What does Acts 20:12 mean?

An assortment of companions, including Paul and Luke (Acts 20:4), leave the church in Troas for Jerusalem. Paul had planned to sail directly from Corinth, but the machinations of the Jewish leadership there forced him to revisit the churches in Macedonia and the province of Asia, in southwest modern-day Turkey, instead (Acts 20:3). Most of Paul's companions will catch a ship in Troas while Paul will travel by land and meet them in Assos, not far down the coast (Acts 20:13–14).

Paul and his team spend all week in Troas, culminating in an all-night discussion in a third-story room. At midnight, a young man falls asleep, likely from the heat and the lack of air, and falls out the window, dead. Paul brings him back to life, the group shares communion, and they continue their conversation until daybreak.

The resurrection of Eutychus serves several purposes. It acts as the Holy Spirit's affirmation of Paul's authority. It comforts the church members. And it will serve as a reminder of their own future resurrection. No matter what challenges they face, they know they have hope.

It's unclear if Paul ever returns to Troas, but it appears so. He is going to Jerusalem where he will be arrested then imprisoned for two years in Caesarea Maritima, then another two years in Rome (Acts 24:27; 28:30–31). Scholars believe he goes on a fourth and last missionary journey, perhaps finally reaching Spain, before being imprisoned in Rome again. During that final imprisonment, he writes to Timothy, asking him to bring the cloak, books, and parchments he left in Troas (2 Timothy 4:13).