Acts 20:1-16 Lesson 267

Acts 20:1-16
Lesson 267

Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

In this lesson:

Falling out a window.

Paul's third and final missionary journey.

Who was -

Tychicus -
Tychicus (meaning "Fortunate") was a gentile Christian, a "beloved brother and a faithful minister" (Ephesians 6:21) from Asia (modern-day Turkey). He traveled with Paul on the Third Missionary Journey (Acts 20:4) and accompanied him to Jerusalem to deliver aid to the needy.  He was with Paul when he was imprisoned for the first time and reported on Paul's condition to the other believers (Colossians 4:7-8).  Paul sent Tychicus, a trusted minister, to Ephesus to help spread Christianity (2 Timothy 4:12). Later, it's possible Paul sent Tychicus to Crete to relieve Titus (Titus 3:12).

Trophimus -
An Ephesian Christian and traveling assistant to Paul during the final leg of the third missionary journey (Acts 20:4). He journeyed with Paul to Jerusalem, where Jews accused Paul of bringing the Gentile Trophimus into the Temple (a serious offense). They would have killed Paul for this sacrilege if Roman soldiers had not intervened (Acts 21:28-33).  Trophimus traveled with Paul to Miletum, but fell sick and was left behind (2 Timothy 4:20).

Eutychus -
Eutychus (a common slave name) was a young boy under the age of fourteen from Troas.   In this passage, he falls asleep on a window sill listening to Paul preach and tumbles out of a third-story window. He was "taken up dead" (20:9). But Paul ran down and embraced the boy like the Old Testament prophets (1 Kings 17:21-22; 2 Kings 4:34-35) and announced that "life is in him" (20:10).

Study Tip:

Scroll back and forth between the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation" below.

Also, check the margin notes in blue and click on the links.

The Acts of the Apostles

The King James Bible

Acts 20:1-16
Paul leaves Ephesus for Greece

1 And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to go into Macedonia.

2 And when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece,

3 And there abode three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia.

4 And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.

5 These going before tarried for us at Troas.

6 And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.

7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

8 And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together.

9 And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.

10 And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him.

11 When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.

12 And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.

13 And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot.

14 And when he met with us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene.

15 And we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios; and the next day we arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogyllium; and the next day we came to Miletus.

16 For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.

Margin notes:

"After the uproar was ceased." (20:1) - Remember, lesson 266 ended with the silversmith riot in Ephesus.

"Embraced them." (20:1) - "Encouraged them."

"Departed for to go into Macedonia." (20:1) - Paul went to Macedonia to help the man he saw in a vision (Acts 16:9). He planned to leave Ephesus earlier, but the silversmith riot (19:29-36) delayed him.

"Given them much exhortation." (20:2) - "Given them encouragement."

"Abode three months." (20:3) - Means, "Stayed three months." During that time, Paul wrote "The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans."

"The Jews laid wait for him." (20:3) - "The Jews plotted against him." Paul's life was in constant danger (Acts 9:23-25; 14:19; 23:12).

"Tarried for us at Troas." (20:5) - "Waited for us at Troas." The use of the word "us" reveals that Luke (the author of Acts) has joined the group.

"We sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread." (20:6) - The days of unleavened bread is the annual (Exodus 13:10) seven-day holiday memorializing the Jew's quick "exodus" from Egypt (Exodus 23:15; 34:18). The holiday began the day after Passover (Leviticus 23:5-6), which honored the miracle that freed the Israelites from Egyptian bondage, one of the most significant episodes in Jewish history. As we see in Exodus 12:1-20, to force the Egyptians to free the Israelites, the "angel of death" killed every firstborn son in Egypt in a single night. But the angel "passed over" the homes of those who dabbed lamb's blood above their front doors. Come morning, the distraught Egyptian Pharaoh allowed the Israelites their freedom. Wanting to leave quickly, the Israelites prepared for their escape by baking bread without yeast so it wouldn't rise (Exodus 12:33-34).  In time the entire week became known as Passover, and Jews traveled to Jerusalem each year to celebrate both holidays (Exodus 13:1-22).

"The first day of the week." (20:7) - This would be Sunday (Matthew 28:1).

"And were not a little comforted." (20:12) - "And were very comforted."

"We went before to ship." (20:13) - "We (Luke and the rest) went ahead by ship."

"Assos." (20:13) - A seaport town in Mysia (modern-day Turkey) on the northern shore of the Gulf of Adramyttium, thirty miles south of Troas (see map above). The town still exists under the name Behramkale. Many of its ancient ruins have been excavated, including a 2nd century BC gym, a 3rd century BC 5,000 seat theater, and the 4th century BC city wall.

"Minding himself to go afoot." (20:13) -The group sailed on, but Paul decided to walk the twenty miles and meet them at Assos.

"Mitylene." (20:14) - Mitylene was the capital of Lesbos Island in the Aegean Sea. A wealthy city, Mitylene was seven miles from Assos.  Paul and his group spent the night here before moving on to Chios.

