On the first day of the week, when the disciples were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and continued his speech until midnight. There were many lights in the upper room where we were gathered together. A certain young man named Eutychus sat in the window, weighed down with deep sleep. As Paul spoke still longer, being weighed down by his sleep, he fell down from the third floor and was taken up dead.
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Acts 20:7-9 sits inside this longer paragraph.
On the first day of the week, when the disciples were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and continued his speech until midnight. There were many lights in the upper room where we were gathered together. A certain young man named Eutychus sat in the window, weighed down with deep sleep. As Paul spoke still longer, being weighed down by his sleep, he fell down from the third floor and was taken up dead. Paul went down and fell upon him, and embracing him said, “Don’t be troubled, for his life is in him.”
Parallel Translations
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On the first day of the week, when the disciples were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and continued his speech until midnight.
There were many lights in the upper room where we were gathered together.
A certain young man named Eutychus sat in the window, weighed down with deep sleep. As Paul spoke still longer, being weighed down by his sleep, he fell down from the third floor and was taken up dead.
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And on the morowe after the saboth daye the disciples came to geder for to breake breed and Paul preached vnto them (redy to departe on the morowe) and continued the preachynge vnto mydnyght.
And there were many lyghtes in the chamber where thy were gaddered to geder
and there sate in a wyndowe a certayne yonge man named Eutichos fallen into a depe slepe. And as Paul declared he was the moare overcome with slepe and fell doune from the thyrde lofte and was taken vp deed.
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And the first day of the weeke, the disciples being come together to breake bread, Paul preached vnto them, ready to depart on the morrow, and continued the preaching vnto midnight.
And there were many lightes in an vpper chamber, where they were gathered together.
And there sate in a windowe a certaine yong man, named Eutychus, fallen into a dead sleepe: and as Paul was long preaching, hee ouercome with sleepe, fell downe from the thirde loft, and was taken vp dead.
Cross-references (28)
- 1 Corinthians 16:2 (v7) On the first day of every week, let each one of you save, as he may prosper, that no collections are made when I come.
- Acts 2:42 (v7) They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayer.
- John 20:19 (v7) When therefore it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were locked where the disciples were assembled,…
- John 20:1 (v7) Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went early, while it was still dark, to the tomb, and saw the stone taken away from the…
- Mark 13:36 (v9) lest coming suddenly he might find you sleeping.
Show all 28 cross-references
- Acts 1:13 (v8) When they had come in, they went up into the upper room where they were staying; that is Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas,…
- Acts 20:11 (v7) When he had gone up, and had broken bread and eaten, and had talked with them a long while, even until break of day, he departed.
- Revelation 1:10 (v7) I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet
- Matthew 26:40-41 (v9) He came to the disciples, and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What, couldn’t you watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray, that…
- Luke 22:12 (v8) He will show you a large, furnished upper room. Make preparations there.”
- Luke 24:35 (v7) They related the things that happened along the way, and how he was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.
- John 20:26 (v7) After eight days again his disciples were inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, the doors being locked, and stood in the middle, and…
- Acts 20:9 (v7) A certain young man named Eutychus sat in the window, weighed down with deep sleep. As Paul spoke still longer, being weighed down by his…
- Acts 28:23 (v7) When they had appointed him a day, many people came to him at his lodging. He explained to them, testifying about God’s Kingdom, and…
- Nehemiah 8:3 (v7) He read from it before the wide place that was in front of the water gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and…
- Nehemiah 9:3 (v7) They stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of Yahweh their God a fourth part of the day; and a fourth part they…
- Jonah 1:5-6 (v9) Then the mariners were afraid, and every man cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten the ship.…
- Mark 9:26 (v9) After crying out and convulsing him greatly, it came out of him. The boy became like one dead, so much that most of them said, “He is dead.”
- Luke 22:19 (v7) He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in…
- Acts 2:46 (v7) Day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and…
- Acts 20:31 (v7) Therefore watch, remembering that for a period of three years I didn’t cease to admonish everyone night and day with tears.
- 1 Corinthians 10:16 (v7) The cup of blessing which we bless, isn’t it a sharing of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, isn’t it a sharing of the body of…
- 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 (v7) But in giving you this command, I don’t praise you, that you come together not for the better but for the worse. For first of all, when you…
- 1 Corinthians 15:10 (v7) But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was given to me was not futile, but I worked more than all of them; yet not I, but…
- 1 Kings 17:19 (v9) He said to her, “Give me your son.” He took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into the room where he stayed, and laid him on his own…
- Mark 16:9 (v7) Now when he had risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.
- Acts 14:19 (v9) But some Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there, and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul, and dragged him out of the city,…
- 2 Timothy 4:2 (v7) preach the word; be urgent in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all patience and teaching.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (23 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv7, 9 7. And in one day. Either doth he mean…
7. And in one day. Either doth he mean the first day of the week, which was next after the Sabbath, or else some certain Sabbath. Which latter thing may seem to me more probable; for this cause, because that day was more fit for all assembly, according to custom. But seeing it is no new matter for the Evangelists to put one instead of the first, according to the custom of the Hebrew tongue, (Matthew 28:1; Luke 24:1; John 20:1) it shall very well agree, that on the morrow after the Sabbath they came together. Furthermore, it were too cold to expound this of any day. For to what end is there mentioned of the Sabbath, save only that he may note the opportunity and choice of the time? Also, it is a likely matter that Paul waited for the Sabbath, that the day before his departure he might the more easily gather all the disciples into one place. And the zeal of them all is worth the noting, in that it was no trouble to Paul to teach until midnight, though he were ready to take his journey, neither were the rest weary of learning. For he had no other cause to continue his speech so long, save only the desire and attentiveness of his auditory.
To break bread. Though breaking of bread doth sometimes signify among the Hebrews a domestical banquet, yet do I expound the same of the Holy Supper in this place, being moved with two reasons. For seeing we may easily gather by that which followeth that there was no small multitude gathered together there, it is unlikely that there could any supper be prepared in a private house. Again, Luke will afterward declare that Paul took bread not at supper time, but after midnight. Hereunto is added that, that he saith not that he took meat that he might eat, but that he might only taste. Therefore, I think thus, that they had appointed a solemn day for the celebrating of the Holy Supper of the Lord among themselves, which might be commodious for them all. And to the end Paul might remedy after a sort the silence of longer absence, he continueth his speech longer than he did commonly use to do. That which I spake of the great number of men is gathered thence, because there were many lights in the upper chamber, which was not done for any pomp or ostentation, but only for necessity’s sake. For when there is no need, it is ambition and vanity which maketh men bestow cost. Furthermore, it was meet that all the whole place should shine with lights, lest that holy company might be suspected of some wickedness or dishonesty. Add also another conjecture, if the chamber had been empty, those which were present would not have suffered Eutychus to sit upon a window. For it had been filthy licentiousness in despising the heavenly doctrine to depart aside into a window, seeing there was room enough elsewhere.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv7–8 Assemblies in the nighttime cannot be justly condemned, neither…
Assemblies in the nighttime cannot be justly condemned, neither ought, when the cause is good.
Word for word, the first day of the Sabbath, that is upon the Lord’s day: so that by this place, and by 1 Cor. 16:2, it is not amiss gathered, that in those days the Christians were wont to assemble themselves solemnly together upon that day.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv7–9 7 And upon the first day of the week,…
7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
Ver. 7. Continued his speech till midnight] Media nocte vigilabant, ut eos condemnent qui media die dormiunt, saith Chrysostom. Jacob, fearing his brother, slept not all that night. If Samuel thought it had been God that spake to him, he would not have slept. While lshbosheth slept, Baanah and Rechab took off his head. After the disciples slept, being bidden watch, they fled from Christ and forswore him, Mat 26:40.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv7–9 The first day of the week; this was the…
The first day of the week; this was the day which the Lord had made, it being called from his resurrection, which was on this day, the Lord’s day, Rev 1:10. On this day the disciples met, and Christ honoured them with his presence, Joh 20:19,26. And when he was ascended, this day was appointed for the Christians to meet in, 1Co 16:2; which must necessarily infer the abrogation of the Saturday, or Jewish sabbath: for it being part of the command, Six days shalt thou labour, they could not in ordinary have rested the last day of the week and the first day too, without sinning against the law of God.
