Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 20:33
I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.
33. I have coveted ] Rev. Ver. “ I coveted. ” But this seems unnecessary. The Apostle implies that the state of mind was his when he was with them and continues still.
apparel ] In which Oriental wealth largely consisted. Hence Naaman brings “changes of raiment” as well as money among the rewards which he expects to give for his cure (2Ki 5:5), and the same may be noticed in many other parts of the Scripture history. Cp. Gen 24:53; Gen 45:22; 2Ki 7:3, &c.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I have coveted – I have not desired. I have not made it an object of my living among you to obtain your property. Thus, 2Co 12:14 he says, I seek not yours, but you. Paul had power to demand support in the, ministry as the reward of his labor, 1Co 9:13-14. Yet he did not choose to exercise it, lest it should bring the charge of avarice against the ministry, 1Co 9:12, 1Co 9:15. He also had power in another respect. He had a vast influence over the people. The early Christians were disposed to commit their property to the disposal of the apostles. See Act 4:34-35, Act 4:37. The pagan had been accustomed to devote their property to the support of religion. Of this propensity, if the object of Paul had been to make money, he might have availed himself, and have become enriched. Deceivers often thus impose upon people for the purpose of amassing wealth; and one of the incidental but striking proofs of the truth of the Christian religion is here furnished in the appeal which the apostle Paul made to his hearers, that this had not been his motive. If it had been, how easy would it have been for them to have contradicted him! And who, in such circumstances, would have dared to make such an appeal? The circumstances of the case, therefore, prove that the object of the apostle was not to amass wealth. And this fact is an important proof of the truth of the religion which he defended. What should have induced him to labor and toil in this manner but a conviction of the truth of Christianity? And if he really believed it was true, it is, in his circumstances, a strong proof that this religion is from heaven. See this proof stated in Fabers Difficulties of Infidelity, and in Lord Lyttletons Letter on the Conversion of Paul.
Or apparel – Raiment. Changes of raiment among the ancients, as at present among the Orientals, constituted an important part of their property. See the notes on Mat 6:19.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 33. I have coveted no man’s silver, c.] And from this circumstance they would be able to discover the grievous wolves, and the perverters for these had nothing but their own interests in view; whereas the genuine disciples of Christ neither coveted nor had worldly possessions. St. Paul’s account of his own disinterestedness is very similar to that given by Samuel of his, 1Sa 12:3-5.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Having spoken of the heavenly inheritance, he tells them how willing he was to have his reward hereafter, and to waive receiving his wages here. In this, St. Paul imitates Moses, Num 16:15, and Samuel, 1Sa 12:3,5.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel. This the apostle says, not merely in vindication of himself, and his character, from all charge or suspicion of avarice; but chiefly for the instruction of these elders, and all others of the same office, not to indulge the sin of covetousness, which is very disagreeable, and ought not to be in a minister of the word; and it may be observed, that many things which the apostle says before of himself to those elders, is said not to commend himself, nor so much in his own vindication, as for their imitation; compare with this
Nu 16:15 and to point out the character of false teachers that would come in, or spring up among them, who would make merchandise of them. Beza’s ancient copy, and others, read, “the silver, c. of none of you” and so the Ethiopic version.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
No man’s silver or gold or apparel ( ). Genitive case after . One of the slanders against Paul was that he was raising this collection, ostensibly for the poor, really for himself (2Co 12:17f.). He includes “apparel” because oriental wealth consisted largely in fine apparel (not old worn out clothes). See Gen 24:53; 2Kgs 5:5; Ps 45:13; Matt 6:19. Paul did not preach just for money.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Raiment. Mentioned along with gold and silver because it formed a large part of the wealth of orientals. They traded in costly garments, or kept them stored up for future use. See on purple, Luk 16:19; and compare Ezr 2:69; Neh 7:70; Job 27:16. This fact accounts for the allusions to the destructive power of the moth (Mt 6:19; Jas 5:2).
