Acts 20:19
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I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, especially in the trials that came upon me through the plots of the Jews.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
Serving the Lord--Jesus. with all humility . . . and many tears and temptations--Self-exaltation was unknown to him, and ease of mind: He "sowed in tears," from anxieties both on account of the converts from whom he "travailed in birth," and of the Jews, whose bitter hostility was perpetually plotting against him, interrupting his work and endangering his life.
Open source ↗In this chapter we have, I. Paul's travels up and down about Macedonia, Greece, and Asia, and his coming at length to Troas (Act 20:1-6). II. A particular account of his spending one Lord's day at Troas, and his raising Eutychus to life there (Act 20:7-12). III. His progress, or circuit, for the visiting of the churches he had planted, in his way towards Jerusalem, where he designed to be by the next feast of pentecost (Act 20:13-16). IV. The farewell sermon he preached to the presbyters at Ephesus, now that he was leaving that country (v. 17-35). V. The very sorrowful parting between him and them (Act 20:36-38). And in all these we find Paul very busy to serve Christ, and to do good to the souls of men, not only in the conversion of heathen, but in the edification of Christians.
Open source ↗Cross-references
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because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
For through many tears I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart, not to grieve you but to let you know how much I love you.
where he stayed three months. And when the Jews formed a plot against him as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia.
Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears, because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.
Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
For when we arrived in Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were pressed from every direction—conflicts on the outside, fears within.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,
For as I have often told you before, and now say again even with tears: Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.