To break bread; to take a meal in common together, which they called agapae, or the love feast, so great a harmony and natural love was manifested in it; which was concluded with celebrating the Lord’s supper; and this is chiefly, if not only, intended in this place. The love feasts being abused, were soon laid aside; but the other must continue until the Lord come, 1Co 11:26.
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Continued his speech until midnight; a long sermon indeed, at least it would be now thought so; and yet we must have the same spirit, or we are not members of that catholic church.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v7 We have here an account of what passed at…
We have here an account of what passed at Troas the last of the seven days that Paul staid there.
I. There was a solemn religious assembly of the Christians that were there, according to their constant custom, and the custom of all the churches. 1. The disciples came together, Act 20:7. Though they read, and meditated, and prayed, and sung psalms, apart, and thereby kept up their communion with God, yet that was not enough; they must come together to worship God in concert, and so keep up their communion with one another, by mutual countenance and assistance, and testify their spiritual communion with all good Christians. There ought to be stated times for the disciples of Christ to come together; though they cannot all come together in one place, yet as many as can. 2. They came together upon the first day of the week, which they called the Lord's day (Rev 1:10), the Christian sabbath, celebrated to the honour of Christ and the Holy Spirit, in remembrance of the resurrection of Christ, and the pouring out of the Spirit, both on the first day of the week. This is here said to be the day when the disciples came together, that is, when it was their practice to come together in all the churches. Note, The first day of the week is to be religiously observed by all the disciples of Christ; and it is a sign between Christ and them, for by this it is known that they are his disciples; and it is to be observed in solemn assemblies, which are, as it were, the courts held in the name of our Lord Jesus, and to his honour, by his ministers, the stewards of his courts, to which all that hold from and under him owe suit and service, and at which they are to make their appearance, as tenants at their Lord's courts, and the first day of the week is appointed to be the court-day. 3. They were gathered together in an upper chamber (Act 20:8); they had no temple nor synagogue to meet in, no capacious stately chapel, but met in a private house, in a garret. As they were few, and did not need, so they were poor, and could not build, a large meeting-place; yet they came together, in that despicable inconvenient place. It will be no excuse for our absenting ourselves from religious assemblies that the place of them is not so decent nor so commodious as we would have it to be. 4. They came together to break bread, that is, to celebrate the ordinance of the Lord's supper, that one instituted sign of breaking the bread being put for all the rest. The bread which we break is the communion of the body of Christ, Co1 10:16. In the breaking of the bread, not only the breaking of Christ's body for us, to be a sacrifice for our sins, is commemorated, but the breaking of Christ's body to us, to be food and a feast for our souls, is signified. In the primitive times it was the custom of many churches to receive the Lord's supper every Lord's day, celebrating the memorial of Christ's death in the former, with that of his resurrection in the latter; and both in concert, in a solemn assembly, to testify their joint concurrence in the same faith and worship.
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II. In this assembly Paul gave them a sermon, a long sermon, a farewell sermon, Act 20:7. 1. He gave them a sermon: he preached to them. Though they were disciples already, yet it was very necessary they should have the word of God preached to them, in order to their increase in knowledge and grace. Observe, The preaching of the gospel ought to accompany the sacraments. Moses read the book of the covenant in the audience of the people, and then sprinkled the blood of the covenant, which the Lord had made with them concerning all these words, Exo 24:7, Exo 24:8. What does the seal signify without a writing? 2. It was a farewell sermon, he being ready to depart on the morrow. When he was gone, they might have the same gospel preached, but not as he preached it; and therefore they must make the best use of him that they could while they had him. Farewell sermons are usually in a particular manner affecting both to the preacher and to the hearers. 3. It was a very long sermon: He continued his speech until midnight; for he had a great deal to say, and knew not that ever he should have another opportunity of preaching to them. After they had received the Lord's supper, he preached to them the duties they had thereby engaged themselves to, and the comforts they were interested in, and in this he was very large and full and particular. There may be occasion for ministers to preach, not only in season, but out of season. We know some that would have reproached Paul for this as a long-winded preacher, that tired his hearers; but they were willing to hear: he saw them so, and therefore continued his speech. He continued it till midnight; perhaps they met in the evening for privacy, or in conformity to the example of the disciples who came together on the first Christian sabbath in the evening. It is probable he had preached to them in the morning, and yet thus lengthened out his evening sermon even till midnight; we wish we had the heads of this long sermon, but we may suppose it was for substance the same with his epistles. The meeting being continued till midnight, there were candles set up, many lights (Act 20:8), that the hearers might turn to the scriptures Paul quoted, and see whether these things were so; and that this might prevent the reproach of their enemies, who said they met in the night for works of darkness.
III. A young man in the congregation, that slept at sermon, was killed by a fall out of the window, but raised to life again; his name signifies one that had good fortune - Eutychus, bene fortunatus; and he answered his name. Observe,
1. The infirmity with which he was overtaken. It is probable his parents brought him, though but a boy, to the assembly, out of a desire to have him well instructed in the things of God by such a preacher as Paul. Parents should bring their children to hear sermons as soon as they can hear with understanding (Neh 8:2), even the little ones, Deu 29:11. Now this youth was to be blamed, (1.) That he presumptuously sat in the window, unglazed perhaps, and so exposed himself; whereas, if he could have been content to sit on the floor, he had been safe. Boys that love to climb, or otherwise endanger themselves, to the grief of their parents, consider not how much it is also an offence to God. (2.) That he slept, nay, he fell into a deep sleep when Paul was preaching, which was a sign he did not duly attend to the things that Paul spoke of, though they were weighty things. The particular notice taken of his sleeping makes us willing to hope none of the rest slept, though it was sleeping time and after supper; but this youth fell fast asleep, he was carried away with it (so the word is), which intimates that he strove against it, but was overpowered by it, and at last sunk down with sleep.
2. The calamity with which he was seized herein: He fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. Some think that the hand of Satan was in it, by the divine permission, and that he designed it for a disturbance to this assembly and a reproach to Paul and it. Others think that God designed it for a warning to all people to take heed of sleeping when they are hearing the word preached; and certainly we are to make this use of it. We must look upon it as an evil thing, as a bad sign of our low esteem of the word of God, and a great hindrance to our profiting by it. We must be afraid of it, do what we can to prevent our being sleepy, not compose ourselves to sleep, but get our hearts affected with the word we hear to such a degree as may drive sleep far enough. Let us watch and pray, that we enter not into this temptation, and by it into worse. Let the punishment of Eutychus strike an awe upon us, and show us how jealous God is in the matters of his worship; Be not deceived, God is not mocked. See how severely God visited an iniquity that seemed little, and but in a youth, and say, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? Apply to this story that lamentation (Jer 9:20, Jer 9:21), Hear the word of the Lord, for death is come up into our windows, to cut off the children from without and the young men from the streets.