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
PAUL, AN EXAMPLE OF HUMILITY, INTEGRITY, AND WITNESSING BIDS ASIAN ELDERS A FINAL FAREWELL V. 33-38
1) “I have coveted no man’s” (oudenos epethumesa) “I coveted not of even one,” from anyone. Unselfishly, without greed, self-gain, or covetous motivation, the true minister must labor among his flock, to be like Paul, and like his Lord. Paul sought not self -praise or self-emulation, but to warn these elders and bishops against covetousness or avarice, the king of all sins, 1Ti 6:10; Luk 12:15; 1Sa 12:3.
2) “Silver or gold, or apparel,” (arguriou e kursiou e himatismou) “Either silver, or gold, or apparel,” that is even a garment to wear. Much of oriental wealth consisted of costly raiment, a thing Paul coveted of no one, 1Co 9:12; 2Co 7:2; Ezr 2:69; Neh 7:70; 2Co 12:14.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
−
33. I have not. As he showed of late what an hurtful plague ambition is; so now he showeth that they must beware of covetousness, [avarice] and he maketh himself an example again, even in this point, that he did covet no man’s goods; but did rather get his living with the work of his hands. Not that it was sufficient to find him without some help, but because in applying his handy-work, he spared the churches, that he might not be too chargeable to them, so much as in him lay. We must note, that he doth not only deny that he did take anything violently, as hungry fellows do importunately wring out preys oftentimes, but also he affirmeth that he was clean from all wicked desire. Whence we gather, that no man can be a good minister of the word, but he must also contemn money. And surely we see that nothing is more common, than that those corrupt the word of God, to win the favor of men, who are altogether filthily given to get gain. Which vice Paul doth sharply condemn in bishops elsewhere, ( Tit 3:3). −
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(33) I have coveted no mans silver, or gold, or apparel.Comp. the parallel of Samuels appeal to the people (1Sa. 12:3). In each case there was a special reason for what might otherwise seem an uncalled-for boast. Samuels sons had been guilty of corrupt practices, taking bribes and the like (1Sa. 8:3). Among the many calumnies against St. Paul, one was that he used his apostolic ministry as a cloke of covetousness. (Comp. 2Co. 7:2; 2Co. 12:17-18; 1Th. 2:5.) On apparel, as constituting a large part of the personal estate of the East, see Notes on Mat. 6:19; Jas. 5:2.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
33. No man’s silver Cicero in very glowing terms describes the virtue of his brother, who was governor of an Asiatic province: “Wonderful it is that when you possessed absolute power for three years in Asia, no statuary, no picture, no vase, no garment, no slave, no beauty of any one, no inducement of money, could sway you from your integrity and purity.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“I coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities, and to those who were with me.”
‘I coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.’ How could he even wish to when he was a recipient of Christ’s inheritance? But he wants them to recognise that it was nevertheless true, and that he did not just teach the doctrines of faith. He believed in them and lived by them.
So he points out that he had been satisfied with his inheritance. In no way had he ever obtained any earthly benefit from them. He had not desired or accepted gold, or silver or clothing. He had rather laboured with his own hands to provide himself with the necessities of food and clothing, both for himself and his companions. For what God gave him was sufficient for him. This was in a day when there were many travelling teachers and philosophers who in return for their services expected both. Indeed some in the Corinthian church had actually suggested that the fact that he had not been paid for his preaching demonstrated his inferiority (2Co 11:7; 2Co 11:20).
Paul made a point of never receiving gifts from churches unless he was absolutely certain that they came from hearts that overflowed with genuine love and fellowship, and never while he was working among them. He did not state that it was wrong to do so. He even said that it was his right in the Gospel (1Co 9:14). But he would still not do it (1Co 9:15-18). Thus this was very much a Pauline attitude. And it was to be seen by the elders as an example to follow as he now makes clear.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Act 20:33-35 . Paul concludes his address, so rich in its simplicity and deeply impressive, by urging on the presbyters the complete disinterestedness and self-denial, with which he had laboured at Ephesus, as a (2Th 3:9 ) for similar conduct. Comp. 1Co 9:4 ff.; 2Co 11:7 ff; 2Co 12:14 ff.; 2Th 3:8 ff. Reason for this: not the obviating of a Judaistic reproach (Olshausen), not a guarding of the independence of the church in the world (Baumgarten); but the necessity of the , Act 20:35 .
