A Monday Morning Supper?

      It is becoming increasingly common to hear people go to Acts 20:11 to claim authority for taking the Lord’s Supper on some day other than the first day of the week. The argument is they gathered together to break bread on the first day of the week, but Paul preached until midnight. Then Eutychus fell out of the window and Paul raised him. By now it is early Monday morning. Then he went back up and they broke bread. Thus, they partook of the Supper on Monday.

      However, as is often the case, when we examine the nouns and pronouns Luke employed, we see a completely different picture. Read Acts 20:7, 11 very carefully and notice the nouns and pronouns. I have bolded the important ones so you can more readily see them:

On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight…And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed.   

      Notice who gathered to break bread together. “We” did. That is, Luke and the others with Paul and, presumably, the disciples of Troas gathered together on the first day of the week to break bread.

      However, who broke bread in Acts 20:11. Not “we” but Paul. Paul broke bread in that second passage. Did Paul take the Lord’s Supper alone? No. Rather, “we” gathered on the first day of the week to break bread and “we” did exactly what we gathered to do. Then Paul began to preach to them and went quite long. And why not? He was planning to depart in the morning. He must have had a great many things to say to them before he left. This would be his last opportunity to say them.

      Then Eutychus fell out of the window and died. As you could imagine, that was an assembly stopper. At this point, Luke and the others head off for the ship to sail ahead of Paul (cf. Acts 20:13). Paul, however, went back up to converse with the Troas brethren. When he went back up, he ate.

      Some mock that idea because they find it odd that he would have a meal at such a late hour. But in reality, it was a natural thing. He wasn’t just going to the ship. He was going on a long walk to Assos to meet the others. He would need nourishment to prepare for his long journey. So they fed him.

      This second breaking of bread was not the Supper but rather a benevolent meal preparing Paul for his long walk as he talked to them until daybreak. Therefore, this falls far short of providing any authority to take the Supper on any day other than the first day of the week.

Edwin L. Crozier