There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together. Acts 20:8

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In the previous verse, it noted that the church in Troas had come together to break bread and that Paul, being ready to depart the next day, continued his message until midnight. With that remembered, it now says, “There were many lamps in the upper room.”

At first, it seems like something entirely superfluous to say. However, there are probably several reasons for Luke’s inclusion of these words. The first was probably unintentional by him, but it shows the minuteness of the details.

The room was well lit, maybe more than usual, to mark the joyous nature of the first day of the week. It would show that the Christians met not in secrecy but in open fellowship.

Also, it would dispel the lie against the early church that Christians would turn out all the lights and proceed to commit all kinds of abominable acts. Also, the mentioning of it would explain what occurs in the coming verses.

As for noting that it is in the upper room, Charles Ellicott says –

“…the upper storey is often chosen for social or devotional purposes, partly as more removed from the noise of the street, partly as giving access to the roof of the house. Such a room in a good sized house might well hold two or three hundred people.”

It is in this large upper room “where they were gathered together.” In these words, some manuscripts say, “where we were gathered.” That would then be inclusive of Luke. Saying “we” would bolster the point about Luke’s careful attention to the details from a personal perspective, but even if the original is “they,” the note of many lamps would still probably have been told to Luke – even if he was not physically present – in order to explain what occurs in the ongoing narrative.

Life application: As has been explained previously in Acts, small differences in source Texts do not mean we do not have a sure word, as some claim. The argument in such a case would be that God failed to preserve His word. This is incorrect.

The original is contained in the manuscripts, even if scribes have made mistakes in various parts of it during the copying process. If there are 100 texts that say “how” and one that says “who,” and if the context demands “how,” then it is rather obvious the scribe had a moment of dyslexia, or he transposed the two letters by accident.

If a word is missing from a text and yet it is found in 72 others, it is likely the copyist missed the word without realizing it. Etc.

The original, however, remains within the enormous number of texts, lectionaries, and other ancient witnesses. But it must be searched out. There is nothing wrong with such a process. Rather, it confirms that God has given us His word, but He has allowed fallen, fallible man to transmit it throughout the ages, occasionally adding in an error that must then be weeded out by others.

Don’t ever feel we are lacking a sure word. The contents of Scripture contain the word of God because they are the word of God. Our errors in transmitting it do not change that.

Lord God, we know that Your word is sure because it tells us exactly what we need to know concerning our state before You, what You have done to correct it, and how we can then appropriate what You have done. No other religion comes even close to this. Rather, the message of Jesus is the resolution to man’s problem. Thank You for having sent Jesus to bring us back to Yourself. Amen.