. . .] specification of what are usually esteemed the most valuable temporal possessions. Comp. Jas 5:2-3 .
] without my needing to say it to you.
] Thus also for his companions, to their necessities, he applied the gain of his manual labour.
] he shows them, and certainly they were not soft and tender.
[115] , ] either in all points (1Co 10:33 ; see on Eph 4:15 ; Lobeck, ad Aj . 1402; Khner, 557 A. 4) I have shown to you (by my example) that; or, all things I have showed to you (by my example) in reference to this, that , etc. ( = , , as in Joh 2:18 ; Joh 9:17 ; 2Co 1:18 ; Mar 16:14 , et al. ). The former is simpler.
] so labouring , as I have done, so toiling hard (comp. 1Co 4:12 ). Not: my fellow-labourers in the gospel (Klostermann), which, at variance with the context, withdraws from its significance. It is the example-giving . Comp. 1Co 9:24 ; 1Co 9:26 ; Phi 3:17 .
] is, with Erasmus, Calvin, Beza, Grotius, Calovius, Er. Schmid, Bengel, and others, including Neander, Tholuck, Schneckenburger, Baumgarten, to be explained of those not yet confirmed in Christian principles and dispositions . Comp. Rom 14:1 ; Rom 15:1 ; 1Co 9:22 ; 1Th 5:14 ; 2Co 11:21 . These might easily consider the work of one teaching for pay as a mere matter of gain, and thus be prejudiced not only against the teacher, but also against the doctrine, 1Co 9:12 . But if, on the other hand, the teacher gained his livelihood by labour, by such self-devotion he obviated the fall of the unsettled, and was helpful to the strengthening of their faith and courage (comp. 2Co 12:14 ). This is that , in which Paul wished to serve as a model to other teachers and ecclesiastical rulers. Others (Chrysostom, Oecumenius, Theopbylact, et al. , including Wetstein, Heinrichs, Kuinoel, Olshausen, de Wette, Hackett) render it: that they should help the poor and needy by support (comp. Eph 4:28 ); which meaning would have to be derived not from the usus loquendi of . taken by itself, but, with Kuinoel (“qui non possunt laborando sibi ad vitam tuendam necessaria comparare”), from the context. Comp. Arist. Pac . 636; Eur. Suppl . 433; Herod. ii. 88. See Valckenaer, ad Herod . viii. 51; and Raphel, Herod, in loc . But the recommendation of liberality is remote from the context; the faithfulness and wisdom of the teacher manifesting itself in gaining his own support by labour, of which the text speaks, must have a spiritual object, like the teaching office itself (1Co 9:12 ) not the giving of alms, but the strengthening of the weak in faith. The more naturally this meaning occurs, the less would Paul, if he had nevertheless meant the poor , have expressed himself by , but rather by or a similar word.
] and to be mindful of the saying of the Lord Jesus (namely) that He Himself has said: It is blessed (i.e. bliss-giving ; the action itself according to its moral nature, similarly to the knowing in Joh 18:3 , is conceived as the blessedness of the agent) rather (potius) to give than to receive . “The two being compared, not the latter, but rather the former , is the .” The special application of this general saying of Christ is, according to the connection in the mind of the apostle, that the giving of spiritual benefits, compared with the taking of earthly gain as pay, has the advantage in conferring blessedness; and the itself is that of eternal life according to the idea of the Messianic recompense, Luk 6:20 ff., Luk 6:38 ; Luk 14:14 .
The explanatory , dependent on . , adduces out of the general class of . . . a single saying (comp. Act 15:15 ), instead of all bearing on the point.
