Shepherds

Acts 20:25-38

“Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 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. 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. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. “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. I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus Himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.

So many lessons in so much grief. The anticipation of the end that awaits the Apostle Paul is heartbreaking: "What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship (v. 38)." But he leaves them with solid reminders for faith and hope. Give and demonstrate compassion (v. 35), think critically and be on your guard against hypocrisy (vv. 28-31), value self-reliance and independence, and provide value to others (v. 33-34), and a promise of intercession (v. 32). A little curious though that St. Paul attributes a quote to the Lord which is not found in the Gospel accounts, but obviously, not everything Jesus said or did was recorded by the gospel writers, as the Apostle John remarks towards the end of his written work, "truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book... There are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written (John 20:30, 21:25)." Our Lord Jesus Christ is God and He, through the Apostles is asking us to take care of ourselves and His flock, His Church which He paid for by His own blood spilt on the cross (v. 28, John 21:15-18) and this is further illuminated for us practically in St. Paul's letter to St. Timothy, something we all ought to strive for, "an overseer must manage his own household well and keep his children under control, with complete dignity. For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he care for the church of God (I Tim 3:4-5)?" Friends, God is faithful and holy, let us struggle to be so as well, He has already enabled us by His glorious grace it's our turn to respond in gratitude for the gift of Himself He freely gave. Let us be Christlike and be responsible for each other because God is the Good Shepherd, "He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes (Isa 40:11)." Let us pray with the Living Life writer, Lord Jesus, "I want to be on guard and keep watch over myself and others. Help me to work hard for Your kingdom and give freely to all in need. In Your name. Amen."