Acts 20:28Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Then comes, “to shepherd the Church of the Lord and God.” This is the second. The third is contained in what he says next: “which He acquired with His own Blood.”

There is much persuasion in words that show how precious the matter is. We face no small danger if the Lord did not spare His own Blood for the Church, while we have no care for the salvation of the brethren.

He shed His Blood to reconcile enemies. Can you not maintain love even with friends? At the same time there is consolation: “which He acquired for Himself,” he says, “with His own Blood.” If He acquired it with “My Blood,” then He will certainly defend it.

“In which the Holy Spirit has appointed you bishops.” You have received ordination, he says, from the Spirit. It is remarkable that those whom he earlier called presbyters he here calls bishops. This is either because presbyters too have the duty of watching over the rational flocks of the Church. They must watch that no one weaken in faith, that no one languish from hunger or thirst, and that no one lack some admonition or reproof. Paul himself commands, “reprove, rebuke, exhort” (2 Tim 4:2). Or else the apostle here calls bishops by the name bishops.

“Which He acquired with His own Blood.” No small matters were in danger, if the Lord did not spare even His own Blood. Yes, to reconcile enemies, He shed even His own Blood. You, however, can preserve them now that they have become friends.

He then gives the reason why this second attentiveness is absolutely necessary for them. The Holy Spirit, he says, through the grace of the priesthood given to you, has appointed you bishops, that is, leaders and overseers. You are to shepherd, that is, to guide toward piety and virtue, the children of the Church of God, which He acquired and benefitted, redeeming it by the Blood of His Only-Begotten Son.

Here it should be noted that the sacred historian calls the priests presbyters of the Church, and also calls them bishops. This is not because they were hierarchs, but because they were leaders and overseers of the Church, shepherding those under their care.

Therefore, if any of you or of those entrusted to you should perish, the guilt will lie not on me but on you. Since I have fully declared the will of God to you, you will have no excuse for such perdition in ignorance of Christian teaching.

Therefore be attentive to yourselves and to all your spiritual flock. Remember that the Holy Spirit Himself has appointed you as overseers, bishops, to shepherd the Church of the Lord and God. You must guide the faithful to salvation through teaching and governance.

Remember that this is the Church of the Lord and God (cf. 1 Tim 3:15). Finally, remember that He acquired it for Himself as an inheritance (cf. Eph 1:14), not with silver or gold, but with His most pure Blood (cf. 1 Cor 6:20; 1 Pet 1:18-19).

Complete spiritual vigilance is required of you as guardians and guides of the spiritual flock. This is especially so because of the internal dangers threatening the Church. “For I know that, after my departure from Asia, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.”

This prophecy of the apostle concerning the appearance of false teachers in Ephesus and in Asia Minor generally was fulfilled. This is evident from his Epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians, written about three years later from Roman bonds. At that time Gnostic heretics had already begun to act in Asia Minor.

A still greater strengthening of Gnostic errors in Asia Minor can be noticed somewhat later. This was during the period between the apostle Paul’s first and second Roman bonds, when he wrote the First Epistle to Timothy, bishop of the Church of Ephesus. It was also during his second Roman bonds, when he wrote his Second Epistle to Timothy.

Yet besides this divine Shepherd, Who Himself is not numbered among the flock, there must be visible and human pastors. They themselves also belong to the flock of the Church.

The Apostle Paul teaches this when he says, “Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock.” He thereby indicates that his hearers are also members or part of the flock, for he says “yourselves and all.”

Therefore attention is required from them both toward themselves and toward that whole collective flock of which they form a part. Again the apostle says, “in which flock the Holy Spirit has appointed you.”

Consequently, they are not over the flock and not outside the flock, but in the flock itself. They have been chosen as pastors from among those who are pastured.

Who appointed them? Would it not be right to say that the Lord Jesus Christ appointed them? He is the Head of the Church. According to the same apostle, He “gave some as Apostles, some as Prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers” (Eph. 4:11).

Of course this is correct. But Christ builds the Church through the Holy Spirit. By the Spirit she is formed “into a dwelling place of God” (Eph. 2:22; cf. 1 Cor. 12:13).

By the sacraments she is built up into the Body of the Lord (Eph. 4:12). Therefore, whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ (Rom. 8:9).

For this reason the apostle did not say, “Christ appointed you.” He understood that in the Lord's possession, in the Church which He purchased at the price of His Blood, everything is surely accomplished according to His will.

Rather, he said, “the Holy Spirit has appointed you.” He wished to show that in the Church the intention of Christ is fulfilled by the Holy Spirit through the sacraments.

In them He communicates Himself to believers in general and to pastors in particular. In the words, “the Holy Spirit has appointed you bishops,” there is an indication of the sacrament of the priesthood.

To what ministry were those whom the apostle addressed appointed? They were appointed as bishops, that is, overseers. They were appointed to shepherd the Church. Therefore they are pastors.

To understand the full meaning of these two names, one must remember that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is called by the Apostle Peter in his First Epistle “the Shepherd and Overseer of souls” (ποιμὴν καὶ ἐπίσκοπος, 2:25).

Thus the ministry of bishops and pastors is like the ministry of Christ Himself. It has as its aim the eternal salvation of men. It raises them above the laity to the degree of superiority which a shepherd generally has in relation to the flock.

