Acts 20:35
“I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
King James Version (KJV)
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In his farewell to the Ephesian elders, Paul points to his own hard work as an example and quotes a saying of Jesus preserved only here.
What Does Acts 20:35 Mean?
Acts 20:35 preserves a treasured saying of Jesus -- through honest labor we should support the weak, remembering that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Paul is concluding his farewell to the Ephesian elders. He has reminded them that he worked with his own hands to provide for himself and his companions, refusing to be a financial burden. Now he draws the lesson and seals it with a quotation of the Lord Jesus found nowhere else in the Gospels.
Paul says, "I have shewed you all things" -- his own example has been the lesson. The point of his labor was "that ye ought to support the weak." The Greek antilambano means to take hold of in order to help, to come to the aid of those who cannot fully provide for themselves. Hard work, in Paul's view, was not merely for self-support but so that one would have something to share with those in need. He then anchors this in "the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive." This saying turns ordinary thinking upside down. The world counts the receiver fortunate, but Jesus declares the giver more blessed -- the Greek makarios, meaning truly happy, favored, fulfilled. There is a deeper joy in generosity than in acquisition. Paul lived this truth and held it up to the elders as a guiding principle. The verse remains one of the clearest calls in Scripture to a life marked by openhanded giving.
In the Original Language
The Greek "antilambano" (support) means to take hold of in order to help, and "makarios" (blessed) means truly happy or favored.
Cross References
“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”
- 2 Corinthians 9:7
“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom.”
- Luke 6:38
“Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.”
- Ephesians 4:28
Application
A life of generosity brings a deeper joy than accumulation; God invites us to work, share, and care for those who are weak, finding the greater blessing in giving freely.