4th Nov 2010

Acts 20:13-38 – Paul’s Farewell to the Ephesian Elders

• “To Sin or not to Sin that is the question”
• Nothing is simple in life; especially following Jesus.
• This passage is very sad.
• Paul has to leave friends whom he has given his life to for years. They were obviously very close and yet he is leaving them, knowing he will never ever see them again.
• He is aware that when he goes he cannot protect them in the same way.
• I have only ever tasted a very fraction of that.
• He also has obviously delayed his leaving as long as he could but can do so not longer.
• We get more insight into his heart and mind when we cross reference this passage with 1 Corinthians 16:1-9.
• Paul makes an important decision – he should leave to be in Jerusalem for Passover – it is party of the promise he made as a Pharisee before God.
• Instead he says:
• But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.
• Paul was in effect making a Halakhic [religious law] decision here:
• The word "halakha" is usually translated as "Jewish Law," although a more literal (and more appropriate) translation might be "the path that one walks."
• The word is derived from the Hebrew root Hei-Lamed-Kaf, meaning to go, to walk or to travel.
• The choice were two mitvah’s – commandments – bar-mitzvah = son of commandment. bat- mitzvah – daughter of commandments 
• First – to be in Jerusalem for Passover [pesach] 7 weeks before Pentecost [the feast of weeks]
• Second – to propagate the Gospel.
• Point 1 - He could have used the second command to justify his desire to leave a place with much opposition. How often to we hide our personal desires behind the rules of God, behind bible commands, rather than the heart of god?
• Point 2 - How do we measure success - Paul made a brave decision - one mitvah in his mind was more important to God. What did he base that on?
• Paul realized that human beings are most important to God than rituals.
• These are decisions we have to make all the time.
• We have to weigh up various important commands and sometimes they can conflict – it even happened to Jesus.
• It is in our choosing of which command trumps another that we see what we really value and how we really see God.
• What do you halakhic decisions teach you about how you see Him?