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The Journey to Macedonia and Back to Miletus.
The second visit to Macedonia and Greece:
v. 1. And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to go into Macedonia.
v. 2. And when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece,
v. 3. and there abode three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia.
v. 4. And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.
v. 5. These going before tarried for us at Troas.
Paul had intended to make a trip to Macedonia and Achaia, chap, 19:21. That the riot in the city materially hastened his departure, or that the work of the Lord in Ephesus had come to a standstill or even received a severe setback, is not included in the text, 1Co_16:8-9. Not one of the disciples had been harmed in the tumult, and the speech of the secretary of the city must certainly be considered favorable, although in a negative way, rather than anything else. After the uproar had ceased, after the last excitement attending the riot had died down, which may have taken days and even weeks, Paul decided that the time for departure had come. So he called a special meeting of all the disciples of Ephesus, for there must have been other house congregations besides that of Aquila and Priscilla, 1Co_16:19. At this last service he gave them a farewell address of admonition and encouragement; he then took leave of them with the usual form of salutation and started on his trip to Macedonia. Sailing up the Aegean Sea, he landed at Troas, where he had expected to meet Titus, 2Co_2:12-13. But since he did not find him, he lost no time in pushing on to Macedonia. Here he made his missionary journeys in the accustomed way, visiting all the districts where congregations had been established, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea. in all these cities his words of encouragement and admonition, of which he was not sparing, tended to establish the brethren in the faith and in sound Christianity. He even extended his journey over into the borders of Illyricum, west of Macedonia, Rom_15:19. But then he turned southward into Greece, or Achaia, where his principal errand was to the congregation at Corinth, some trouble there requiring his attention. He made a stay of fully three months here, intending after that to make the voyage directly to Syria. It was most likely at this time that he wrote the letter to the Galatians and also that to the Romans. But his plans were crossed by the enmity of the Jews, who plotted against his life, either by waiting for him at Cenchreae or by hiring assassins to murder him aboard the vessel. Paul therefore quickly changed his mind and his plans and traveled overland through Macedonia, in order to embark in one of those harbors. He was not alone on this trip, but had a number of companions, six of whom, with Luke as the seventh in Philippi, traveled with him all the way, while two went ahead to await his coming in Troas. There was Sopater, or Sopater Pyrrus, of Berea, there were Aristarchus and Secundus of Thessalonica, there were Gaius of Derbe and Timothy of Lystra, there was Luke of Philippi; and finally, there were Tychicas and Trophimus, both of them probably from Ephesus. As one commentator explains, the discovery of the Jewish plot altered Paul's plan, and that at the last moment, when delegates from the various congregations had already assembled. The European delegates had intended to sail from Corinth, with Paul, and the Asian from Ephesus, but the latter, having received word of the change of plans, went as far as Troas to meet the others, and accompanied them the rest of the way. Note: In all these accounts the loving intimacy between Paul and the Christian congregations is evident, a splendid example in these days of indifference and selfishness.