Acts20chapter 20

The travel plans in this chapter run on shipping seasons. The Mediterranean was effectively closed to sailing in winter, and Paul is racing to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost, which is why he sails past Ephesus and calls the elders down to Miletus instead of going up himself.

The meeting at Troas is on the first day of the week and includes breaking bread — one of the earliest glimpses of Christians gathering on Sunday. It ran past midnight in an upper room with many lamps burning, which in a crowded third-storey room meant heat and thickening air. Eutychus sitting in the window makes complete sense, and so does falling asleep.

The delegation travelling with Paul — men named from Berea, Thessalonica, Derbe, Asia — are almost certainly the church representatives escorting the relief money collected for Jerusalem. Carrying a large sum overland required witnesses, both for safety and for the reputation of the men handling it.

The farewell at Miletus is the only speech in Acts Paul gives to Christians, and he ends it by pointing at his own hands: he had supported himself and his companions rather than coveting anyone's silver or clothing.