Paul apparently sent his letter to the Romans from Corinth about A.D. 57. He then prepared for his last journey to Jerusalem. The style of Acts 20 suggests Luke may have accompanied Paul, along with certain other disciples.
Hearing of a Jewish plot against him, Paul changed his plan to go by ship from Corinth and instead made a long detour by land through Macedonia. During the well-known stop at Troas Paul was preaching when Eutychus fell from a third-story window, only to be restored to life by the apostle. Paul also stayed at Miletus, where he met with the elders of the Ephesian church. He commended to them his own example, encouraging them to be watchful and lend a helping hand to the weak— remembering "the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive" (v. 35). The elders wept and embraced the apostle, knowing they might never see him again.
Paul pressed on for Jerusalem despite warnings about Jewish hostility toward him in that city. Apparently there had been rumors that he persuaded Jews to disobey the Hebrew law; while in fact he did no such thing but stressed that the light of Christianity brought a new perspective to the law. In the face of these dark prospects he had told the Ephesian elders, "None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself" (v. 24).
