Paul’s travels

After teaching in Troas, Paul planned to bypass Ephesus and meet the elders at Miletus, thirty miles from Ephesus (20:13-17). Why did Paul not meet them in Ephesus? Paul wanted to get to Jerusalem as rapidly as possible, so he wanted to avoid Ephesus. Had he stopped in Ephesus, he would have had numerous obligations that would have prevented him from meeting his schedule. He would have lost more time in Ephesus than if he had traveled a bit out of the way and had the elders meet in Miletus. Another possibility is that Paul’s ship was scheduled to stop in Miletus, not Ephesus. One did not book travel on a passenger ship in the ancient world; all travel was on cargo ships, and one was often at the mercy of the cargo schedule.

Is it possible that this meeting in Miletus reflects problems in the churches in Ephesus? Although the date for 1 Timothy is controversial, the letter does indicate that some elders in Ephesus have defected from Paul’s teaching. Paul wrote to Timothy while he was ministering in Ephesus at the time and told him to appoint good elders who would guard both doctrine and practice. This is quite similar to the content of Paul’s speech in Acts 20:18-38. Paul warns these church leaders that an attack on the church will come from insiders, “wolves in sheep’s clothing” (20:28–30).

Miletus Theater from my Turkey Tour, 2022

In the first century, Miletus was one of the most important cities on the southwestern coast of modern Turkey (Ekrem Akurgal, Ancient Civilizations and Ruins of Turkey, trans. John Whybrow and Millie Emre [Istanbul, 1978], 206). Because the city had four natural harbors, it was an ideal location for trade. What is surprising to visitors today is that the site of ancient Miletus is about five miles from the sea. The course of the Meander River has shifted over the years, and the harbors silted up. “The natural philosophers, Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes, the famous historian and geographer, Hekataios, the town-planning architect, Hippodamos, and Isidores, one of the designers of St. Sophia in Istanbul, were all native Milesians.” (Akurgal, 207).

With a population of 50,000 to 60,000 in the first century, the city hosted Augustus in 19 BC. The city built an imperial cult temple during the reign of Caligula (37-41). The city had three marketplaces, one of which was one of the largest agoras in the ancient world (McRay, “Miletus,” ABD 4:826). One of the highlights of visiting Miletus is the Harbor Theater. This theater accommodates approximately 15,000 people, and several inscriptions on the seats reserve them for specific groups. One of them reads, “the place of the Jews and the God-Fearers.” This is significant because it confirms the presence of Jews in Miletus, but also God-fearing Gentiles. Luke mentions God-fearing Gentiles several times in Acts, such as Cornelius (Acts 10:1) or the “devout Greeks” in Thessalonica (Acts 17:4).

Reference to Godfearers in the Miletus Theater

On his journey back to Jerusalem, Paul stops in Troas to meet with the church in a marathon teaching session (20:7). During this long night of teaching, a young man named Eutychus falls from an upper window and dies, but Paul raises him back to life. What is the point of the death and resurrection of Eutychus?

Giacinto Gimignani – san paolo resuscita eutico a troade (1639)

Troas was a Roman colony and a significant city for travelers.  The city is at a crossroads, connecting Smyrna, Ephesus, and Miletus to the east, and Neapolis to the north. Like most cities in the Aegean Paul visited, the imperial cult was present from 23-21 B.C. In this case, the Roman consul Sextus Apuleius was venerated in the cult prior to the time of the Empire. Augustus granted the city the status of a Roman colony. Approximately 44% of inscriptions in Troas are in Latin, and among the 144 persons mentioned in these inscriptions, 121 are identified as Roman citizens (Schnabel, Early Christian Mission, 2:1249). The city declined after Constantinople was founded in 330. By the sixth century, the city’s harbors were silted up, and the site was abandoned. The ruins are known as Eski Stamboul (Eskistambul) or Old Stamboul.

