you and love you.
Paul is in a hurry to get to Jerusalem. Probably he wants to get a gift of money to the poor Christians in Jerusalem. But at one level, I don’t know why Paul is so eager to get to Jerusalem. Look at verses 22 to 23:
And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. (Acts 20:22-23 NIV)
Paul is a free man. But he is already a prisoner. Who has imprisoned him? The Spirit. Paul is bound by the Spirit. God is his jailer, and the Holy Spirit is his chain. The love of Christ constrains him. And like his Lord before him, Paul is heading to Jerusalem to suffer. Not for our sins, but so that the gospel may go to the Gentiles. Paul will fill up in his flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions. And what is lacking is the preaching of Christ crucified to the nations. The Risen Jesus said he would show Paul how much he must suffer for the gospel to go out. And now Paul is seeing it.
Paul spent 3 years on and off with the Ephesians. And we get an insight into what Paul did in Ephesus and how Paul did it from his farewell address.
Verse 19, Paul said he conducted his three year ministry, ‘serving the Lord with all humility’. Literally, ‘Paul served the Lord as a slave with a deep sense of his own unworthiness’[4].
Who is equal to the task of being God’s ambassadors, and preaching the gospel of free forgiveness? Not me. We are all, after all, sinful. I don’t deserve to be a minister of the gospel, or even a Christian. And neither do you. We graciously get the high privilege to be the ambassadors of Jesus Christ to tell the gospel to our dying world.
Verse 20, Paul says that he did not shrink[5] from declaring to you anything that was profitable. Paul shunned cowardice. He decided to speak about the things that needed to be said. He didn’t hold anything back that could be helpful.
You know, it is very tempting for me to tone down the message. I don’t want to offend you or lose you from my church. So I could give you nice, insipid, inoffensive, and most importantly, SHORT, talks.
But that is not the Apostolic way, as we have seen. The Apostolic way is to love the truth and speak the truth in love. So that’s why I say that homosexuality is wrong, or that the bible teaches male self-sacrificial headship, and female loving submission, or that God hates divorce, or that sex outside of marriage is sin, or that in love God predestined us to be adopted as his Sons, and that God has mercy on whom he has mercy, and he hardens who he wants to harden. That’s why I don’t teach evolution, but that God created the world and us with his word, and we are not just upright apes, but made specially and in his image, because this is what the bible teaches, no matter whether our society likes it or not.
Verse 20, Paul taught publicly and from house to house. Maybe it was doorknocking, but more likely it was visiting house churches, or accepting invitations to share the gospel to the family and friends of new believers. These house to house visits were not to eat cake and have cups of tea and harmless nice conversation. These house to house visits were to make sure that people had repented and had believed the gospel.
Verse 21, Paul testified both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul went over to people’s houses and asked probing questions. He looked them in the eye and asked, ‘Have you repented?’ Have you stopped visiting the pagan temples. Have you stopped having sex outside marriage, or using pornography, or alcohol and drugs. Have you put away slander, and malice and evil desires and greed. And instead, are you loving your wife and teaching your children about Christ. And have you put your trust in Jesus and in him alone. Have you trusted Jesus’ death and resurrection for your forgiveness. Have you believed the news that I’ve brought you, that God bought us and gained us by his own blood, the blood of his own Son, when Jesus died on the cross. Have you understood the word of God’s grace, and not trusting your own goodness and religious works.
Paul sees this issue with ultimate seriousness and solemnity. Verses 26 and 27:
Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. (Acts 20:26-27 NIV)
What Paul is saying is this: ‘When God calls me to account for your blood, you won’t be able to say to God that you didn’t know.’ Paul as a watchman has declared he has discharged his obligation to warn. Paul is saying, ‘What I have told you can save you from hell and bring you to heaven, if you believe it and repent’.
