Acts 20:31

Watch. The words seem a meaningful repetition of the admonition of the Lord (Matt. 24:42; 25:13), of which Paul must have been aware. It was particularly appropriate addressed to the elders of Ephesus, whom Paul had just called “overseers” (see on Acts 20:28). Paul emphasizes the vigilance that is to characterize those who guide and pastor the church.

Three years. For three years Paul had set an example of watchfulness before the Ephesian church. The history in Acts accounts for three months of preaching in the synagogue (ch. 19:8), two years in the school of Tyrannus (v. 10), and an unspecified period immediately preceding and following the riot of Demetrius. This and the well-known Jewish method of inclusive reckoning (see Vol. I, p. 182) sufficiently account for Paul’s general statement of “three years.” See pp. 101, 102.

To warn. Gr. noutheted, literally, “to put in mind,” “to exhort,” “to admonish.” Paul set danger and duty clearly before them.

With tears. Paul’s deep sympathy, in the literal sense of “sharing in the feelings,” is evident in much that he writes (see Acts 20:19; 2 Cor. 11:29). Paul is here making high claims of pastoral efficiency and solicitude, yet none of the elders dispute his statement.