We start this week with Paul on his third missionary journey. We learn from his letters that he is returning to Jerusalem with the offering he has collected in the Gentile churches for relief of the Christians in Jerusalem. Paul had earlier taken a relief offering to help the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, Acts 11:29-30. We learn about this later offering from Paul’s letters, but Luke does mention it in Acts 24:17-19. From 1 Cor. 16:2 we learn that the collection in the churches was to be taken up weekly. From 1 Cor. 16:3 we learn that individuals from the churches will accompany Paul to Jerusalem with their church’s offering. From 2 Cor. 8:10ff. we learn that the churches had been collecting this offering for some time so Paul and those travelling with him would be taking a sizable amount of money for the relief of the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. In Acts 20:4 we find a list of men travelling with Paul. These men are most likely those chosen to take their church’s offering to Jerusalem with Paul. Some Bible Dictionaries have articles on this collection, but it can be difficult to locate the article. Check for an article titled ‘Collection for the Poor Saints,’ ‘Collection for the Saints,’ or simply ‘Collection.’ Another source is to check the cross references in your Bible. The CSB has these cross references at 2 Cor 8:4 (Ac 24:17; Rm 15:26,31; 2Co 8:19–20; 9:1,12–13).1 When you run a particular cross reference check to see if there are additional references listed at the new verse. In this way you let Scripture interpret Scripture and learn to quickly find passages in your Bible. In Acts 21:17 Luke tells us the Jerusalem Christians welcomed them warmly as we might expect. One major concern for Paul was the unity of the church, both Jew and Gentile and he saw this collection as helping to unite the church.
The second and third ‘We’ passages are found this week in Acts 20:5-15 and Acts 21:1-18. It’s almost like Luke is keeping a journal of his travels and adventures like Dr. Watson did when accompanying Sherlock Holmes. A good bit of information can be learned from Luke’s account. How long would it take to travel by sea from one location to another in the first century and at a particular time of the year and with the prevailing winds? The passage in Acts 20:7 is a little ambiguous. If Luke is using Jewish reckoning the first day of the week would begin on what we would refer to as Saturday at sunset. If he is using Roman reckoning it would be on our Sunday. In either case it would appear to be a weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper but verse 11 would seem to indicate a meal was also included. Did Paul begin speaking on Saturday evening and speak through the night or Sunday evening and speak through the night? Luke’s first readers would probably have understood it to be the Roman system making Sunday evening when the meeting occurred most likely. Most of the church would have had to work during the day so meetings would have to have been held in the evening. The many lamps in the upstairs room were probably brought by the worshipers.
The bringing of the offering to Jerusalem while good for the church in Jerusalem, would not be good for Paul personally. One of the men bringing the offering from Ephesus was a Greek named Trophimus (Acts 20:4). He was recognized by some Jews from his area, and they thought Paul had taken him into the Temple. This started a riot among the Jews who were attempting to kill Paul and probably would have been successful had it not been for the Roman Commander Claudius Lysias. Claudius bought his Roman citizenship (Acts 22:28) and took the Roman name Claudius probably indicating that it was during Claudius’ reign as Roman Emperor that he purchased his citizenship (41-54 A.D.). Luke tells us quite a lot about the efforts to kill Paul even giving us a copy of the letter Lysias sent to the Procurator Felix when he transferred Paul to his custody. Some information about Felix has been found in secular sources. He and his brother were ‘freedmen.’
1Christian Standard Bible. 2020. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
The second and third ‘We’ passages are found this week in Acts 20:5-15 and Acts 21:1-18. It’s almost like Luke is keeping a journal of his travels and adventures like Dr. Watson did when accompanying Sherlock Holmes. A good bit of information can be learned from Luke’s account. How long would it take to travel by sea from one location to another in the first century and at a particular time of the year and with the prevailing winds? The passage in Acts 20:7 is a little ambiguous. If Luke is using Jewish reckoning the first day of the week would begin on what we would refer to as Saturday at sunset. If he is using Roman reckoning it would be on our Sunday. In either case it would appear to be a weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper but verse 11 would seem to indicate a meal was also included. Did Paul begin speaking on Saturday evening and speak through the night or Sunday evening and speak through the night? Luke’s first readers would probably have understood it to be the Roman system making Sunday evening when the meeting occurred most likely. Most of the church would have had to work during the day so meetings would have to have been held in the evening. The many lamps in the upstairs room were probably brought by the worshipers.
The bringing of the offering to Jerusalem while good for the church in Jerusalem, would not be good for Paul personally. One of the men bringing the offering from Ephesus was a Greek named Trophimus (Acts 20:4). He was recognized by some Jews from his area, and they thought Paul had taken him into the Temple. This started a riot among the Jews who were attempting to kill Paul and probably would have been successful had it not been for the Roman Commander Claudius Lysias. Claudius bought his Roman citizenship (Acts 22:28) and took the Roman name Claudius probably indicating that it was during Claudius’ reign as Roman Emperor that he purchased his citizenship (41-54 A.D.). Luke tells us quite a lot about the efforts to kill Paul even giving us a copy of the letter Lysias sent to the Procurator Felix when he transferred Paul to his custody. Some information about Felix has been found in secular sources. He and his brother were ‘freedmen.’
1Christian Standard Bible. 2020. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
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