Acts 20:34–35

Context

Acts 20:17–38 records the words of Paul on his way to Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary journey. While staying at Miletus, Paul summoned the elders of the church at Ephesus and delivered a farewell address. He looks back on the time he spent with them in Ephesus "by the space of three years" and urges them to take good care of the church. He then declares, "I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel" (v. 33).

Verses 34–35 supply the grounds for that statement and draw its conclusion. Paul says that "these hands" have provided for his own needs and for those who were with him. Acts 18:3 reports that in Corinth he worked at tentmaking alongside Priscilla and Aquila. Paul says that by laboring in this way he set an example of how believers ought to help the weak, and he closes his address by charging them to remember the words of the Lord Jesus.

Interpretation

• As a model of self-supporting ministry: Self-supporting ministry (often called "tentmaking") refers to ministers providing for their own living expenses. Many interpreters read this passage as an instance of Paul earning his own livelihood so as not to burden the church. The term "tentmaking mission," used in missionary contexts, is frequently connected with this text.
• As a principle of charitable giving: This reading takes "the weak" to mean those in economic hardship and understands the passage as teaching believers to share what they earn through their work. It is seen as following the same line of thought as Ephesians 4:28, which makes helping others the purpose of labor. Some interpreters extend "the weak" to include those who are weak in faith as well.
• As an unrecorded saying of Jesus: The saying "It is more blessed to give than to receive" does not appear in this form anywhere in the four Gospels. Scholars therefore cite it as a prime example of a saying of Jesus preserved outside the Gospels, that is, an agraphon (an "unwritten" saying). The passage is treated as evidence that oral traditions of Jesus' teaching circulated within the early church.

Questions of Application

The first question concerns the financial support of pastors. This passage, together with Paul's tentmaking, is often cited in discussions of bivocational ministry. In 1 Corinthians 9, however, Paul affirms that those who preach the gospel have a right to be supported by the church, even though he chose not to exercise that right himself. Interpreters are therefore divided over whether this text should be read as a norm binding on all ministers or as a choice made in response to particular circumstances.

The second question concerns the meaning of "blessed." Some sermons use the saying to mean "if you give, you will receive even more in return." Critics of prosperity theology respond that the context speaks not of reward but of service free from covetousness. The word translated "blessed" in the original belongs to the same word family as the term used in the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount.

In the Korean Church

The passage is frequently cited in sermons on charitable giving, offerings, and service in the church. The phrase "It is more blessed to give than to receive" is also widely used at charity events and as a church motto. It is likewise one of the principal texts invoked as a biblical basis in discussions of bivocational ministry and tentmaking missions.

Related Passages

• 2 Thessalonians 3:7–9
• 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12
• Ephesians 4:28
• 2 Corinthians 9:6–8
• Acts 20:33–34