Testimony of Grace (Acts 20:22-27)

Application Point:
Every believer is called to serve God faithfully for their whole life.

what Paul considered his main purpose in ministry.

22 “And now I am on my way to Jerusalem,
compelled by the Spirit, not knowing what I will encounter there,

23 except that in every town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions are waiting for me.
24 But I consider my life of no value to myself;
my purpose is to finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus,
to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.
25 And now I know that none of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom,
will ever see me again.
26 Therefore I declare to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you,
27 because I did not avoid declaring to you the whole plan of God.”

Key Word

Compelled

Paul had a strong sense of the Holy Spirit’s presence and voice.
In this case, he insisted that the Spirit compelled him to go to Jerusalem.
The Greek word used here (deo)
suggests being held or fastened.
Jesus used the same word to describe binding the strong man in Matthew 12:29,
and John used it to describe Lazarus’s graveclothes once he left the tomb
in John 11:44.
In some cases, it referred to a prisoner in chains.
So, Paul felt irresistibly tied to the Spirit’s direction.
He could not avoid going to Jerusalem if he had wanted to do so.

Ask:

• What did Paul see in his future? Why was he sure it would happen? (p. 87)

Discuss:

verses 24-27
Talk about how Paul’s attitude toward his own life could help him face coming persecution.
Highlight his innocence of any person’s blood.

Ask:

• How would you define “finishing your course”? (p. 87)

Transition:

Paul was ready to move on to the next stage of his journey with Jesus.
But, before he did, the apostle had one more message for the Ephesian elders as they prepared for their work.