Acts 20:25-31 – “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. 26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. 27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
“Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again.” It is easy to assume that Paul is saying the he will die before he sees them again, but it is possible that is is not necessarily what he meant. His call by the Holy Spirit to go Jerusalem with the knowledge that he will end up in Rome may be that the Lord is moving Him on to ministry elsewhere. After all he could not quickly take a flight or drive to a distant location. Still the finality in the statement does ring an ominous tone. Yet as V24 plainly states, Paul’s main concern is not his earthly life but it is his desire to faithfully do all that God has called him to do.
“Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. 27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.” This strongly harkens back to the Lord telling the prophet Ezekiel “When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 19 But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.” (Ezekiel 3:18-19) Paul is telling the church leaders that He has not hesitated to preach the full Gospel to them and in that, he has been a faithful deliverer to do what he has been “sent” to do. So the responsibility of their souls is upon them. He was leaving and had done all he could for them. They must hold to the faith and if they do not, it is no longer his responsibility but their own. It is the same for us. Everyone must, of their own free will, decide if they will humble themselves and serve Jesus or if they will not. The responsibility of all Christians is to tell the Gospel, after that, it is the responsibility of everyone to believe and follow or not to. Oh that all would believe and follow, but my heart is pierced that most will not and shall forever suffer for rejecting Jesus. Oh, oh, oh, how I hurt to know that!
“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.” Not only do these church leaders have responsibility for their own eternity, but the responsibility that the Apostle Paul had borne for them, and for all the brothers and sisters with them, was now passed to each of them. Paul is reminding them that God the Holy Spirit has anointed them with a calling to care for God’s flock just as Peter was told to care for the flock of the Lord (John 21:15-21). These shepherds of the flock that Paul was speaking to also had the same responsibility that Ezekiel and Paul had borne. Now they must be faithful shepherds and they were reminded that Jesus does the saving (by His blood) and it is their responsibility to tell and to love. The same responsibility is, in varying assignments, for all of us also.
The original word that is here translated as “shepherds” also could be translated as superintendent, elder, overseer, or guardian. Guardian, as does shepherd, stands out. We are to watch out for each other. We are called to love and care for each other and to nurture those who belong to Jesus. The guardians that Paul was speaking to must carefully attend to their own faith so that they could lovingly and tenderly care for the flock.
“I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” Why was Paul telling them to guard their faith and to be guardians of the flock?” It was because there would be savage wolves who would come to them to try to deceive the young and weak to kill the faith that is in them. Wolves, all predators, eye a flock to look for the easiest prey to kill. So also do false leaders. Often they come bragging about their own greatness, even their greatness of humility. But they are, as described in Jude 1:12-13 as “clouds without rain”, promising much but since they are empty, they cannot bring what they promise. Let us not follow those who are merely charismatic with some form of knowledge, but let us follow those who walk closely in love with God and with His Word, remembering that the chief requirement is love. If one comes with seeming supernatural power, or has great education, or utters great mysteries, and does great acts of kindness, yet does not love the flock more than self, he is a false preacher. Even if the preacher is a great scholar, but love is not the hallmark of their ministry, their ministry is askew, false. (1 Corinthians 13)
Evil men do not only infiltrate the body from without, but they are also among us. Those who would usurp power, being greedy for it, are “clouds with rain.” Be careful of gossipers, those who spread rumor, and those who sneer and think they “can do it better.” Remember that it is God we believe in and we know that He is able to remove whom He wants removed and to bring in whom He wants brought in. Beware those who divide. If cleansing or change must come let God Himself bring it by His Holy Spirit and His Word.
Paul, in his ministry to the brothers and sisters has resisted infiltration of lies, of legalists, of the proud usurpers, of those who would pervert the Word, of those from without or within, and Paul has done so “with tears.” Family and Friends, those who push for positions that God has not given them, or who push out whom God has not moved, are a constant danger to the faith of the individual and the flock. Paul had fought the good fight, had brought the whole counsel of God, and had done so with the love of the Father burning within. He, like Jesus Savior and Lord, put others before self. Praise God for His great love and faithfulness and for sending to us today great leaders like Paul. He still brings to us men who love Him and His Word and who also love us. Great men of God, even today, abound. You will know them by their love and humility and not necessarily by their mega churches. Quantity does not mean quality, yet quantity may be a blessing brought by God. Praise God who still watches over us all! He does so by His Spirit and His Word. Praise God for who He is! Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”