Acts 20:1-16
And a young man named Eutychus … fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” (vv. 9-10) You may recall that Peter had raised Tabitha from the dead (Acts 9:40), so now we have Paul raising this young man from death. Bible naysayers will argue that this account did not happen, but was made up so that Paul could be set on equal footing with Peter. But I believe in the healing power of the Holy Spirit. Not a problem for me…!
Troas… We’ve seen Troas before (Acts 16:8-11) on Paul’s second missionary journey. Presumably Paul was prepared to spend time there years before when he was called from Troas to Macedonia. There is no account of him returning through Troas – from Corinth he sailed directly to Ephesus, then on to Jerusalem and Syrian Antioch. Now finally he is back in Troas and spent a full week there, no doubt preaching and encouraging the believers there. I wonder how often Paul thought about that earlier calling away from Troas, whether it was in his mind to get back to Troas if ever the opportunity arose. And I wonder about things that I/we have left undone as we moved through life. Something to reflect on during our travels today…
See also: July 14 / Acts 20:1-16