15  For the Love  of the Church  (Acts 20:1–17)

And after the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples and when he had exhorted them and taken his leave of them, he departed to go to Macedonia. And when he had gone through those districts and had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece. And there he spent three months, and when a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he determined to return through Macedonia. And he was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus; and by Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia. But these had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas. And we sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at Troas within five days; and there we stayed seven days. And on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to depart the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. And there were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. And there was a certain young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor, and was picked up dead. But Paul went down and fell upon him and after embracing him, he said, “Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.” And when he had gone back up, and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. And they took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted. But we, going ahead to the ship, set sail for Assos, intending from there to take Paul on board; for thus he had arranged it, intending himself to go by land. And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene. And sailing from there, we arrived the following day opposite Chios; and the next day we crossed over to Samos; and the day following we came to Miletus. For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus in order that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. (20:1–17)

If one were to ask the question, “What are the most important qualities of a minister of Jesus Christ?” he would expect to receive a list of several. Skill in preaching and teaching, boldness, and godliness are among the foundational qualities that must be enumerated. Shepherding ability, wise oversight, and the ability to work with people are also crucial.

Behind all those qualities must be love; love for the Lord, love for the truth, and love for the church—not the organization but the people. Such love, flowing from devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God, marks all those who exercise noble leadership in the church.

There have always been dedicated pastors who sacrificed in life and death for the church. It was love for the church that drove the busy Reformers Luther and Calvin to preach constantly to their flocks—not merely on Sundays, but throughout the week. Many Puritan pastors continued to preach the Word after being forbidden to do so by the authorities. They knew they risked being imprisoned (as was John Bunyan), but love for the church compelled them to take that risk. Love for the church consumed the godly nineteenth-century Scottish pastor Robert Murray McCheyne. Ill health could not deter him from his loving service, and, consequently, he died at a young age. It was his love for the church that motivated Charles Spurgeon to speak out against the modernism that was creeping into the evangelical church of his day. During the resulting “Down-Grade Controversy,” Spurgeon was sharply criticized for his stand. Some of those close to him deserted him. Yet he refused to back down, although the stress the controversy generated hastened his death.

Church history is replete with examples of those who sacrificially loved the church. Yet no man has ever loved the church more than the apostle Paul. He expressed that love frequently in his letters. To the Philippians he wrote:

“You are our letter, “he told the Corinthians, “written in our hearts” (2 Cor. 3:2). He also wrote to them, “You are in our hearts to die together and to live together” (2 Cor. 7:3). In 1 Thessalonians 2:7–8, Paul expressed his intimate love for the Thessalonian church:

Paul, however, did not merely “love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth” (1 John 3:18). Jesus said in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” Paul made that ultimate sacrifice, giving his life to serve the church Jesus gave His life to redeem.

Not only did the apostle give his life for the church, but he also endured much suffering for it. He chronicles some of that suffering in 2 Corinthians 11:23–28:

The worst suffering Paul endured was not the physical suffering resulting from being beaten, stoned, or shipwrecked. Far more relentlessly painful was his loving “concern for all the churches” (v. 28). “Who is weak,” he exclaims in verse 29, “without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?”

When false doctrine threatened the Galatian churches, it caused Paul much anguish. His turbulent emotions are reflected in the disjointed Greek constructions in the book of Galatians. The defections of those he loved and trusted, such as John Mark (Acts 13:13) and Demas (2 Tim. 4:10), wounded him deeply. The chronic sin and mutiny at Corinth depressed him (2 Cor. 7:5–6).

So great was Paul’s love for the church that he willingly, even joyfully, suffered for it. “But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith,” he wrote to the Philippians, “I rejoice and share my joy with you all” (Phil. 2:17). He echoed that same theme in his letter to the Colossians: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body (which is the church) in filling up that which is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” (Col. 1:24).

Acts 20:1–17 does not describe love in the soaring terms of 1 Corinthians 13. In fact, it contains no doctrine or practical exhortation at all. But this simple, straightforward narrative illustrates Paul’s love for the church in action (where love is best seen). That love is made visible in his exhortation, giving, persistence, availability, and concern.

EXHORTATION

And after the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples and when he had exhorted them and taken his leave of them … and had given them much exhortation (20:1a, 2b)

Calm returned to Ephesus after the uproar (the riot described in 19:23–41) had ceased. The word thorubos (uproar) is a fitting descriptive for those tumultuous events sparked by Demetrius the silversmith. Matthew used it to describe the disturbance that took place during Pilate’s trial of Jesus (Matt. 27:24). Luke used it later in Acts to describe the riot that broke out when Paul visited the temple in Jerusalem (21:34). In all three instances the word describes an uncontrollable, hysterical mob.

After such a traumatic event, most men would have been content to escape with their lives. Paul’s concern for the church’s spiritual security, however, overrode any concern for his personal safety. He could not leave Ephesus until he had sent for the disciples and exhorted them one last time. Paul was well aware, as he would shortly warn the leaders of the Ephesian church (20:29–31), of the serious danger posed by false teachers. He no doubt also was concerned that the Ephesian believers might be intimidated by the threat of further rioting. The cure for both problems was instruction from and exhortation to follow God’s Word. Only after charging the Ephesian believers did Paul take his leave of them to begin his planned trip to Jerusalem via Macedonia and Achaia (cf. 19:21).

Leaving Ephesus, Paul crossed the Aegean Sea to Macedonia, probably by way of Troas. The main purpose of his journey through Macedonia was to collect an offering for the poor believers at Jerusalem (see the next section). Still, he could not pass up the opportunity to instruct the Macedonian believers. While he was with them he gave them, as he had the Ephesians, much exhortation. This biblical counsel and warning formed the content of his preaching to them.

As Paul set out for Jerusalem, he must have had a sense of finality. His third missionary journey had seen opposition reach fever pitch. Almost everywhere he went he had faced violent persecution. He believed that he would not be coming back, that he would never again see the churches of Asia, Macedonia, and Achaia that had become so dear to him (cf. 20:25). (Paul may have visited some of them again after his release from his first Roman imprisonment. However he could not have foreseen that possibility at this time.) It is the measure of his love that Paul remained at Ephesus, exposing himself to further risk. He spent those final hours giving them much exhortation with the Word—the source of their life and strength.

Unfortunately, Paul’s commitment to proclaim the truth of God is not in vogue today. Preaching that exhorts from the Word no longer holds the central place it held in the early church (Acts 10:42; 13:5, 32; 14:7, 15, 21; 15:35; 16:10; 17:3, 13; 20:25; 28:31). Paul’s charge to Timothy to “give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching” (1 Tim. 4:13) is too often ignored. (For a discussion of the importance of preaching, see Acts 1–12, MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 1994], 48–50.)

The results of downplaying strong, biblical preaching are tragic. When pastors neglect their responsibility for “the equipping of the saints” (Eph. 4:12a), then the saints cannot do their “work of service” (Eph. 4:12b). As a result, the “building up of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12c) does not take place. The disastrous consequences include lack of true unity (4:13a), imperfect knowledge of Jesus Christ (4:13b), and lack of spiritual maturity (4:13c), resulting in immature “children” who are “tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” (4:14).

Why is preaching being minimized? First, because of the widespread assault on the authority of Scripture. Never in the history of the church has the Bible been subjected to the savage attacks it has endured in the last century and a half. Skeptical unbelievers deny the inspiration of the Scriptures, deriding them as the prescientific myths of the Hebrew tribes. They assert that the Bible is rife with gross scientific blunders, historical errors, even moral blemishes.

More subtle attacks have come from those within the church. Some agree with the skeptics that the Bible contains errors, yet claim that it is still authoritative. The absurdity of such a view is obvious,

Others affirm the Bible’s inspiration and inerrancy but deny in practice its uniqueness as a source of divine revelation. The claim that God speaks today through prophecies, visions, and dreams denies that the Bible alone contains “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3) and “everything pertaining to life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3). (For a further discussion of this point, see my books Charismatic Chaos [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992], and Reckless Faith [Wheaton, III.: Crossway, 1994].)

Paul’s exhortation was firmly based on the authoritative Scriptures (as were his writings—cf. Rom. 4:3; 9:17; 10:11; 11:2; Gal. 3:8, 22; 4:30; 1 Tim. 5:18). Acts 17:2 notes that “according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures.” To the Corinthians he wrote:

He instructed the young pastor Timothy to “give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching” (1 Tim. 4:13), since “all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16–17).

The loss of belief in an authoritative Scripture seriously undermines preaching. In fact, there can be no truly biblical preaching if the Bible’s authority and singular preeminence are rejected, since that would leave no divine revelation to proclaim. What is left is humanistic rationalism on the one hand or subjective mysticism on the other, both of which are antithetical to biblical preaching. (Biblical preaching is defined in John MacArthur et al., Rediscovering Expository Preaching [Dallas, Word, 1992].)

A second contribution to the demise of biblical preaching comes from some who claim to uphold the authority of Scripture. A sad legacy of the fundamentalist and evangelical movements has been those narrow-minded and legalistic pastors who are overbearing, compassionless, and harsh. They abuse the authority of the pulpit. Ignoring Peter’s warning against “lording it over those allotted to [their] charge” (1 Pet. 5:3), they have in effect set themselves up as little gods in their churches. They not only exercise abusive authority in the church but often also in their people’s private lives, with tragic results. God expects the shepherds of His flock to feed the sheep, not beat them.

The preaching of such men is often bombastic denunciation of those with whom they disagree, or dogmatic declarations of their particular legalistic concerns. They play on their people’s emotions, intimidating them into abject fear. Such ungracious pulpitism may have contributed as much to the demise of biblical preaching as the undermining of Scripture’s authority.

How pastors and congregations view the ministry hinders sound doctrinal preaching. The apostolic focus of the ministry on “prayer” and “the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4) can be lost amid the demands placed on pastors. A man who is expected to be visitor, evangelist, counselor, social worker, and administrator of the church schedule will obviously have little time left for long hours of rich study in preparation for preaching. (For a biblical view of pastoral ministry, see John MacArthur, ed., Rediscovering Pastoral Ministry [Dallas: Word, 1995].) Personal sin factors, such as laziness and apathy toward study by some pastors, have also contributed to preaching’s demise.

But nothing currently contributes more to the decline of biblical preaching than the rise of a market-driven philosophy of ministry. Attempting to be “user-friendly,” churches have jettisoned preaching in favor of movies, drama, concerts, the testimonies of Christian superstars, and other forms of entertainment. And no wonder, since preaching the biblical truths of sin, judgment, and God’s sovereignty in salvation is decidedly not user-friendly. In a philosophy of ministry where pragmatism reigns supreme, the large crowds drawn by such alternative “worship” services serve to validate them. Such shortsighted thinking, however, misses the point. The problem with churches is not poor attendance but poor spiritual health. And what people need most is not to be entertained, but to be taught the truths of God’s Word (2 Tim. 4:1–4). (I critique the market-driven philosophy of ministry that pervades today’s church in my book Ashamed of the Gospel [Wheaton, III.: Crossway, 1993].)

A sure mark of genuine love for the church is selfless, tireless exhortation from the Word of God. Though weary, busy, and persecuted, Paul devoted himself to teaching everywhere he went. His consuming passion, even at the risk of his life, was to see believers brought to spiritual maturity. As he expressed it in Colossians 1:28, “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ.”

GIVING

he departed to go to Macedonia. And when he had gone through those districts (20:1b-2a)

Paul planned to travel from Ephesus to Jerusalem through the Greek districts of Macedonia (the northern section) and Achaia (the southern section). That itinerary took him in the opposite direction from his ultimate goal of Jerusalem. Paul, however, had a definite purpose in mind—to take up a collection for the poor believers at Jerusalem. He mentions his plans in three of his epistles written at this time—1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, and Romans. In 1 Corinthians, written shortly before he left Ephesus (1 Cor. 16:5–8), Paul wrote:

In 2 Corinthians, written from Macedonia (2 Cor. 2:12–13; 7:5–6), Paul devotes two entire chapters to the collection (2 Cor. 8–9). In Romans, written from the Achaian city of Corinth (Rom. 16:23; 1 Cor. 1:14), he penned the following:

Why was the collection so important to Paul? First, because he had a love for the saints in Jerusalem who were impoverished by persecution. Those believers also carried the burden of the believers who had been pilgrims in Jerusalem when they were saved at Pentecost and then remained and needed provision. Furthermore, the other apostles at Jerusalem had asked him to remember the poor (Gal. 2:10).

To compound the difficulty of the Jerusalem church, the land of Israel had suffered a severe famine (cf. Acts 11:28). Had it not been for the relief efforts organized by the Jewish proselyte Queen Helena of Adiabene (a region in northern Mesopotamia east of Syria), many would have perished. Wealthy believers were selling their property from the start to provide money for the many who were poor (Acts 4:32–37). Such resources were not limitless, but the problem of poverty continued. Help was needed from outside the exhausted resources of the Jerusalem church.

When Paul finally reached Jerusalem with the collection, the Jews, incensed at his presence, tried to kill him. The Romans rescued him, but he was to remain their prisoner for more than two years (Acts 24:27), endure a hazardous sea voyage to Rome, and stand trial before the emperor. The sacrifices Paul willingly endured reveal his great love for the church.

An equally important reason for taking up the collection was Paul’s deep concern for the unity of the church. Paul knew that the cultural tensions between Jews and Gentiles posed an ever-present danger to that unity. By generously meeting the needs of the poor Jewish believers at Jerusalem, the Gentiles would affirm their love for them (1 John 3:17; cf. James 2:15–16). That in turn would cement the bond of unity so important to Paul (Rom. 10:12; Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:11).

Clearly, Paul’s love for the church was expressed by sacrificial giving. The apostle John expressed the inseparable link between giving and loving in 1 John 3:16–18:

PERSISTENCE

And there he spent three months, and when a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he determined to return through Macedonia. And he was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus; and by Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia. But these had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas. And we sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at Troas within five days; and there we stayed seven days. (20:3–6)

After three months in Achaia (most or all of it spent in Corinth), it was time for Paul to continue his journey. He had intended to catch a ship at Cenchrea (Corinth’s port) carrying Jewish pilgrims to Palestine for Passover. However, as he had so often in the past, Paul faced danger from his countrymen (2 Cor. 11:26). When he was about to set sail for Syria, he became aware of a plot that had been formed against him by the Jews of Corinth. They had not forgotten the shocking conversions of the synagogue leaders Crispus (18:8) and Sosthenes (18:17; 1 Cor. 1:1) or their humiliating defeat before the proconsul Gallio (18:12–17). Luke does not record the details of this plot, but Paul would have been an easy target for murder on a small ship—especially one crowded with Jewish pilgrims.

The plot delayed Paul by depriving him of the direct sea route to Syria. Therefore, he determined to return to Palestine through Macedonia. He would retrace his steps through Achaia north into Macedonia. From there he would cross the Aegean Sea to find another ship in Asia Minor headed toward Israel. That delay and detour cost Paul his opportunity to be in Jerusalem for Passover; all he could hope for now was to arrive in time for Pentecost, fifty days after Passover (20:16).

Paul did not travel alone. He was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus; and by Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia. The party apparently separated in Philippi, since Luke notes that those mentioned in verse 4 had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas. The use of the pronouns “us” (v. 5) and “we” (v. 6) reveals that Luke was again Paul’s traveling companion, rejoining him at Philippi. Luke had apparently remained in that city after Paul and Silas had been forced to leave (as the use of “they” in 17:1 suggests).

Paul’s companions came from the Roman provinces in which he had ministered. They were likely the official representatives of their churches and had taken collections for the church at Jerusalem. Sopater (Berea), and Aristarchus and Secundus (Thessalonica) were from Macedonia; Gaius (Derbe) and Timothy (Lystra, Acts 16:1) from Galatia; and Tychicus and Trophimus (both probably from Ephesus, cf. Acts 21:29) from Asia. Luke probably represented Philippi, and Titus Achaia (Corinth, cf. 2 Cor. 8:16–19). The remainder of the party (Paul, Luke, and possibly Titus) sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread (Passover), and came to them at Troas within five days. After celebrating Passover at Philippi, they sailed from Neapolis (Acts 16:11–12) to rejoin their companions at Troas. Paul’s trip across the Aegean Sea from Troas to Neapolis on the second missionary journey had taken only two days (16:11). This voyage, however, took five days, possibly because the winds were against them. Reunited in Troas, the party stayed there for seven days.

Paul’s persistence is another mark of his love for the church. In this passage, he modeled the persistence of love he wrote about in 1 Corinthians 13, where he described it as patient (v. 4), enduring all things (v. 7), and never failing (v. 8). Love relentlessly, persistently pursues the good of others.

AVAILABILITY

And on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to depart the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. And there were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. And there was a certain young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor, and was picked up dead. But Paul went down and fell upon him and after embracing him, he said, “Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.” And when he had gone back up, and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. And they took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted. But we, going ahead to the ship, set sail for Assos, intending from there to take Paul on board; for thus he had arranged it, intending himself to go by land. And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene. And sailing from there, we arrived the following day opposite Chios; and the next day we crossed over to Samos; and the day following we came to Miletus. For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus in order that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. (20:7–17)

This passage is the earliest recorded description of a Christian worship service, and several features are noteworthy. First, the believers gathered together for worship not on the Sabbath (Saturday) but on the first day of the week (Sunday). Despite the claims of some, Christians are not required to observe the Sabbath, as the following considerations reveal.

First, although a day of rest and worship is demonstrated by God in the creation, the Saturday Sabbath was given to Israel as the sign of the Mosaic Covenant (Ex. 31:16–17; Ezek. 20:12; Neh. 9:14). Since Christians are under the New Covenant (2 Cor. 3:6ff.; Heb. 8), they are not required to observe the sign associated with the Mosaic Covenant.

Second, there is no command in the New Testament for Christians to observe the Sabbath.

Third, even during the Mosaic economy, the Old Testament neither commanded the Gentile nations to observe the Sabbath nor condemned them for failing to do so. That offers further proof that the Sabbath was given to Israel only.

Fourth, there is no record in the Bible of anyone’s observing the Sabbath before the time of Moses. Similarly, the first command to keep the Sabbath appears in the law given to Moses at Sinai (Ex. 20:8).

Fifth, the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) did not impose Sabbath-keeping on the Gentile believers.

Sixth, the apostle Paul warned the Gentiles about many different sins in his epistles but never about breaking the Sabbath.

Seventh, Colossians 2:16–17 describes the Sabbath as a shadow of Christ; the shadow is no longer binding on us since the substance (Christ) has come.

Eighth, in Galatians 4:10–11, Paul rebukes the Galatians for thinking that God expected them to observe special days, such as the Sabbath.

Ninth, Romans 14:5 declares observing the Sabbath to be a matter of personal preference among converted Jews. It was to be tolerated until they became more mature in the understanding of their Christian liberty. Therefore it could not be something God requires believers to do.

Tenth, the book of Acts and the subsequent writings of the early church Fathers make clear that the church from earliest times met for worship on Sunday. For example, the Epistle of Barnabas, written at the close of the first century, says:

Early in the second century, Ignatius wrote, “Let every friend of Christ keep the Lord’s Day as a festival, the resurrection-day, the queen and chief of all the days” (Epistle to the Magnesians, IX; The Ante-Nicene Fathers [reprint; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1973], 1:63). Later in the second century, Justin Martyr described how Christians of his day worshiped:

Tertullian, who lived in the late second and early third centuries, referred to Christians as those “to whom Sabbaths are strange” (On Idolatry, XIV [reprint; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1973], 3:70).

Luke gives a second feature of early Christian worship by recording the location of the meeting as the upper room of a house. New Testament churches met in homes (Rom. 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Philem. 2); the earliest known church building dates from the first half of the third century (E. M. Blaiklock, “Dura Europos,” in E. M. Blaiklock and R. K. Harrison, eds., The New International Dictionary of Biblical Archaeology [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983], 165).

Luke adds that the purpose of the meeting was to break bread—to celebrate the Agape (love feast, or common meal—cf. 1 Cor. 11:20–22) and communion. In preparation for that, Paul began talking to them. Talking is from dialegomai, from which the English word “dialogue” derives. Paul did not stop with preaching; there was discussion, and he answered their questions. Sometimes those questions demanded lengthy explanations, as in this case. Although he was intending to depart the next day, he prolonged his message until midnight. Paul was about to leave on a long, difficult journey, yet his love for the church made him available as long as the members needed him. Giving no thought to his own need for rest, he used every available minute to teach the believers at Troas. As verse 11 indicates, Paul kept at it until it was time for him to leave.

Luke was also at the meeting and provides the eyewitness detail in verse 8 that there were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. He may have mentioned the lamps to show that the church had nothing to hide from its pagan neighbors. More likely, however, Luke mentions the lamps to help explain why Eutychus fell asleep. The many oil-burning lamps would have added fumes and smoke to the stuffy atmosphere in the room.

Eutychus had found his way to the most advantageous location and was sitting on the sill of the open window, where the air would be freshest and coolest. Even there, however, he began gradually (as the present tense of the participle katapheromenos [sinking] indicates) sinking into a deep sleep. The fumes, the stuffiness of the crowded room, his youth (the word pais [“boy”] in v. 11 suggests he was between seven and fourteen years old), and the lateness of the hour finally took their toll. As Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor, and was picked up dead. Luke declares that Eutychus was dead. As a physician (Col. 4:14), he was obviously able to determine that.

The shocking event broke up the meeting, and the stunned believers gathered around Eutychus’s body. The tragedy, however, was shortly to be turned to triumph. Paul went down with the rest and fell upon him and after embracing him, he said, “Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.” That Paul fell upon him, embracing him is reminiscent of Elijah (1 Kings 17:21) and Elisha (2 Kings 4:34). The apostle’s statement that his life is in him does not mean that Eutychus had not died (cf. v. 9) but that his life had been restored. Accordingly, Paul commanded them to stop being troubled; that is, to stop the shock, sorrow, and wailing that must have begun. Troubled is from thorubeō, the verb form of the word “uproar” in verse 1. It is used to describe such lamenting in Matthew 9:23 and Mark 5:38.

Having taken away the boy alive, the believers naturally were greatly comforted. The teaching was not over, however, so they all went back up to the upper chamber. When they had broken the bread and eaten, Paul talked with them a long while, until daybreak. After the break for a love feast and Communion service, the apostle continued teaching them through the night. Given the dramatic confirmation of his apostolic authority they had just witnessed, Paul no doubt had their undivided attention.

At daybreak, Paul had to leave. Luke and the others went ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos, twenty miles from Troas. There they planned to take Paul on board; for thus he had arranged it, intending himself to go by land. Why Paul chose to walk to Assos is not stated. It is most likely that it gave him more time to instruct the disciples from Troas who accompanied him.

Paul’s selfless love for the church is notably clear. He was available to minister for an entire night and through a twenty-mile walk the next morning. No sacrifice was too great for the apostle to make for the building up of the saints. He was tirelessly available to his beloved people.

Luke further demonstrates Paul’s availability in the next segment of this narrative:

After his long walk from Troas, Paul met the rest of his party at Assos. Having taken him on board, the ship sailed to Mitylene, the leading city of the island of Lesbos. Paul and his companions continued their voyage through the coastal islands of Asia Minor, stopping successively at Chios (the birthplace of Homer) and Samos (the birthplace of the mathematician Pythagoras) before landing on the mainland at Miletus, a city thirty miles south of Ephesus. Luke notes parenthetically that Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus in order that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. The delay caused by the plot against his life at Corinth (20:3) had forced Paul to miss celebrating Passover in Jerusalem. He was still determined to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, fifty days after Passover. Accordingly, he did not want to have to spend time in Asia, especially at Ephesus. Paul no doubt felt that a personal visit to the church there would be too timeconsuming, so he decided instead to send to Ephesus and instruct the elders of the church to come down to meet him at Miletus. That explains his decision to take a ship at Troas that would make port at Miletus instead of Ephesus.

The ship in which Paul was sailing evidently was to remain at Miletus for several days. Instead of resting, Paul used that time to further instruct and exhort the leaders of the key church at Ephesus. So great was his concern that he could not pass up the opportunity to give them the gospel, and they were to face very difficult times. He had a special love for that church, which he had spent three years building.

Paul’s love for the church sets the standard for all Christians to follow (cf. Rom. 12:10ff.). May God give all believers, not just church leaders, such a teaching, giving, persistent, available love for the church Christ “purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28).