3. The miraculous mercy shown him in his recovery to life again, Act 20:10. It gave a present distraction to the assembly, and an interruption to Paul's preaching; but it proved an occasion of that which was a great confirmation to his preaching, and helped to set it home and make it effectual. (1.) Paul fell on the dead body, and embraced it, thereby expressing a great compassion to, and an affectionate concern for, this young man, so far was he from saying, "He was well enough served for minding so little what I said!" Such tender spirits as Paul had are much affected with sad accidents of this kind, and are far from judging and censuring those that fall under them, as if those on whom the tower of Siloam fell were sinners above all that dwelt at Jerusalem; I tell you, nay. But this was not all; his falling on him and embracing him were in imitation of Elijah (Kg1 17:21), and Elisha (Kg2 4:34), in order to the raising of him to life again; not that this could as a means contribute any thing to it, but as a sign it represented the descent of that divine power upon the dead body, for the putting of life into it again, which at the same time he inwardly, earnestly, and in faith prayed for. (2.) He assured them that he had returned to life, and it would appear presently. Various speculations, we may suppose, this ill accident had occasioned in the congregation, but Paul puts an end to them all: "Trouble not yourselves, be not in any disorder about it, let it not put you into any hurry, for his life is in him; he is not dead, but sleepeth: lay him awhile upon a bed, and he will come to himself, for he is now alive." Thus, when Christ raised Lazarus, he said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. (3.) He returned to his work immediately after this interruption (Act 20:11): He came up again to the meeting, they broke bread together in a love-feast, which usually attended the eucharist, in token of their communion with each other, and for the confirmation of friendship among them; and they talked a long while, even till break of day. Paul did not now go on in a continued discourse, as before, but he and his friends fell into a free conversation, the subject of which, no doubt, was good, and to the use of edifying. Christian conference is an excellent means of promoting holiness, comfort, and Christian love. They knew not when they should have Paul's company again, and therefore made the best use they could of it when they had it, and reckoned a night's sleep well lost for that purpose. (4.) Before they parted they brought the young man alive into the congregation, every one congratulating him upon his return to life from the dead, and they were not a little comforted, Act 20:12. It was matter of great rejoicing among them, not only to the relations of the young man, but to the whole society, as it not only prevented the reproach that would otherwise have been cast upon them, but contributed very much to the credit of the gospel.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv7–9 And upon the first day of the week,.... Or…
And upon the first day of the week,.... Or Lord's day, Rev 1:10 and which Justin Martyr calls Sunday; on which day, he says (i), all, both in city and country, met in one place for religious worship; and on this day, it appears from hence, and from other places, that the apostles and primitive churches did meet together for religious exercises; see Joh 20:19 and so they did at Troas at this time, as follows:
when the disciples came together to break bread; not to eat a common meal, or to make a feast, or grand entertainment for the apostle and his company, before they departed; but, as the Syriac version renders it, "to break the eucharist", by which the Lord's supper was called in the primitive times; or as the Arabic version, "to distribute the body of Christ", which is symbolically and emblematically held forth in the bread at the Lord's table. Now on the first day of the week, the disciples, or the members of the church at Troas, met together on this occasion, and the apostle, and those that were with him, assembled with them for the same purpose; the Alexandrian copy, the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions read, "when we were come together"; Paul and his company, together with the church at Troas; for it is plain from hence that there was a church in this place, not only by disciples being here, but by the administration of the Lord's supper to them; and so there was in after ages. Who was the first pastor or bishop of this church, is not certain; perhaps Carpus, of whom mention is made in Ti2 4:13 though he is said to be bishop of other places; See Gill on Ti2 4:13. In the "second" century, in the times of Ignatius, there were brethren at Troas, from whence he wrote his epistles to the churches at Smyrna, and Philadelphia, and who are saluted in them by the brethren at Troas (k): in the third century, several martyrs suffered here, as Andreas, Paulus, Nicomachus, and Dionysia a virgin: in the "fifth" century, Pionius, bishop of Troas, was present at Constantinople at the condemnation of Eutyches, and afterwards he was in the council at Chalcedon; and even in the "eighth" century mention is made of Eustathius, bishop of Troas, in the Nicene council (l).
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Paul preached unto them; to the disciples that were gathered together, either before, or after, or at the time of breaking of bread; for this ordinance was not administered without some instructions about the nature, use, and design of it.
Ready to depart on the morrow; this seems to be mentioned as a reason for what follows,
continued his speech until midnight: since he was about to take his leave of them, and not knowing when he should see them again, or whether ever any more, he delivered a long discourse to them; which not only shows that he was full of matter, but that his affection for these saints, and his desire of doing them good, were very great, by imparting as much spiritual light and knowledge as he could unto them; and also his great zeal for the glory of God, and the interest of Christ, though he was to set forth on a journey the next morning.
(i) Apolog. 2. p. 98. (k) Ignatii Epist. p. 9. 46. Ed. Voss. (l) Magdeburg. Hist. Eccles. cent. 3. c. 3. p. 11. cent. 5. c. 10. p. 603. cent. 8. c. 2. p. 4.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv7–9 To break bread - That is, to celebrate the…
To break bread - That is, to celebrate the Lord's Supper; continued his discourse - Through uncommon fervour of spirit.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv7–9 Verse 7. Upon the first day of the week]…
Verse 7. Upon the first day of the week] What was called κυριακη, the Lord's day, the Christian Sabbath, in which they commemorated the resurrection of our Lord; and which, among all Christians, afterwards took the place of the Jewish Sabbath.
To break bread] To break [Syriac] eucaristia, the eucharist, as the Syriac has it; intimating, by this, that they were accustomed to receive the holy sacrament on each Lord's day. It is likely that, besides this, they received a common meal together. Some think the αγαπη, or love feast, is intended.
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Continued his speech until midnight.] At what time he began to preach we cannot tell, but we hear when he concluded. He preached during the whole night, for he did not leave off till the break of the next day, Ac 20:11, though about midnight his discourse was interrupted by the fall of Eutychus. As this was about the time of pentecost, and we may suppose about the beginning of May, as Troas was in about 40 degrees of north latitude, the sun set there at seven P.M. and rose at five A.M., so that the night was about eight hours long; and taking all the interruptions together, and they could not have amounted to more than two hours, and taking no account of the preceding day's work, Paul must have preached a sermon not less than six hours long. But it is likely that a good part of this time was employed in hearing and answering questions; for διελεγετο, and διαλεγομενου, may be thus understood.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v7 Act 20:7-10. And upon the first day of the…
Act 20:7-10. And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples — As was usual with them on that day; came together — From different parts; to break bread — That is, to celebrate the Lord’s supper. It is well known the primitive Christians administered the eucharist every Lord’s day, and as that was the most solemn and appropriate, as well as the concluding act of their worship, it is no wonder that it should be mentioned as the end of their assembling. Paul preached unto them — With great fervency, being now to take his leave of them, and depart on the morrow — And his heart was so enlarged in love to his hearers, and concern for their salvation, that he continued his speech until midnight — Through uncommon fervour of spirit. And there were many lights — Or lamps; in the upper chamber where they were assembled — For, whatever the malice of their enemies might insinuate, the Christians held not their assemblies in darkness, but took all prudent precautions to avoid every circumstance that might incur censure, or even suspicion. And there sat in a window — Kept open to prevent heat, both from the lamps and the number of people; a young man, named Eutychus, who, having fallen into a deep sleep, as Paul was long preaching, fell down from the third loft — And no wonder, if, like the eastern windows, described by Chardin, this was very large, and even with the floor; and was taken up dead — Really and properly so; and (the whole assembly, doubtless, being thrown into disorder) Paul — Breaking off his discourse; went down and fell on him — It is observable, our Lord never used this gesture, but Elijah and Elisha did, as well as Paul; and embracing high — In his arms; said, Trouble not yourselves — Be not in any disorder about it; for his life is in him — He is come to life again. Paul, doubtless, restored him to life by a miracle. When he therefore was come up again — Into the chamber where the assembly met; (for, having composed and quieted their minds, he returned to his work;) and had broken bread — And conversed a considerable time; even till break of day, he departed — From Troas, without taking any rest at all. And they brought the young man alive — And well into the room; and were not a little comforted — At so happy an event; and the rather, as they might apprehend that some reproach would have been occasioned by his death, if he had not been so recovered, because it happened in a Christian assembly, which had been protracted so long beyond the usual bounds of time, on this extraordinary occasion. But, alas! how many of those that have allowed themselves to sleep under sermons, or, as it were, to dream awake, have perished for ever, with the neglected sound of the gospel in their ears; have slept the sleep of eternal death, and are fallen to rise no more!
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv7–9 And upon the first day of the week -…
And upon the first day of the week - Showing thus that this day was then observed by Christians as holy time. Compare 1Co 16:2; Rev 1:10.
To break bread - Evidently to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Compare Act 2:46. So the Syriac understands it, by translating it, “to break the eucharist”; that is, the eucharistic bread. It is probable that the apostles and early Christians celebrated the Lord’s Supper on every Lord’s day.
