What to Do in a Crisis (Acts 20:1-16)

Acts 20:1–16 ESV

1 After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia. 2 When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. 3 There he spent three months, and when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 4 Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus. 5 These went on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas, 6 but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days. 7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered. 9 And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. 10 But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” 11 And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. 12 And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted. 13 But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land. 14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. 15 And sailing from there we came the following day opposite Chios; the next day we touched at Samos; and the day after that we went to Miletus. 16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.

Intro: Paul’s Third Missionary Journey - Acts 18:23-21:17

A reading of Acts 20 reveals that Paul has left Ephesus and departed for Macedonia (20:1). He arrives in Greece (the province of Achaia) and then returns to Macedonia (20:3). Arriving in Philippi, he then sails to Troas (20:6). He then goes by land to Assos and from there sails to Mitylene (20:13-14). From there he sailed to Chios then to Samos and to Miletus with the intent of being in Jerusalem by Pentecost (20:15-16). Barclay frames this entire journey within the desire of Paul to collect an offering for the believers in Jerusalem.

(1) A Crisis is Not a Reason to Stop Serving Others (Acts 20:1)

After the uproar - encouraging them

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 25.150 παρακαλέω; παράκλησις, εως

25.150 παρακαλέωd; παράκλησιςa, εως f: to cause someone to be encouraged or consoled, either by verbal or non-verbal means—‘to encourage, to console, encouragement.’

παρακαλέωd: ἵνα γνῶτε τὰ περὶ ἡμῶν καὶ παρακαλέσῃ τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν ‘that you may know how we are and that he may encourage you’ Eph 6:22.

παράκλησιςa: εἴ τίς ἐστιν ἐν ὑμῖν λόγος παρακλήσεως πρὸς τὸν λαόν ‘if you have any message of encouragement for the people’ Ac 13:15; εἴ τις οὖν παράκλησις ἐν Χριστῷ ‘if then there is any encouragement in Christ’ Php 2:1.

Paul says farewell and heads for Macedonia but we can’t quite leave Ephesus yet. We need to understand why Paul wanted to revisit the churches - to personally minister to the churches and to collect an offering.

It was during his Ephesian ministry that he the church in Colossae was started. All Asia heard the gospel. Paul also wrote 1 Corinthians, made a “painful” visit to them and wrote a “tearful” letter to them. Having sent Titus to Corinth he was hoping to receive an assessment from Titus when they met up in Troas. Going through Macedonia would allow Paul to revisit the churches in Berea, Thessalonica and Philippi. He traveled by ship or possibly took the coastal road. It is uncertain how long Paul was in Macedonia but Longenecker estimates at least one year from the summer of 56 to the end of 57 A.D.

Somehow the gospel entered the province of Illyricum and a work was established in Dalmatia (Romans 15:19; 2 Timothy 4:10). That Luke does not mention Paul entering Illyricum may indicate that someone other than Paul evangelized and established churches in this area. This further points to Paul’s goal of strengthening the existing churches rather than establishing new works.

(2) Serving Others in a Crisis May Be Your Reason to Stay (Acts 20:2-3a)

20:2 - Paul left Ephesus and made a final visit to the churches of Macedonia and Achaia and then spent the winter in Corinth.

In 20:2, “Greece” is another name for the province of Achaia. Paul likely stayed in Corinth for 3 months (20:3), probably during the winter of 57-58 A.D. He wrote Romans during this time in approximately 57 A.D.

Paul gave much encouragement (pollo paraklntos)

(3) Serving Others Does Not Always Mean Peace and Comfort (20:3b)

20:3b - The plot to kill Paul - Being in the will of God does not always mean peace and comfort and growth and unhindered ministry.

Paul intended to sail to Syria but in Acts 20:3 he travels by land through Macedonia due to an assassination plot. There were people looking to kill him, to possibly through him overboard during the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Paul may have felt safer on land than on water.

(4) Serving Others Involves Spiritual Mentoring and Discipleship (Acts 20:4-17)

Make disciples - Matthew 28:19-20

2 Timothy 2:2 ESV

2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

20:4 - the men with Paul. Gentiles who had grown through Paul’s discipleship

20:5 - the we of Luke

Not reaching Jerusalem in time, he stayed in Philippi and then sailed from Neapolis (the port of Philippi) to Troas. The trip took 5 days instead of 2 days (Acts 16:11), possibly indicating a difficult journey.

Troas was not one of the places where Paul had planted a church, but it’s location made for an ideal place to meet with believers from all over

20:6 - Paul in Troas

20:7 - the first mention of gathering on the first day of the week - what day should we worship on as Gentiles? (non Jews)

20:8-12- lamps and long talks and open windows -

they were not a little comforted (metrios paraklntos) encouraged, consoled)

Don’t miss the eagerness of the believers to be taught by Paul

From Troas to Miletus

From Troas, Luke writes that they set sail for Assos but Paul went by land (Acts 20:13). He may have wanted to stay longer or to not sail around Cape Lectum and so chose to take the Roman coastal road which took less time than sailing. Assos was 20 miles south of Troas on the Gulf of Adramyttium. It faced the island of Lesbos and the city of Mitylene (Acts 20:14).

Lesbos was the largest of the islands of western Asia Minor and Mitylene was the chief city. From Mitylene they went to Chios (or Kios), the major city of the island of Chios and from there to the island of Samos, directly west of Ephesus. In Acts 20:7-16, they then arrive in Miletus, 30 miles south of Ephesus at the mouth of the Meander River. In order to get to Jerusalem by Pentecost, Paul chose to sail by Ephesus but to have the Ephesian elders come to him.

Paul wanted to worship in Jerusalem as an observant Jew - is it wrong to be observant as a Jew? Is it wrong to have freedom as a Gentile? For Paul the answer to both is NO

Paul’s journey in Acts 20 served to continue his desire to receive an offering from the Gentile churches and to assist the church in Jerusalem. While not establishing new churches, Paul invested his time into writing to and visiting churches which needed to be strengthened in their faith and practice.

(1) A Crisis is Not a Reason to Stop Serving Others (Acts 20:1)

(2) Serving Others in a Crisis May Be Your Reason to Stay (Acts 20:2-3a)

(3) Serving Others Does Not Always Mean Peace and Comfort (20:3b)

(4) Serving Others Involves Spiritual Mentoring and Discipleship (Acts 20:4-17)

The church needs to be the church - we need to be loving and caring for each other. We don’t stop reaching out to the world or wanting to grow. But we also take advantage of the closeness this pandemic has given us.

One last thing:

A Fundamental Testimony of God’s Design for the Family: Study Shows Teenagers Have Benefited from Family Relationships During Pandemic

But as we're thinking about this, by the way, in the context of the pandemic, there's something else that shows forth. And that is, again, God's intention in the family. God's intention with the family, as a mother and a father and their children in the home. It turns out that the family is not just a sociological institution with social and moral benefits. It turns out that it's absolutely essential to civilization. And it turns out that sometimes in the midst of a cultural crisis, like the COVID-19 pandemic, there are strange testimonies to this fact.

Here's one, a headline in the Wall Street Journal. "Lockdowns have a Bright Side for Teens." Meaning, of course, teenagers. Now what would be the bright side of the lockdown for teenagers in the United States? Well, the subhead in the article makes clear. "They're Talking more to Parents and Getting more Sleep, Reducing Levels of Depression." Now here's something really interesting. The article actually includes far more than just that subhead would indicate.

We're talking about a study that was reported here. It was undertaken by the Institute for Family Studies. Erica Komisar is writing the article. She says, "The study released in October found that 56% of U.S. high school students that were surveyed between May and July reported talking to parents more during the quarantine than before. 54% said their families have dinner more often than before. 46% reported spending more time with their siblings. 68% said their families have become closer during the pandemic."

It turns out the closing down some options meant that families actually had each other. And it turns out that that, even in the study reported in the Wall Street Journal has, to use the language of the article, good psychological benefits for teenagers, benefits that are translated into reductions in depression.

And also one of the things that becomes very clear here is that these teenagers, who have been locked down in the midst of all of this, who are often now studying at home rather than at school, are cut off from their friends, at least cut off from the actual in the room contact with their friends, it turns out that having more conversation with their parents is something they like. It turns out that having more time with their siblings is something that they like. It turns out that having more sleep is something that they like and something that is very good for them.

The article points to the pubertal changes that come with a change in the circadian rhythm that makes teenagers have a natural tendency to stay up later and thus to sleep later. It turns out that with homeschooling and a change in schedule, some of that has been accommodated by understanding parents. And it turns out that teenagers are responding with lowered levels of depression. You need some good news? How about that for good news?

But notice that you're also looking at a fundamental testimony here to God's intention in the family. God's design for the family turns out to be not only advantageous, but absolutely important, urgent, essential for his glory and for our good.

So as we're thinking about all the challenges that come to us in the midst of this pandemic, let's not miss two things. Number one, there are also some recoveries that are visible before our eyes. And looking here at teenagers, for example, families as beneficiaries of that closeness, but also look at something else. There is a deeper testimony here than to something that is sociological, economic, or psychological. It's theological. And we as Christians need to understand how and why.