41. On the Way to Jerusalem. The Sunday Liturgy at Troas. The Discourse at Miletus With the Ephesian Elders. In Tyre and Caesarea

Having completed his ministry in Corinth and collected a considerable alms for the suffering Christians of the holy city, the Apostle Paul resolved to visit Jerusalem once more, at the feast of Passover. He had wished to sail directly from Corinth by ship to Syria, but on the eve of departure his companions uncovered a base plot on the part of the Jews, designed to destroy the apostle during the sea voyage—something that was very easy for them to accomplish through their connections with sailors and by directly bribing them. The Apostle Paul was therefore compelled to set out overland through Macedonia, in the company of his friends and fellow-ministers, and he spent Passover in Philippi in the peaceful and loving circle of his disciples and fellow-workers, among whom was once again the chronicler of his ministry, the holy Luke. He then sailed to Asia and stopped for a week’s rest at Troas.

In this city there occurred an event showing that by this time Christians already held regular liturgical gatherings on Sundays. On the eve of the Apostle’s departure there was an evening assembly, at which the entire church of Troas was present, gathered for the last time to hear the sweet discourse of the great preacher. The gathering was held in one of the upper rooms—those top-storey chambers of the third floor which were the coolest and most pleasant retreat of an eastern home. The upper room blazed with lamps, and from the Apostle’s lips flowed an inspired address that went on until midnight, while all listened in silent reverence. On the window ledge of one of the open windows—whose shutters had been thrown wide to admit the cool sea breeze—sat a young man named Eutychus. The hour was very late, the discourse had gone on unusually long, and the subjects under discussion were likely beyond his understanding. Although he sat in the pleasantest spot in the room, where he could enjoy the free access of fresh air, yet the heat from the crowded assembly and the light of the many lamps, together with the unbroken flow of the preacher’s speech, completely overcame Eutychus with sleep. Imperceptibly to the others he began to sink; his heavy head fell upon his chest, and then with a cry of terror he tumbled from the window and fell from the third storey down into the courtyard below. A general commotion ensued and cries rang out, instantly interrupting the preacher’s voice; some of those gathered rushed down the stairs to see what had happened. The poor youth lay senseless and was taken up for dead. A cry of horror broke from those standing around; but «Paul, going down, fell upon him, and embracing him said: Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.» Having calmed the agitation with this word, he left the young man under the beneficial influence of rest and quiet, and perhaps also of the kind care of the deaconesses and other women present; for the narrative simply adds that the Apostle went up again, and after the «breaking of bread»—as the eucharistic rite was called—and the celebration of the meal which in later times was called the agape, he continued to converse with the assembly until the break of day and then departed. Meanwhile Eutychus had fully recovered, and he was brought in alive—evidently to the upper room—and all were greatly comforted.

The next morning the apostle set out with his companions on the further journey, and after a few days they arrived at Miletus. Since the ship was to remain there for some time, the apostle took advantage of this circumstance to see and speak not only with the local Christians but also with the presbyters of the church of turbulent Ephesus. To this end he sent a messenger to Ephesus, which lay about fifty versts from Miletus, asking them to come and see him. The presbyters gladly seized the opportunity to see their great chief shepherd once more, and came to him at Miletus the very next day, which was probably a Sunday. He spent that day in their company, and before parting from them he addressed to them a speech in which, in deeply touching terms, he portrayed his work in Ephesus. “You know,” he said, – “how from the first day that I came into Asia I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with many tears, amid the trials that befell me through the plots of the Jews; how I kept back nothing that was profitable, but proclaimed it to you and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to both Jews and Greeks repentance before God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, drawn by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I know only that in every city the Holy Spirit testifies, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But I take no account of any of this, nor do I hold my life dear, if only I may with joy finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that you all, among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am clean from the blood of all, for I did not fail to declare to you the whole will of God. Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of the Lord and God, which He purchased with His own blood. For I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise speaking perverse things, to draw the disciples away after them. Therefore be watchful, remembering that for three years, night and day, I did not cease to admonish each one of you with tears. And now I commend you, brethren, to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up further and to give you an inheritance among all the sanctified. I coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothing; you yourselves know that these hands of mine” (and here he stretched out before them his thin hands, worn with toil) “ministered to my needs and to the needs of those who were with me. In everything I showed you that by thus laboring one must support the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, for He Himself said: it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:18–35). This speech, which so vividly portrays the tireless diligence, the deep humility, and the complete self-sacrifice of his apostolic ministry, made a profound impression on them all. He ended his discourse amid an outburst of weeping, and when they took leave of him, anxious for his future and for their own as well, they all bowed their heads upon his neck and kissed him fervently, grieved especially by his remark that they would never again see him as they had until now, never again look upon the dear face of their teacher, who had endured so much for their sake and whom they so loved. If the apostle Paul aroused fierce hatred in his opponents, he also inspired the strongest love and attachment. He had, in the literal expression of St. Luke (Acts 21:1), to tear himself away from them. Sorrowful and weighed down by various gloomy forebodings, they went with him to the ship, which by that time was awaiting him; and one may be sure that the apostle Paul wept bitterly as he stepped onto the deck of the ship, and that in turn the weeping of the brethren resounded from the shore until the sails merged into an indistinct white speck on the far horizon, and the Ephesian presbyters returned with heavy hearts to face once more—now without any hope of help from their spiritual father—the trial that awaited them in the city of Artemis.

