Geography – Acts 20:1-6

Even though I have tried to make this a relatively thorough study of the Book of Acts, I’ve wanted it to be more than just a verse by verse exposition.

I’ve wanted it to be a SERMONIC exposition with the proverbial three points and a poem.

I’ve wanted it to reveal the obvious and the not-so-obvious things in the text, but I intended along the way to try to apply those things to our modern-day lives.

Most of the time this has not been too difficult,

but some passages are just historical details – bridges between important events –

and they just don’t lend themselves to a sermon.

We have one of those bridges this evening.

Even so, let’s see if there aren’t some things of interest and some applications which we can make.

Part of the challenge of a study like this is to come up with three or more points or columns from which to suspend the rest of our bridge.

And the columns that I’ve chosen for these evening are geographical points.

In this passage, Paul began in Ephesus, traveled to Corinth and eventually returned to Troas.

So we begin with Ephesus.

We learned earlier that Paul had been planning for some time to visit the churches in Macedonia and Achaia.

He had not been in those churches since their inception, and one of the reasons that he had left them had been persecution.

He had stayed in touch with those churches through correspondence, but that is not like a personal visit.

So he had sent Erastus and Timotheus ahead to tell those churches that he was coming.

Erastus and Timotheus were like picking up the telephone and making reservations and appointments.

We have to remind ourselves that there weren’t telephone or postal systems like today.

If someone wanted to send a letter, he had to arrange for it’s delivery personally.

So those two saints were, among other things, holy mail-men.

But after they left Ephesus, the riot broke out.

It was not until the uproar had completely quieted down that Paul felt the liberty to complete his journey.

The saints in Ephesus needed to know that Paul was not leaving out of fear.

Persecution may shut the door to further evangelism and force the evangelist to move on,

but it ought to be obvious that Paul was not leaving town with his tail between his legs.

The brethren in the Ephesian church needed to see that their missionary-pastor considered himself – and them – to be perfectly safe in the omnipotent arms of the Saviour.

He took his time before moving up the coast to Troas – in order to demonstrate his faith in the Lord.

But then again it WAS time for him to move on.

So he called the brethren together, and he EMBRACED them.

This word “embraced” is one of those fascinating terms which has changed radically since Luke used it.

It is found 60 times in the Bible and 57 times it is translated either “salute” or “greet.”

Once it is translated “take leave of” and only twice it is “embraced.”

In modern language and custom when we “greet” someone, we just say something like “how ya doin’.”

But do you remember when the Lord Jesus told his disciples on one of their evangelistic campaigns, not to “greet” people in the way.

What He was saying was that they didn’t have the time to go through all of the intricate procedure of bowing, questioning, hugging, and casually talking which went with “greeting” people in those days.

If someone met a group of acquaintances or an important official who wanted it, those greetings could take a considerable length of time.

For Jesus and the disciples “greetings” in the market place were more than just a quick “hello.”

Other than here, the only other time that this word is translated “embraced” is found in Hebrews 11:13.

And once again we catch a glimpse of the deeper meaning:

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”

Here in Acts 20 the translation of the Greek word “aspazomai” ( as-pad’-zom-ahee ) displays more of the meaning than in most other verses.

Paul shook hands, hugged & probably kissed on the cheek many of the men of the church in Ephesus.

It was a genuine display of affection which is rarely seen in churches today..

I think that one of the reasons that modern churches loose members, is because sometimes, even though they are a part of the congregation, they do not FEEL like they are a part of the church family.

They don’t go out of their way to be friendly to the rest of the brethren,

and therefore the brethren don’t appear to appreciate or to love them.

If whether a visiting couple stayed or left our church depended on your personal friendliness toward them would our church ever grow?

Eventually, after the confusion of the riot had subsided Paul and his company moved on.

From Ephesus, they departed for to go into Macedonia.

Notice that Luke doesn’t specifically say at this point that they WENT INTO Macedonia.

That’s because there is a little evidence that from Ephesus they traveled to Troas before sailing for Philippi.

And it appears that they stayed in Troas preaching the gospel and exhorting the saints there for a while.

The two letters to the Corinthians were written while Paul was in Philippi on this trip.

Even though there are hundreds of details about which we have no information at all, there are some things suggested in those letters which open other possibilities.

In II Corinthians 2 Paul wrote:

“When I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord,

I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia.

Paul had been in Troas at least once before.

It was on his Second Missionary trip.

But the Lord forbade him to preach anywhere along the Asian coast at that time.

The Holy Spirit wanted the missionary team to quickly move over to Macedonia.

It was in Troas where Paul had the so-called “Macedonian call.”

I think that it was very likely that during the two years when they were in Ephesus, Paul evangelized Troas, but I think that the reference in II Corinthians was made in regard to this trip.

And, he will return to Troas in about a year’s time as his Third Missionary Journey winds down.

From Troas, the mission team sailed northwest toward Philippi and “those parts.”

There was a great church in Philippi by this time.

It had been built upon the foundation of the families of Lydia and the jailor.

I’m sure that now, after several years had passed, that the church was flourishing.

