One night in April of 57 AD, the church in Troas got together and listened to Paul preach about Jesus Christ until midnight. A young brother named Eutychus interrupted briefly. Then they all took the Lord's supper together. And then, after that.... what did Paul do next?
NLT: continued talking to them until dawn
ESV: conversed with them a long while, until daybreak
NASB: talked with them a long while until daybreak
RSV: conversed with them a long while, until daybreak
ASV: talked with them a long while, until daybreak
WEB: discoursed a long while, even till break of day
I'm actually impressed with the number of translations that get this one right, and shocked at the NLT. Others, like the NIV and NKJV, don't say "to them" but still give that impression. Wrongly. The greek word in Acts 20:11 is to discourse, to have a conversation with. So, okay. So what's actually going on here?
If "context" is reading several sentences before and after, you can still get the impression that Paul did the lion's share of the talking, which he may have done. But it was hardly a 12 hour long "sermon". How do I know? Because I've been there.
I was fortunate enough, for a brief decade, to be part of a small, local-leader-less house church whose "Paul" was often away far too long. I know what it's like to linger long after a message, long after a meeting, long after the sharing has ended, just wanting to be together. They stayed up until dawn because Paul and the church weren't ready to leave one another just yet. Trust me, when the beautiful feet of him who brings good news come rarely, you treasure each moment. You develop a love story. At times he preaches, and at other times y'all discourse. Those times can be every bit as valuable as they are precious - to the church.
For most people, traditionally, "church" is an hour on sunday - the same hour, always with a sermon. The ministers preside over 90% of the meeting. For us, "church" was something very different. I hope that doesn't sound snobbish. Believe me, different was not hardly in-all-ways "better". ;)
For most people, traditionally, "church" is an hour on sunday - the same hour, always with a sermon. The ministers preside over 90% of the meeting. For us, "church" was something very different. I hope that doesn't sound snobbish. Believe me, different was not hardly in-all-ways "better". ;)
At any rate... my point is that "context" is much, much more than the rest of the page around a verse. "Context" is life. So you tell me, Living Ones...
Up until now, what has your life led you to think about Paul in Troas?