Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
ACTS 21
On to Jerusalem
1 After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara. 2 We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went on board and set sail. 3 After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed on to Syria. We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo. 4 We sought out the disciples there and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 5 When it was time to leave, we left and continued on our way. All of them, including wives and children, accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray. 6 After saying goodbye to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.
7 We continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed with them for a day. 8 Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. 9 He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.
10 After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’ ”
12 When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”
15 After this, we started on our way up to Jerusalem. 16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us and brought us to the home of Mnason, where we were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus and one of the early disciples.
Paul’s Arrival at Jerusalem
17 When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters received us warmly. 18 The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present. 19 Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
20 When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. 21 They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. 22 What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, 23 so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. 24 Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. 25 As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.”
26 The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.
Paul Arrested
27 When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, 28 shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.” 29 (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)
30 The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. 31 While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32 He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.
33 The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another, and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. 35 When Paul reached the steps, the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers. 36 The crowd that followed kept shouting, “Get rid of him!”
Paul Speaks to the Crowd
37 As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, “May I say something to you?”
“Do you speak Greek?” he replied. 38 “Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the wilderness some time ago?”
39 Paul answered, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.”
40 After receiving the commander’s permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic
Application Notes
21:4 Did Paul disobey the Holy Spirit by going to Jerusalem? No. More likely, the Holy Spirit was warning these believers about the suffering that Paul would face in Jerusalem. These believers incorrectly drew the conclusion that Paul should not go there because of the danger. But God doesn't always lead us away from suffering; it's sometimes part of his plan for us. We should certainly listen to elders and loving believers who have insight, but we must also ask God for discernment about their advice. Paul had an overriding prophecy based on Jesus coming to him in jail (23:11), and he was determined to follow it.
21:8 This is the Philip mentioned in 6:5 and 8:26-40.
21:9 Like other spiritual gifts, the gift of prophecy was given to both men and women. Just as they do today, women in the early church actively participated in God's work (2:17; Philippians 4:3). Scripture mentions these other women who prophesied: Miriam (Exodus 15:20), Deborah (Judges 4:4), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14), Noadiah (Nehemiah 6:14), Isaiah's wife (Isaiah 8:3), and Anna (Luke 2:36-38).
21:10 Fifteen years earlier, Agabus had predicted the famine in Jerusalem (11:27-29).
21:13-14 Paul knew he would be imprisoned in Jerusalem. Although his friends pleaded with him to not go there, he knew that he had to go because God wanted him to. No one enjoys pain, but a faithful disciple wants above all else to please God. Our desire to please God should overrule our desire to avoid hardship and suffering. When we follow God's will, we must accept all that comes with it-even the pain. Then we can say with Paul's companions, "the Lord's will be done."
21:18 James, Jesus' brother, was the leader of the Jerusalem church (15:13-21; Galatians 1:19; 2:9).
21:21 The Jerusalem council (Acts 15) had settled the issue of the circumcision of Gentile believers. Evidently, a rumour had circulated that Paul had gone far beyond the council's decision, even forbidding Jews to circumcise their children. This, of course, was not true, so Paul willingly submitted to Jewish custom to demonstrate that he was not working against the council's decision and that he still lived as a Jew. Sometimes we must go the second mile to avoid hindering God's work, as long as doing so doesn't violate God's Word.
21:23-24 Because Paul was going to participate with the four men in the vow (apparently he had been asked to pay for some of the required expenses), he would need to take part in the purification ceremony for entering the temple (Numbers 6:9-20). Paul submitted himself to this Jewish custom to keep peace in the Jerusalem church. Although Paul was a man of strong convictions, he was willing to compromise on nonessential points, looking for common ground with all people in hopes that he might save some (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). It is not uncommon for churches to split over disagreements about minor issues or traditions. Like Paul, we should remain firm on Christian essentials but flexible on nonessentials. Of course, no one should violate his or her true convictions, but sometimes we need to honour Christ by exercising mutual submission for the sake of the gospel.
21:23-24 The Jewish laws can be thought of in two ways. Paul rejected one way and accepted the other.
Paul rejected the idea that the Old Testament laws bring salvation to those who keep them. Salvation is freely given by God's act of grace. We receive salvation through faith. The laws are of no value for salvation except to show us our sin.
Paul accepted the view that the Old Testament laws prepared for and taught about the coming of Jesus Christ. Christ fulfilled the law and released us from its burden of guilt. But the law still teaches many valuable principles and provides guidelines for grateful living. Paul was not observing the laws in order to be saved. He was simply keeping the laws as custom to avoid offending those he wished to reach with the gospel (see Romans 3:21-31; 7:4-6; 13:9-10). (For more on the law, see Galatians 3:23-29; 4:21-31; also see the chart on page 2037.)
21:31 Because Jerusalem was under Roman control, an uproar in the city would be investigated by Roman authorities. The commander of the troops at this time was Claudius Lysias (23:26). He was in charge of a Roman regiment (a special group of soldiers who were part of a legion) and was the senior Roman official in Jerusalem.
21:37-38 By speaking in Greek, Paul showed that he was a cultured, educated man and not just a common rebel starting riots in the streets. The language grabbed the commander's attention and gave Paul protection and the opportunity to give his defence. If God has blessed you with knowledge and education, use them for his glory. Paul thought quickly and assessed that speaking in Greek would possibly gain him the time he needed to speak to all the people. God wants us to use the minds he has given us to think clearly and logically, to examine and assess situations, and to communicate well with others.
21:38 The historian Josephus wrote of an Egyptian who had led a revolt of 4,000 people in Jerusalem in AD 54 and then had disappeared. The commander assumed that Paul was this rebel.
21:40-22:2 Paul was speaking in Aramaic, the common language among Palestinian Jews. He used Aramaic not only to communicate in the language of his listeners but also to show that he was a devout Jew and had respect for the Jewish laws and customs. Paul spoke Greek to the Roman officials and Aramaic to the Jews.
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)