The book of Acts does not indicate when this church was founded. The best guess is that Paul founded the church during his second missionary journey, but he was unable to stay long (2 Cor 2:12-13; 2 Tim 4:13). How long did Paul teach? “The time was early May (if we build on v. 16). Workmen (apart from indoor household servants) should have been free from their work by 7 or 8 p.m.” (Barrett, Acts, 2:951). It was a workday, even if a sabbath for the Jews. People worked all day, gathered for a meal in someone’s home, and listened to Paul teach for several hours.

While Paul is teaching, a young man named Eutychus falls asleep and falls from a window. The name Eutychus means “good luck,” so there is some irony in the story since “Lucky” has a bit of bad luck (or he was lucky because Paul was there to heal him). In verse 9, Luke describes him as a young man (νεανίας, neanias), typically between 9 and 14 years of age. In 20:12, he is referred to as a boy (παῖς, pais). This word can refer to a slave so that he might have been older.

The fact that he falls from the third story may indicate the social status of this group. This is the second story above the ground, what Americans call the second floor (Witherington, Acts, 607). If this is an insula or an apartment, then the group’s social level is low. This is a tenement building, rather than a home for a wealthy family. The adjective τρίστεγος (tristegos) describes a building on three levels (e.g. Josephus, War 5:220); τὸ τρίστεγον means the highest of three floors. The better houses in antiquity were one-story buildings. The poor lived in cheap, multi-level apartment houses (Barrett, Acts, 2:954).

Scholars often point out similarities between this miracle and Elijah (1 Kings 17:17-24) and Elisha (2 Kings 4:32-37).  There are several verbal parallels in the Greek version of Kings. Since several of these words do not appear in other resurrection stories, it suggests Luke modeled this story after the Elijah and Elisha. What would be the point of such a connection? Luke’s gospel has several allusions to Elijah and Elisha (Luke 4:24–26, for example).

After he falls, Paul embraces him, raising him from the dead. What is remarkable is that they return to the upper floor and share a meal. Paul continues teaching until daybreak (20:11) and then departs for his next stop, Miletus. Charles Talbert notes that the Romans were suspicious of nighttime meetings, as they appeared to be a political conspiracy (Talbert, Reading Acts, 183-85). Indeed, people staying up and talking through the night would look very suspicious to local authorities. Later, Christians will be accused of all sorts of bad behaviors because these kinds of night meetings.

What is the point of the story of Eutychus falling to his death, only for Paul to revive him? For some readers, there is the symbolic value of a man raised from the dead and sharing a meal. Richard Pervo says that denying that this story is “a celebration of the Eucharist in an upper room on Sunday that climaxes in the return of a dead person in the morning has any symbolic reference would border on absurdity” (Acts, 513). Let me embrace the absurdity and deny that Luke intended this as a symbolic allusion to the Last Supper and the early Christian practice of Communion (Eucharist). Luke intended this to mirror Peter’s raising of Tabitha from the dead (Acts 9:36-43) and Jesus’ raising of the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17). Luke connects Paul with both Peter and Jesus in his description of this miracle (Malina and Pilch, Social-Science Commentary on the Book of Acts, 144).

What do you think Luke was trying to communicate by retelling this story about Eutychus?

Bibliography: Wilson, Mark. “Eutychus in Troas: The Architecture and Archaeology of his Fall.”  Biblica 101.2 (2020): 231-47.

In Acts 20, Paul left Ephesus to return to Jerusalem to deliver the collection to the Jerusalem church at Pentecost. The collection was a gift from the Gentile churches to the Jerusalem believers. Romans 15:26 states that “Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.” Romans was written from Corinth during the three months preceding Paul’s journey back to Jerusalem. In 1 Corinthians 16, Paul tells the church to have their contribution ready when he arrives.

It may be the case that this fundraising is a response to Paul’s meeting with James, the Lord’s brother, Peter, and John in Jerusalem. In Galatians 2:1-10, Paul says that the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem agreed that the gentile convert Titus did not need to be circumcised. They only asked Paul to “remember the poor,” which he was eager to do (Gal 2:10). The “poor” in this context may refer to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, who were still living in poverty. (See this post on the poor in the Letter of James.)