The Corinthian letters seem to suggest that Paul made Philippi his home for several months.

And as news reached him through Timothy, Erastus and Titus, he wrote his first scathing letter to Corinth.

He was still in Philippi when he wrote II Corinthians, and he probably waited several weeks or months, to let that letter sink in before finally traveling down to Achaia and it’s capital city.

During that time he visited the churches in Thessalonica and Berea as well.

Notice what verse 2 does and doesn’t say: “And when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece.”

Notice that it uses the word “exhortation.”

Paul’s primary purpose on this leg of his trip was to encourage the saints in these churches.

As much as it is denied by modern Evangelicalism, it is not the preacher’s job to win thousands of souls to Christ.

Just as it is not the General’s job to shoot lots of the enemy.

It’s the pastor’s job to equip and encourage the army to do their job.

If those three churches with a hundred members each, all were encouraged to be the servants of God and the witnesses that they were supposed to be, then the lost would continue to come to Christ.

Paul had a relatively short window of opportunity in Macedonia, so he used his limited time and resources as best he could in exhorting the saints.

And if you will remember from earlier messages the word “exhortation” is a complicated word.

“Parakaleo” ( par-ak-al-eh’-o ) is found over a hundred times in the Bible

Just about half the time it is translated “beseech,” and just about 25% it is translated “exhort.”

But more often than “exhort” it is translated “comfort.”

Paul’s primary ministry in Macedonia at this time was the ENCOURAGING of the saints – COMFORTING and EXHORTING.

But he and his time weren’t confined to exhortation.

In Romans 15 Paul makes a passing comment which opens another window of thought.

“I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God.

For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed,

Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.”

Illyricum was the western side of what is now Greece, over looking the Adriatic Sea and with Italy in the distance.

It is very likely that in addition to exhorting the saints in Macedonia, at some point he did some evangelistic work to the west, probably on this leg of the Third Missionary Journey.

And then he and his group eventually journeyed down to Achaia or Greece proper.

“And when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece, and there abode three months.”

That must have been a very emotional three months.

Paul had spent about two years in Corinth, and that church must have been very dear to his heart.

But very quickly after his departure it had gotten into serious doctrinal error and even more problems with sin.

The root cause of sinful practice is always heretical doctrine.

There is no room for sin when the people of God think of God the way that they should.

The two letters to Corinth indicate the problems which Paul must have faced when he got back to Greece.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, they are not described for us here in the Book of Acts.

From there he went back through Macedonia.

As Bobby Burns once wrote: “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley.”

The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

Paul intended to sail from Cenchrea back to Jerusalem to finish this third missionary journey.

But the Lord revealed to him that the Jews intended to kill him either in port or perhaps on board the ship when there was little chance for escape.

Learning about that danger, Paul simply changed his itinerary and traveled back up through Macedonia.

If the saints in those cities, knew what the brethren in Asia were going to know…

If they thought that Paul was going into the jaws of death at Jerusalem, imagine how delighted and emotional they must have been to see their beloved pastor once again.

Perhaps they were thinking that when he left for Corinth, they would never see him again.

But now, the Lord has brought him to their door for one last visit.

Amen and praise the Lord!

The list of Paul’s traveling companions is given to us for a couple of reasons.

It is just plain interesting to know of some of these people.

And then there is the fact that several of these, were being sent as ambassadors from their churches, carrying the gifts that had been gathered for the relief of the saints in Jerusalem.

The last stop, which we’ll only mention tonight, was Troas.

Ships sailing from Cenchrea, Corinth and Athens probably stopped first in Ephesus before moving on to Caesarea or Alexandria.

But ships sailing from Philippi would probably make their first logical stop in Troas.

That was what happened in this case.

But the language of these few verses reveal something a bit more interesting than that.

If you asked your computer Bible program to find the word “us” it would tell you that verse 5 is the first editorial use of that word since chapter 16.

That suggests to us that Luke was not with Paul in Athens, Corinth, Jerusalem or Ephesus.

He could talk about Paul doing this or that, but not about them doing it together.

Where was Luke during this time and what was he doing?

Did he stay in Philippi after the earthquake and Paul’s arrest there?

Possibly so, but no man can say for sure what Luke had been doing during the last four or five years.

There are details given to us in these last verses which indicate the presence of an eye-witness.

For example there is the reference to the “Days of Unleavened Bread” or the PASSOVER.

This is incidental and unimportant information, but since Luke was there it meant something to him.

This also suggests to some Bible scholars that these 6 verses took about a years time.

Many of them believe that the riot in Ephesus took place in the Spring, and now we are in the Spring once again.

At least a year has passed.

Also, only an eye-witness would say that it took five days to reach Troas.

In Acts 16 Luke had told us that it took only two days to reach Philippi from Troas on that trip.

That probably means that this five-day passage was not a pleasant voyage, and that the winds were contrary.

Whatever was involved, Luke thought that it was important to pass that information on to us.

Is this necessary information? Not at all. But it is kind of interesting to the person who truly loves the Word of God.

On Wednesday, we’ll take a look at what transpired in Troas on this visit.