1 When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the believers[a] 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[b] ended, we boarded a ship at Philippi in Macedonia and five days later joined them in Troas, where we stayed a week.

Acts 20:1-6 (NLT) 中文

3rd Missionary trip

If you’ve been tracking with us, you know Paul is on his 3rd missionary journey to visit his church plants and “strengthen all the disciples”. He’s done in Ephesus where he preached and set up shop for 2 years in a school. Great miracles were happening in Jesus’ name which spread far and wide. So much so that the business of the local idol craftsman started to suffer so they caused a riot. A wise mayor put out the riot.

Time for me to fly

But that seemed to be a signal to Paul to “leave “fly” so he got the believers together and encouraged them. He’ll later write a letter to the Ephesians to address issues that came up – including the famous Ephesians 2:8-9 confirming salvation is by faith alone. Then he left for Macedonia to revisit churches he had started and encourage them. They dropped down into Greece to encourage them then intended to return to Syria (home).

Re-routing

The jealous Jews get involved again and plot to kill Paul so he reroutes and goes by land back through Macedonia. By this time, a group of six others were with him (besides Luke). So while in Philippi, he sent them off to wait for him in Troas while he (and Luke) stayed a while in Philippi until the Passover ended. After a 5 day sail, they were in Troas where they all stayed a week. This is the shortest account of one of Paul’s trips. “Nevertheless, it can be filled out to some extent by certain personal references and historical allusions in 2 Corinthians and Romans, which were written during this time.”(planobiblechapel.org quoting Longenecker)

His team

Big on Paul’s heart on this trip was to take up a collection for poor Jews in Jerusalem. It also served to remind the Gentile converts of their heritage from the Jews. Who are these guys? “These traveling companions of Paul were probably representatives from other churches who had sent money with Paul to Jerusalem. They were also present as ambassadors from the churches Paul has founded among the Gentiles, and were there to vouch for Paul’s good stewardship in regard to the collection destined for Jerusalem.” (enduringword.com)

RЯeflection

• Paul was clearly committed to the building up of the body of Christ. He didn’t just start churches then take off for new territory. No, he went back to encourage them (which also involved some correction). Most significantly, he prayed for them. (cf, Romans 1:9-10; Ephesians 1:16; Philippians 1:4) How much do we pray for those we have led to Christ, discipled or otherwise benefitted? Keep praying as God puts them on your heart. Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
• One of the challenges of a missionary is all the good-byes. You get to know someone and sometimes, they leave or you leave. It can be tough. But technology can “keep them close” and time will test the relationship. As noted above, we can (and should) continue to pray for them.