Whether Paul derived this saying, not preserved in the Gospels (see on the dicta of Christ, Fabric. Cod. Apocr . N.T. pp. 321 335; Ewald, Jahrb . VI. 40 f., and Gesch. Chr . p. 288), from oral or written tradition, remains undecided.
References to the same saying: Constitt. ap. iv. 3.Acts 1 : , perhaps also Clem. 1 Corinthians 2 : . Analogous profane sayings (Artemidor. iv. 3) may be seen in Wetstein. The opposite: , , in Athen. viii. 5.
[115] Lachmann, whom Klostermann follows, refers to ver. 34, as Beza already proposed. But if so, Paul, in ver. 24, would evidently have said too much , especially on account of .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
33 I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.
Ver. 33. I have coveted no man’s, &c. ] Non opes, non gloriam, non voluptates quaesivi, &c. Hanc conscientiam aufero quocunque discedo, said Melancthon. (Melch. Adam.)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
33. ] See 1Sa 12:3 ; and for similar avowals by Paul himself, 1Co 9:11-12 ; 2Co 11:8-9 ; 2Co 12:13 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 20:33 . cf. 1Sa 12:3 , ., frequent in LXX, in N.T. only in Luke and Paul (except Joh 19:24 , quotation); Luk 7:25 ; Luk 9:29 , 1Ti 2:9 . In 1Ma 11:24 we have silver, gold and raiment, joined together as in this verse, describing Eastern riches, cf. Jas 5:2-3 . ., “he takes away that which is the root of all evil, the love of money”; be says not “I have not taken,” but “not even coveted ” Chrys., Hom. , xlv.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Acts
PARTING COUNSELS
THE FIGHT WITH WILD BEASTS AT EPHESUS
Act 19:21 – Act 19:34
Paul’s long residence in Ephesus indicates the importance of the position. The great wealthy city was the best possible centre for evangelising all the province of Asia, and that was to a large extent effected during the Apostle’s stay there. But he had a wider scheme in his mind. His settled policy was always to fly at the head, as it were. The most populous cities were his favourite fields, and already his thoughts were travelling towards the civilised world’s capital, the centre of empire-Rome. A blow struck there would echo through the world. Paul had his plan, and God had His, and Paul’s was not realised in the fashion he had meant, but it was realised in substance. He did not expect to enter Rome as a prisoner. God shaped the ends which Paul had only rough-hewn.
The programme in Act 19:21 – Act 19:22 was modified by circumstances, as some people would say; Paul would have said, by God. The riot hastened his departure from Ephesus. He did go to Jerusalem, and he did see Rome, but the chain of events that drew him there seemed to him, at first sight, the thwarting, rather than the fulfilment, of his long-cherished hope. Well it is for us to carry all our schemes to God, and to leave them in His hands.
The account of the riot is singularly vivid and lifelike. It reveals a new phase of antagonism to the Gospel, a kind of trades-union demonstration, quite unlike anything that has met us in the Acts. It gives a glimpse into the civic life of a great city, and shows demagogues and mob to be the same in Ephesus as in England. It has many points of interest for the commentator or scholar, and lessons for all. Luke tells the story with a certain dash of covert irony.
We have, first, the protest of the shrine-makers’ guild or trades-union, got up by the skilful manipulation of Demetrius. He was evidently an important man in the trade, probably well-to-do. As his speech shows, he knew exactly how to hit the average mind. The small shrines which he and his fellow-craftsmen made were of various materials, from humble pottery to silver, and were intended for ‘votaries to dedicate in the temple,’ and represented the goddess Artemis sitting in a niche with her lions beside her. Making these was a flourishing industry, and must have employed a large number of men and much capital. Trade was beginning to be slack, and sales were falling off. No doubt there is exaggeration in Demetrius’s rhetoric, but the meeting of the craft would not have been held unless a perceptible effect had been produced by Paul’s preaching. Probably Demetrius and the rest were more frightened than hurt; but men are very quick to take alarm when their pockets are threatened.
