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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Act_20:1-6
1After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and when he had exhorted them and taken his leave of them, he left to go to Macedonia. 2When he had gone through those districts and had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece. 3And there he spent three months, and when a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 4And he was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia. 5But these had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas. 6We sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at Troas within five days; and there we stayed seven days.
Act_20:1 "After the uproar had ceased" This phrase is ambiguous. It does not mean to imply that Paul left Ephesus immediately because of the riot started by Demetrius. Paul did not leave because of the riot, but because his evangelistic work was finished, as Demetrius' own statements made obvious (cf. Act_19:26).
▣ "Paul sent for the disciples and when he had exhorted them" Paul was concerned with both evangelism and discipleship (cf. Act_20:2; Mat_28:18-20). The gospel, although received individually, becomes a family to which service is due (cf. 1Co_12:7). The goal of local believers was a church!
Act_20:2 "he had gone through those districts" This possibly refers (1) to Illyricum (cf. Rom_15:19) or (2) to the Macedonian cities of Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea.
▣ "he came to Greece" Greece (Hellas) means the Roman Province of Achaia (cf. Act_19:21). This refers mainly to the city of Corinth. Paul had an extended ministry in this area. During this time he wrote Romans. He was worried about the church in Corinth, as 1Co_16:5-9 and 2Co_2:12-13 clearly show.
Act_20:3 This verse relates to Paul's travel plans. He often had to change them because of circumstances. In this instance Paul thought it unwise (i.e., a plot by Jews) to board a pilgrim ship heading toward Jerusalem, so he traveled by land.
▣ "a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail" He was possibly planning to sail on a Pilgrim ship that stopped at all ports on the way taking Jewish pilgrims to the festivals in Jerusalem.
▣ "Sopater, Aristarchus, Secundus, Gaius, Timothy, Tychicus, Trophimus" These are probably men from various churches sent to accompany Paul's special monetary gift to the church in Jerusalem (cf. 1Co_16:1-3; 2 Corinthians 8-9).
1. Sopater is possibly the Sosipater of Rom_16:21.
2. Aristarchus is mentioned in Act_19:29; Act_27:2 and Col_4:10.
3. Tychicus is mentioned in Eph_6:21-22; Col_4:7-8; 2Ti_4:12 and Tit_3:12.
4. Gaius is mentioned in Act_19:29.
5. Trophimus is mentioned in Act_21:29 and 2Ti_4:20.
The following is taken from my commentary on 1 Corinthians (see hyperlink ).
"the collection" Logia is a term which has been found in the Greek papyri in Egypt as a gift of money for a religious purpose, but not related to a regular tax (cf. Moulton, Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, p. 377). It is uncertain whether in this context it refers to a regular gift or extra gift to the church. Paul began this concern for the poor in Judea from a conversation with James, Peter, John, and Barnabas in Gal_2:10; Gal_6:10. This specific offering was begun by the church at Antioch where Paul and Barnabas served, Act_11:27-30. This offering is mentioned in several NT books (cf. Rom_15:26; 2 Corinthians 8-9; 1Co_16:1). It was an attempt to seal the relationship between the Hebrew mother church and the Gentile churches.
Paul calls this one-time contribution by several names.
1. almsgiving, Act_24:17
2. fellowship, Rom_15:26-27; 2Co_8:4; 2Co_9:13
3. an indebtedness, Rom_15:27
4. service, Rom_15:27; 2Co_9:12"
From 2Co_8:6; 2Co_8:16 it seems that Titus may have also been a church representative. It is so strange that Luke never mentions Titus in Acts. The theory has been that Titus was Luke's brother and that modesty caused him to omit his name. This may also explain the unnamed brother in 2Co_8:18, who many think was Luke (Origen recorded in Eusebius' His. Eccl. 6.25.6; A. T. Robertson's, Word Pictures in the New Testament, p. 245).
F. F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free, comments on Titus and Luke being brothers.
"One explanation of Luke's silence about one who was such a trusted lieutenant of Paul's is that Titus was Luke's brother; cf. W. M. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveler and the Roman Citizen (London, 1895), p. 390; Luke the Physician and Other Studies (London, 1908), pp. 17 f.; A. Souter, 'A Suggested Relationship between Titus and Luke', Expository Times 18 (1906-7), p. 285, and "The Relationship between Titus and Luke', ibid., pp. 335 f. But if this relationship is maintained, then the possibility that Luke is the 'brother' of 2Co_8:18 f. (see. p. 320) is ruled out: Paul's purpose in sending this 'brother' along with Titus was that he should be an independent guarantor of the probity of the administration of the relief fund, and this purpose would have been frustrated if critics had been given an opportunity to draw attention to a blood-relationship between the two. Nothing could have been better calculated to foster already existing suspicions" (p. 339 footnote #5).
Act_20:5 "us" Luke begins again his eyewitness account, which was discontinued in Philippi (cf. Acts 16). The "we" sections are identified as Act_16:10-17; Act_20:5-15; Act_21:1-18; and Act_27:1 to Act_28:1 b.
Act_20:6 "the days of Unleavened Bread" This seven-day feast in mid-April was combined with the one-day Passover feast (cf. Exodus 13). Paul's Jewish background influenced the way he viewed the calendar. We know nothing of Jews or a synagogue at Philippi, so Paul did not keep this feast for witnessing purposes (cf. 1Co_9:19-23). Perhaps it is just mentioned because he was planning his travel to be in Jerusalem by Pentecost (cf. Act_20:16).