When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said goodbye and set out for Macedonia. He travelled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece, where he stayed three months. Because some Jews had plotted against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia. He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas. But we sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days.
On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third storey and was picked up dead. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms round him. ‘Don’t be alarmed,’ he said. ‘He’s alive!’ Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted... Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Acts 20.1-12, 32, NIV)
After the uproar in Ephesus (Acts 19), in Acts 20 Paul encouraged the disciples and left for Macedonia, he finally arrives in Greece and stays for three months. Paul is travelling great distances and financing himself. But as he’s about to sail to Syria there’s a plot against him, so he does back to Macedonia, accompanied by quite a large diverse group who go ahead to Troas in Asia. Luke and Paul sail from Philippi after Passover, sailing five days, staying in Troas seven days; on Sunday, the first day of the week, they came together to break bread in remembrance of the Resurrection.
Planning to leave the next day, Paul talks until midnight. It says in verse nine that seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sleeping. This is quite funny in a sense. You've got to see the humour here. There is humour in the Bible, in case you didn't know. While Paul was speaking, Eutychus was fell into a deep sleep; what a challenge to preachers who have preached too long.
And when Eutychus was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from a third floor window and was picked up dead. It's late at night, and whether because of the heat outside or because, as the writer suggests, there were many lamps in the room, and smoky lamps would have created additional heat, Eutychus fell asleep, fell out of the third floor window right down to the ground, and was dead. In verse ten, Paul went down, threw himself on the young man, put his arms around him and said, ‘Don’t be alarmed. He’s alive!’ Wow! Eutychus was raised from the dead! ‘Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted,’ (Acts 20:11-12, NIV).
We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot. When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. The next day we set sail from there and arrived off Chios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus. Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.
From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. When they arrived, he said to them: ‘You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents. You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
‘And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace’ (Acts 20:13-24, NIV).
In verse 22 Paul explains that he felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I sometimes fell this compulsion in my ministry. Paul felt compelled to go, ‘not knowing what will happen’, but ‘in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardship await me.’
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood, (v28): Now Paul is issuing a very solemn and powerful warning. And I think we need to listen very, very carefully to what he now says. Knowing that this is his last message, knowing that he won’t see these men again. In verse 28, Paul makes this momentous, powerful statement: ‘Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.’ He’s not talking to the people in the street. He’s not even talking to the congregation. Paul’s talking to the church leaders. He’s giving them the last challenge of his life: ‘Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood.’
Here we have an interesting statement which implies that church leaders are like sheepdogs. Recently during a time of prayer with some fellow believers, this formed part of our conversation. What we realised was, that the congregations in our churches are the sheep. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. But here Paul is saying that pastors are shepherds. Then the suggestion came during our prayer time, that in effect, leaders have to be like sheep dogs under the direction of the shepherd, who guide, direct, and protect the sheep.