2 Corinthians 2:12

Furthermore, when I came to Troas Another proof is now given of the Apostle's sincere desire for the well-being of his converts, his distress at the non-arrival of Titus at the time expected. In spite of the opportunity afforded him of preaching the gospel at Troas, his anxiety would not suffer him to rest, but he hurried on to Macedonia, where at length he found Titus, and heard from him the tidings for which he had scarcely dared to hope.

to Troas Rather, to the Troad, the angle of territory to the south of the Hellespont on which Troy was situated. See Acts 16:8; Acts 16:11; Act 20:5; 2 Timothy 4:13. "Still, it must have been at the city that the Apostle stayed. It had been built" (upon the ruins of the ancient city, as Dr Schliemann's discoveries seem to prove) "by Antigonus (Alexander's lieutenant) under the name of Antigonia Troas, was afterwards called by Lysimachus, another of Alexander's generals, Alexandria Troas, and was at this time a Roman -colonia Juris Italici" and regarded with great favour by the Roman emperors, as the representative of the ancient Troy, of which it has been supposed to occupy the site." Stanley. It must be remembered that the Romans, as Virgil's Aeneidtestifies, were under the belief that they were the descendants of the ancient Trojans. See Acts 16:8; Acts 20:5-6 also Conybeare and Howson's St Paul, and Smith's Dictionary of Geography.

to preach Christ's gospel Literally, unto, i.e. for the furtherance of the good tidings of Christ. The word gospel, as is well known, is derived from the Anglo-Saxon god, good, and spell, history or narrative. Some have supposed it to have been God'sspell or history, but the former derivation accords best with the Greek. Spellis now used only to signify the naming the letters of which a word is composed, or of a magical incantation. But both these are derived from the same Anglo-Saxon root.

and a door was opened unto me of the Lord Door, in New Testament phraseology, is equivalent to opportunity. See 1 Corinthians 16:9; Revelation 3:8. St Paul had come to Troas with the special purpose of preaching the Gospel, and not merely as a traveller. Unusual opportunities offered themselves, but his anxiety about the condition of the Corinthian Church caused him to forego them all. Calvin and Estius discuss the propriety of St Paul's leaving unused the opportunity offered to him at Troas. But he soon (Acts 20:6) returned thither, and he evidently had good reason to believe the state of things at Corinth to be the more urgent of the two. It was of more importance to keep those who were called by the name of Christ from disgracing Him, than to bring fresh souls to the knowledge of Him.