Verses 1-6
Paul leaves Ephesus traveling through Macedonia, Philippi, Thesollonica, Berea, encouraging the brothers and ended up in Greece for 3 months. But due to the Jews plotting to kill him Paul decided to return to Syria (Troas) where he remained for 7 days. He traveled again through Macedonia.
Pauls traveling companions:
Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea
Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica
Gaius from Derbe.
Timothy, Tychicus and Trophyimus from Asia.
Verses 7 – 12
The story of Eutychus. Paul on the first day arrived preached until midnight for he was leaving the next day. As the evening wore on a young buy names Eutychus, who was in the room, fell asleep and fell from the third story window onto the street. But Paul, in the power of God, threw himself on Eutychus who came to life.
Verses 13 – 17
Travel to Miletus passing through: Assos, Chios, Samos and then Miletus. He passed by Ephesus for he wanted to be in Jerusalem for Pentecost.
Verses 18-35
They traveled to Miletus where Paul met with the Ephesian Elders and gave them this message:
“You yourselves know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I set foot in the province of Asia,19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, and with the trials that happened to me because of the plots of the Jews. 20 You know that I did not hold back from proclaiming to you anything that would be helpful, and from teaching you publicly and from house to house, 21 testifying to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.22 And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem without knowing what will happen to me there,23 except that the Holy Spirit warns me in town after town that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me. 24 But I do not consider my life worth anything to myself, so that I may finish my task and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace.
[Teaching points: Paul’s teachings to the Ephesians: repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus and his thorough efforts to teach everyone even in their houses.]
25 “And now I know that none of you among whom I went around proclaiming the kingdom will see me again. 26 Therefore I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of you all. 27 For I did not hold back from announcing to you the whole purpose of God. 28 Watch out for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son. 29 I know that after I am gone fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Even from among your own group men will arise, teaching perversions of the truth to draw the disciples away after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears. 32 And now I entrust you to God and to the message of his grace. This message is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I have desired no one’s silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine provided for my needs and the needs of those who were with me. 35 By all these things, I have shown you that by working in this way we must help the weak, and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
[Teaching points: Shepherd the flock and protect it from wolves who will rise up from among your own people to lead the people astray.]
Verses 36-38
Then Paul and the Elders knelt down to pray and wept for they knew they would not see each other again.
[Teaching point: their love for one another.]
Views from an Evangelist 