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And continued his speech until midnight - The discourse of Paul continued until the breaking of day, Act 20:11. But it was interrupted about midnight by the accident that occurred to Eutychus. The fact that Paul was about to leave them on the next day, probably to see them no more, was the principal reason why his discourse was so long continued. We are not to suppose, however, that it was one continued or set discourse. No small part of the time might have been passed in hearing and answering questions, though Paul was the chief speaker. The case proves that such seasons of extraordinary devotion may, in special circumstances, be proper. Occasions may arise where it will be proper for Christians to spend a much longer time than usual in public worship. It is evident, however, that such seasons do not often occur.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v7 On the first day of the week.[1] The interpreters…
On the first day of the week.[1] The interpreters generally take notice with St. John Chrysostom, that the Christians, even at this time, must have changed the sabbath into the first day of the week, as all Christians now keep it. Which change (even as to the manner of keeping one of God’s ten commandments) was made by the Church. --- To break bread, meaning the blessed sacrament, as it is commonly expounded. (Witham) --- St. Paul did here break bread on a Sunday, as it is broken in the sacrament of the body of Christ, and delivered a discourse to the people, both before and after the celebration of the divine mysteries. (St. Augustine, ep. lxxxvi. ad Casulanum.; Ven. Bede, in xx. Act.)
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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]
Una Sabbati; that is prima sabbati, Greek: en te mia ton sabbaton. St. John Chrysostom says, (hom. Greek: mg.) Greek: kuriake en, erat dies Dominica.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv7–9 upon the first day of the week, when the…
upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together--This, compared with Co1 16:2, and other similar allusions, plainly indicates that the Christian observance of the day afterwards distinctly called "the Lord's Day," was already a fixed practice of the churches.
Paul preached--discoursed. The tense implies continued action--"kept discoursing."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv7–9 Eutychus Raised from the Dead—7-12.
Eutychus Raised from the Dead—7-12.
All event divinely dispensed for the confirmation of the young Church at Troas.
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7. First day of the week—This Church was founded the year before by Paul, and it seems by the phrase, when the disciples came together to, etc., that the practice of Sunday meetings was already established under Paul’s authority. The Roman philosopher Pliny, in a letter to the Emperor Trajan, from the near province of Bithynia, about fifty years after this period, well illustrates this fact in the following words: “They (the Christians) are accustomed to meet together on a stated day (stato die) before it is light, and sing among themselves alternately a hymn to Christ as God, and bind themselves by an oath (sacramento) not to the commission of any wickedness, but, on the contrary, not to be guilty of theft, or robbery, or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor to deny a pledge committed to them; and, when these things were ended, it was their custom to separate, and then to come together again to a meal, which they ate in common, without any disorder.”
It was, doubtless, at this second or evening meeting of Sunday night that Paul here preached, expecting to embark on Monday morning.
To break bread—Either the Lord’s supper, or the lovefeast, or both.
Speech— Rather, converse; implying an interchange of discourse.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv7–9 7–12. Paul preaches at Troas. Eutychus is restored to…
7–12. Paul preaches at Troas. Eutychus is restored to life
7. And upon the first day of the week] Which had now, in memory of the Resurrection, begun to be observed as a holy day by Christians. In an Epistle written before this visit to Troas (1Co_16:2) the day is appointed by St Paul as the special time when the Christian alms should be laid aside.
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when the disciples came together to break bread] The oldest authorities give (and the Rev. Ver. represents) “when we were gathered together,” &c. We can see how the alteration has been introduced by some one who felt the awkwardness of the following “them.” Wherever a congregation was organized the natural service of the Christian worshippers was the communion of the body and blood of Christ.
Paul preached unto them] Except here and in Act_20:9 the verb is nowhere else rendered “preach.” Better, “discoursed with them.” The meeting was one where reasoning and conversation were used to solve doubts and clear away difficulties which might be in the minds of the Christians at Troas. For we can perceive that there was a Church established here. Indeed wherever St Paul came he was enabled to leave that mark of his visit behind him. It is true the meeting was only still in an upper chamber, but the “many lights” shews that it was not a mere gathering of one or two with the Apostle and his friends, but a settled Christian congregation.
ready [intending] to depart on the morrow] They had met first for an evening service, but the consolation of Christian intercourse and the additional zeal infused into the church by the Apostle’s visit caused the irregular conversational meeting to be protracted beyond the intended time.
and continued his speech until midnight] The “prolonged” of the Rev. Ver. is no improvement. It rather gives the impression that the Apostle had worn out all his hearers.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv7–9 (7) Upon the first day of the week .…
(7) Upon the first day of the week . . .—This and the counsel given in 1Co_16:2, are distinct proofs that the Church had already begun to observe the weekly festival of the Resurrection in place of, or, where the disciples were Jews, in addition to, the weekly Sabbath. It lies in the nature of the case that those who were slaves, or freed-men still in service, under heathen masters could not transfer to it the rigid abstinence from labour which characterised the Jewish Sabbath. And on this day they met together, obviously in the evening after sunset, to “break bread.” On the half- technical significance of that phrase, as applied specially to the Lord’s Supper, the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, see Notes on Act_2:46, and 1Co_10:16. Two further questions, however, present themselves—(1) On what evening was the meeting held? (2) How far was a meal such as was known as the Agapè, or Feast of Charity, united with the Lord’s Supper? In answer to (1), it seems probable that in churches which were so largely organised on the framework of the Jewish synagogue, and contained so many Jews and proselytes who had been familiar with its usages, the Jewish mode of reckoning would still be kept, and that, as the Sabbath ended at sunset, the first day of the week would begin at sunset on what was then or soon afterwards known as Saturday. In this case, the meeting of which we read would be held on what we should call the Saturday evening, and the feast would present some analogies to the prevalent Jewish custom of eating bread and drinking wine at that time in honour of the departed Sabbath (Jost, Gesch. Judenthums, i. 180). (2) Looking to St. Paul’s directions in 1Co_11:33-34, it is probable that the hour of the “breaking bread” became gradually later, so as to allow those who would otherwise have been hungry to take their evening meal at home before they came. The natural result of this arrangement was, as in the instance now before us, to throw the Eucharistic rite forward to midnight, or even later; and, as this was obviously likely to cause both inconvenience and scandal, the next step was to separate it entirely from the Agapè, and to celebrate the purely symbolic feast very early in the morning of the first day of the week, while the actual meal came later in the evening of the same day. That this was so in the regions of Troas and Asia we see from Pliny’s letter to Trajan (Epp. x. 96), in which he describes the Christians as meeting on “a fixed day,” for what he calls a sacramentum at break of day, and again in the evening to partake of a simple and innocent repast. At Troas we have the connecting-link between the evening communion of the Church of Corinth, and the morning celebration which has been for many centuries the universal practice of the Church.
Paul preached unto them.—The fact has a liturgical interest as showing that then, as in the more developed services of the second and third centuries, the sermon, and the lessons from Scripture which it implied, preceded what we now know as the Celebration.
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Ready to depart on the morrow.—It may perhaps seem to some strange, taking the view maintained in the previous Note, that the Apostle and his companions should thus purpose to travel on a day to which we have transferred so many of the restrictions of the Jewish Sabbath. But it must be remembered (1) that there is no evidence that St. Paul thought of them as so transferred, but rather the contrary (Gal_4:10; Col_2:16); and (2) that the ship in which his friends had taken their passage was not likely to alter its day of starting to meet their scruples, even had those scruples existed.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv7–9 We were gathered for the disciples came, A.V. and…
We were gathered for the disciples came, A.V. and T.R.; discoursed with for preached unto, A.V.; intending for ready, A.V.; prolonged for continued, A.V. The first day of the week. This is an important evidence of the keeping of the Lord"s day by the Church as a day for their Church assemblies. (see Luk_24:1, Luk_24:30, Luk_24:35; Joh_20:19, Joh_20:26; 1Co_16:2) To break bread. This is also an important example of weekly communion as the practice of the first Christians. Comparing the phrase, "to break bread," with St. Luke"s account of the institution of the Holy Eucharist (Luk_22:19) and the passages just quoted in Lu 24, and St. Paul"s language, (1Co_10:16 1Co_11:24) it is impossible not to conclude that the breaking of bread in the celebration of the Lord"s Supper is an essential part of the holy sacrament, which man may not for any specious reasons omit. Further, this passage seems to indicate that evening Communion, after the example of the first Lord"s Supper, was at this time the practice of the Church. It was preceded (see ver. 11) by the preaching of the Word. The following description, given by Justin Martyr, in his second Apology to Antoninus Plus (or Marcus Aurelius), of the Church assemblies in his day, not a hundred years after this time, is in exact agreement with it: the day which is called Sunday, all (Christians) who dwell either in town or country come together to one place. The memoirs of the apostles and the writings of the prophets are read for a certain time, and then the president of the meeting, when the reader has stopped, makes a discourse, in which he instructs and exhorts the people to the imitation of the good deeds of which they have just heard. We then all rise up together, and address prayers (to God); and, when our prayers are ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president, to the best of his ability, offers up both prayers and thanksgivings, and the people assent, saving "Amen." And then the distribution of the bread and wine, over which the thanksgivings have been offered, is made to all present, and all partake of it." He adds that the elements are carried to the absent by the deacons, and that collections are made for poor widows, and orphans, and sick, and prisoners. Discoursed (dielegetoteine). Act_17:17, note. Prolonged (pare) The word is found only here in the New Testament, but is of frequent use in medical writers.
