Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 20:21

"testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." — Acts 20:21 (ASV)

Paul’s address to the Ephesian elders begins with an apologia that closely parallels 1 Thessalonians 2:1–12. As at Thessalonica, evidently Paul’s Ephesian opponents had been prejudicing his converts against him in his absence; he therefore found it necessary to defend his conduct and teaching by appealing to his hearers’ knowledge of him. The opposition at Ephesus seems to have been chiefly Jewish and to have insisted that full acceptance with God could come only through a fully developed Judaism. Therefore Paul had to declare that he had faithfully preached what was helpful to them, focusing on repentance to God and faith in the Lord Jesus—a content wholly sufficient for salvation (cf. Romans 10:9–10; 2 Corinthians 5:6–20:2; cf. Acts 26:20–23).