I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’
Acts 20:33-35
In Paul’s final words to the Ephesian elders, we see our third area of emphasis in the role of a pastor. We have previously considered their responsibility to faithfully declare the fullness of the word of God, and then last time we saw the need of pastors to protect the flock from attack both from outside and inside the assembly. We finish this week with a call to pastors to serve the church above themselves. In short, shepherds feed sheep, protect sheep, and lay down their lives for the sheep. Paul’s constant practice was to put others ahead of himself, being driven by love for their souls and a desire to acknowledge in his actions the words of our Lord: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
One of the ways Paul’s giving heart was revealed was that he continued to work to provide for his natural needs while also ministering to the Ephesians. His ministry there was no small task because, by his own confession, “for three years [he] did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears”. (Act 18:31) Being a tentmaker by trade (18:3), Paul presumably continued in that profession while also laboring in constant care for their souls. His reason for such labor was so that he might not put any unnecessary weight upon them even as his example was to the Thessalonians in 2Th 3:8: “nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you…”
The point here is not that pastors should always have a second job or that churches have no need to care for their pastors. Paul states very clearly in 1Co 9:6-14 that the church has a responsibility for those who minister the word of God to them because “the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.” (v. 14) It is a great blessing if a church is able to free a man so that he is able to focus on prayer and study of the word without the burden of other employment. (Act 6:2) If a man is truly called of God to preach the gospel, then such freedom will only benefit the church because they will have fuller access to the gift God has provided through that individual; however, because of his servant’s heart, Paul’s practice over and over again was to work on the side as he preached the gospel (Act 18:3, 20:34, 1Co 9:12, 14-18, 1Th 2:9, 2Th 3:8). As he says in 1Co 9:19, “I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more”. And so, he and his companions were committed to “endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ”. (v. 12)
The sincerity of this love and service for the flock of God can be seen in the language the apostle uses as he compares himself to a parent caring for his children. As he wrote in 2Co 12:14-15: “…I will not be burdensome to you; for I do not seek yours, but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved…” That final statement should be familiar to loving parents because we see that our children often don’t understand the sacrifices we make for them. Speaking from experience, it’s usually not until we leave home that we realize just how much our parents did for us. Paul ministered with this type of tireless, parental love and encouraged other pastors to do the same. He uses similar language in 1Th 2:7, 11 to convey that the gentleness of a mother and the instruction of a father were evident in his ministry: “But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children…as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children…”
Such loving care for the flock will not go unnoticed by those unto whom we minister. The Ephesians knew the words Paul spoke concerning his love for them were true because their hearts were moved as he finished his discourse. When they heard they would not see him again, we read, “Then they all wept freely, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him…” (Act 20:37) He had served them with tears (v. 19, 31), and so they were brought to tears at his departure. May we endeavor to serve the souls around us in like manner. Men’s hearts will be affected by the witness of those who truly show, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Jamie