Vers. 7-12. A legacy of Divine testimony.
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The position of Troas such that any startling event would spread its influence East and West to Asia and Europe. Paul leaving the scenes of his labors, never more to be seen in them. Some news of contentions in Corinth might disturb the Churches. Asiatic believers would especially need every support. The occasion very solemn. Eucharistic service. Paul"s long discourse, interspersed probably with questions and answers. Many last words to be said. Enemies doubted the nature of Christian meetings. Many lights and open windows disproved the calumnies. Upper chamber, three stories from the ground; not large, and betokening the lowly character of the assembly. "Not many mighty, noble, and rich." Possibly even in Troas some popular opposition made such a place necessary.
I A great SIGN OF DIVINE POWER accompanying Paul"s preaching. Had he not been approved of God, he could not have wrought such a miracle. It spoke:
1. To the world, testifying to the nearness of the kingdom of God; to the merciful and restoring grace of the gospel, which came not to destroy men"s lives, but to save them.
2. To the Church; stamping Pauline teaching with authority; lifting up the courage and hope of disciples. The same Divine power ever with the Church always to the end.
II A SOLEMN ASSOCIATION with a great and important occasion. Eutyehus could scarcely be without blame. The people would never forget that it was the Lord"s Supper, and that those who partake in such a service should watch against human infirmities. The wonderful recovery of the lad seemed to shed a new light on the whole service. What glorious power was set forth in that little society! They were comforted for Eutychus and for themselves and for the whole Church. Jesus is life from the dead. R.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK Ver. 7. The Lord"s day sabbath.
This is the first allusion to distinctively Christian meetings as held on the first day of the week, the day which commemorates the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The grounds on which it pleased God to separate a regular, and a frequently recurring, portion of time from common worldly labor may be pointed out. Two things especially require notice.
1. Such a recurring period of rest is practically proved to be necessary for man"s physical well-being. It is more and more clearly shown, that the recovering and restoring power of nightly sleep is not sufficient, and that the weekly prolonged rest is essential to the continued maintenance of the bodily powers.
2. A man is not chiefly a body. He is a composite being; but he is, in the truest conception of him, a soul, having a body for his use. And it is of the first importance that the soul should have its due and adequate opportunities of culture. For the securing of such opportunities, the tension of bodily claims must be at times relieved. The change of the day kept as the sabbath, from the seventh to the first of the week, does not seem to have taken place by any revelation or any distinct apostolic arrangement. It came about in the natural course of events. Probably at first the Jewish Christian disciples kept the Jewish sabbath in the usual way, and also had some special meeting of their own, in remembrance of the Lord"s resurrection, on the evening of the first day of the week. As the gospel won its way among the Gentiles, the distinctively Christian meetings would grow in importance; and when St. Paul separated the disciples from the synagogue, Jewish customs and rules ceased to have authority over them. As Judaism faded away, the Christian day of rest took the place of the older sabbath; and the Christian forms of worship superseded the temple and the synagogue ordinances. We dwell on two points.
I THE CHRISTIAN SABBATH WAS A RETENTION, IN SPIRIT, OF THE OLDER JEWISH SABBATH. What was essential in the original institution was the devotement to God of one day in seven. No importance attached to its being the first, or fourth, or seventh, as men may arbitrarily reckon the days of the week. The division of time into weeks is not a natural division, dependent on movements of earth or of moon. It is an arrangement made entirely in view of man"s physical and spiritual interests. And the change of the precise day teaches us the important lesson that God cares for the essence of obedience, for the spirit of service; and while this finds its proper expression in minute and careful observance of his requirements, God is not limited by the mere formality of his commands, but graciously leaves the times, seasons, and modes of our obedience to our good will and judgment. Wherever there is the spirit of obedience, there need be little fear as to the finding of right modes. All that is essential in the Jewish sabbath holy souls jealously preserve in the Christian Sunday.
II THE CHRISTIAN SABBATH IS A PRECISE SANCTIFYING OF ONE DAY IN SEVEN TO THE REMEMBRANCE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. We are to "keep the sabbath day holy;" that is, we are to fill it fully up with thoughts of God and work for God. But to us God has been "manifest in the flesh;" "he was made flesh and dwelt among us." As with us here in our humanity, Jesus was the Brightness of the Father"s glory, and the express Image of his person." And so the keeping the Christian Sunday holy is filling it fully up with thoughts of Christ and work for him. And that they might be helped to such remembrances, the early disciples, every Sunday evening, broke bread together, this being the appointed means for recalling to their minds their Lord"s broken body and shed blood. For our soul"s life, the Sunday is a day for communion with Christ. For the world"s salvation, Sunday is a day for witnessing of Christ and working for him. We may learn, then, in what lies the very essence of the rightly kept Christian sabbath. It must have two things always in it.
1. Conscious communion with Christ.
2. Active co-operation with him in his sublime purpose to redeem and save the world. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On v7 7–12. On the first day of the week when,…
7–12. On the first day of the week when, etc. The language shows that it was the custom to meet on the first day of the week, and shows the leading object of that meeting. This was not a farewell meeting for Paul, for then the day of the week would not have been mentioned, but the regular weekly assemblage of the saints. They came together, primarily, to break bread, i. e., to observe the Lord's Supper. Dean Howson says: “We have here an unmistakable allusion to the practice, which began evidently immediately after the resurrection of our Lord, of assembling on the first day of the week for religious purposes.” He also shows that the Lord arose on the first day of the week, showed himself to the apostles a second time one week later on the first day of the week, that the church was founded and the Holy Spirit shed forth on Pentecost, which was on the first day of the week. On the same day the disciples at Troas meet to break bread, the Corinthians meet, take collections (1 Cor. 16:2) and eat the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. 11:20), and the Lord on Patmos reveals himself to John (Rev. 1:10). In addition to this, the early church writers from Barnabas, Justin Martyr, Irenæus, to Clement of Alexandria, Origen and Cyprian, all with one consent, declare that the church observed the first day of the week. They are equally agreed that the Lord's Supper was observed weekly, on the first day of the week. Paul preached. Though it was the special object of this weekly meeting to break bread, preaching was a part of the worship. Continued his speech until midnight. About to depart, probably never to see them more, all were anxious to hear the great apostle, and he had much to say.
There were many lights. This is mentioned to show how they could meet at night. In those time public meetings and even the games of the theatre were by daylight. Means of lighting were very imperfect.
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Eutychus. Sitting in the window, and at last overcome by drowsiness, he fell to the earth, three stories below. The language implies that he was killed by the fall, and restored by the Divine power, exercised through Paul. The history is plain, simple, and easy to understand. Compare 2 Kings 4:34.
When he … had broken bread and eaten. Opinions are divided whether the Lord's Supper had been celebrated before his long discourse and this was a common meal just before his departure in the early morning, or whether these words allude to the celebration of the Lord's Supper. I incline to the last opinion. The fact that the same phraseology is used in both places shows that they refer to the same thing. Some, however, insist that if this be true, the Lord's Supper was celebrated on Monday morning before day. This does not necessarily follow. The Jews began their day at sunset. Sunday began at sunset of what he call Saturday. The early churches, composed in large part of Jews at first, often followed the Jewish custom. It is probable that this meeting at Troas began at the close of the Sabbath, in the evening, was continued through the night, the Lord's Supper being celebrated in the latter part of the night, before dawn of Sunday, and that at daybreak Paul departed. He had remained over a week to have the privilege of observing the Lord's Supper with them. So, too, he remained a week with the disciples at Tyre (21:4) and with the brethren at Puteoli (28:14).