The speech is a perfect example of how self-interest masquerades in the garb of pure concern for lofty objects, and yet betrays itself. The danger to ‘our craft’ comes first, and the danger to the ‘magnificence’ of the goddess second; but the precedence given to the trade is salved over by a ‘not only,’ which tries to make the religious motive the chief. No doubt Demetrius was a devout worshipper of Artemis, and thought himself influenced by high motives in stirring up the craft. It is natural to be devout or moral or patriotic when it pays to be so. One would not expect a shrine-maker to be easily accessible to the conviction that ‘they be no gods which are made with hands.’
Such admixture of zeal for some great cause, with a shrewd eye to profit, is very common, and may deceive us if we are not always watchful. Jehu bragged about his ‘zeal for the Lord’ when it urged him to secure himself on the throne by murder; and he may have been quite honest in thinking that the impulse was pure, when it was really mingled. How many foremost men in public life everywhere pose as pure patriots, consumed with zeal for national progress, righteousness, etc., when all the while they are chiefly concerned about some private bit of log-rolling of their own! How often in churches there are men professing to be eager for the glory of God, who are, perhaps half-unconsciously, using it as a stalking-horse, behind which they may shoot game for their own larder! A drop of quicksilver oxidises and dims as soon as exposed to the air. The purest motives get a scum on them quickly unless we constantly keep them clear by communion with God.
Demetrius may teach us another lesson. His opposition to Paul was based on the plain fact that, if Paul’s teaching prevailed, no more shrines would be wanted. That was a new ground of opposition to the Gospel, resembled only by the motive for the action of the owners of the slave girl at Philippi; but it is a perennial source of antagonism to it. In our cities especially there are many trades which would be wiped out if Christ’s laws of life were universally adopted. So all the purveyors of commodities and pleasures which the Gospel forbids a Christian man to use are arrayed against it. We have to make up our minds to face and fight them. A liquor-seller, for instance, is not likely to look complacently on a religion which would bring his ‘trade into disrepute’; and there are other occupations which would be gone if Christ were King, and which therefore, by the instinct of self-preservation, are set against the Gospel, unless, so to speak, its teeth are drawn.
According to one reading, the shouts of the craftsmen which told that Demetrius had touched them in the tenderest part, their pockets, was an invocation, ‘Great Diana!’ not a profession of faith; and we have a more lively picture of an excited crowd if we adopt the alteration. It is easy to get a mob to yell out a watchword, whether religious or political; and the less they understand it, the louder are they likely to roar. In Athanasius’ days the rabble of Constantinople made the city ring with cries, degrading the subtlest questions as to the Trinity, and examples of the same sort have not been wanting nearer home. It is criminal to bring such incompetent judges into religious or political or social questions, it is cowardly to be influenced by them. ‘The voice of the people’ is not always ‘the voice of God.’ It is better to ‘be in the right with two or three’ than to swell the howl of Diana’s worshippers,
II. A various reading of Act 19:28 gives an additional particular, which is of course implied in the received text, but makes the narrative more complete and vivid if inserted.
On their road they seem to have come across two of Paul’s companions, whom they dragged with them. What they meant to do with the two they had probably not asked themselves. A mob has no plans, and its most savage acts are unpremeditated. Passion let loose is almost sure to end in bloodshed, and the lives of Gaius and Aristarchus hung by a thread. A gust of fury storming over the mob, and a hundred hands might have torn them to atoms, and no man have thought himself their murderer.
What a noble contrast to the raging crowd the silent submission, no doubt accompanied by trustful looks to Heaven and unspoken prayers, presents! And how grandly Paul comes out! He had not been found, probably had not been sought for, by the rioters, whose rage was too blind to search for him, but his brave soul could not bear to leave his friends in peril and not plant himself by their sides. So he ‘was minded to enter in unto the people,’ well knowing that there he had to face more ferocious ‘wild beasts’ than if a cageful of lions had been loosed on him. Faith in God and fellowship with Christ lift a soul above fear of death. The noblest kind of courage is not that born of flesh or temperament, or of the madness of battle, but that which springs from calm trust in and absolute surrender to Christ.
