Bible Study series: Acts 20:1-6. He has to complete his third missionary journey before he goes to Jerusalem. A table of Paul’s travels in Acts 18-25 is included in this post.
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At the link to the original post, next, I write more commentary and dig a little deeper into the Greek. I also offer a section titled Observations for Discipleship at the end. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided in the commentary section for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Acts 20:1-6
1 After the uproar stopped, Paul sent for the disciples and encouraged them. He said goodbye and left to go to Macedonia. 2 After he went through those parts and encouraged them with many words, he went to Greece 3 and spent three months. And then a plot against him by the Jews was formed, as he was about to put out to sea for Syria, so he decided to return to Macedonia. 4 He was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, son of Pyrrhus; Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica; Gaius of Derbe and Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia. 5 They went on ahead and were waiting for us in Troas. 6 We sailed from Philippi after the days of the feast of Unleavened Bread. We reached them at Troas in five days, where we spent seven days. (Acts 20:1-6)
Comments:
This timeline table between Acts 18-25 and Paul’s epistles shows the harmony between the two bodies of writings, in Paul’s travels.
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Paul’s Travels in Acts 18-25 and in His Epistles |
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| Paul’s Letters | Acts | |
| Paul taught the “Galatians” about the collection (1 Cor 16:1) | Paul strengthened “the disciples” throughout Galatia and Phrygia (18:23) | |
| Paul’s ministry in Ephesus (1 Cor 16:8) | Paul’s ministry in Ephesus (19:1-20) | |
| Many events while Paul is in Ephesus (1 Cor 1:11; 7:1; 16:8, 17; probably Paul’s second visit to Corinth in 2 Cor 2:3; 12:14; 13:2) including both fruit and hostility (1 Cor 15:31032; 16:8-9; 2 Cor 1:8-9) | Paul’s stay in Ephesus lasted over two years (19:8, 10; 20:31), spreading the gospel (19:10-20) and experiencing opposition (20:19; Cf. 19:23-20:1) | |
| Apollos is a strong preacher in Corinth and associated with Paul in Ephesus (1 Cor 16:12) | Apollos is associated with Ephesus and preached also in Corinth (18:24-28) | |
| Paul plans to visit:
a.. Macedonia (1 Cor 16:5) b.. Then Achaia (1 Cor 16:5-6; cf. 4:18-21) c. Judea (Rom 15:25; 2 Cor 1:16) d.. And finally Rome (Rom 1:11-13; 15:23-25; cf. 2 Cor 10:16) |
Paul plans to visit:
a.. Macedonia b.. Achaia c.. Judea d.. Rome In that sequence (19:21) |
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| While in Ephesus (1 Cor 16:8 Paul sends Timothy ahead of himself (1 Cor 4:17; 16:10); Timothy is later with Paul in Corinth (Rom 16:21) | While in Ephesus, Paul sends Timothy and a companion into Macedonia (19:21); Timothy is next mentioned leaving Corinth (or just possibly Macedonia) with Paul (20:3-4) | |
| Paul visits Macedonia (2 Cor 2:13; 7:5-7; cf. 1 Cor 16:5) | Paul visits Macedonia (20:1-2) | |
| Despite his delay (2 Cor 1:16-17; 2:1), he plans to visit Corinth (2 Cor 13:1), with traveling companions from other cities (2 Cor 9:4) | Paul visits Achaia (20:2-3) and soon afterwards travels with companion from various cities (20:4) | |
| Paul finished his collection in Macedonia and Achaia (Rom. 15:26) and writes Romans from Corinth (16:1) | Paul in Achaia for three months (20:2-3) | |
| After leaving Macedonia and Achaia (Rom 15:26), Paul presumably carried through his plan to visit Jerusalem (Rom 15:25) | Paul in Jerusalem (21:17) | |
| Jerusalem might prove dangerous (Rom 15:31); on the majority of view, Paul’s next letters (e.g. Philippians) are from Roman captivity | Paul is arrested in Jerusalem and detained by Rome’s agents (22:24-23:30) | |
| Paul apparently ends up in Rome, though not necessarily by the means he had planned (Phil 4:22; cf. Rom 15:23-24) | Paul uses his Roman citizenship to get his case transferred to Rome (25:10-12) | |
| “Although Luke summarizes and often focuses independently on different events, where his itineraries overlap with Paul’s, they agree” (p. 494).
“Luke, who all but skips the collection (24:17), has little reason to emphasize a trip to Macedonia and Achaia (20:1-2), the focal point of which was the collection (Rom 15:26; 1 Cor 16:1-5; cf. 2 Cor 9-9). Luke surveys a span of several months in two verses (20:2-3)” (p. 495). |
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| Keener, pp. 494-95 (table, slightly edited) | ||
Recall that my nickname for Luke is “the Omitter” or “the Condenser.” He has his own purposes and assumes the readers will fill in the gaps.
1:
“uproar”: The riot in Acts 19.