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v7 Act_20:7. The first day of the week.—Lit., the first…
CRITICAL REMARKS
Act_20:7. The first day of the week.—Lit., the first of the Sabbath, as in 1Co_16:2, meaning not on one of the Sabbaths or Jewish festivals, but on the first day of the week, the term “Sabbaths” being put for the period of seven days (compare Mat_28:1).
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Act_20:8. Many lights.—Mentioned that all suspicion might be removed from the assembly (Calvin, Bengel); to account for the young man’s drowsiness (Alford); to show how his fall was observed (Meyer); but most likely to impart liveliness to the scene (Hackett).
Act_20:9. In a window should be in the window of the upper chamber—i.e., on the seat of it. “The windows” of Oriental houses “had no glass. They were only latticed, and thus gave free passage to the air and admitted light, while birds and bats were excluded” (Kitto’s Cyclopædia: art. House). The third loft.—Or story. The middle classes usually lived in large houses in flats—the artizans in the third stories, just under the roofs—on the same plan as in some of our great cities (Stapfer, Palestine in the Time of Christ, pp. 172, 173). Taken up dead.—Not ὡσεὶ νεκρὸς (Mar_9:26) (Holtzmann), but νεκρός, dead.
Act_20:10. Fell on him.—As formerly Elijah and Elisha acted in performing similar awakenings (1Ki_17:17; 2Ki_4:34). Trouble not yourselves.—Make ye no ado. Compare Christ’s words in Jairus’s house (Mar_5:39).
Act_20:11. Broken (sc. the) bread.—Points to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.
Act_20:12. Brought the young man alive.—The miracle is certainly a parallel to Tabitha’s awakening by Peter (Act_9:36-40), but yet not on that account an invented story. According to Ramsay, who in this follows Blass, this verse shows “a very harsh change of subject,” the persons who brought the youth alive, not being those who were comforted. But this is surely unmeaning criticism. One would naturally conclude that they who brought the lad alive were Paul and those who assisted him; and that these were greatly comforted as well as the other Christians present.
HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.—Act_20:7-12
A Communion Festival at Troas; or, the Story of the Young Man Eutychus
I. The crowded congregation.—
1. The persons composing it.
(1) The disciples at Troas (Act_16:8), who must have been present in considerable numbers, since Eutychus could only obtain a seat in the window. The Troas Christians forsook not the assembling of themselves together (Heb_10:25).
(2) The apostle and his company (Act_20:4) These, though parted at Corinth or Philippi had rejoined each other in Troas.
2. The time of meeting. On the first day of the week, the Lord’s day (Rev_1:10), an intimation that thus early the practice of meeting for worship on Sunday was observed by the followers of Christ. In the evening, as is indicated by the “many lights” or lamps that are said to have been burning. The cessation of work on this day, though it may have been the custom with some, was manifestly not as yet common.
3. The place of assembly. Not the Jewish synagogue, which shows that a separation of the Christians from the Jewish community had here taken place. Not a public academy or school as in Ephesus (Act_19:9), scarcely even a house of any pretensions like that of Justus at Corinth (Act_18:7), which perhaps reveals that not many mighty or wise had been converted in Troas, but an upper chamber, doubtless a room in some obscure house, on the third story and next the roof (see Act_1:18; Act_9:37).
4. The business of the hour. Twofold.
(1) To break bread—i.e., to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, which consisted then, as now, in the breaking of bread and drinking of wine in remembrance of Christ, and was then, though not now, followed or accompanied by a lovefeast.
(2) To hear Paul preaching, or rather to hear the word discoursed by Paul, who doubtless sat at table while he talked, since the modern practice of formally orating on a text of Scripture had not then been introduced.
II. The protracted preaching.—Two things noticeable:
1. The preacher wearied not in speaking.
(1) A remarkable phenomenon. Though Paul appears to have commenced discoursing in the early hours of evening, midnight arrived, and still the stream of holy converse flowed on—yea, when the interruption which occurred through Eutychus’s death and resuscitation had passed, the talk was resumed and sustained through a sleepless night till dawn. As a mere physical effort it would have taxed the energies of a strong man; how much more then must it have tested the powers of one so infirm as the apostle! Besides, since a speaker like Paul cannot be supposed to have kept on repeating the same things over and over, what a demand must that midnight preaching have made on his mental resources! And if to this be added the tender emotions which constantly uprose within his bosom when he either spoke or wrote to his converts about his Lord and theirs, it will not be hard to see that the strain on the apostle’s body, soul, and spirit, must have been immense, must, in fact, have been almost unparalleled.
(2) A reasonable explanation. Three things must have contributed to enable Paul to undergo such a laborious performance. First, the circumstances in which he and his hearers were then assembled. It was a flying visit he had made to their town; it was the last time, probably, they would look each other in the face, it was a farewell sermon; and it was the most solemn of all occasions on which Christ’s people could meet. Second, the theme upon which he descanted to his hearers was one that inspired him with “thoughts that breathe and words that burn,” that drew him on from topic to topic with never-failing enthusiasm, that so lifted him out of himself that he never felt his weariness or weakness, and probably knew not whether he was in the body or out of the body (2Co_12:2). Thirdly, the grace of his glorified Master, which never failed him, would no doubt strongly support him that night, so that he could achieve what to common men would seem impossibilities (2Co_12:9; Php_4:13).
2. The audience wearied not in hearing. How different from modern congregations of Christ’s professed followers, who, so far from listening to the preached gospel from evening until midnight, and from midnight until dawn, cannot, without impatience, endure a thirty minutes’ sermon, and would almost clap their hands with joy if the preacher’s discourse could be huddled through in ten minutes, or perhaps dispensed with altogether. No doubt modern congregations have not Pauls for preachers; but if they had it is to be questioned whether their behaviour would be different. The present-day outcry against long sermons—by which are meant discourses of half an hour—has its origin not in the small ability of the preachers, but in the lack of religious zeal on the part of the hearers.
III. The alarming accident.—
1. The sleeper in the window. Eutychus (concerning whose antecedents nothing is known) has often been held up—unjustly and unkindly—to reproach on account of his unseemly conduct (as it is called) of sleeping in the church. But there are times when it is wholly inexcusable to yield to the “drowsy god” when engaged in Divine worship; on the other hand, there are occasions when it may be justified, and this it may be reasonably maintained was one.
(1) Eutychus was obviously a youth to whom sleep, especially at midnight, was a natural right, a physical necessity, a heaven-prepared boon which he could not be blamed for accepting.
(3) The upper chamber was as manifestly crowded, and the hot breaths must have speedily produced such an atmosphere that the wonder is not that Eutychus dropped over into slumber, but that many more did not follow his example.
(3) The strain of listening to Paul’s preaching—in which it may be assumed Eutychus was interested—could not fail to exhaust the young man’s nervous energy, and cause him to drop off through sheer weariness into a sound sleep. All who have as satisfactory excuses as Eutychus may sleep in church with easy consciences.
2. The fall into the court. How it happened is not explained. The window, after the manner of the eastern houses, opened into the area below. Most likely the shutter was closed when the young man ensconced himself in the recess. Perhaps the fastening gave way while he leant upon the shutter, or wakening with a start from his deep sleep he may have unwittingly pressed against and burst it open. In any case he fell from the third flat to the ground, a distance probably of twenty feet, and was taken up, not as, but really—dead.
IV. The gracious miracle.—
1. The young man’s restoration.
(1) By whom it was effected. Really, of course, by God, but instrumentally by Paul.
(2) How it was effected. Though not so mentioned, doubtless by prayer. Paul went down and fell upon the young man as Elijah (1Ki_17:21) and Elisha (2Ki_4:34) did, using, it may be supposed, words borrowed from the former, “Lord! let this young man’s soul come into him again.”
2. The credibility of the story. Baur and his disciples find in this miracle only a counterpart of the raising of Dorcas by Peter (Act_9:36-42), and accordingly pronounce it unauthentic. But the reality of the miracle was attested by those who saw the young man after he had been restored to life while the truthfulness of the account is vouched for by the extreme likeliness of the narration, and can only be disputed by those who are unwilling to believe in the supernatural.