Not only did the disciples restrain Paul as feeling that if the shepherd were smitten the sheep would be scattered, but interested friends started up in an unlikely quarter. The ‘chief of Asia’ or Asiarchs, who sent to dissuade him, ‘were the heads of the imperial political-religious organisation of the province, in the worship of “Rome and the emperors”; and their friendly attitude is a proof both that the spirit of the imperial policy was not as yet hostile to the new teaching, and that the educated classes did not share the hostility of the superstitious vulgar’ Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller , p. 281. It is probable that, in that time of crumbling faith and religious unrest, the people who knew most about the inside of the established worship believed in it least, and in their hearts agreed with Paul that ‘they be no gods which are made with hands.’
So we have in these verses the central picture of calm Christian faith and patient courage, contrasted on the one hand with the ferocity and excitement of heathen fanatical devotees, and on the other with the prudent regard to their own safety of the Asiarchs, who had no such faith in Diana as to lead them to joining the rioters, nor such faith in Paul’s message as to lead them to oppose the tumult, or to stand by his side, but contented themselves with sending to warn him. Who can doubt that the courage of the Christians is infinitely nobler than the fury of the mob or the cowardice of the Asiarchs, kindly as they were? If they were his friends, why did they not do something to shield him? ‘A plague on such backing!’
III. The scene in the theatre, to which Luke returns in Act 19:32 , is described with a touch of scorn for the crowd, who mostly knew not what had brought them together.
But the rioters were in no mood to listen to fine distinctions among the members of a race which they hated so heartily. Paul was a Jew, and this man was a Jew; that was enough. So the roar went up again to Great Diana, and for two long hours the crowd surged and shouted themselves hoarse, Gaius and Aristarchus standing silent all the while and expecting every moment to be their last. The scene reminds one of Baal’s priests shrieking to him on Carmel. It is but too true a representation of the wild orgies which stand for worship in all heathen religions. It is but too lively an example of what must always happen when excited crowds are ignorantly stirred by appeals to prejudice or self-interest.
The more democratic the form of government under which we live, the more needful is it to distinguish the voice of the people from the voice of the mob, and to beware of exciting, or being governed by, clamour however loud and long.
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
have coveted = desired.
no man’s. Greek. oudeis.
apparel. Greek. himatismos. The word expresses more stateliness than the common word himation. Here, Mat 27:35. Luk 7:25; Luk 9:29. Joh 19:24.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
33.] See 1Sa 12:3; and for similar avowals by Paul himself, 1Co 9:11-12; 2Co 11:8-9; 2Co 12:13.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Act 20:33. , silver) The second portion of his parting address. Paul brings forth all things. So Samuel, 1Sa 12:3.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Num 16:15, 1Sa 12:3-5, 1Co 9:12, 1Co 9:15, 1Co 9:18, 2Co 7:2, 2Co 11:9, 2Co 12:14, 2Co 12:17, 1Pe 5:2
Reciprocal: Exo 18:21 – hating Exo 20:17 – thy neighbour’s house Num 3:51 – Moses Jdg 18:4 – hired me Jdg 18:20 – heart 2Ki 5:16 – I will receive 2Ki 5:26 – Is it a time Neh 5:16 – neither bought Neh 6:12 – hired him Job 6:22 – Bring unto me Job 23:11 – My foot Pro 21:26 – coveteth Isa 56:11 – they are Eze 8:1 – and the Eze 34:8 – the shepherds Mat 10:8 – freely ye Rom 7:7 – Thou shalt 2Co 12:18 – in the same steps Eph 5:3 – covetousness Phi 4:17 – because 1Th 1:5 – what 1Th 2:3 – General 1Th 2:5 – a cloak 1Th 2:10 – witnesses 1Ti 3:3 – not covetous Tit 2:7 – all
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
3
Act 20:33. Paul was not preaching the Gospel with the motive of obtaining the personal possessions of the brethren.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 20:33. I have coveted no mans silver, or gold, or apparel. In other words, I seek not yours, but you. Even in those early days of the Faith, covetousness, the love of gold and wealth, and the things gold and wealth can purchase, was after all the greatest temptation in a ministers life. Then as now, now as then! How earnestly Paul strove against even the very shadow of appearance of evil in this matter, we have constant and ample testimony. Rather than even receive gifts which would supply him with the necessaries of life, this scholar, teacher, and missionary would work for himself in the workshop of an Aquila at the rough haircloths used for tents. See, for instance, the statement in the next verse, and such references as 2Th 3:10-12; 1Co 4:11-12; Act 18:3. The same grave warning was given some years later to his loved disciple Timothy, himself subsequently the chief presbyter in this same Church of Ephesus, when, after having in strong, vigorous language told his friend of the temptations of the rich, and the lusts, foolish and hurtful, these fell into, for the love of money was the root of all evil, he turns to Timothy with the noble, simple appeal: But thou, O man of God, flee these things. Be thou above coveting these dangerous, soul-destroying riches. Apparel is here added to gold and silver, because in all times rich and costly apparel has formed a conspicuous part of the wealth and possessions of an opulent oriental household. Eastern people were in the habit of trafficking in and also of keeping in store these costly garments; hence the allusion in Mat 6:19 to the power not only of rust, but of the moth (see, too, Jas 5:2). The Ephesians, we read, were celebrated for their luxurious apparel (Athenaeus, quoted by Gloag).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
In the conclusion of St. Paul’s discourse to the elders of the church at Ephesus, he vindicates himself from the sordid sin of covetousness, affirming, that he had coveted no man’s silver or gold; but by the labour of his hands had maintained himself, and them that were with him.
Where note, That it is not simply unlawful for a minister of the gospel to labour with his hands, for his own and his family’s support, when the poverty of the members of the church is such that they cannot maintain him without it.
Observe farther, He directs these elders to labour as he did, if the case required it with them, as it did with him, that they might, by labouring as he, be in a capacity to support the weak, and relieve the poor.
Yet note, He doth not propose this his practice as a precept, or precedent, or rule, to all ministers; for though St. Paul laboured with his hands in a case of necessity, and because false teachers were watching all advantages against him, yet he often declares a right and privilege which he had to be maintained by the church, without labouring with his hands for his own livelihood and subsistence; nay, asserts it to be the ordination and appointment of God himself, That they which preach the gospel, should live of the gospel.
Observe lastly, A remarkable saying of our blessed Saviour, not recorded by the evangelists, but undoubtedly spoken by him; namely, That it is more blessed to give than to receive. That is, the condition of the giver is more desirable than that of the receiver, and giving is more commendable than receiving.
1. The condition of the giver is more desirable than that of the receiver, because,
1. Giving is a sign of sufficiency and power. He that gives to another, is supposed to be well provided himself; he that gives, looks like a full being, and like a swelling river, whereas, receiving implies want and weakness, emptiness, and unsatisfied desires.
Because giving includes choice; for what a man parts with to another, he has a freedom to keep himself; but the receiver is not to be his own carver, but must depend upon the courtesy of his neighbours.
2. Because the condition of the giver implies an honourable trust committed to him by God Almighty. Givers are God’s almoners and stewards, the poor’s guardians and patrons. An honourable trust this is, by which the lives and livelihood of the poor are in a manner committed to us. by all which it appears, that the condition of the giver is more desirable than that of the receiver.
Note, 2. That giving is more commendable than receiving; it is a clearer evidence of a noble and virtuous disposition of mind: for,
1. It is a sign of our victory over the world, and that our conversation is in heaven; that we have worthy apprehensions of God, and honourable thoughts of his providence; and that we can trust him, and give him a part of his own whenever he calls for it.