“encouraging”: What do you need from the Spirit? Here are some options: “counselor / counsel,” “advocate (defense attorney),” “helper / help,” “comforter / comfort,” “encourager / encouragement,” and “intercessor / intercession.”
“disciples”: they are believers in and followers of Jesus. Whenever “disciples” is mentioned in Acts, it refers to Christians.
2-3:
Polhill very briefly reminds us of the timeline between Acts 20:1-3a and 2 Cor. 1-7: Luke condenses Paul’s travel in two-and-a-fraction verses. Though Paul went to Greece, that is Corinth, and remained there to ensure that his gospel work was strong, and it was (comments on vv. 1-3a). Polhill further notes that Paul was collecting an offering from the Christians of Macedonia, Asia, and Achaia (Greece) for the Jerusalem church (Rom. 15:25-29, 31). Luke, however, was not concerned about this, so he omitted these details. Why did Luke omit these data points? Polhill is right: to speculate would be to build a federal case on silence. But he does remind us of Luke’s evident purpose, as follows:
It is clear, however, what Luke did want to emphasize. He wanted to show how Paul’s journey to Jerusalem was as foreboding as that of his master [Jesus] before him, how it ended in chains, but how even in the seeming defeat of his arrest in Jerusalem God turned the events to the triumph of the gospel, leading Paul to the capital of the empire, the end of the earth, to bear his witness openly and unhinderedly. (comment on vv. 3b-4).
Paul was following Jesus to Jerusalem and in apparent defeat was discovered victory and vindication. Perfectly said. Once again: Luke’s nickname: “the Omitter” or “the Condenser,” to serve his own purposes.
Paul had planned to go to Syria (i.e. Antioch), but the team learned that enemies were going to kill him during the voyage. Paul decided to go another way. Wise move. Don’t be afraid to avoid trouble. Don’t needlessly put your life in danger. Go on a different path. One could ask why God would not send an angel to protect him, but God also gives us wisdom to avoid trouble. God can change your plans. Surrender to him.
It is a sad fact that some (not all) of Paul’s fellow Jews persecuted him relentlessly because, I believe, they could look into the near future and see that Judaism would remain small, because it had too many rules and regulations, which restrict and oppress people and lead them to self-focus. “Am I keeping the rules just right?” In contrast, the new “sect” called the Way was much better because believing in Jesus pleases God, who bestows his grace on people, so that this faith—as distinct from law keeping—allows one to enter a relationship with God on earth and then into heaven when one dies. The Spirit lives in the believers in Jesus, to empower them to be like Christ and obey the law of love.
4:
These men must have been awesome and powerful. They must have been a great help to Paul. It makes me wonder whether I would go on a missionary journey with Paul. Only by God’s grace.
Sopater is probably the same as Sosipater in Rom. 16:21.
Aristarchus and Gaius were the men who were dragged into the theater at Ephesus (Acts 19:23-41), so maybe they felt it best to leave town for a while. But Bruce thinks Gaius is a different person (comment on vv. 4-5, note 20).
Secundus is mentioned only here.
Timothy: there is a short study of him in Acts 16:1. You can click there to find out more about him.
Tychicus: see Col. 4:7; Eph. 6:21; Tit. 3:12; 2 Tim. 4:12.
Trophimus: see Acts 21:29 and 2 Tim. 4:20.
Paul was building a good team. It takes teamwork to advance God’s kingdom. Be sure to help out in your local church. Don’t let the pastor and his wife do all the work. In Rom 16:16 Paul says all the churches greet the Romans, and the list of names represent those churches (Bruce, comment on vv. 4-5).
5-6:
“unleavened bread”: Paul was free from the law, but he was a Messianic Jew, and he honored the festivals. What he did not allow was the Sinai Covenant (Ex. 19), with its accompanying wrath and judgments and curses. If a Messianic Jew wishes to honor this or that feast, he is free. If a Messianic Jew does not, then he is free.
“us”: Luke enters the narrative again, as he did in 16:10 in Troas and then on to Philippi (to 16:17). He must have been left behind at Philippi, which is across the water from Troas. Luke has joined the company and writes from the first-person point of view. In any case, they sailed on from there. Luke will hear Paul’s insightful and emotional and famous farewell address to the Ephesian elders later in this chapter.
“Day of Unleavened Bread”: Since it immediately follows Passover (v. 4), let’s cover this feast first.
Please read this post:
Festivals in Leviticus 23 from a NT Perspective
The people ate a meal together; then they celebrated the Lord’s Supper, at the end, during a special ceremony (see 1 Cor. 11:17-34). If you have a potluck at church, be open to celebrating the Lord’s Supper or Communion at the end.
GrowApp for Acts 20:1-6
1. Encouragement in the important word here. Do you speak words of encouragement or put downs?
2. Paul built a team to help him. In your daily walk with God, do have a team around you who can encourage you?
RELATED
The Historical Reliability of the Book of Acts
Book of Acts and Paul’s Epistles: Match Made in Heaven?
SOURCES
For the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the very bottom:
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 