After reminding the elders of Ephesus of what he had done for them and their countrymen, St. Paul exhorted them to take heed unto themselves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost had made them overseers, so as in all things to set a good example to others; and to feed the Church, or nourish and strengthen the souls of the brethren, with the blessed truths of the Gospel, the pure Word of Him Who had purchased the Church with his own blood. He told them, that he was the more anxious to exhort them to do this, because he knew that, after his departing, wicked men, whom he likens to "grievous wolves," would enter in among them, not sparing the flock, but leading the brethren astray to the destruction of their souls. And not only this, but also of their own selves men should arise teaching false doctrines, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Having thus warned them, St. Paul entreated them to "watch," remembering that for three years he had not ceased to warn them of these things. Again the Apostle commended the Ephesians to the grace of God, which was able to give them an inheritance "among all them which are sanctified": and ended by reminding them that he had "coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel"; but that he had maintained himself by working with his own hands, setting them an example that they also should "remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive." "And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all." St. Paul knew well that without the blessing and help of God no good thing can be done; and thus did he set an example to all men for ever, to ask His aid in all their works.
"And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship," in which he was about to sail from Miletus; anxious not to lose sight of him before it was absolutely necessary. It was natural and right that the elders of Ephesus should be deeply grieved, at hearing that they would never again in this world, see one who had been so much with them, and from whom they had learnt so much. But had they duly considered his words, they would not have sorrowed most of all on this account, but for the troubles which were to fall upon their Church from false and wicked teachers, who would lead many to forsake the Gospel, and thus destroy them for ever.
Having taken a final leave of the elders of Ephesus, St. Paul and his company sailed to the island of Coos, or Cos; then to another called Rhodes; and from thence to the coast of Asia Minor, where they landed at Patara, a sea-port of Lycia. Here they found a ship about to sail into Phœnicia, and going on board, they passed near the isle of Cyprus, and finally landed at Tyre, "for there the ship was to unlade her burden." Finding disciples at Tyre, St. Paul stayed with them seven days, teaching and exhorting them. St. Luke tells us that some of these disciples "said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem." This means that the Holy Spirit had made known to these disciples, that great troubles and dangers awaited the Apostle at Jerusalem; and therefore they tried to persuade him that he should not go up at all. St. Paul, however, knew that it was his duty to go to Jerusalem at this time, and therefore no fear of personal suffering would keep him away: he was ready to undergo whatever God saw fit to send. St. Luke then says, "And when we had accomplished those days, we departed, and went our way; and they all brought us on our way, with wives and children, till we were out of the city: and we kneeled down on the shore, and prayed."
The brethren at Tyre were grieved to part with St. Paul, particularly foreseeing that sufferings awaited him at Jerusalem. They accompanied him to the sea-shore, where the ship waited for him. Their last act sets us an example of what we should do in all times of sorrow and anxiety. They would not part without praying to God; so they all knelt down where they were, and prayed earnestly from their hearts. The Lord will hear all such real prayers, wherever we say them, or whether we are kneeling or not; but if we kneel down and repeat words without caring or thinking about what we are saying, that is not such prayer as the Lord our God has promised to hear. When St. Paul and his companions had prayed with the Christians of Tyre, and taken leave of them, they "took ship,"—that is, embarked on board the ship, whilst the others "returned home again."
From Tyre St. Paul sailed to Ptolemais, and landing there, stayed one day with the brethren. Ptolemais was a celebrated sea-port of Syria, to the north of Mount Carmel. In the Old Testament, Ptolemais is called Accho. It was situated in that part of the Land of Canaan given to the Tribe of Asher; and it was one of those cities out of which the Children of Israel did not drive the idolatrous inhabitants, as the Lord had commanded them to do. You will remember the sin and trouble that came upon the Land of Israel, in consequence of the disobedience of several of the tribes, who, instead of entirely driving out the Canaanites, let them continue to live amongst them; by which they were afterwards led into sin, and suffered much misery in consequence.
The town of Accho was enlarged and beautified, after the death of Alexander the Great, by the first of the Egyptian kings, called Ptolemy; and the name of the city was in consequence changed to Ptolemais. We now call it Acre, and you will find Acre often spoken of in history.
St. Luke now says, "And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came unto Cæsarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him." We have heard of Philip as one of the seven deacons, (of whom Stephen was another,) chosen to help the Apostles, by distributing food and money to the believers, when they had all things in common; and we have also heard of his being sent by the Spirit into the desert between Jerusalem and Gaza, to teach the officer of Candace, queen of Ethiopia; after which he returned to his home in Cæsarea. This Philip must not be confounded with the Apostle of the same name, a native "of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter," unto whom our Lord said, "Follow me." We do not call the deacon Philip an "evangelist," because we only give that name to those four men who, by the inspiration of God, wrote their several accounts of Christ's life and death; but St. Luke might well call Philip so, because he preached the Gospel in every place to which he was sent; and one who spreads the knowledge of the Gospel by preaching it, was as much an "evangelist" as he who spread it by his writing.
Philip had four unmarried daughters, to whom God had, in a miraculous way, given His Holy Spirit, so that they "did prophesy." This was a fulfilment of the ancient promise recorded by the prophet Joel, that in the days of the Messiah the Spirit should be poured out upon their sons and daughters, servants and handmaidens, so that they should prophesy.
St. Paul stayed many days with Philip. We hear nothing of the work he then did there; but St. Luke says, "And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judæa a certain prophet, named Agabus. And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles." We have heard already of Agabus, as one of the prophets who went from Jerusalem to Antioch, and foretold the dearth, or famine, in consequence of which the Christians of Antioch made a collection for the poorer brethren at Jerusalem, and "sent it up by the hands of Barnabas and Saul," as St. Paul was at that time called. Agabus, inspired by the Holy Spirit, now bore his testimony to the dangers which threatened the Apostle at Jerusalem. The consequence of this was, that St. Paul's companions themselves, and "they of that place," (the brethren at Cæsarea,) "besought him not to go up to Jerusalem"; and so avoid the dangers which threatened him in that city.
Here we see that even our friends may tempt us to sin, and that we must be careful not to yield to their entreaties when they would make us do wrong. When we know what our duty is, we must not be prevented from doing it, either by love to our friends or fear of our enemies. It is often very hard and difficult to do right, when those we love, ask and beg us not to do it. In this way, children are often led to do wrong. Let us all, whether we are old or young, take care not to give way to such temptations; and, above all, let us never so tempt others to do wrong: let us never ask any one to do what is wrong, but, on the contrary, do all we can to persuade all to do what is right and pleasing in the sight of God. St. Paul knew that it was his duty to go up to Jerusalem; and therefore when those about him entreated him not to go, he answered, "What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."