Take
heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the assembly of the Lord and God which he purchased with his own blood. For I know that after my departure, vicious wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Men will arise from among your own selves, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore watch, remembering that for a period of three years I didn’t cease to admonish everyone night and day with tears.
Acts 20:28-31
Acts 20 [17.] From Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called to himself the elders of the assembly. When they had come to him, he said to them, “You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you all the time, serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears, and with trials which happened to me by the plots of the Jews; how I didn’t shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, teaching you publicly and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus. Now, behold, I go bound by the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there; except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions wait for me. But these things don’t count; nor do I hold my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to fully testify to the Good News of the grace of God.
Acts 20 [25.] “Now, behold, I know that you all, among whom I went about preaching God’s Kingdom, will see my face no more. Therefore I testify to you today that I am clean from the blood of all men, for I didn’t shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the assembly of the Lord and God which he purchased with his own blood. For I know that after my departure, vicious wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Men will arise from among your own selves, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore watch, remembering that for a period of three years I didn’t cease to admonish everyone night and day with tears. Now, brothers, I entrust you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build up, and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one’s silver, or gold, or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands served my necessities, and those who were with me. In all things I gave you an example, that so laboring you ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Acts 20 [36.] When he had spoken these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. They all wept a lot, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all because of the word which he had spoken, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.
Meaning:
Having declared that he was clean from the blood of all because he had taught the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:26-27), Paul now turns to the elders’ own responsibility. These verses are the heart of his farewell charge.
- “Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock”
Leaders must first watch over their own lives, then over the flock. Paul gave Timothy the same instruction: “Pay attention to yourself, and to your teaching” (1 Timothy 4:16).
- “In which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the assembly”
Paul had appointed these elders, but the Holy Spirit placed them. As “overseers” their task was “to shepherd”: to feed, lead and protect. Jesus gave Peter the same charge: “Feed my lambs” (John 21:15), and Peter passed it on: “Shepherd the flock of God which is among you” (1 Peter 5:2). The flock belongs to God, not to the leaders.
- “Which he purchased with his own blood”
The church is precious because God bought it at the highest price: “You were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold… but with precious blood, as of a faultless and pure lamb, the blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19). Manuscripts differ in this verse. The World English Bible reads “the assembly of the Lord and God,” while a footnote notes that other Greek editions read simply “of God,” and some manuscripts read “of the Lord.” The words “with his own blood” can also be understood of the blood of God’s own Son. Interpreters weigh these readings differently, but all agree that the church was bought by the death of Christ.
- “Vicious wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock”
Paul foresaw false teachers coming from outside. Jesus warned of “false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15), and he contrasted the good shepherd with the hired hand who “sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees” (John 10:12).
- “Men will arise from among your own selves, speaking perverse things”
Danger would also come from inside. Paul’s letters to Timothy name men such as Hymenaeus and Alexander who “made a shipwreck concerning the faith” (1 Timothy 1:19-20). Years later, the Lord commended the church in Ephesus because it had “tested those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and found them false” (Revelation 2:2).
- “Therefore watch… night and day with tears”
Paul’s three years in Ephesus are his example of watchfulness: constant warning, given with tears of love. Jesus’ command was the same: “What I tell you, I tell all: Watch” (Mark 13:37).
The Significance of Acts 20:28-31
- Leaders guard their own hearts
Spiritual leadership begins with personal faithfulness. Those who teach and lead others must keep watch over their own lives.
- The church is precious to God
The church is a people purchased with Christ’s blood, to be treated with care and reverence.
- Vigilance against error
Love for the flock requires knowing the truth and watching for distortions of it, from outside or within.
Cross-References:
1 Peter 5:2: "Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight," The same charge to elders.
1 Peter 1:19: "but with precious blood, as of a faultless and pure lamb, the blood of Christ;" The price of the church.
Matthew 7:15: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves." Wolves among the flock.
John 10:11: "The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." The model for every shepherd of God’s people.
Conclusion: Paul charged the Ephesian elders to watch over themselves and the flock, which the Holy Spirit had entrusted to them and which God had purchased with his own blood. He warned of wolves from outside and false teachers from within, and pointed to his own three years of tearful vigilance. The passage calls leaders to guard their own hearts, to shepherd God’s precious people and to watch faithfully for error.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible