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Acts 20:1–6
“After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia” (v. 1).
Rioting over the gospel at Ephesus indicated that it was unwise for the Apostle Paul to remain much longer in the city as he neared the completion of two years of ministry there (Acts 19). So as Luke tells us in today’s passage, Paul gathered the disciples of Christ in Ephesus, gave them a word of encouragement, and departed the city, heading west-northwest to Macedonia (20:1). Paul makes reference to this departure and journey to Macedonia in 1 Corinthians 16:8, indicating his desire to leave the city before Pentecost, and in 2 Corinthians 2:12–13, where he writes about a stop he made in Troas on the way.
We do not know how long the ministry in Macedonia lasted, but it was probably as long as a year or so. There in Macedonia, Paul would have had the opportunity to visit the churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea, so we see Paul’s ongoing pastoral concern for those who had been converted under his ministry. He may have also gone deeper into Macedonia, evangelizing new areas whose people had not yet heard the gospel.
In any case, we do know that after traveling through Macedonia, Paul headed south for Greece, where he worked for three months (Acts 20:2–3). This was prompted in part by Titus’ meeting up with him in Macedonia, bringing him a good report from the Corinthian church (see 2 Cor. 7). Traveling to Greece gave Paul a chance to meet with the Corinthian believers again, and commentators believe that he wrote the epistle to the Romans at this time while he was in Corinth. This was the winter of the mid-50s AD, perhaps December 56 to February or March 57.
Paul finally had to leave Greece when a Jewish plot against his life was discovered (Acts 20:3). So he went down to Philippi and sent several Christians ahead to Troas, back in Asia Minor, where he would be traveling next (vv. 4–6). The first-person-plural pronoun “we” reappears in the description of the Apostle’s journey, meaning that Luke, the author of Acts, was traveling with Paul again. We do not know much about the other men named in Acts 20:4 as going on ahead of Paul to Troas, but they represented churches in Macedonia, Asia, and Galatia. They are probably from the churches that gave to the collection to help relieve the suffering of the poor Christians in Jerusalem (see 1 Cor. 16:1–4). Their presence indicates the love of gentile Christians for Jewish Christians in the first century.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
In the narration of Paul’s travels, Luke shows how the early Christians supported one another with their presence and how believers from different parts of the world sought to meet each other’s needs. Part of the beauty of the gospel is that it unites people from many different backgrounds in love and truth. May we strive to be so united with other believers.
For further study
- Romans 15:22–29
- 2 Corinthians 9
The bible in a year
- Psalms 145–147
- 1 Corinthians 11:2–16
- Psalm 148–Proverbs 1
- 1 Cor. 11:17–12:11