What is unusual is that Luke does not mention the collection in the book of Acts, although that is the point of a large part of traveling back to Jerusalem at the time of Pentecost. Why Luke would omit this collection is not clear. Some have speculated that the collection was not well-received by the Jerusalem church, perhaps even rejected. It is certainly true that the scene is rather tense when Paul arrives with a large contingent of Gentiles to deliver the gift.

Sometime after the riot in Ephesus (Acts 19:23-41), Paul resumed his plan to visit several churches in Macedonia and Greece. Paul stayed in Corinth for three months. Based on the greetings at the end of the book, it is likely he finished the Book of Romans during this stay. That he stays in Corinth shows that many of the problems present in the letters to the Corinthians are resolved, or at least that Paul can remain in fellowship with the church for some time (2 Cor 12:14; 13:1). Jews in Corinth plot against Paul, forcing him to change his travel plans (20:3).

Several people now accompany Paul on his return to Jerusalem to deliver the collection. These individuals are from churches Paul founded. These men represent Paul’s churches who have chosen to accompany Paul back to Jerusalem to deliver the collection. This large entourage may have been practical. Traveling with a large sum of money is always dangerous. No one can accuse Paul of collecting funds for himself since these men will accompany Paul all the way to Jerusalem. The group goes to Troas to meet Paul and Luke there.

• Sopater, the son of Pyrrhus, a Berean, “probably identical with the Sosipater of Rom. 16:21.”[1] “The patronymic ‘Pyrrhus’ is likewise characteristic of Macedonian nomenclature” with two inscriptions from Thessaloniki.
• Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica. Secundus may be a slave name, whether he is now free or not.
• Aristarchus is a Macedonian (Acts 19:29; Acts 27:2; Col 4:10).
• Gaius of Derbe.
• Timothy, of Lystra.
• The Asians Tychicus and Trophimus, from Ephesus. Trophimus (Acts 21:29, 2 Tim 4:20). “The name is listed as the twelfth commonest Greek cognomen in Rome in GPR990–95; 3.1439), with no fewer than 297 occurrences. Horsley points out that its popularity peaks markedly in the first century AD (New Docs 3.91–93, No. 80).

Luke is now traveling with Paul. He is possibly from Philippi. Since a representative from Philippi is not mentioned, Luke may serve in that role. Witherington has suggested on several occasions that Luke is from that city, and he is undoubtedly a companion for the final trip to Jerusalem (Witherington, Acts, 603).

Paul leaves just after Passover (20:6), not Christian Easter. Paul is eager to arrive in Jerusalem by the time of Pentecost. This gives him fifty days, which may be enough time for favorable sea travel. What is his motivation for this haste? Paul may wish to exploit the symbolism of Pentecost, the feast that celebrates the firstfruits of the harvest. The salvation of the Gentiles is, in fact, a great harvest; the gift from the Gentile churches is an indication that God has given a great harvest among these Gentiles (Witherington, Acts, 603). Several texts in the prophets indicate that the nations would come to Jerusalem to worship the Lord (e.g., Zech. 8:20-23). It may be that Paul intends to emphasize this symbolism by timing his arrival at Pentecost– God is saving the Gentiles.

Paul’s return to Jerusalem, therefore, fulfills his commitment to “remember the poor” (Gal 2:10), specifically the Jewish Christians who still lived in voluntary poverty in Jerusalem. But more than that, Paul is enacting the eschatological pilgrimage of Gentiles to Jerusalem by bringing a gift to the Jerusalem Christian community, accompanied by representatives of Gentile Christianity.

Bibliography: Dunn, Beginning from Jerusalem, 932-947. Scot McKnight, “The Collection for the Saints” in DPL, 143-147. Paul mentions the collection in 1 Cor 16:1-4, 2 Cor 8-9, and Rom 15:25-32.