The ship arrived safely at Patara, and from there the apostle, transferring to another vessel bound for Phoenicia, set out for Tyre, renowned for its maritime commerce. There were some Christians there, and with them the apostle spent seven days. The brethren, full of love and devoted to the apostle, received a special intimation from on high concerning the danger that awaited him in Jerusalem, and entreated him to abandon his intention and not go up to Jerusalem. The apostle himself had a presentiment of the danger, yet in all things he trusted in the higher Providence, and after a week he departed from Tyre, accompanied by the tears and prayers of the local brethren, who came out with their wives and children to escort their great teacher. Sailing by ship as far as Ptolemais, the apostle with his companions continued the journey overland to Caesarea. There he remained several days—the last happy days of the freedom he had enjoyed until then. It pleased God to refresh his spirit with a brief interval of joyful fellowship and rest. In Caesarea they stayed as guests of one who was bound to the Ap. Paul by the close ties of the deepest sympathy—namely, Philip the evangelist. Being, like him, an enlightened Hellenist, the deacon Philip, as is well known, was among the first to show the apostle Paul that sympathy and clear understanding without which the very work of the apostle to the nations would have been impossible. This was the Philip who had preached the gospel to the despised Samaritans and had the boldness to baptize the Ethiopian eunuch. The fortunes of these two noble labourers were closely intertwined. The fierce persecution of Saul the Pharisee had itself been the principal cause that drove the scattering of the Jerusalem church and so transformed the vocation of the seven deacons. It was flight from that very persecution that altered the course of Philip’s ministry. On the other side, this new ministry had begun with the very thing that constituted the task of the apostle Paul’s entire life. When Ap. Paul and Philip conversed together in those few precious hours, they could have turned over in their hearts many a moving memory of the days when the heavenly light that had once shone on the face of Stephen, upturned to heaven in the agony of martyrdom, had cast its prophetic fire likewise upon the face of the young man whose name was Saul. And beyond the communion of thoughts and recollections, Ap. Paul during his stay in the house of Philip was able to enjoy the gentle care of Philip’s four daughters, who, reared under the wholesome influence of their father, had consecrated themselves to a life of virginity and to the service of the Gospel.

In Caesarea the Apostle Paul received a new warning about the danger threatening him. The prophet Agabus arrived there from Judea and, adopting the symbolic manner of the ancient prophets, approached the Apostle Paul, untied the belt with which his tunic was girded, and, binding his own hands and feet with it, said: “Thus says the Holy Spirit: the Jews in Jerusalem shall bind the man whose belt this is, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.” The brethren already knew of the danger connected with the impending visit, but they had not yet received so definite a notification of it, nor had they foreseen that a Jewish assault might end in Roman imprisonment. Hearing this, the companions of the Apostle Paul earnestly begged him to remain in Caesarea while they alone went to Jerusalem to deliver the offering from the Gentile churches; and even the members of the Caesarean church added their tearful entreaties to those of his beloved companions, beseeching him not to go into manifest peril. But the apostle was unmoved. “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart?” he said to them—“I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” Then it became clear to all that further entreaties would be painful to him and at the same time useless. Therefore they were comforted and dried their tears, saying: “Let the will of the Lord be done.”