The Word This Week
Acts 20:1…
The completion of Paul’s third missionary journey has many fascinating elements.
Paul wanted to re-visit the churches he had planted once more before returning to Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost.
I think it is interesting Paul remained true to his devotion to God in the forms of his Jewish upbringing which truly demonstrated his devotion to God.
While Paul had not been at the birth of The Church on the Day of Pentecost, perhaps 20-30 years earlier at Jerusalem, when the Holy Spirit baptized the 120 believers in the upper room waiting for the promise of The Father which Jesus had taught them about - Paul knew about that day - and so this feast became significant in Paul’s life – as it should be in ours. It is not primarily a feast of the Jews any longer, it is the birthday of The Church.
Paul ventured back to Macedonia and visited the churches he planted there before heading back to Jerusalem via the west coast of Asia Minor. (Modern day Turkey.)
Paul was delivering farewell messages to the churches he planted at this time, somehow realizing they would see his face no more.
At Troas, Paul delivered a blockbuster.
Meeting in a third-story room on the evening of the first day of the week, Paul spoke for hours in a room lit with oil lamps. We can only begin to imagine Paul’s enthusiasm to deliver the Word to these hungry people one last time. He had much to say, understanding the importance of all he had to say.
There was a young man named Eutychus who was listening to Paul speak, who was seated in a windowsill. He was doing his best to track with all Paul was saying. At some point he lost his battle to stay awake, and he fell out of the window, and down the three stories to the ground, and was, “taken up dead.”
Oh no! Would Paul’s final message at Troas be marked by the death of this young man?
Paul, traumatized by this, rushed down to Eutychus, along with probably everyone else in the room, shocked by what just happened. Paul immediately laid on him and embraced him, in a manner reminiscent of Elisha doing the same thing with the Shunammite widow’s son in 2 Kings 4:33-37.
Paul, I’m sure overwhelmed with joy, announced to the crowd Eutychus had been resurrected from the dead.
He then went back upstairs and continued speaking until morning. I’m fairly certain they listened in rapt attention to all he had to say now!
Pastor Bill
The completion of Paul’s third missionary journey has many fascinating elements.
Paul wanted to re-visit the churches he had planted once more before returning to Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost.
I think it is interesting Paul remained true to his devotion to God in the forms of his Jewish upbringing which truly demonstrated his devotion to God.
While Paul had not been at the birth of The Church on the Day of Pentecost, perhaps 20-30 years earlier at Jerusalem, when the Holy Spirit baptized the 120 believers in the upper room waiting for the promise of The Father which Jesus had taught them about - Paul knew about that day - and so this feast became significant in Paul’s life – as it should be in ours. It is not primarily a feast of the Jews any longer, it is the birthday of The Church.
Paul ventured back to Macedonia and visited the churches he planted there before heading back to Jerusalem via the west coast of Asia Minor. (Modern day Turkey.)
Paul was delivering farewell messages to the churches he planted at this time, somehow realizing they would see his face no more.
At Troas, Paul delivered a blockbuster.
Meeting in a third-story room on the evening of the first day of the week, Paul spoke for hours in a room lit with oil lamps. We can only begin to imagine Paul’s enthusiasm to deliver the Word to these hungry people one last time. He had much to say, understanding the importance of all he had to say.
There was a young man named Eutychus who was listening to Paul speak, who was seated in a windowsill. He was doing his best to track with all Paul was saying. At some point he lost his battle to stay awake, and he fell out of the window, and down the three stories to the ground, and was, “taken up dead.”
Oh no! Would Paul’s final message at Troas be marked by the death of this young man?
Paul, traumatized by this, rushed down to Eutychus, along with probably everyone else in the room, shocked by what just happened. Paul immediately laid on him and embraced him, in a manner reminiscent of Elisha doing the same thing with the Shunammite widow’s son in 2 Kings 4:33-37.
Paul, I’m sure overwhelmed with joy, announced to the crowd Eutychus had been resurrected from the dead.
He then went back upstairs and continued speaking until morning. I’m fairly certain they listened in rapt attention to all he had to say now!
Pastor Bill