NLT Illustrated Study Bible - Book of Acts - Flipbook - Page 63
A cts 2 1 : 8
2019
20:30
1 Jn 2:19
20:32
Deut 33:34
Acts 26:18
Eph 1:18
Col 1:12; 3:24
1 Pet 1:4
20:33
1 Sam 12:3
1 Cor 9:11
2 Cor 7:2; 11:9;
12:1417
20:34
1 Cor 4:12
1 Thes 2:9
20:35
1 Thes 4:11
h makarios (3107)
Rom
4:7
20:37
Rom 16:16
21:1
Acts 16:10
21:4
Acts 20:23; 21:11
21:5
Acts 20:36
21:8
Acts 6:5; 8:26, 40
Eph 4:11
2 Tim 4:5
wolves, will come in among you after I leave,
not sparing the flock. 30Even some men from
your own group will rise up and distort the
truth in order to draw a following. 31 Watch
out! Remember the three years I was with
you—my constant watch and care over you
night and day, and my many tears for you.
32 “And now I entrust you to God and the
message of his grace that is able to build you
up and give you an inheritance with all those
he has set apart for himself.
33 “I have never coveted anyone’s silver or
gold or fine clothes. 34 You know that these
hands of mine have worked to supply my
own needs and even the needs of those who
were with me. 35 And I have been a constant
example of how you can help those in need
by working hard. You should remember the
words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more h blessed
to give than to receive.’ ”
36 When he had finished speaking, he
knelt and prayed with them. 37 They all cried
as they embraced and kissed him good-bye.
38 They were sad most of all because he had
said that they would never see him again.
Then they escorted him down to the ship.
Paul Travels from Miletus to Jerusalem
After saying farewell to the Ephesian
elders, we sailed straight to the island
of Cos. The next day we reached Rhodes and
then went to Patara. 2 There we boarded a
ship sailing for Phoenicia. 3 We sighted the
island of Cyprus, passed it on our left, and
landed at the harbor of Tyre, in Syria, where
the ship was to unload its cargo.
4 We went ashore, found the local believ
ers,* and stayed with them a week. These
believers prophesied through the Holy Spirit
that Paul should not go on to Jerusalem.
5 When we returned to the ship at the end
of the week, the entire congregation, includ
ing women* and children, left the city and
came down to the shore with us. There we
knelt, prayed, 6 and said our farewells. Then
we went aboard, and they returned home.
7 The next stop after leaving Tyre was Ptol
emais, where we greeted the brothers and sis
ters* and stayed for one day. 8 The next day we
21
21:4 Greek disciples; also in 21:16. 21:5 Or wives. 21:7 Greek brothers; also in 21:17.
The Grace of God
Acts 20:24
Num 6:2227
Pss 30:5; 31:16
Isa 61:13
Luke 4:1819
Acts 15:11
Rom 5:1517, 2021
2 Cor 6:1; 8:9; 12:9
Gal 2:21; 4:10; 5:36
Eph 1:38; 2:410
2 Tim 1:9; 2:1
Heb 2:9; 4:16; 13:9
1 Pet 5:56, 12
2 Pet 3:1718
“Grace” is a key word in the Bible. It is used to indicate God’s kindness and favor, which gives
salvation to the undeserving (e.g., 13:43; 14:26). The NT stresses that grace came through
Jesus Christ (John 1:14, 16, 17). In Acts, God’s great favor was initially experienced in the Jew
ish community (Acts 4:33); later, it became clear that God’s grace in Jesus Christ extends to
Gentiles as well (11:23; 15:89; 2 Cor 6:1; Gal 2:21; Eph 2:410; Titus 2:11). Signs and wonders
attested the reality of God’s grace at work among the Gentiles (Acts 14:3).
Paul’s ministry proclaimed the Good News “about the wonderful grace of God” (20:24), and
he encouraged Christians to continue in “the grace of God” as they remained faithful to their
Lord (13:43). Second Peter similarly closes with a command for Christians to “grow in the
grace” of Jesus Christ (2 Pet 3:18). When Paul left the Ephesian elders, he commended them
“to God and the message of his grace,” the divine message that was able to build them up
and sustain them (Acts 20:32; see 15:40). God’s grace is at the core of the Christian message
and the Christian experience, from beginning to end.
20:35 ‘It is more blessed to give than
to receive’: This saying of Jesus is not
recorded in the Gospels.
20:38 The poignancy of the occasion
was heightened by awareness that they
would never see him again (20:25).
21:118 This “we” passage (see notes
on 16:10; 20:515) covers Paul’s journey
from Miletus to Jerusalem at the close of
the third missionary journey.
21:1 Cos was an island in the Aegean
Sea with a major trade port. • Rhodes
is a large Aegean island that featured
the Colossus, a huge statue 100 feet
(30 meters) tall that once stood at the
entrance to the city. In Paul’s time, the
PROPHETS OF ISRAEL
statue lay where it had fallen during
an earthquake over 200 years earlier;
it would not be removed for another
600 years. • Patara was the major port
of Lycia, located on the coast opposite
Rhodes.
21:23 Tyre was an important port in
Phoenicia with a maritime empire of
far-flung commercial interests (see
Isa 23; Jer 25:1538; 47; Zech 9; Matt
15:2128; Mark 7:2431).
21:46 The local believers at Tyre gave
Paul a touching farewell that reveals
deep Christian fellowship. • prophesied
through the Holy Spirit that Paul should
not go on to Jerusalem: The believers at
GOSPELS & ACTS
Tyre clearly foresaw the danger in Paul’s
visiting Jerusalem and out of brotherly
concern tried to dissuade him. Paul will
ingly accepted the risks in order to fulfill
his apostolic mandate (cp. Phil 3:710).
See also note on Acts 21:1114.
21:7 Paul visited Ptolemais, an impor
tant city on the coast of the Mediter
ranean, as he made his way from Tyre
to Caesarea.
21:8 Philip had the title of Evangelist
due to his evangelistic activity (8:440;
cp. Eph 4:11; 2 Tim 4:5).
L E T T E R S O F PAU L
OTHER LET TERS
