Acts 20:17-38
Dear RTB’ers,
Paul’s farewell to the Ephesians. The timing of this particular farewell meeting is strange. Paul had been with the Ephesians for more than two years (Acts 19:10). Then he had gone north to revisit churches in Macedonia, south for the same ministry in Achaia, then back north and a final sea trip on his way to Jerusalem. Now Ephesus is a stop along the way, a stop where he did not want to go all the way to the city, but rather called the elders to himself. (Acts 20:16-17) So it’s not the whole church sending him off, but only a few.
Time and again I’ve asked us to put ourselves into the story. Carol and I can clearly do that for this incident. When we moved here from Maryland we said our goodbyes to our Maryland church on our last Sunday, but then during the week our closest friends held a much smaller gathering, only a few of those who were closest to us. And there was weeping as we were saying goodbye. So yes, I can sit there with the Ephesian elders and hear Paul speak and know the depth of his words and the emotion of the moment. I daresay, there’s something different about church goodbyes compared to other departures. Thank you, Holy Spirit.
Blessings!