Acts 20:24

But I consider my life of no value to me, if only I may finish my course and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus—the ministry of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Paul addresses the Ephesian elders at Miletus, en route to Jerusalem, where the Spirit has already told him chains and suffering await (v.23) and he will not see them again (v.25).

The words — οὐδενὸς λόγου ποιούμαι (oudenos logou poioumai) is a fixed idiom: "I make no account of any." The word λόγου here means "reckoning, estimation," not merely "word," sharpening the total devaluation Paul assigns to his own life.

The thread — The same posture recurs in 2 Timothy 4:6, where Paul calls himself a drink offering about to be poured out, and in 2 Corinthians 4:1, where he refuses to lose heart despite the cost of the ministry God has given him.

Why it lands — Paul reduces his entire existence to one task—testifying to the gospel of grace—and calls that enough. It asks the reader to name what they would stake their life on and check whether it is that narrow.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

2 Timothy 4:6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.
2 Corinthians 12:10 That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 4:1 Therefore, since God in His mercy has given us this ministry, we do not lose heart.
1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Acts 21:13 Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
Philippians 3:13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
2 Corinthians 4:8 We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us.
Romans 11:6 And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.

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