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
World English Bible (WEB)
In all things I gave you an example, that so laboring you ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
American Standard Version (ASV)
In all things I gave you an example, that so laboring ye ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
What this verse means
Paul quotes Jesus' saying that giving is a greater blessing than getting.
A closer look at Acts 20:35
Paul is at Miletus, saying goodbye to the elders of Ephesus and warning them about hard years ahead. Into that farewell he drops a quotation: “remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Remarkably, this saying appears in none of the four Gospels. It is one of the few agrapha — sayings of Jesus preserved outside them — and Paul expects the Ephesians to know it already, which tells us Jesus' teaching circulated as living memory before the Gospels were finished. Paul anchors the saying in his own example: he worked with his hands so his ministry would cost the church nothing.
The verse suffers two opposite distortions. Prosperity teaching flips it into an investment tip — give so that you will receive more — which is precisely the transaction Paul refused; his point is that the blessing sits in the giving itself. The opposite distortion hears “more blessed” as “receiving is shameful,” which Paul never says; he gratefully accepted support from Philippi. The sentence is about where joy runs deeper, not about who may accept help. Practically, this is a verse for payday: Paul connects giving to “labouring” — ordinary work done partly so there is something left over for “the weak.” The first application is rarely dramatic: work honestly, keep a margin, and let someone weaker benefit from the surplus.
A short prayer
Lord, make me generous today. Let me discover the blessing on the giving side.
Read in context — Acts 20
33I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.
34Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.
35I 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.
36And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all.
37And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him,
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