Morning Light – Acts 21: Paul Arrives in Jerusalem

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Today: [Acts 21:] Paul Arrives in Jerusalem: In Acts 21 Paul is warned again about what awaits him in Jerusalem. Peter was forewarned by Jesus that he would die a martyr’s death. Was it God’s intent that Paul be bound in Jerusalem or was he warned ahead of time if perhaps he might have avoided what happens to him once he arrives? These are questions essential to be answered regarding how we ourselves respond to the leading of God’s spirit in our lives.
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[Act 21:1-19 KJV] 1 And it came to pass, that after we were gotten from them, and had launched, we came with a straight course unto Coos, and the [day] following unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara: 2 And finding a ship sailing over unto Phenicia, we went aboard, and set forth. 3 Now when we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria, and landed at Tyre: for there the ship was to unlade her burden. 4 And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem. 5 And when we had accomplished those days, we departed and went our way; and they all brought us on our way, with wives and children, till [we were] out of the city: and we kneeled down on the shore, and prayed. 6 And when we had taken our leave one of another, we took ship; and they returned home again. 7 And when we had finished [our] course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, and saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day. 8 And the next [day] we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was [one] of the seven; and abode with him. 9 And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. 10 And as we tarried [there] many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus. 11 And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver [him] into the hands of the Gentiles. 12 And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. 14 And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done. 15 And after those days we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem. 16 There went with us also [certain] of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge. 17 And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. 18 And the [day] following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present. 19 And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.
After taking his leave of Ephesus, Paul makes his way ostensibly toward Jerusalem. The narrative shifts here from an objective reporting of Paul’s travels to a personal narrative speaking of “we” in reference to the events and people involved. This infers that now Luke is Paul’s ministry companion probably connecting with him during his three years of ministry primarily in Greece. Paul stops over in Cypress where the ship they travel on unloads its cargo and re-embarks after seven days. He then comes to Caesarea which would be for us the northern parts of Israel or southern Syria in the region of the Golan Heights. There Paul encounters one of the original seven deacons by the name of Philip. Philip must have fled Jerusalem after the killing of James the Apostle and settled here in the north with his four daughters. Philips daughters are mentioned because they move in the prophetic. We know something of them from history outside of the Bible through the writings of Eusebius, a bishop of Rome in the fourth century during the time of Constantine. Two of Philip’s daughters married and settled into family life but the remaining two co-founded a movement called the Montanist movement which was known for its prophetic character, the moving of the gifts of the Spirit long after these manifestations had waned in the general population of the church.
There was also recently come from Judea a prophet by the name of Agabus. Paul would know Agabus because in Acts 11 Agabus resettled for a time from Jerusalem to Antioch from whence Paul’s ministry was launched in the midst of a group of prophets including Agubas and recorded in Acts 13. Agabus sees that Paul sets his face toward Jerusalem and in a prophetic act of binding his hands with Paul’s girdle declares that the Jews will bind Paul in Jerusalem and turned over to the Gentiles. We know of course that this does happen. The question we want to ask is are all these warnings (and there were many) God’s way of telling Paul NOT to go to Jerusalem or simply repeatedly informing him what will take place once he gets there.
Whichever may be the case we see that in the life of Paul God is making sure that he is not uninformed as to what awaits him in the future. This is how the prophetic works when it is allowed free reign in the midst of the churches and the lives of believers. If you are paying attention to things going on around you, to dreams and visions of God that come to you on your own, and the words of the prophets you will know what is on the morrow in your own life and very little will catch you by surprise.
The brotherhood in Caesarea take these prophetic warnings as a sign that Paul should not go to Jerusalem, but he will not be convinced. Notice how the disciples responded. They didn’t conclude that Paul was missing God and condemn him for his actions. They just backed off and allowed the man his liberty to make his decisions as he saw fit. This is a rare occurrence today. When the prophets speak if someone doesn’t respond as expected they are often branded as rebels and treated as a spiritual pariah. This is a form of manipulation and witchcraft. When a prophet speaks, neither he nor the community of believers has the right to demand that the words given be imposed upon someone under threat of being put out or otherwise disciplined. Every person has the right to interpret a prophetic word as they see fit and it is wrong to demand that a word given be applied in a certain way even if the consequences are dire.
