Chapter
Verse

Acts 20:11

ESV And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed.
NIV Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left.
NASB When Paul had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left.
CSB After going upstairs, breaking the bread, and eating, Paul talked a long time until dawn. Then he left.
NLT Then they all went back upstairs, shared in the Lord’s Supper, and ate together. Paul continued talking to them until dawn, and then he left.
KJV When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.

What does Acts 20:11 mean?

Men from all over modern-day Turkey, Macedonia, and Greece are with Paul and Luke, meeting with the church in Troas. We aren't told what they are discussing. If Paul's recorded teachings are any indication, it includes how Jesus fulfills Jewish prophecy, what the kingdom of God looks like, how to organize and manage a church, what ordinances identify a church, how Jews and Gentiles are to join as one body, and what kind of moral behavior God expects from His followers.

Around midnight, the discussion comes to a halt when a young man falls asleep and tumbles from the window to his death. Paul brings him back to life and the group returns to the upper room.

"Breaking bread" can have a couple of different meanings, including sharing a meal. This meeting, however, is on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7), suggesting it is communion. Communion, in part, is an opportunity to reaffirm one's faith in Christ and relationship with the church body. The "body" this night includes people from Troas, Derbe, Lystra, Ephesus, Thessalonica, Berea, and Tarsus. Some are Jews and some are Gentiles. That they can join in community to learn from each other how better to serve their Lord is a work only the Holy Spirit can accomplish.

The group continues to talk until daybreak. Paul wants to get to Jerusalem by Pentecost in about five weeks (Acts 20:16). He hadn't intended to come to Troas, but it has given him the chance to give the church last-minute instructions and discuss their concerns. Eutychus's resurrection not only comforts them (Acts 20:12), but it also verifies their faith and gives them hope for the challenges to come.
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