🌊WEB · Acts 20:3
What does Acts 20:3 mean?
"When he had spent three months there, and a plot was made against him by Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he determined to return through Macedonia."
— Acts 20:3 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, took leave of them, and departed to go into Macedonia.
When he had gone through those parts, and had encouraged them with many words, he came into Greece.
When he had spent three months there, and a plot was made against him by Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he determined to return through Macedonia.
These accompanied him as far as Asia: Sopater of Beroea; Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians; Gaius of Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia.
But these had gone ahead, and were waiting for us at Troas.
We sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at Troas in five days, where we stayed seven days.
Explanation
Acts 20:3 comes near the end of a section describing the apostle Paul's third missionary journey, as Luke, the author of Acts, narrates Paul's travels through Greece and Macedonia. In plain terms, the verse tells us that Paul stayed for three months in a particular region—most likely Greece, specifically Corinth, based on the surrounding verses—and that while he was preparing to sail to Syria, he learned of a conspiracy against his life orchestrated by some Jewish opponents. Rather than sailing directly into what could have been an ambush, Paul changed his plans and decided to travel back through Macedonia instead, taking an overland route that would have thrown off anyone waiting to intercept him at the coast or on a direct sea route.
The context here is important. Paul had spent years establishing and strengthening churches throughout Asia Minor and Greece, and this journey was partly aimed at collecting a financial offering from Gentile churches to support the impoverished believers in Jerusalem. Paul faced consistent opposition from Jewish communities in various cities who saw his message about Jesus as a threat to Jewish identity and practice, and this hostility had followed him throughout his ministry, as seen in cities like Thessalonica, Berea, and Corinth itself. Luke, writing this account likely for a Gentile audience such as Theophilus (see Luke 1:3 and Acts 1:1), is documenting how the early Christian movement spread despite constant danger and resistance.
Theologically, this verse illustrates a recurring bi
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