The Unstoppable Providence of God: Acts 20:1-6
Introduction: The Gospel on the Move
We live in an age that wants a tame Christianity, a safe gospel, a domesticated God who fits neatly within our suburban sensibilities. We want the comfort of salvation without the conflict of spiritual warfare. We want the fellowship of the saints without the friction that comes from sinners rubbing up against one another. But the book of Acts will not allow us this luxury. The book of Acts is the story of the explosive, untamable, world-altering advance of the Kingdom of God. It is a story of riots, shipwrecks, plots, imprisonments, and relentless, Spirit-driven movement. It is the story of the Church militant, on the march, with the gospel as its only weapon and the providence of God as its only map.
In our passage today, we find what appears to be a simple travelogue. Paul moves from here to there, he talks to some people, some other men join him, and they sail across the sea. It can be tempting to read such passages as mere transitional material, the connective tissue between the high drama of the riot in Ephesus and the startling event of Eutychus falling from the window in Troas. But this is a profound mistake. There are no throwaway lines in Scripture. Every word is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. Embedded in this itinerary is the very grammar of the Christian life: purposeful discipleship, constant opposition, sovereign redirection, and the absolute necessity of Christian fellowship.
This is not just Paul's journey; it is our journey. We are all on the move, pilgrims heading for the Celestial City. And like Paul, we will face uproars and plots. We will need to give and receive exhortation. We will find that our best-laid plans are overturned by a wiser, sovereign hand. And we will learn, as he did, that we were never meant to travel alone. The Christian faith is not a solo expedition; it is a company of saints, marching together under the banner of King Jesus. Let us therefore attend to this portion of the Word, and learn from it how to conduct ourselves as faithful soldiers and pilgrims.
The Text
Now after the uproar had ceased, Paul having summoned and exhorted the disciples, said farewell and left to go to Macedonia. And when he had gone through those districts and had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece. And there he spent three months, and when a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. And he was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia. But these had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas. And we sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at Troas within five days; and there we stayed seven days.
(Acts 20:1-6 LSB)
Purposeful Exhortation (v. 1-2)
We begin with the immediate aftermath of the Ephesian riot.
"Now after the uproar had ceased, Paul having summoned and exhorted the disciples, said farewell and left to go to Macedonia. And when he had gone through those districts and had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece." (Acts 20:1-2 LSB)
Notice the first thing Paul does after the chaos subsides. He doesn't flee in a panic. He doesn't lick his wounds in private. He summons the disciples. The shepherd gathers the flock. The riot, instigated by Demetrius and the idol-makers, was a direct assault on the gospel. It was spiritual warfare breaking out into the open. In the wake of such an attack, the natural human response would be fear, confusion, and a temptation to retreat. Paul knows this. So his first priority is to fortify the saints.
And what does he do? He "exhorted" them. This word is crucial. It's the Greek word parakaleo, which means to come alongside to encourage, to urge, to admonish, to comfort. It is a robust, muscular term. This is not sentimental back-patting. This is the bracing counsel of a spiritual father. He is reminding them of the truth of the gospel, the sovereignty of God, the certainty of opposition, and the glory that awaits. He is strengthening their resolve. This is the constant duty of pastors, and indeed, of all mature believers. We are to be in the business of mutual exhortation, constantly pointing one another back to the objective realities of our faith, especially when the world is screaming lies at us.
And this is not a one-time event. As he travels through Macedonia, Luke tells us he gave them "much exhortation." Paul is a sower of seed, and he is also a cultivator of the crop. He doesn't just plant churches and move on; he strengthens them. Discipleship is not a program; it is a way of life. It is the steady, patient, word-centered work of building up the saints in their most holy faith. The Christian life is a long obedience in the same direction, and it requires constant encouragement along the way.
Sovereign Re-Routing (v. 3)
In Greece, Paul's plans are abruptly changed by the providence of God, working through the malice of men.
"And there he spent three months, and when a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia." (Acts 20:3 LSB)
Here we see the collision of two wills: the murderous will of the Jews and the sovereign will of God. Paul has a plan. He has spent months collecting an offering from the Gentile churches for the poor saints in Jerusalem. His intention is to sail directly to Syria, a straightforward sea voyage, to deliver this gift. This offering was not just about financial aid; it was a powerful symbol of the unity between Jew and Gentile in the one body of Christ. It was a tangible expression of the gospel.
But the enemies of the gospel are always at work. The Jews, who have hounded Paul from city to city, form a plot against him. They see this voyage as their opportunity. We are not told the details, but it is easy to imagine an ambush at the port, or a plan to murder him at sea and dispose of his body. This is not paranoia; this is the normal Christian life in a fallen world. The apostle Paul lived with a target on his back because he preached a gospel that overturns every idol and every false religion.
