Paul in Acts
Acts 20
Looking at Acts 20, what would you say is Luke’s main theme and purpose?
A. What is the reason Luke omits the so much of what Paul did in Acts 20:1-6?
1. What were Paul’s plans? 19:21-22
2. If Paul was in Ephesus and he wanted to go to Jerusalem, he would have headed in a southerly direction. Instead, Paul went north and west, in the opposite direction of Jerusalem. Why?
3. What were some of the things Luke omits? Rom. 15:25-26; 2 Cor. 9:2
4. Paul doubled back, going north instead of south, so that he could collect the offerings from the churches in Macedonia, Achaia, and Greece, and then go down to Jerusalem.
5. Any idea why those mentioned in verse 5 were accompanying him? Where are they from?
6. If taking up a collection (for the poor in Jerusalem) in Macedonia, Achaia, and Greece was so important to Paul, why does Luke not even bother to mention the collection?
7. Possible reasons:
§ Luke’s purpose is to show how the gospel spread from Jerusalem to Rome, starting with the Jews (exclusively) to the Gentiles (who became the majority)
§ This trip was not to establish new churches but to strengthen existing ones
§ Money was not that important to the spread of the gospel
8. How was the money collected to be used?
9. How much do you think it cost the church to get the gospel from Jerusalem to Rome?
§ Where did Paul’s support come from? 2 Co. 11:8; 2 Cor. 2:8
§ Where did the money for the poor Jerusalem saints come from? (mission churches)
§ Would this gift convey a message from the mostly Gentile churches?
10. Can the gospel be spread today without money?
11. Should lack of money keep us from spreading it?
12. Do you think the growth of God’s kingdom is dependent on money? Then what?
13. Luke does include the plot by the Jews that forced Paul to change his plans. V. 3
Conclusion:
B. Don’t be a Bible class drop out! Read: 20:7-12
1. To begin with, let us consider the miracle of the raising of Eutychus. Do you believe this was an actual miracle or was Eutychus simply stunned?
2. What would have happened to this meeting if Eutychus has not raised to life?
3. The raising of Eutychus is stated matter-of-factly. There is no hype, no trumpet blowing, only a very brief description of the event. We are not told, for example, that Paul prayed for Eutychus to be raised from the dead, as, for example, Peter seems to have done in Acts 9:36-42).
4. Paul fell over the young man, and he announced that he was alive, but the process of his raising is not spelled out. And after the event, there is no praise gathering for the miracle, even though all were greatly comforted by his raising (verse 12).
5. Why is so little emphasis put on this miracle? Why is it passed over so quickly? Because this was not Paul’s priority. Paul is instrumental in the raising of the lad, but it was not his main interest.
6. Paul was intent on teaching these folks, so much so that when the boy was raised to life, he quickly went back upstairs to observe communion and to teach more, for the rest of the night (verse 11).
7. Eutychus means “good fortune.” He experienced such that night.
Conclusion
L. Alexander Solzhenitsyn speaking about his own country
said: "Over half a century ago, while I was still a child, I recall
hearing a number of older people offer the following explanation for the great
disasters that had befallen Russia: ’Men have forgotten God; that’s why all
this is happening.’ Since then I have spent well-nigh fifty years working on
the history of our revolution; in the process I have read hundreds of books,
collected hundreds of testimonies, and have already contributed eight volumes
of my own toward the effort of clearing away the rubble left by that upheaval.
But if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause
of the ruinous revolution that swallowed up some sixty million people, I could
not put it more accurately than to repeat; ’Men have forgotten God; that’s why
all this happened.’"
C. What made it so important for Paul to stop and visit the Ephesian elders? Acts 20:17-27
1. How long had Paul been with the Ephesian church?
2. Do you think Paul has more friends in Asia, Macedonia, and Greece or in Jerusalem?
3. Do you think it was important for Paul to keep in touch with the Jerusalem church? Why?
4. Paul is in a hurry to get to Jerusalem but his ship makes many stops.
5. What do you think is the reason Paul sent the disciples on in the ship while he traveled overland to the next stop? Mark 6:45-46
6. How do we know Paul was transparent in his relationship with the Ephesian church? 20:18
7. What was the reason Paul taught from house to house?
§ Should Christians teach house to house today? (are some too weak?)
§ Are there better ways to get the job done? (get them to come to the building)
8. Was it important for Paul to be humble (not focused on self)?
§ Who did Jesus say would be the greatest? (Servant of all - Matt. 20:26)
§ How would the threats from the Jews impact his humility?
§ Have you ever let yourself be so used and abused that it made you cry?
§ Do you think Paul preached the gospel to his enemies the Jews?
§ Was the gospel a testimony to the Jews or against them?
9. What was the Holy Spirit compelling Paul to do? 20:22
§ What did Paul have to look forward to there in Jerusalem?
§ The specifics of the hardships are not known at this time 20:22-23
§ More information comes through Agabus - Acts 21:10
§ What does Paul say is more important to him than his life? 20:24
10. Of everything that Paul taught the Christians in Ephesus, what do you think was most important? 20:25 (1 Cor. 15:3)
§ Is the gospel of Christ (or the kingdom) still the most important thing?
§ How can you tell if the gospel is being taught?
§ How can you tell the “whole counsel” of God is being taught?
§ What aspects of the Word of God might we be tempted to hold back?
11. How does the Holy Spirit’s authorization put more emphasis on the elder’s responsibilities? (Truth is crucial to the H.S. – ask Ananias and Saphira)
12. What aspect of the church does Paul use to emphasize its worth?
§ What is it that the master wants for his sheep? (well fed, protection)
§ What about those sickly sheep that have no appetite?
13. Is the threat from church leaders a new development revealed by Paul?
§ What is the threat Paul describes? (wild wolves) 20:29
§ Taking advantage of the flock - Eli’s sons: Hophni and Phinehas
§ The money changers at the temple
14. How does Paul make the point that his main concern is their retention of the gospel message? Acts 20:32-35
15. What did Paul do as the preacher to practice the Lord’s command, “help the weak”?
16. How is it more blessed to give than receive?
17. Do you think the finality of Paul’s leaving them shows how much they loved? 20:38
§ They parted with prayers and tears
§ They accompanied him to the ship
Conclusion: The main
purpose of Luke in the book of Acts is to present an account of the spread of
the gospel from