Learn.—
1. The duty of Christians to assemble for worship on the Lord’s day.
2. The place assigned to both the preaching of the word and the administration of the sacraments in the edification of believers.
3. The justification accorded to long sermons, at least on special—e.g., sacramental occasions.
4. The danger of sleeping in church, since if not always sinful it may sometimes be hurtful.
5. The inferiority of modern preachers, who, if they excel Paul in the art of setting men to sleep, fall immeasurably below him in the power of working miracles.
6. The reality of the communion of saints.
7. The solemnity and sadness of earth’s farewells.
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Act_20:7. Light from Early Christian Practice.
I. On the sanctity of the Lord’s day.—That they kept the first day of the week as a memorial of Christ’s resurrection is apparent, though it is more than likely Jewish Christians, for a considerable time after, continued also to observe the seventh day as a day of rest. Gentile Christians may not have been able to devote the first day entirely to rest; the narrative shows they consecrated its evening hours to worship.
II. On the nature of Christian worship.—This consisted:
1. In the administration of the Lord’s Supper—which perhaps has not so high a place as properly belongs to it in modern Christian worship.
2. In listening to edifying discourse upon the gospel—which also in some modern Churches is not accorded the place to which it is entitled.
3. In the enjoyment of Christian fellowship—which, again, is largely overlooked in modem congregations of believers. Without reviving the love-feasts of those early times, that which they pointed to and promoted, the spirit of love and the sense of brotherhood, should be diligently cultivated.
III. On the length of gospel sermons.—These should be:
1. Neither so short as to admit no room for the utterance of any valuable doctrine, or the expression of any holy feeling.
2. Nor so long as to exhaust the physical, mental, and spiritual energies of either preacher or hearer.
3. But always suited to the audience and the occasion. Some audiences and occasions require long, and others short discourses.
The First Day of the Week
I. A solemn religions assembly.—
1. The time was the first day of the week.
2. The occasion was the observance of the Lord’s Supper.
3. The place was an upper room with many lights—obscure, but not secret.
II. The preacher.—
1. The preacher was Paul.
2. He preached a farewell sermon.
3. He preached a long sermon.
III. A careless hearer.—
1. His infirmity.
2. His death.
3. His restoration to life.—G. Brooks.
Act_20:7-12. Communion at Troas.
I. The congregation.—The disciples at Troas. Who were:
1. Probably many. May be inferred from the fact that Paul had previously visited and preached in Troas.
2. Certainly poor. Their meeting place, an upper chamber or room in a top story, showed this.
3. Obviously eager. Longed to hear the word, not afraid of long sermons. Not a good sign when Christians are impatient of preaching.
4. Intensely sympathetic. Their hearts beat in unison with both the service and the preacher.
II. The preacher.—Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles. An object of interest from:
1. His personal character and history. A man of feeble body but of tremendous spiritual power.
2. His missionary labours and travels. No doubt full information about these would have been imparted during the week, if not by Paul himself, at least by his companions.
3. His previous visit and preaching. Most likely all regarded him in the light of an old friend, while many would behold in him their spiritual father.
III. The sermon.—About which many things were worth noting; as, e.g., that it was:
1. A spoken sermon. Not read, but delivered face to face. Read discourses neither unlawful nor unprofitable; but not the best for either preacher or hearer.
2. A farewell sermon. Therefore without doubt uttered with much tender and solemn feeling, and listened to with avidity. Compare farewell address to elders at Miletus (Act_20:17).
3. A communion sermon. Whence the subject may be guessed. Not the story of his travels, but the story of the cross. Not himself the hero but Christ.
4. A long sermon. Probably three hours to begin with. And yet the Troans wearied not, but heard for three hours more. Short sermons may be often best; but occasions surely arise when long discourses are befitting.
IV. The miracle.—The raising of Eutychus.
1. The accident.
(1) The subject of it—a young man, Eutychus, otherwise unknown.
(2) The manner of it. Falling from a window (see “Critical Remarks”).
(3) The issue of it. Death. Sad that he should have met his death through attending Church; but better that he died so than in a drunken brawl.
(4) The effect of it. Produced great commotion in the meeting. Many lamentations over the poor boy’s untimely fate, and much sympathy for his mother if she was present.
2. The restoration.
(1) Effected by Paul, who, in recalling the lad to life, followed the example of Elijah and Elisha.
(2) Attested by the people, who witnessed the miracle, saw the young man alive again, and were comforted.
V. The communion.—
1. The solemn impressions under which it was celebrated. Those who took part in it had just been listening to a discourse about the risen Saviour, and had just witnessed a display of that Saviour’s power. What must have been their emotions when they returned to the upper room to celebrate their memorial feast?
2. The sacramental actions were unquestionably those of the Lord’s Supper. “Breaking of bread” alone mentioned; but “drinking of wine” implied. The narrative affords no countenance to the idea of Communion in one kind.
3. The post communion address was not omitted. Paul talked with his hearers a long while till break of day, about the significance of the meal, and its foreshadowing of heaven, about how they should live and walk in the world, and about their impending separation. And so the sacred service ended. With the dawning of the day the apostle departed.
Act_20:8-12. The Night Service at Troas.
I. An admonitory example of Christian zeal for God’s word.—
1. On the part of the apostle, who wearies not of preaching.
2. On the part of the congregation, who grow not tired of hearing.
II. A warning example of human weakness and sloth.—The sleep and the fall of Eutychus. “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.” “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
III A consolatory example of Divine grace and faithfulness.—The resuscitation of the young man, the comfort of the Church.—Gerok.
Act_20:9. On sleeping in Church.
I. Pardonable.—When it results from physical causes, over which one has no control; such as:
1. Exhaustion through previous labour.
2. The imperative demands of nature which call for such repose as sleep gives.
3. The soporific atmosphere of the church through defective ventilation.
4. The weariness induced by a too constant strain upon the mental faculties in listening to the preacher.
II. Inexcusable.—When it springs either:
1. From indifference to the truth that is preached; or
2. From dislike to the preacher by whom it is spoken; or
3. From lack of interest in the object which the preacher by his preaching seeks to attain.
III. Hurtful.—
1. It disconcerts and discourages the preacher.
2. It infects and contaminates the hearers. Sleeping in Church is contagious.
3. It inflicts loss and sometimes positive hurt upon the sleeper.
IV. Preventable.—By removing its causes.
1. Providing comfortable and well-ventilated churches.
2. Preaching interesting and not too long sermons.
3. Preparing the heart by previous prayer and meditation, for the reception of the truth.
The young man Eutychus; an example to all the unsteadfast in the Church.
I. By his dangerous sleep.—In the midst of the assembled congregation, during the hearing of the divine word, the heart may be overpowered by the sleep of false security.
II. By his terrible fall.—From the third storey to the street pavement; an admonitory representation of the great fall from an imaginary height of faith to sin and perdition.
III. By his miraculous deliverance.—In the arms of a Paul, who penetrates him with his power of life and warmth of love, even the deeply fallen, he who is thought dead, may by the wonderful grace of God again become living.—Gerok.
The Accident at Troas. Thoughts suggested.
I. The uncertainty of life.—Even to the good, and the consequent necessity of preparing for death. Eutychus, a young man, full of life, hope, and promise, employed also at the best of work, and yet he died suddenly as the result of an accident.
II. The moral and spiritual uses of accidents.—This accident at Troas was fitted to remind the Christians there of the propriety and duty of exercising common prudence and foresight even when engaged about the things of religion and eternal life.
III. The power of a great calamity to open the flood-gates of human sympathy.—How deeply the congregation was moved by the young man’s death is revealed by the comfort they experienced in his resuscitation (Act_20:12).
