Acts 20:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days.

NIV: But we sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days.

NASB: We sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and reached them at Troas within five days; and we stayed there for seven days.

CSB: but we sailed away from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread. In five days we reached them at Troas, where we spent seven days.

NLT: 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.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: But we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days joined them at Troas, where we stayed seven days.

Paul and Luke are in Philippi, making their way to Jerusalem. Paul had planted the church in Philippi, off the coast of the northwest Aegean Sea, during his second missionary voyage. When he traveled south to Thessalonica, he apparently left Luke there, as the pronouns changed from "we" to "they" (Acts 16:16). Paul's other traveling companions have already sailed east to Troas, on the coast of modern-day Turkey (Acts 20:4–5). It's thought there are so many because they are accompanying their churches' donations to the church in Jerusalem (Romans 15:26).

The "days of Unleavened Bread" refer to the day of Passover and the following week of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Jesus died on Passover many years before. Fifty days later, on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to indwell His followers (Acts 2:1–3). Paul now wishes to return to Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost (Acts 20:16).

This is at least the third time Paul visits Troas. The first was during his second missionary journey when God gave him a vision that he was needed in Macedonia. That is also when Luke first joined his group (Acts 16:8–10). Paul's second visit occurred after he left Ephesus. He had wanted to go to Corinth but seems to have decided to cover Macedonia first (2 Corinthians 1:16)). He traveled north to Troas, then west to Philippi (2 Corinthians 2:12–13).

While the team is in Troas, Paul will preach at the church there. His sermon will be so long and the room so stuffy that a young man falls asleep and falls out the window. When the church members reach him, he is already dead. Paul, however, brings him back to life, and resumes preaching until morning (Acts 20:7–12).

Acts 20:1–6 records a very short summary of Paul's travels after he leaves Ephesus during his third missionary voyage. He sails to Macedonia and visits the churches there before going south to Corinth where he spends three months. He wants to sail directly to Judea, but a plot against his life forces him to retrace his footsteps to Macedonia and Troas. He and his team will spend one week—including one infamously long sermon—in Troas then travel south to Miletus where they will meet with the Ephesian elders one last time (Acts 20:7–38).

Acts 20 finishes Paul's third missionary journey. He leaves Ephesus after three years and travels to Macedonia and Corinth. Threats from the Corinthian Jews send him and his team back to Macedonia and Troas. In Troas, Paul gives a very long sermon and raises Eutychus from the dead after he falls—both asleep and out a window. In Miletus, Paul meets with the Ephesian elders. He reminds them to beware of false teachers and tells them he is going to be imprisoned and will not see them again. After a tearful farewell, he boards a ship for Judea.

Acts 20 records the last stages of Paul's third missionary journey. He started by visiting the churches he and Barnabas had planted in central modern-day Turkey (Acts 18:23). From there, he traveled southwest to the province of Asia, where he established a church in Ephesus (Acts 19). In Acts 20, he visits the churches in Macedonia and Greece before returning to Judea. When he lands, he meets briefly with Philip the Evangelist in Caesarea Maritima before going to Jerusalem and getting arrested. He will stay in house arrest for the next two years before embarking on a dangerous sea voyage to Rome (Acts 21—28).

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.