Context No. 3428 of 4322 · Acts

Acts 20:13-24: in context

13But we, going ahead to the ship, set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there; for he had so arranged, intending himself to go by land. 14When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and came to Mitylene. 15Sailing from there, we came the following day opposite Chios. The next day we touched at Samos and stayed at Trogyllium, and the day after we came to Miletus. 16For Paul had determined to sail past Ephesus, that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hastening, if it were possible for him, to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. 17From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to himself the elders of the assembly. 18When they had come to him, he said to them, “You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you all the time, 19serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears, and with trials which happened to me by the plots of the Jews; 20how I didn’t shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, teaching you publicly and from house to house, 21testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus. 22Now, behold, I go bound by the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there; 23except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions wait for me. 24But these things don’t count; nor do I hold my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to fully testify to the Good News of the grace of God.

On his way to Jerusalem, where the Spirit has warned him that imprisonment and affliction await, Paul gathers the elders of Ephesus and speaks words that reveal his whole heart. He reminds them how he served the Lord with all humility and with tears, not shrinking from declaring the whole counsel of God, teaching publicly and from house to house.

And then his resolve, in the face of the chains he knows are coming: I do not count my life dear to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. Paul had one aim that outweighed even his own life, to finish the race and complete the work God had given him. He held his very life loosely for the sake of the mission. There is a deep freedom in that, when the completion of God's calling matters more to us than our own safety or comfort or length of days.

Is finishing the work God has given me worth more to me than my own comfort and safety, so that I can hold even my life loosely for his sake?

Sources

Acts 20:24: "These things don't count; nor do I hold my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus."
Acts 20:19: "Serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears, and with trials."
Acts 20:22: "Now, behold, I go bound by the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there."