Paul arrives in Jerusalem and makes his appearance known to the apostles of the Lord and declares to them all of his ministry time among the Gentiles and the many thousands who have come to Christ. The disciples at Jerusalem hear these things gladly and rejoice that God is moving among the Gentiles in the far-flung corners of the world.
[Acts 21:20-40 KJV]
20 And when they heard [it], they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law: 21 And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise [their] children, neither to walk after the customs. 22 What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come. 23 Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them; 24 Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave [their] heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but [that] thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law. 25 As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written [and] concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from [things] offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication. 26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them. 27 And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him, 28 Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all [men] every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place. 29 (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.) 30 And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut. 31 And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32 Who immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down unto them: and when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left beating of Paul. 33 Then the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded [him] to be bound with two chains; and demanded who he was, and what he had done. 34 And some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude: and when he could not know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the castle. 35 And when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the people. 36 For the multitude of the people followed after, crying, Away with him. 37 And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto thee? Who said, Canst thou speak Greek? 38 Art not thou that Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers? 39 But Paul said, I am a man [which am] a Jew of Tarsus, [a city] in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people. 40 And when he had given him licence, Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto [them] in the Hebrew tongue, saying,
While the apostles are pleased that Paul is reaching the Gentile world with the gospel, they are also concerned that the Jewish population is offended at Paul and accusing him of doing away with the law of Moses. Because of these rumors, the apostles ask Paul to answer for himself to a large gathering of Jews that is coming together to question him on these practices. We can see now that the original twelve apostles are under enormous pressure in Jerusalem. Perhaps if they had obeyed the Great Commission to go into all the world, they would not be so concerned with what the prevailing religious system thought about what they were doing. It makes us question if in the absence of Paul’s ministry whether Christianity as we know it would exist at all. If you are going to obey God, you cannot be preoccupied with what others think. Fear of man is the enemy of every move of God.
Paul gives in to the pressure put upon him by the apostles and takes a vow and begins a purification ritual after the manner prescribed by law. What is he purifying himself from? He is purifying himself from the ritual uncleanness of having eaten and lived and worked among the Gentile fro the last four years. Does this sound like something he should have been doing to you? Does it make any difference or have a good outcome? No, it doesn’t. Regardless of the apostles’ counsel and Paul’s effort not to stir up controversy, a disturbance breaks out, and Paul is apprehended by a mob who intends literally to tear him limb from limb.
In the midst of a tumult a Roman captain charged with keeping the peace comes a rescues Paul from a severe beating and claps him in irons till he figures out what is going on. The multitude surrounds the soldiers who are holding Paul crying one thing and another. Realizing the danger, they are in the Roman officer commands his soldiers to carry Paul to the garrison because he is unable to walk after the brutal assault he has suffered. Agabus the Prophet’s words and all the prophesies from all the churches Paul has recently visited have come to pass. Once in the jail, Paul is allowed to stand on the stairs overlooking the crowd and attempts to address them.
What is coming out of all of this? The end of the matter will be Paul answering to the Roman authorities and spending much of the remainder of his life in chains. It is true that as a result two-thirds of the New Testament was written but if this was the original intent in the purpose of God why has Paul been warned dozens of times about all these things. What do you do with a warning? You heed it, but Paul did not. We are grateful for the work and writings that came out of Paul’s imprisonments, but we can’t but wonder what might have developed if Paul had continued his missionary journeys without returning to Jerusalem and incarceration. Likewise, we question why the original apostles commanded by Jesus to go into all the world are still cowering in Jerusalem deeply concerned about and trying to please the religious crowd? These are all questions we want to learn from as we strive to hear God and do what He says in our own lives.