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Notice, Paul continued his speech until midnight! "And there were many
LIGHTS in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together." It was
AFTER SUNSET, prior to midnight, the first day of the sabbath week. Now at that time the
first day of the week did not begin at midnight, as men begin it today.
It began when the seventh day ended, AT SUNSET! All Bible days began and end at
SUNSET. Throughout the Roman world at that time, and for a few hundred years
afterwards, days began and ended at sunset. The practice of beginning the new
day at midnight was started much later.
WHY Paul Remained Behind
Let us follow the thread of the narrative related in this passage.
Begin verse 6: "We sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened
bread, and came unto them at Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.
And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break
bread, Paul preached unto them, READY TO DEPART ON THE MORROW."
Paul and his companions had been in this town of Troas seven days. His
companions had left by ship after sunset. Paul remained behind for a farewell
meeting. He preached until midnight, "ready to depart on the morrow." At break
of day— sunrise, the first day morning—Paul departed (verse 11).
Now notice what his companions had done. "And we went before to ship, and
sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed,
minding himself to go afoot. And when he met with us at Assos, we took him in."
(Verses 13-14).
Look at this on the map and it can be seen that Paul's companions had to sail around a peninsula—a
distance of fifty or sixty miles, while Paul, afoot, walked across, a distance
of 19 1/2 miles. He was able to walk this distance in shorter time than they
could sail the much longer distance, which gave Paul the opportunity to remain
behind after they left, for this last farewell sermon and visit.
So what actually happened? Paul's companions were engaged in the
LABOUR of rowing and sailing a boat while Paul was preaching that firstday night
and early firstday morning—on the first day of the week. They had set sail
firstday night, AFTER THE SABBATH HAD ENDED. Paul
remained behind for one more last farewell sermon. Then, at break of day;
firstday
morning, Paul set out afoot, on a 32 kilometre walk from
Troas to Assos! He waited till the Sabbath was past for
this long walk—a hard day's work! He did it on the
first day of the week! Again, a common work day!
But does this text not say, as many claim today, that the disciples always
held communion every first day of the week! NOT AT ALL!
In the first place, it says nothing about anything being done EVERY first day
of the week. It relates the events of this one particular first day of the week,
ONLY. It is not speaking of any CUSTOMS, but of the events occurring as Paul and
his companions concluded their seven-day visit in passing by this town.
Jesus had introduced the Lord's Supper as part of the Passover, at the
beginning of the annual "days of unleavened bread." No longer could they kill
lambs or eat the roasted body of Passover Lambs, after Christ, OUR Passover, had
been once slain for us. yet the Passover was ordained FOREVER (Ex. 12:24). At
His last Passover supper Jesus substituted the wine as the emblem of His blood,
instead of the blood of the slain lamb. He substituted the unleavened bread for
the roast body of the lamb as the symbol of His body, broken for us. The
disciples continued to observe Passover annually, now in the form of the Lord's
Supper using only the bread and the cup, as a MEMORIAL (I Cor. 11:24) of Christ's
DEATH, (I Cor. 11:26), showing His death till He come again. They continued to
observe the days of unleavened bread (Acts 20:6).
This year they had observed the days of unleavened bread and the Communion
service at Philippi, after which they came to Troas in five days where they
remained seven days.
After the Sabbath day had ended, at sunset, "upon
the first day of the week, . . . the disciples came together to BREAK BREAD."
People have ASSUMED this expression means the taking of Communion. But notice!
Paul preached, and continued preaching until midnight. They had no opportunity
to stop and "break bread" until then. When Paul "therefore was come up
again"—after restoring the one who had fallen down from the third balcony—
and had broken bread, AND EATEN."
Note it! "Broken bread AND EATEN." This breaking bread was not
Communion—simply eating a meal. This expression was commonly used of old to
designate a meal. It still is used in that sense in parts of even the United
States.
Notice Luke 22:16, where Jesus was introducing the Lord's Supper, taking it
with His disciples. He said, "I will not any more eat thereof until it be
fulfilled in the Kingdom of God." Yet, the day alter His resurrection, after
walking with the two disciples to Emmaus, as "HE sat at MEAT with them He
took bread. and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them." (Luke
24:30). Here Jesus "brake bread" but it was not the Lord's Supper, which He said
He would NOT take again. It was a meal--"He sat AT MEAT."
Notice Acts 2:46. The disciples, "continuing daily with one accord in the
temple and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat
with gladness." Here again "breaking bread" means EATING MEAT. Not on the
first day of the week, but DAILY.
Again, when Paul was shipwrecked on the voyage to Rome, the sailors had been
fasting out of fright. But "Paul besought them all to take MEAT, saying,
"This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting,
having taken nothing. Wherefore I pray you to take some MEAT: for this is for
your health— And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks
to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to
eat." (Acts 27:33-35). Here Paul broke bread to give to unconverted sailors
who were hungry.
The truth is, NOWHERE IN SCRIPTURE is the expression "breaking of bread," or
"to break bread," used to signify observance of the Lord's Supper. In all these
texts it means, simply, eating a meal. So, when we read in Acts 20:7, 11, "the
disciples came together to break," and how Paul had "broken bread and
EATEN," we know by Scripture interpretation it referred only to eating food
as a meal, not to a Communion service.
In Acts 24, Paul tells Felix of his
"believing all things written in the law and in the
prophets." The chief priest and elders
could not prove that he was a law breaker, which was their same difficulty with
Christ. Rome still has an influence upon
her "harlots" (the many protestant denominations and church groups),
who practice even today ,the Saturday/Sunday cult pattern, she enacted hundreds of years ago.
The Ten Commandments is "The Law of Liberty" and remains the standard by which all men
will be judged.
The Creator said,
“If thou turn away thy feet from
the SABBATH, from doing thy pleasure on my Holy day; and call the SABBATH a
delight, the Holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine
own ways, nor finding thy own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt
thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high
places of the earth ...”
Isaiah58:13.
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will save)
would
affirm today; it's the same truth He
attested to as he walked this earth
some 2000 years ago - an exclusive way to the Father
(John 14:6) and that man,
as a sinful creature, is in need of a
Saviour.(John
3:16-21).
As Israel Travelled
At Mount
Sinai
True
Believers
On the way to the garden
The Lord's Day
The
SABBATH continues
Lo this I
have found
Always
the Scriptures reaffirm