Paul must have preached a total of about 8 hours, maybe even up to 12. I find that amazing. I wonder if it was a recounting of the life of Christ or if he pieced together different themes or if he was answering specific questions that had been raised? At any rate, it is impressive that he could have spoken so much.
Yet even more impressive is that his audience stayed with him! Eutychus left early but that didn't turn out so well for him initially. When he woke up he was back in the room with Paul shifting into the second half of his message. Everyone else just sat and absorbed the words of this man of God.
Would I have sat there? I'm sure I would have shifted in my seat to keep different body parts awake but would I have stayed? In the US culture we are programed that everything lasts one hour. A business meeting, a church service, a doctors visit; all are given one hour. When I lived in Venezuela and Costa Rica, time was allocated based upon the importance of the moment. A birthday party might take six hours. A quinceñera lasted all night. We prioritized people and adjusted time rather than prioritizing time and adjusting people. The people in Troas made a huge statement about the priority of their faith by sitting at the feet of Paul all night long. I wonder what I say about my faith by my schedule?
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