God’s Word for You
Acts 20:32-35 More blessed to give than receive
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Friday, December 11, 2020
32 And now I entrust you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothes. 34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine saw to my needs and the needs of those who were with me. 35 In all things I showed you that by working hard this way we must help the weak and remember the words the Lord Jesus himself spoke: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Paul is making his final goodbye. When he says, “I entrust you to God,” he uses the same word Jesus used on the cross when he said, “Father, into your hands I commit (entrust) my spirit!” (Luke 23:46). To entrust or commit something to someone else is to give it over entirely to their care. It is also used in the sense of “proving” something (“proving that Jesus had to suffer and rise from the dead” Acts 17:3). Paul was at the same time giving up the care of the Ephesians to God and to the word of God, but also proving to God that the Ephesians had saving faith. They possessed “the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”
As for the Ephesians themselves, he gives them a last reminder to take care of one another. In the same way that Paul had taken care of his own needs, they should not expect that they will be handed anything, but should work all the harder for the benefit of those who aren’t able to work. In this way the church of Christ would never be seen as a parasite, consuming but never giving, but rather as a blessing even to unbelievers.
The quotation from Jesus in verse 35 is not recorded in the Gospels. Paul remembers it himself, either from the preaching of Peter or one of the other apostles, or from his own time alone with Jesus who appeared to him in Arabia (Galatians 1:17-18). 1 Clement 2:1 also quotes these words, but Clement is obviously quoting Paul here in Acts. This makes this verse, Acts 20:35, the first New Testament passage quoted by anyone outside the Scriptures (1 Clement was written in about 95 AD).
One of the ways that we can support one another in the work of the church today is to pray for one another, to pray for the success of the gospel in the world and especially in missions, and to support our missionaries. This is what John encourages in his shorter letters (2 John 1:5-6; 3 John 1:5) and Peter, too, when he commands “brotherly kindness” after godliness (2 Peter 1:7). When we keep one another’s spiritual life and safety at heart, we will show it by looking after their physical life as well. For those times when we have been selfish about our own needs over the needs of others, we should examine our lives and repent. “An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends and defies all sound judgment” (Proverbs 18:1). Remembering that we have a Savior who forgives our sins, even these sins, we can turn once again to God and ask his help to carry out his will. Strive both in your prayers and in your life to live for the good of the gospel of Jesus Christ, to serve him always, and give him glory with whatever you do.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.