In the words of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesian presbyters, now explained, first, the blasphemous opinion that Jesus Christ is not God is exposed. Second, the teaching that the Church has no divinely established sacred authority is exposed.

Third, it is explained that the pastors of the Church are appointed by the Holy Spirit. At the same time, it is clear that this appointment is the sacrament of the priesthood, existing in the Church from the beginning.

Fourth, both the dignity and the obligation of those appointed by the Holy Spirit are explained. They are overseers and pastors of the flock of Christ.

“In which the Holy Spirit has appointed you.” You were not appointed by men, but by the Holy Spirit through election and ordination (Acts 14:23 and note). This gives a new and most important motive to take heed to yourselves and to all the flock.

“Overseers,” more precisely, bishops. The speech is addressed to presbyters, yet they are called bishops because of the identity of certain duties shared by them with bishops. These are essential duties, better expressed by the word bishop than by presbyter.

This does not mean that bishops and presbyters were not then distinguished by their meaning, duties, and rights in the Church. It is beyond doubt, however, that sometimes they were not distinguished by name; cf. Theophylact. The same apostle strictly distinguishes them when he assigns only to the bishop the authority and right to ordain a presbyter and to judge him (Tit 1:5; 1 Tim 5:19, 22).

The word bishop, meaning overseer or guardian, better expresses the duties of the presbyter, which are figuratively designated as shepherding the flock, the Church. Under the figurative expression “to shepherd the Church,” the flock, are indicated the duties of presbyters as teachers of the faith and governors of the particular Christian community entrusted to them (1 Tim 5:17; 1 Tim 3:2; Eph 4:11; 1 Pet 5:2). In general, they are overseers and guardians of the flock against wolves and everything harmful to the flock.

“Which He acquired for Himself,” that is, acquired as His own possession (Eph 1:14; Tit 2:14; 1 Pet 2:9), “with His own Blood.” Through the sacrifice of the Cross, in which His Blood was poured out as a propitiatory sacrifice to God the Father for the sins of the whole human race, the Lord delivered His faithful from the kingdom of the devil. He acquired them for His own Kingdom on earth.

Thus this flock is a costly flock, bought at a costly price (1 Cor 6:20). This is a new motive for the pastors of the Church to take heed to themselves and to all the flock.

“Do you see,” says Saint John Chrysostom, “that he gives two commandments? It is useless both to correct only others (see 1 Cor 9:27), and to care only for oneself. The latter belongs to a self-loving man, who seeks only what is useful for himself and is like the man who buried the talent in the ground. Paul says this not because our salvation is more important than the salvation of the flock, but because when we take heed to ourselves, the flock receives benefit. See how many motives there are. You received ordination from the Spirit, he says, for this is what the word appointed means. This is the first motive. Then comes, to shepherd the Church of the Lord. This is the second. The third is contained in what he says next: which He acquired for Himself with His own Blood. There is much persuasion in words that show how precious the matter is, and that we face no small danger if the Lord did not spare His own Blood for the Church, while we have no care for the salvation of the brethren. He shed His Blood, and can we not preserve love even with friends?”

“It is remarkable,” says Theophylact, “that those whom he earlier called presbyters he here calls bishops. This is either because presbyters too have the duty of watching over, for bishop means overseer, the rational flocks of the Church. Or else the apostle here calls bishops by the name bishops” (cf. 1 Tim 3:2).

“The speech is addressed to presbyters, yet they are called bishops because of the identity of certain duties shared with bishops. These are essential duties, better expressed by the word bishop, guardian, than by presbyter, elder. This, however, does not mean that presbyters and bishops were not then distinguished by their meaning, duties, and rights in the Church. The same apostle strictly distinguishes them when he assigns only to the bishop the authority and right to ordain a presbyter and to judge him (see Tit 1:5; 1 Tim 5:22). The word bishop better expresses the duties of the presbyter, which are figuratively designated as shepherding the flock, the Church. Under the figurative expression to shepherd the Church, the flock (cf. Jn 10:1; 21:15-17), are indicated the duties of presbyters as teachers in the Church and governors of the particular Christian community entrusted to them (see 1 Tim 5:17; 3:2; Eph 4:11; 1 Pet 5:2). In general, they are overseers and guardians of the flock against wolves and everything harmful to the flock.”

Those who reject the priesthood try to interpret wrongly every concept concerning the presbyterate and the episcopate. Yet “the author of Acts seems altogether far from the thought of giving them the specific hierarchical meaning later attached to them. He calls presbyters bishops, agreeing in this terminology with the Apostle Paul (see Phil 1:1; 1 Thess 5:12) and with the holy fathers. Blessed Jerome, for example, testifies that in antiquity presbyters were called bishops, and bishops presbyters.”

In the same way, he must also take heed to the flock, driving away from it the ravenous wolves, the false apostles, who live to harm the sheep. The one appointed by the Spirit to guide the Church, being a good shepherd, drives away such wolves. The hireling, not being a shepherd, flees when the wolf comes, so that he may scatter and destroy the sheep.

A hireling, not a shepherd, is one placed over the common good for gain and money, not for benefit. It must be known that the Holy Spirit appoints pastors and bishops for the Church, just as God appoints in the Church first apostles (1 Cor 12:28).