And what happens? The plot forces Paul to change his plans. He abandons the sea route and decides on a long, arduous overland journey back through Macedonia. Now, a modern evangelical might see this as a setback, a frustration, a victory for the enemy. But that is to think like a man, not like God. This was not Plan B. This was God's Plan A all along. God is so sovereign that He uses the sinful intentions of His enemies as the very means to accomplish His own righteous purposes. The Jews thought they were thwarting Paul's mission. In reality, they were merely instruments in the hand of God, directing Paul exactly where God wanted him to go. This should be a profound comfort to us. Our lives are not a series of random events and unfortunate accidents. God is governing all things, even the malice of our enemies, for our good and His glory. He is the master chess player, and His opponents are merely pieces on His board.
The Necessity of Fellowship (v. 4-5)
The consequences of this divine re-routing are not just geographical. They are relational. Look who joins him.
"And he was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia. But these had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas." (Acts 20:4-5 LSB)
This is not just a list of names. This is a beautiful picture of the catholicity and solidarity of the early church. This is a band of brothers. Luke is making a profound theological point by listing these men and their hometowns. We have a man from Berea, two from Thessalonica, one from Derbe, and two from the province of Asia. Timothy was from Lystra. This is a multi-ethnic, multi-regional delegation. They are the living embodiment of the offering they are carrying. They represent the Gentile churches, now united with their Jewish brethren in Jerusalem through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
But there is more. Paul is not alone. The Christian life is not a solitary affair. We are members of a body. This entourage serves as a protection for Paul, but more than that, it is a visible demonstration of Christian fellowship. These men are traveling together, sharing the hardships of the road, encouraging one another, praying for one another. This is what the church is. It is not a building you visit once a week. It is a company of pilgrims, walking together, bearing one another's burdens, and so fulfilling the law of Christ. Our hyper-individualistic age has forgotten this. We think of faith as a private matter between "me and Jesus." The apostles knew nothing of such a truncated faith. To be a Christian was to be part of a people, a family, a kingdom.
Covenant Time (v. 6)
Finally, Luke gives us a crucial time-marker that frames this entire journey within God's redemptive calendar.
"And we sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at Troas within five days; and there we stayed seven days." (Acts 20:6 LSB)
Notice the pronoun: "we sailed." Luke, the author, has now rejoined Paul's company. He is an eyewitness to these events. But the most significant detail is the timing: "after the days of Unleavened Bread." This is not just a casual reference to the calendar. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was inextricably linked to the Passover. It was a week-long festival that commemorated Israel's deliverance from bondage in Egypt. For the New Covenant believer, it has been filled with its ultimate meaning.
Christ is our Passover Lamb, who was sacrificed for us (1 Cor. 5:7). The unleavened bread symbolizes His sinless life, offered for us. The feast itself points to our deliverance not from a physical Egypt, but from the bondage of sin and death. It is a celebration of sanctification, of putting away the "old leaven" of malice and wickedness and living with the "unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Cor. 5:8). By noting that they set sail after this feast, Luke is reminding his readers that this entire missionary journey, with all its plots and perils, is an outworking of the Exodus. It is a journey of a redeemed people, set free by the blood of the Lamb, now marching into the world to proclaim that same liberation to others. They are living in covenant time. Their lives are structured by God's great acts of salvation.
Conclusion: Our Unstoppable God
So what do we take from this brief travelogue? We see a pattern for our own lives. We are called to the steady, unglamorous work of exhortation and discipleship, building one another up in the faith. We are to expect opposition. The world, the flesh, and the devil will conspire against the gospel, and we will find our plans disrupted and our paths blocked.
But we are to see in every disruption the sovereign hand of our God, who is not surprised by the plots of men, but rather uses them for His own inscrutable purposes. We are not victims of fate, but children of a Father who works all things together for our good. And we are not to walk this path alone. God has given us the church, a fellowship of saints, a band of brothers and sisters to accompany us on the journey.
This entire enterprise, this grand missionary journey, is unstoppable. Why? Because it is not Paul's mission. It is God's mission. The same God who parted the Red Sea, who raised Christ from the dead, is the one driving this gospel forward. Plots cannot stop it. Riots cannot stop it. Shipwrecks cannot stop it. Even the death of an apostle cannot stop it. The Kingdom of God is on the march. Therefore, let us take our place in the company of the saints. Let us give and receive exhortation gladly. Let us trust the sovereign providence of our God, especially when the way is hard. And let us move forward together, knowing that the gates of hell itself cannot prevail against the Church of Jesus Christ.