¹After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and when he had exhorted them and taken his leave of them, he left to go to Macedonia. ²When he had gone through those districts and had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece. ³And 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. ⁴And 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. ⁵But these had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas.

The disciples in Ephesus and the surrounding area were well able to carry on without Paul, so after final exhortations, Paul traveled west to the other side of the Aegean Sea to briefly revisit churches established on his second missionary tour. Persecution was still simmering, so he left for Syria, where his sending church at Antioch was located. Because this was Paul’s last mission tour around the western Mediterranean and it occurred later in his ministry, closer to the time Luke wrote the book of Acts, we see more detail arising in the record. The greater detail may also reflect the importance of Paul’s final ministry in that area.

Paul’s traveling entourage has grown—there are the seven listed here plus Luke (notice “us” and “we” in verses 5 and 6). Possibly the large number reflects the integrity and security of the project of carrying the donated funds back to Jerusalem for the famine relief (2 Cor. 8:20–21). The first individual listed, Sopater, probably joined Paul on his second tour and was among those commended by Luke as “more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica” (Acts 17:10–11). His eagerness to study the Word of God commended him as Paul’s traveling companion. Aristarchus was from among the “noble-minded” of Thessalonica, and one the two dragged into the riot at Ephesus. He later also accompanied Paul and Luke on the apostle’s trip to Rome to be tried before Caesar (Acts 27:1–3). Prison time was also part of his fellowship with the apostle (Col. 4:10). Secundus, also “noble-minded” from Thessalonica, is mentioned only here; his name—Latin in origin—indicates he was a Gentile convert to Christianity.

Gaius of Derbe was the other one dragged into the riot at Ephesus (not the same Gaius who was baptized in Corinth, 1 Cor 1:14). Finally, there is the more familiar Timothy, along with two of his fellow Asiatics, Tychicus and Trophimus. Tychicus is mentioned several times in Paul’s epistles; Trophimus has the distinction of later being left sick after Paul’s visit to Miletus (2 Tim. 4:20).

Lord, thank You that You take note of those in “lesser” roles in Your service.