2. Giving is better than receiving, because there is a more lasting pleasure in giving than in receiving: an alms taken is soon spent and forgotten, and the pleasure of it is over in two or three moments; but the pleasure of giving bears us company all along in this world, and will keep us company in the next: there is no such satisfactory pleasure as in doing good, Let us then often remember, and always put in practice, the words of our Lord Jesus, which he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Act 20:33-35. I have coveted no mans silver, &c. Here the apostle begins another branch of his farewell discourse, in terms like those of old Samuel, taking his leave of the children of Israel, 1Sa 12:8. As if he had said, I have a testimony in my own conscience and in yours, that I have not directed my ministry to any mercenary views of pleasing any, how distinguished soever their circumstances might be, nor sought by any methods to enrich myself among you. Yea, ye yourselves know, that Far from having any secular or worldly designs in preaching the gospel; these hands Callous as you see with labour; have ministered to my necessities Have procured me food and raiment, and even have assisted in supporting them that were with me Who is he that envies such a bishop or archbishop as this? I have showed you Elders or bishops, by my example; all things And this among the rest; that so labouring So far as the labours of your office allow you time; ye ought to support the weak Or to assist in supporting them, namely, those who are disabled by sickness, or any bodily infirmity, from maintaining themselves by their own labour. And to remember Effectually, so as to follow them; the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said When he conversed with his disciples; It is more blessed to give than to receive To imitate God, and have him, as it were, indebted to us. This is a true and precious monument of apostolical tradition, which, by being written in this authentic memoir, is happily preserved. Without doubt, his disciples remembered many of his words which are not recorded.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
See notes on verse 28
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
33-35. Here Paul protests to the Ephesian elders his felicitous salvation from paltry pelf, asseverating that he had toiled with his hands making tents, not only for his own temporal support, but that of his evangelistic helpers and the Lords poor. Paul is clear in his deliverances on ministerial support as a right of the preacher and a duty of the people. Yet he is ever and anon explicit, along with Jesus, in his denunciations of a hireling ministry, who really turn out to be those grievous wolves lacerating, scattering and destroying the flock, and Ezekiels unfaithful shepherds, clothing themselves in the wool and devouring the fat, reveling in their tents while their flocks are scattered on every hill and in every deep valley, invaded by wild beasts and robbers. Here Paul reminds them of the words of the Lord Jesus, It is more blessed to give than to receive, thus winding up that memorable valedictory to the greatest church in Western Asia through their representatives.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
20:33 {11} I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.
(11) Pastors must before all things beware of covetousness.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The apostle concluded with an exhortation, as he typically did in his epistles. Was Paul boasting when he reviewed his habits of life in Ephesus? I think not. He was reminding these elders of his example that they were to follow as they led the church as he had led them. They were to serve without concern for present material reward. Paul’s policy was not to ask others to support him but to labor at his trade when he or his fellow workers or his converts needed financial support. He did not hesitate to raise money for others, but there are no references in Acts or in his epistles to his having asked for money for himself. I do not believe Paul would object to modern support-raising efforts by Christian workers provided the support raiser was willing to work if his supporters proved unfaithful. Paul emphasized motives (Act 20:33) and example (Act 20:35). He wanted to give rather than receive and to model that attitude so his converts could see how to demonstrate it in everyday life.
"The Greco-Roman world was honeycombed by social networks grounded in the priciple of reciprocity, of ’giving and receiving.’ Paul’s exhortation here is to break that cycle and serve and help those who can give nothing in return. This is the practical expression of what being gracious means-freely they had received the good news, and they should freely give with no thought of return." [Note: Witherington, p. 626.]
The precise saying of Jesus to which Paul referred here (Act 20:35) is not in Scripture. It may have come down to Paul by oral or written tradition, or he may have been summarizing Jesus’ teaching (e.g., Luk 6:38). Paul often related his exhortations to Jesus’ teachings or example (cf. Romans 12-14; Php 2:5-11; 1Th 4:1-12).