What does Acts 20:13 mean?
Paul, Luke, Timothy, and an assortment of men from Macedonia and modern-day Turkey leave Troas on the northeast Aegean coast and head for Jerusalem. They have just spent a week in the port city, culminating in an eventful night in which Paul spoke with the local church until dawn, breaking only to raise a young man from the dead (Acts 20:6–12).Assos was a decent-sized city that housed a theater, a gymnasium, and a temple to Athena. The land rises steeply from the harbor, making the city well-protected. It was about twenty miles from Troas by foot.
We aren't told why Paul chooses to walk. Possibly, some of the church members from Troas want to discuss more with him. Or he may want one last journey by foot before he is confined to a ship.
"We" includes Timothy and several men who are accompanying Paul back to Jerusalem. Acts 20:4 says "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." They are probably bringing donations from their home churches to the church in Jerusalem (Romans 15:26). Nothing else is known about Sopater or Secundus. Aristarchus is the same man who was taken during the riot in Ephesus (Acts 19:29) but this is a different Gaius. Tychicus later becomes Paul's personal messenger (Ephesians 6:21; Colossians 4:7; 2 Timothy 4:12; Titus 3:12).
Trophimus will have a more unfortunate role in Paul's future. He is from the province of Asia, in southwest Turkey. When the men reach Jerusalem, Jews from Asia will see Paul with Trophimus in the city. Later, they will see Paul in the temple and assume he has brought the Gentile into the Jewish holy place. The Asian Jews will create an uproar, inciting a mob to drag Paul from the temple and try to kill him. He will only be saved when the Roman guards arrest him (Acts 21:27–36).
