Acts - Week 10 / Wednesday

Reading for today: Acts 20:1-12

As Paul makes his way back to Jerusalem on this third missionary journey, he is accompanied by a number of men. Many scholars believe these men were on the journey with Paul to represent the churches who had given money as an offering for the poor among the Jerusalem Christians. They had the responsibility to see what was done with the money and report back to their home churches. It is obvious that the Early Church was very careful to keep good financial accounts and just as careful to make them known to the members of the congregation. That is just good stewardship, and ought to be the norm for all churches today, regardless of size.

When Paul arrived in Troas, he took the opportunity to preach. Since he was going to leave the next day, he prolonged his discourse until midnight. A young man named Eutychus was sitting on the window sill listening. He fell asleep, and because everyone was focusing on Paul, no one noticed. As Paul kept on preaching, the young man fell from the third story and was found dead. Remember that Luke is with them on this journey, and as a doctor, he would know these things.

Immediately, Paul went down, fell on him, and put his arms around him. We can be sure he prayed as he did so. This was similar to the experiences of Elijah and Elisha in 1 Kings 17:21 and 2 Kings 4:34.

Paul said to the concerned crowd, "Don't panic, he's alive!" After that, Paul went back up and ate and talked with the believers until daylight. Then he left. The boy was also brought before them alive, and fully recovered, and they were very greatly encouraged.

As a preacher, I take heart in knowing that even the Apostle Paul put people to sleep with his preaching!

Tomorrow: Paul says "good-bye" to the Ephesian elders