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the time, fully know, except that it was connected with his ministry and would probably
cost him his liberty. His attitude, however, is one of heroic acceptance:
"But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I
might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord
Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20: 24).
The Received Text here reads: "That I may finish my course with joy", but the
Revised Text omits the last two words (meta charis), and there does not appear to be
sufficient evidence for their retention. The Apostle might well have wished that the end
of his career would be "with joy", but he was far more concerned that he should "finish",
whether with joy or otherwise. Another point to note about this verse is that it provides
us with a case in which the Greek logos, so often translated "word", claims its fuller
meaning, "account". Also, in the phrase: "so that I might finish my course", the word os
is not, strictly speaking, "so that" but rather "as". The rendering given by Alford seems
to recognize these various features:
"I hold my life of no account, nor is it so precious to me, as the finishing of my course."
This figure of a "course" or "race" is one that is characteristic of the Apostle, and he
was able, at the close, to say: "I have finished my course." The word translated
"course" (dromos) is borrowed from the Greek sports, and, in a verbal form, is found in
I Cor. 9: 24 and Heb. 12: 1: "They which run in a race, run all . . . . . so run that ye may
obtain", and "Let us run with patience the race that is set before us".
In his desire to "finish" his course the Apostle manifests once more of his conformity
to his Lord, Who said near the beginning of His ministry: "My meat is to do the will of
Him that sent Me, and to finish His work" (John 4: 34), and at the close: "I have
finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do" (John 17: 4). It is encouraging to
remind ourselves that not all the injustice represented by Rome, could prevent either the
Lord or His servant from finishing their course.
In II Tim. 4: 7, the finishing of the course is associated with keeping the faith. In
Acts 20: 24, it is associated with "The ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus,
to testify the gospel of the grace of God".
The servants of the church at Ephesus are called "presbyters" and "bishops", but the
Apostle refers to his service as douleuo, "the service of a bond slave". The word he uses
for his "ministry" is diakonia, which gives us the word "deacon". The Apostle uses this
same word when he says: "I magnify my office" (Rom. 11: 13), and when he describes
the offering he was taking to Jerusalem as "my service" (Rom. 15: 31). Moreover, the
magistrate is spoken of in Romans as a "minister of God" (Rom. 13: 4), and Christ
Himself as a "minister of the circumcision" (Rom. 15: 8). The same word (diakonos) is
used of Phoebe, who is called "a servant".