IV. The mission and the power of the gospel.—To quicken dead souls as Paul restored Eutychus to life. As God’s power flowing through Paul’s body reanimated the dead youth, so the might of God’s grace streaming through the gospel can revive dead souls.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On vv7–8 7. “On the first day of the week we…
THE SABBATH CHANGED
7. “On the first day of the week we assembling to break bread,” i. e., to celebrate the love-feast and the eucharist. Paul spoke to them, being about to depart the following day, and continued his discourse till midnight. Justin Martyr was a disciple of Polycarp, a disciple of the Apostle John. Hence he lived, wrote and suffered martyrdom within a generation of the apostles. I have now before my eye his testimony in his native Greek, certifying that all the saints kept Sunday, in his day, as a day of sacred rest, devoted to the worship of God in commemoration of our Lord’s resurrection, in consequence of which it was denominated “the Lord’s day,” a phrase never applied to the Jewish Sabbath. As a confirmation of this we find the Hebdomidal division of time prevailing throughout the whole Gentile world very early in the Christian era, there being no such a seventh day division of time among the heathens. As the first converts of Christianity were all Jews, of course they kept the seventh day during their generation, and while the Jewish element remained in the church, as we see from this verse and other Scriptures, and the corroborations of Justin Martyr and other Christian fathers, also observing the first day of the week, i. e., Sunday, as a day of sacred rest, devoted to the worship of God. The Seventh Day Adventists most glaringly and erroneously tell us that the pope of Rome made the change of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday! What an awful mistake! when there never was a pope until the seventh century, while we see right here, in New Testament times, they kept Sunday as we do, and history shows that it was ever afterward continued, down to the present day. The Roman historians, Suetonius and Pliny, who lived and wrote in the first centuries of the Christian era, during the bloody martyr ages, are good witnesses in this problem. As they were neither Christians nor Jews, but heathens, and not concerned in the controversy in any respect, their incidental historic testimony is unimpeachable. They certify, in their simple accounts of the Christian martyrdom, that when persons were arrested on suspicion that they were Christians, tried and put to death under the imperial edict prescribing all the Christians and interdicting their worship on penalty of death, their persecutors propounded to them the question: “Dominicum servaste?” — “Hast thou kept the Lord’s day?” The Christian responded: “Christianus sum” — “I am a Christian.” “Intermittere non possum ” — “I can not omit it.” Then they proceeded with the bloody work of death. It is a well-known fact that the Jewish Sabbath never was called “the Lord’s day,” but simply “the Sabbath day.” If the primitive Christians had kept the seventh day, they would have been asked: “Sabbaticum servaste?” — “Hast thou kept the Sabbath day?” But this question never was asked by their persecutors. It is utter folly to deny that the Lord’s day was kept from the Apostolic age. The relegation of the change to the pope is preposterous, as there never was a pope until Procas, king of Italy, crowned Boniface III., A. D. 666. Suppose my conscience tells me to keep Saturday as a holy Sabbath? Then, be sure you satisfy your conscience, and keep that day holy. But be equally sure that you keep the day holy for the sake of the conscience of all Christendom (1Co 8:12). The Lord will enable you to make a living in five days in the week.
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So rest and attend church both Saturday and Sunday. Then you will cover all the ground. I speak to you whose conscience requires you to keep Saturday. Duty to God is a matter on which we can not afford to take any risk.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv7–9 7. The last period of seven days included and…
7. The last period of seven days included and was terminated by the Lord's day. (7) " And on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break the loaf, Paul discoursed to them, about to depart on the next day, and continued his discourse till midnight. " This passage indicates both the day of the week in which the disciples broke the loaf, and the prime object of their meeting on that day. It shows that the loaf was broken on the first day of the week; and we have no apostolic precedent for breaking it on any other day.
The disciples came together on that day, even though Paul and Luke and Timothy, and all he brethren who had come from Greece, were present, not primarily to hear one or more of them discourse, but "to break the loaf. " Such is the distinct statement of the historian. That such was an established custom in the Churches is implied in a rebuke administered by Paul to the Church at Corinth, in which he says: "When you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's supper." Now, for this they would not have deserved censure, had it not been that to eat the Lord's supper was the proper object of their assemblage. These facts are sufficient to establish the conclusion that the main object of the Lord's-day meeting was to break the loaf.
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This conclusion will be of service to us in seeking to determine the frequency with which the loaf was broken. If the prime object of the Lord's-day meeting was to celebrate the Lord's supper, then all the evidence we have of the custom of meeting every Lord's day is equally conclusive in reference to the weekly observance of the Lord's supper. But the former custom is universally admitted by Christians of the present day, and therefore there should be no dispute in reference to the latter.
It must, in candor, be admitted, that there is no express statement in the New Testament that the disciples broke the loaf every Lord's day; neither is it stated that they met every Lord's day. Yet the question, how often shall the congregation meet together to break the loaf, is one which can not be avoided, but must be settled practically in some way. The different religious parties have hitherto agreed upon a common principle of action, which is, that each may settle the question according to its own judgment of what is most profitable and expedient. This principle, if applied by congregations instead of parties, is a safe one in reference to matters upon which we have no means of knowing the divine will, or the apostolic custom. But when we can determine, with even a good degree of probability, an apostolic custom, our own judgment should yield to it. So all parties have reasoned in reference to the Lord's day. The intimations contained in the New Testament, together with the universal custom known to have existed in the Churches during the age succeeding that of the apostles, has been decided by them all as sufficient to establish the divine authority of the religious observance of the Lord's day; and yet they have not consented to the weekly observance of the Lord's supper, the proof of which is precisely the same.
As a practical issue between the advocates of weekly communion and their opponents, the questions really has reference to the comparative weight of evidence in favor of this practice, and of monthly, quarterly, or yearly communion. When it is thus presented, no one can long hesitate as to the conclusion; for in favor of either of the intervals last mentioned there is not the least evidence, either in the New Testament, or in the uninspired history of the Churches. On the other hand, it is the universal testimony of antiquity that the Churches of the second century broke the loaf every Lord's day, and considered it a custom of apostolic appointment. Now it can not be doubted that the apostolic Churches had some regular interval at which to celebrate this institution, and seeing that all the evidence there is in the case is in favor of a weekly celebration, there is no room for a reasonable doubt that this was the interval which they adopted.
It is very generally admitted, even among parties who do not observe the practice themselves, that the apostolic Churches broke the loaf weekly; but it is still made a question whether, in the absence of an express commandment, this example is binding upon us. This question is likely to be determined differently by two different classes of men. Those who are disposed to follow chiefly the guide of their own judgment, or of their denominational customs, will feel little influenced by such a precedent. But to those who are determined that the very slightest indication of the divine will shall govern them, the question must present itself in this way: "We are commanded to do this in memory of Jesus. We are not told, in definite terms, how often it shall be done; but we find that the apostles established the custom of meeting every Lord's day for this purpose. This is an inspired precedent, and with it we must comply. We can come to no other conclusion without assuming an ability to judge of this matter with more wisdom than did the apostle."
We return to the meeting in Troas. The extreme length of Paul's discourse on this occasion is in striking contrast with the brevity of his other speeches, as reported by Luke. It is to be accounted for by the anxiety of the apostle, in bidding them a final farewell, to leave the brethren as well guarded as possible against the temptations which awaited them.
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v7 first day
first day
It was the breaking of bread for which the disciples were assembled. The passage indicates the use by the apostolic churches of the first day, not the seventh. Cf. 1Co 16:2.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv7, 9 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Luke tells about Paul's preaching in Troas and about what happened to Eutychus.
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General Information:
Here the word "we" refers to the writer, Paul, and those traveling with them, but not to the reader. (See: Exclusive and Inclusive "We" and Acts 20:4-6)
to break bread
Bread was part of their meals. Possible meanings are 1) this refers simply to eating a meal together. AT: "eat a meal" or 2) this refers to the meal they would eat together in order to remember Christ's death and resurrection. AT: "to eat the Lord's Supper" (See: Synecdoche)
he kept speaking
"he continued to speak"
upper room
This may have been the third floor house.
translationWords
week
bread
believe
lamp
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v7 20:7-12 On the first day of the week the…
20:7-12 On the first day of the week the early church commemorated Jesus’ resurrection (see Mark 16:9; cp. John 20:19; Rev 1:10). • This was Paul’s last visit to Troas, which included gathering to share in the Lord’s Supper. This meal probably included both communion and a common meal (cp. Acts 2:42, 46; Jude 1:12). • The remarkable feature of this gathering was the understated miraculous restoration of Eutychus, the young man who fell asleep on a windowsill and dropped three stories to his death (cp. Acts 9:36-41).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.