ActsChapter 20

+ Secondary text Original text ← Previous Next →Contribute

When the uproar had died down, Paul sent for the disciples, encouraged them, and said farewell before setting out for Macedonia.

He traveled through that region, encouraging the believers at length, and then came to Greece,

where he stayed three months. Just as he was about to sail for Syria, the Jews formed a plot against him, so he decided to return by way of Macedonia.

Traveling with him were Sopater son of Pyrrhus, from Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica; Gaius from Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.

These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas.

We sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread and joined them at Troas five days later, and there we stayed seven days.

On the first day of the week we gathered to break bread, and Paul spoke to them. Since he intended to leave the next day, he kept on talking until midnight.

There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were gathered.

A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. Overcome by sleep, he fell from the third story and was picked up dead.

But Paul went down, threw himself upon him, and took him in his arms. "Do not be alarmed," he said, "his life is in him."

Then he went back upstairs, broke the bread and ate, and talked with them a long while, until daybreak; then he left.

And they took the boy home alive, greatly comforted.

We went ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were to take Paul aboard. This was his arrangement, since he intended to go by land.

When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene.

Sailing from there, we arrived the next day off Chios; the day after, we crossed over to Samos, and the following day we came to Miletus.

Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.

From Miletus he sent word to Ephesus, summoning the elders of the church.

When they arrived, he said to them: "You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time, from the first day I set foot in Asia,

serving the Lord with all humility, with tears, and with the trials that came upon me through the plots of the Jews.

I held back nothing that was for your good, but proclaimed it to you and taught you publicly and from house to house,

testifying to Jews and Greeks alike about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.

And now, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,

except that in city after city the Holy Spirit testifies to me that chains and afflictions await me.

But I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and complete the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus: to testify to the gospel of God's grace.

And now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again.

Therefore I declare to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all people,

for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.[^1] [^1]: Or "with the blood of his own Son"; the Greek phrase can be read either way.

I know that after I am gone, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.

Even from your own number men will rise up, speaking twisted things, to draw the disciples away after themselves.

So be on your guard, and remember that for three years, night and day, I never stopped warning each one of you with tears.

And now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified.

I have coveted no one's silver or gold or clothing.

You yourselves know that these hands of mine provided for my own needs and for those who were with me.

In everything I showed you that by such hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, who himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

When he had said this, he knelt down with them all and prayed.

They all wept loudly as they embraced Paul and kissed him,

grieving most of all over his words that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.

Lookup

Summary2

Chapter 20

Main Theme: Paul's farewell journey and his exhortation to the elders of the church in Ephesus.

Content: Paul travels through Macedonia and Greece, encouraging the churches. In Troas, he raises the young man Eutychus, who had fallen from the third story and died. He continues sailing toward Jerusalem and summons the elders from Ephesus to Miletus for a farewell address. There, he exhorts them to guard themselves and the church against false teachers, reminds them of his own ministry, and concludes with prayer and a tearful farewell.

Key Words/Images:

Shepherds and Flock: The elders are appointed by the Holy Spirit as overseers to guard God's church against "savage wolves."
The Race Completed: Paul describes his ministry as a race he intends to finish, regardless of what awaits him.
"It is more blessed to give than to receive": A saying of Jesus that Paul cites as an example of self-sacrificing service.
God's Church, Bought with His Blood: Emphasizes the value of the church and the foundation for shepherding ministry.

Historical context

Historical and Cultural Context for Acts 20

People

Chapter 20 names seven of Paul’s traveling companions who represented various congregations: Sopater, son of Pyrrhus, from Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica; Gaius from Derbe; Timothy; as well as Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. These men likely served as representatives of their congregations, accompanying the collection for Jerusalem (cf. 1 Cor 16:3–4). The fact that they represented Macedonian, Galatian, and Asian churches underscores the ecumenical scope of this solidarity project. Eutychus (Greek: "fortunate" or "lucky") was a young man in Troas; his name was common among slaves and freedmen in the Greco-Roman period.

Places

Troas (vv. 5–12) was an important port city on the Aegean Sea in northwest Asia Minor, fully named Alexandria Troas. The city was a Roman colony and a key hub for travel between Asia and Macedonia. The room on the third floor (τριστέγου, "third loft/floor") where the congregation met corresponded to typical apartment buildings (insulae) in Roman cities, where upper floors were often used for gatherings.

Miletus (vv. 15–17; meeting vv. 17–38) was an ancient Ionian port city about 50 km south of Ephesus. The city had a famous theater seating 15,000 spectators and was known as a center of trade and culture. Archaeological excavations have uncovered the harbor area where Paul likely met with the elders from Ephesus, as well as an inscription in the theater reserving seats for "Jews and God-fearers"—testimony to Jewish presence in the city.

Events and Customs

The time references "the days of unleavened bread" (v. 6) and "Pentecost" (v. 16) show that Paul still oriented himself according to the Jewish festival calendar, even while traveling among Gentile regions. The expression "on the first day of the week" (τῇ μιᾷ τῶν σαββάτων, v. 7) is the earliest clear testimony in Acts that Christians gathered on Sunday. That they assembled "to break bread" (κλάσαι ἄρτον) refers to the Lord’s Supper combined with a fellowship meal, as practiced by the first Christians.

Paul’s action when he leaned over Eutychus and "embraced him" (συμπεριλαβών, v. 10) recalls the resurrections performed by Elijah and Elisha in the Old Testament (1 Kgs 17:21; 2 Kgs 4:34), something the first readers would have recognized as a prophetic parallel.

Key Terms

The speech at Miletus introduces important leadership terms used for the same individuals: presbyteroi (πρεσβύτεροι, "elders," v. 17) and episkopoi (ἐπίσκοποι, "overseers," v. 28). This shows that in this early period these terms were functionally overlapping, not separate hierarchical offices. The task is described as to "shepherd" (ποιμαίνειν) the congregation—a shepherd image with deep roots in the Old Testament.

The expression "bound by the Spirit" (δεδεμένος τῷ πνεύματι, v. 22) is an unusual phrase conveying an irresistible inner compulsion from the Holy Spirit, directed toward Jerusalem despite known dangers.

The saying "it is more blessed to give than to receive" (v. 35) is quoted as a word of Jesus not found in the Gospels. This is an example of so-called "agrapha"—unwritten words of Jesus preserved in oral tradition.

People11