Acts 20:6

‘And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came to them to Troas in five days, where we tarried seven days.'

Having taken another opportunity to visit Philippi, where he seemingly again met up with Luke (the ‘we' passages recommence), and observed the Passover (which may explain why he sent his Gentile companions on ahead), he sailed for Troas, a journey which took five days. Travelling the other way it had taken much less (Acts 16:11). This was immediately after the Passover feast (the days of unleavened bread). This distinction between himself and his Gentile companions illustrates that, as Jesus had before him, Paul probably continued to observe the niceties of Pharisaic teaching as well as he could in the circumstances in which he continually found himself. To the Jew he wanted to be as a Jew, to the Pharisee as a Pharisee. He was still a true ‘Israelite' for the church was the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16)

‘After the days of unleavened bread.' Taken as it stands this can only signify that Paul was observing the feast, otherwise why wait until the end of it when he was in a predominantly Gentile city where there was no synagogue? Together with his sending on ahead of his companions all this points to his observing the feast, as Jewish Christians still did. In what is very much an abbreviated account by Luke this must be seen as significant. We must not portray Paul as always behaving like a Gentile. He would fight every inch of the way against Gentiles having to celebrate Jewish feasts as necessary for salvation (Galatians 4:8). But he was himself very much a Jew, even though an emancipated one.

It will be noted that in describing all this we have had to fill in a few blanks ourselves, and even then much is missed out because this travelling and exhorting the churches has in fact taken many months, and valuable ministry has been carried out.

However, from the point of view of understanding Acts we must note that Luke has been deliberately silent on these matters. Having portrayed the false ‘royal rule' and Satanic activity which has cut short his own activity at Ephesus he is hurrying on to the journey to Jerusalem and Rome. This is now what the remainder of Acts is to be about, the journey under God to Jerusalem and Rome, with its opportunity to witness to Jesus and the resurrection before rulers and its constant revelation of Paul's innocence as accepted by those rulers, which will result in his triumphant ministry in Rome. Anything else is incidental.

Here at Troas he remains seven days. These seven day stops appear to be significant. They ensured that at least one Sabbath and one ‘first day of the week' could be spent with the church in question, and probably also indicated a time of ‘divinely perfect' (‘sevenfold') fellowship. Compare Acts 21:4; Acts 28:14. In the analysis above and in the introduction this seven day fellowship here parallels that in Acts 28:14. Luke wants us to be aware of the wonderful fellowship that Paul enjoys on his journey to Jerusalem and Rome, both at the beginning and at the end. God's watch is over him.

It may be that this kind of seven day stopover had become an accepted courtesy when visiting places where there was an established Christian church, which may help to explain why Paul decided to bypass Ephesus because he could not afford another seven days.

On the other hand we must remember that the last time he had visited Troas he had hurriedly taken ship when they had wanted him to stay (2 Corinthians 2:12). Thus it may be that by this he was letting them know that even though he was in a hurry this time as well, he cared enough for them to remain with them for seven days. The seven days would give him good opportunities for teaching and admonishing the elders privately.

Alternately it may simply be that the ship on which they were travelling was unloading and loading, a process which would take seven days.