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6. The plot to kill Paul in Corinth – the names of traveling companions accompanying him towards Jerusalem (Acts 20:3b-5)
ACTS 20:3b-5
3b … and a plot was made against him by Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he determined to return through Macedonia. 4 These accompanied him as far as Asia: Sopater of Beroea; Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians; Gaius of Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia. 5 But these had gone ahead, and were waiting for us at Troas.
Paul arranged to have contributions from all the churches in Macedonia, Greece, Asia, and Anatolia aid the persecuted church in Jerusalem. This we read about in (2 Corinthians 8:16-24). The journey to Jerusalem does not appear to have been lonesome, which was undertaken amid the fellowship of chosen brothers. He was accompanied by a delegate from each one of the churches he had planted.
Since ships did not sail in winter, because of storms on the Mediterranean Sea, Paul was planning to travel with his companions in the spring from Corinth to Syria by sea.
The Jews at Corinth, however, were bitterly determined to kill Paul, who had been the cause of their rejection and shame, when their complaint against him, brought before the Roman governor, was rejected. Probably some of those determined to kill Paul proposed they do so also in order to rob him of the big amount of money he had collected for the church in Jerusalem. But Christ kept His servant, and protected him from this evil intent. When Paul learned of this plot he immediately changed his plans, and decided not to travel by sea, since his antagonists could have plotted to kill him underway, leaving no trace of their crime. Thus, he elected to take the long and tiresome overland journey back to Ephesus by foot, a journey of hundreds of kilometers, taking days and months. Paul and those accompanying him passed along this route, headed for Jerusalem.
We read of at least eight men who composed Paul’s traveling companions. Reflection over these men gives us an insight into the conditions of the church in Greece and Anatolia, and an understanding regarding the results of Paul’s missionary work. If you have a map of Greece and Asia Minor, look at it while you read this lesson. You will see vast areas in which the Gospel and the church were firmly established.
First, we read about the church of Berea, where a faithful father committed Sopater, his son, into the hands of Paul, to become his traveling companion to help carry, on behalf of the brothers, their contributions to Jerusalem. Thus, in spite of the short amount of time before Paul’s sudden departure from Berea to Athens, the church at Berea did not come to an end, but grew up to become faithful and established in Christ.
From the commercial city of Thessalonica he was accompanied by Aristarchus and Secundus. Aristarchus had already been a traveling companion of Paul in Ephesus. He was one of the two young men the multitude pulled into the theater amid the uproar over Paul in Ephesus (Acts 19:29). He was, nevertheless, kept from harm by Christ’s strong protection. In spite of this experience, He did not abandon Paul, but completed the journey with him, comforting him during his long, bitter imprisonment, and, despite the terrible dangers, accompanied him on his journey to Rome. (Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24).
After leaving the church at Philippi, Luke, the physician, joined company with Paul, as a representative of the believers from this city (20:6). In so doing, the evangelist- physician began his important, long journey with the apostle, during which time he gathered details for his famous gospel, and met the persons upon whose testimonies he built the book of the Acts of the Apostles.
Not only did the churches of Greece and Macedonia send delegates and contributions to the Jerusalem church, but believers from Anatolia and Asia also participated in this voyage. Besides Timothy, the faithful fellow-laborer of Paul, we read the name of Gaius, from Derbe, which indicates that the relationship between these churches in Asia Minor and the apostle never ended despite the many years.
From Ephesus came the brother Tychicus, who also remained by Paul throughout his long imprisonment. He was a writer, who delivered the epistles to the Ephesians, the Colossians, and to Philemon. This faithful believer remained a traveling companion of the apostle throughout the years, in travels from Greece to Jerusalem. He met Paul once again in Rome, to assist him as servant and amanuensis.
We also read about Trophimus, from Ephesus, who became the reason for the apostle’s imprisonment in Jerusalem. Fanatical Jews claimed that Paul had taken this uncircumcised Gentile young man and brought him into the temple.
Paul’s return to Jerusalem was similar to Christ’s triumphal procession, for the apostle was returning with the rich love of God in his heart, accompanied by faithful men as representatives of the Gentiles. They were not going to visit the troubled church with mere words, but, in addition, came with a considerable amount of money, intending to put it into the temple of the Holy Spirit. Such was the visible communion of the saints.
PRAYER: O Lord Christ, we thank You that You have chosen from every country people who follow You in Your way as the Lamb of God, and who offer their bodies and lives as an offering acceptable to God. We ask You to receive us, together with our children, friends, and relatives, and to consecrate us to a common everlasting service.
QUESTION:
- What is the significance of the great number of Paul’s companions?