"We sailed thence." (20:15) - Means, "We sailed from there."

"Over against Chios." (20:15) - "Across from Chios." Chios is an island in the Aegean Sea, five miles off the mainland. It is now called Scio.

"Samos." (20:15) - An Aegean island close to Lydia. The island is approximately twenty-seven miles long by twenty miles wide and produced clay pottery and wine. In Paul's day, the people of Samos worshipped the Roman goddess Juno. Juno was the goddess of marriage and childbirth and was called the queen of the gods.

"Trogyllium." 20:15) - A seaport city on the western shore of Asia Minor (Turkey). It sat in the shadow of Mt. Mycale near the mouth of the river Maeander. We read in this passage that Paul sailed into Trogyllium to spend the night. To this day, it is called St. Paul's Port.

"Miletus." (20:15) - Also called Miletum (2 Timothy 4:20), Miletus was a seaport thirty-six miles south of Ephesus in modern-day Turkey (see map above). The city was the capital of the region known as Ionia. Miletus boasted a large temple dedicated to Apollo. The city today lies in ruins.

"For he hasted." (20:16) - "For he (Paul) hurried."

"To be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost." (20:16) - Originally, Paul wanted to be in Jerusalem by Passover to deliver the donations he collected for the poor (Romans 15:25-28). But delays made that impossible. Now Paul hopes to be there by Pentecost.

New Living Translation

Acts 20:1-16
Paul Goes to Macedonia and Greece

1 When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the believers and encouraged them. Then he said good-bye and left for Macedonia.

2 While there, he encouraged the believers in all the towns he passed through. Then he traveled down to Greece,

3 where he stayed for three months. He was preparing to sail back to Syria when he discovered a plot by some Jews against his life, so he decided to return through Macedonia.

4 Several men were traveling with him. They 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.

5 They went on ahead and waited for us at Troas.

6 After the Passover ended, we boarded a ship at Philippi in Macedonia and five days later joined them in Troas, where we stayed a week.

Paul's Final Visit to Troas

7 On the first day of the week, we gathered with the local believers to share in the Lord's Supper. Paul was preaching to them, and since he was leaving the next day, he kept talking until midnight.

8 The upstairs room where we met was lighted with many flickering lamps.

9 As Paul spoke on and on, a young man named Eutychus, sitting on the windowsill, became very drowsy. Finally, he fell sound asleep and dropped three stories to his death below.

10 Paul went down, bent over him, and took him into his arms. "Don't worry," he said, "he's alive!"

11 Then they all went back upstairs, shared in the Lord's Supper, and ate together. Paul continued talking to them until dawn, and then he left.

12 Meanwhile, the young man was taken home unhurt, and everyone was greatly relieved.

Paul Meets the Ephesian Elders

13 Paul went by land to Assos, where he had arranged for us to join him, while we traveled by ship.

14 He joined us there, and we sailed together to Mitylene.

15 The next day we sailed past the island of Kios. The following day we crossed to the island of Samos, and a day later we arrived at Miletus.

16 Paul had decided to sail on past Ephesus, for he didn't want to spend any more time in the province of Asia. He was hurrying to get to Jerusalem, if possible, in time for the Festival of Pentecost.

This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word for word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."

Today's Question:

1. Who were Sopater of Berea, Aristarchus, Secundus, Gaius of Derbe, Timotheus, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia? (20:4)

"The Gospel is the good news that the sinner can be saved by grace, through faith, plus nothing."

(Harold Ihlefeldt 1920-1971)

Answer: (Do you agree?)

1. Each of these seven men represented a church founded by Paul in Greece and Turkey, and each carried with him a gift for the Christians in Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 8:1-21). Sopater (also called Sosipater) was a Jew and the son of Pyrrhus from Berea. He traveled with Paul (20:4) and was his "kinsman" (Romans 16:21). The name Sopater means "the father who saves." Timotheus is better known as Timothy (from Lystra), Tychicus was a "faithful minister" and "beloved brother" to Paul (Colossians 4:7), Aristarchus was a devoted Christian who was almost killed in Ephesus by a rioting mob looking for Paul (Acts 19:23-41). He would later be jailed for his faith with Paul in Rome (Colossians 4:10). Secundus was a Christian from Thessalonica, Gaius a Macedonian baptized by Paul (1 Corinthians 1:14) who traveled with him and housed him in Corinth as the Apostle wrote the Epistle to the Romans (Romans 16:21). Gaius was seized with Aristarchus in Ephesus by the angry mob. Finally, Trophimus was an Ephesian who joined Paul on yet another trip but became ill and had to be left behind (2 Timothy 4:20).

Application thought for the day:

Of all the spiritual applications in this lesson, which one speaks loudest to you?

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Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; the "Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies;" "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Everyday Bible" published by World Wide Publications, Minneapolis, Minnesota; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House; "The New Testament" translated from the Latin Vulgate, published by Guild Press, New York, New York; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
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