And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.
From Miletus, about thirty miles from Ephesus, Paul sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him while his ship was delayed, before it sailed. The meeting belongs to his journey toward Jerusalem by way of Macedonia after a plot against his life caused him to change his route. Though he had wanted to visit the Ephesian church, he was hurrying to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost and used the stop to bring the leaders, on whom the welfare of the church largely depended, to him for a few hours of counsel and farewell.
The same journey is framed by his desire to reach Jerusalem for the Passover to meet the church there, to deliver aid to believers in Judea, and to strengthen unity between Jewish and Gentile converts. The call brings the elders to hear his appeal to their own knowledge of his manner of life from the first day he came into Asia, serving with all humility and many tears amid temptations from hostile plotting, keeping back nothing profitable but teaching publicly and from house to house. It brings them to hear his testifying to Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ, his preaching the kingdom, his declaring all the counsel of God, his charging overseers to feed the church purchased with His own blood, his warning of grievous wolves and perverse men, his commending them to God and the word of His grace, his coveting no silver or gold or apparel, and his laboring with his own hands to supply his necessities and those with him.
The verse begins the history of his earnest labors in which he taught the Scriptures while working at his trade, and it with the following verses outlines the character of one faithful, all-round minister who performed his duty, a Christian gentleman of the highest type whose worn hands took nothing from the force of his sensible, intelligent and eloquent appeals. He worked as a tentmaker, as at Corinth with Aquila and Priscilla, laboring day and night so as to be chargeable to no one for support. At times suffering hunger himself to relieve the needs of others, he supported his fellow workers, shared his earnings with Luke, and helped Timothy obtain equipment for his journey.
His example proves he was not ashamed or afraid of work and did not treat manual labor as lowering the ministry, showing that honorable mechanical toil with the hands is not degrading, is not inconsistent with true greatness and elevation of character, need not lessen anyone's influence, and need not make a person coarse, rough, uncourteous or discourteous. The verse teaches that ministers and believers now are to be believers of the Bible as well as readers of it, carrying out what is given, hearing the loving voice speaking in the Word and taking it home to the heart. It is not obligatory for ministers to do in all respects as Paul did in this self-supporting labor.
From Miletus, about thirty miles from Ephesus, Paul sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him while his ship was delayed, before it sailed. The meeting belongs to his journey toward Jerusalem by way of Macedonia after a plot against his life caused him to change his route. Though he had wanted to visit the Ephesian church, he was hurrying to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost and used the stop to bring the leaders, on whom the welfare of the church largely depended, to him for a few hours of counsel and farewell.
The same journey is framed by his desire to reach Jerusalem for the Passover to meet the church there, to deliver aid to believers in Judea, and to strengthen unity between Jewish and Gentile converts. The call brings the elders to hear his appeal to their own knowledge of his manner of life from the first day he came into Asia, serving with all humility and many tears amid temptations from hostile plotting, keeping back nothing profitable but teaching publicly and from house to house. It brings them to hear his testifying to Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ, his preaching the kingdom, his declaring all the counsel of God, his charging overseers to feed the church purchased with His own blood, his warning of grievous wolves and perverse men, his commending them to God and the word of His grace, his coveting no silver or gold or apparel, and his laboring with his own hands to supply his necessities and those with him.
The verse begins the history of his earnest labors in which he taught the Scriptures while working at his trade, and it with the following verses outlines the character of one faithful, all-round minister who performed his duty, a Christian gentleman of the highest type whose worn hands took nothing from the force of his sensible, intelligent and eloquent appeals. He worked as a tentmaker, as at Corinth with Aquila and Priscilla, laboring day and night so as to be chargeable to no one for support. At times suffering hunger himself to relieve the needs of others, he supported his fellow workers, shared his earnings with Luke, and helped Timothy obtain equipment for his journey.
His example proves he was not ashamed or afraid of work and did not treat manual labor as lowering the ministry, showing that honorable mechanical toil with the hands is not degrading, is not inconsistent with true greatness and elevation of character, need not lessen anyone's influence, and need not make a person coarse, rough, uncourteous or discourteous. The verse teaches that ministers and believers now are to be believers of the Bible as well as readers of it, carrying out what is given, hearing the loving voice speaking in the Word and taking it home to the heart. It is not obligatory for ministers to do in all respects as Paul did in this self-supporting labor.