And what of you? Do you believe that what we do here at church is a matter of heaven and hell? If you don’t believe what we are doing here is a matter of heaven and hell, why are you here? If it’s not about heaven and hell, go home, watch the TV, enjoy what is left of your short life, eat, drink and be merry, and look somewhere else for the truth. But if it is a matter of heaven and hell, then this word of salvation is for you, and for your children, and for all who are far off, for as many as the Lord our God will call. What we talk about here, and think about here, is not just playing church. It’s not dress ups and move around the building in choreographed maneouvers. What we do here is meant to feed you, to provide you with spiritual waybread on your journey to heaven, and to keep you from falling into the pit of hell.
Christianity has many great and wonderful benefits in this life. It is the best way to live. There is great joy in the midst of hardship and suffering. There is the peace of God that surpasses understanding. But unless you see that Christianity is a matter of heaven and hell, you haven’t understood it. You and I need to flee from the God’s coming wrath. And we need to take refuge in God’s Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and entrust ourselves to his death and resurrection alone.
Paul had stayed at Ephesus for three years. And he was about to leave. I have been here for just over three years. I am not intending to leave anytime soon. And I am certainly not the Apostle Paul. I can’t say I’ve made tents night and day while I’ve preached to you free of charge. No, I’ve depended on you to pay my stipend, and to live in your church house. However, I can say this, with St Paul. I don’t want your blood on my head.
I have a concern for you, and I have a concern for myself. I don’t want to go before Jesus, my maker and my judge, and on top of all my other sins, I pile up the sin of not telling you how to be saved. So I say to you now. Have you repented? Have you believed the gospel? Is Jesus Christ your Lord, who died and rose again for your sins?
So I say this with Paul: Romans 10 verses 9:
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9 NIV)
And I also say this with Paul: 2 Timothy 2 verse 19
"The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." (2 Timothy 2:19 NIV)
You can fool me. I’m just a man. But you cannot fool God. He sees into our hearts and souls. And he says, come to me, as you are, and I will cleanse you from all your wickedness, and teach you a better way.
Confess Jesus, and you will be saved. Confess Jesus, and you must also turn away from wickedness.
Paul’s farewell is so sad and so poignant, and not just because he won’t see them again, but also because of the dangers that lie ahead for the Ephesian Christians. The Apostle Paul appointed these elders and overseers to the church. Yet he says this about them: Verses 29 to 30:
I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. (Acts 20:29-30 NIV)
Spiritual use and abuse by clergy, and heresy and false teaching, need to be expected and guarded against. Ministers who munch people. Ministers who deceive and lie. Ministers who draw off disciples after them. Wolves in sheep’s clothing.
And humanly speaking, do you know the only thing standing between the church and them. My and your vigilance.
Verse 31: Be on your guard.
You need to be bible reading people. You need to know your bible, so that if I or someone else comes with a different gospel, you will see them and discern them, despite the fluffy wool exterior. As the RSL says, ‘The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.’ If you want to maintain your spiritual freedom in the gospel of Christ, you keep watch for false living and false teaching. And when you see it, you do something about it.
But the last word is not of the dangers. The last word is grace. Verse 32:
Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Acts 20:32 NIV)
We start the Christian life by grace. We finish the Christian life by grace. The gospel of grace is what can bring us to God’s eternal kingdom, if we continue in it.
Paul’s arm was too short to save. So is mine. But not the Lord Jesus’.
[H]e is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. (Hebrews 7:25 NIV)
Let’s Pray
[1]Hellas is the popular name for Achaia, while modern day Greece consists of what was Macedonia and Achaia. Paul probably wrote the letter to the Romans from Corinth in the winter of AD 56-7.
[2]Paul intended that representatives of the donor churches would bring the gift to Jerusalem.
[3] Presbuteroi, but called episkopoi in verse 28.
[4] Lit, all humility. humble minded, having a humble opinion of oneself; a deep sense of one's (moral) littleness; modesty, humility, lowliness of mind. The word doesn’t occur in the OT: Thayer.
[5] I drawback, withdraw, shrink back; also v27. Seems to contain an element of fear or cowardice, but contrast Barrett, 2:968, who reads it against Gnostic claims (where?) that Paul had withheld a secret tradition from the church.