Acts — Chapter 21
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1After we had torn ourselves away from them, we sailed directly to Cos, and the next day on to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.
2Finding a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we boarded it and set sail.
3After sighting Cyprus and passing south of it, we sailed on to Syria and landed at Tyre, where the ship was to unload its cargo.
4We sought out the disciples in Tyre and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they kept telling Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.
5But when our time there had ended, we set out on our journey. All the disciples, with their wives and children, accompanied us out of the city and knelt down on the beach to pray with us.
6And after we had said our farewells, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.
7When we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for a day.
8Leaving the next day, we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven.
9He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.
10After we had been there several days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.
11Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands, and said, “The Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and hand him over to the Gentiles.’”
12When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.
13Then 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.”
14When he would not be dissuaded, we quieted down and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”
15After these days, we packed up and went on to Jerusalem.
16Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us, and they took us to stay at the home of Mnason the Cypriot, an early disciple.
17When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us joyfully.
18The next day Paul went in with us to see James, and all the elders were present.
19Paul greeted them and recounted one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
20When they heard this, they glorified 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.
21But they are under the impression that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or observe our customs.
22What then should we do? They will certainly hear that you have come.
23Therefore do what we advise you. There are four men with us who have taken a vow.
24Take these men, purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know that there is no truth to these rumors about you, but that you also live in obedience to the law.
25As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.”
26So the next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he entered the temple to give notice of the date when their purification would be complete and the offering would be made for each of them.
27When the seven days were almost over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him,
28crying out, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and against our law and against this place. Furthermore, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.”
29For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.
30The whole city was stirred up, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut.
31While they were trying to kill him, the commander of the Roman regiment received a report that all Jerusalem was in turmoil.
32Immediately he took some soldiers and centurions and ran down to the crowd. When the people saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.
33The commander came up and arrested Paul, ordering that he be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done.
34Some in the crowd were shouting one thing, and some another. And since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks.
35When Paul reached the steps, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob.
36For the crowd that followed him kept shouting, “Away with him!”
37As they 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 incited a rebellion some time ago and led four thousand members of the Assassins into the wilderness?”
39But Paul answered, “I am a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Now I beg you to allow me to speak to the people.”
40Having received permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. A great hush came over the crowd, and he addressed them in Hebrew:
1And 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:
2And finding a ship sailing over unto Phenicia, we went aboard, and set forth.
3Now 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.
4And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem.
5And 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.
6And when we had taken our leave one of another, we took ship; and they returned home again.
7And when we had finished our course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, and saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day.
8And 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.
9And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.
10And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.
11And 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.
12And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.
13Then 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.
14And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.
15And after those days we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem.
16There 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.
17And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.
18And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
19And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.
20And 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:
21And 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.
22What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.
23Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
24Them 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.
25As 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.
26Then 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.
27And 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,
28Crying 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.)
30And 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.
31And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.
32Who 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.
33Then 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.
34And 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.
35And when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the people.
36For the multitude of the people followed after, crying, Away with him.
37And 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?
38Art not thou that Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers?
39But 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.
40And 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,
1And when it came to pass that were parted from them and had set sail, we came with a straight course unto Cos, and the next day unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara:
2and having found a ship crossing over unto Phoenicia, we went aboard, and set sail.
3And when we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left hand, we sailed unto Syria, and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unlade her burden.
4And having found the disciples, we tarried there seven days: and these said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not set foot in Jerusalem.
5And when it came to pass that we had accomplished the days, we departed and went on our journey; and they all, with wives and children, brought us on our way till we were out of the city: and kneeling down on the beach, we prayed, and bade each other farewell;
6and we went on board the ship, but they returned home again.
7And when we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais; and we saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day.
8And on the morrow we departed, and came unto Caesarea: and entering into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we abode with him.
9Now this man had four virgin daughters, who prophesied.
10And as we tarried there some days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.
11And coming to us, and taking Paul`s girdle, he bound his own feet and hands, and said, Thus saith the Holy Spirit, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.
12And when we heard these things, both we and they of that place besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.
13Then Paul answered, What do ye, weeping and breaking my heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
14And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.
15And after these days we took up our baggage and went up to Jerusalem.
16And there went with us also [certain] of the disciples from Caesarea, bringing [with them] one Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge.
17And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.
18And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
19And when he had saluted them, he rehearsed one by one the things which God had wrought among the Gentiles through his ministry.
20And they, when they heard it, glorified God; and they said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of them that have believed; and they are all zealous for the law:
21and they have been informed concerning thee, that thou teachest all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children neither to walk after the customs.
22What is it therefore? They will certainly hear that thou art come.
23Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men that have a vow on them;
24these take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges for them, that they may shave their heads: and all shall know that there is no truth in the things whereof they have been informed concerning thee; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, keeping the law.
25But as touching the Gentiles that have believed, we wrote, giving judgment that they should keep themselves from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from fornication.
26Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them went into the temple, declaring the fulfilment of the days of purification, until the offering was offered for every one of them.
27And when the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the multitude and laid hands on him,
28crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man that teacheth all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place; and moreover he brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath defiled this holy place.
29For they had before seen with him in the city Trophimus the Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.
30And all the city was moved, and the people ran together; and they laid hold on Paul, and dragged him out of the temple: and straightway the doors were shut.
31And as they were seeking to kill him, tidings came up to the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in confusion.
32And forthwith he took soldiers and centurions, and ran down upon them: and they, when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, left off beating Paul.
33Then the chief captain came near, and laid hold on him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and inquired who he was, and what he had done.
34And some shouted one thing, some another, among the crowd: and when he could not know the certainty for the uproar, he commanded him to be brought into the castle.
35And when he came upon the stairs, so it was that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the crowd;
36for the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, Away with him.
37And as Paul was about to be brought into the castle, he saith unto the chief captain, May I say something unto thee? And he said, Dost thou know Greek?
38Art thou not then the Egyptian, who before these days stirred up to sedition and led out into the wilderness the four thousand men of the Assassins?
39But Paul said, I am a Jew, of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and I beseech thee, give me leave to speak unto the people.
40And when he had given him leave, Paul, standing on the stairs, beckoned with the hand unto the people; and when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew language, saying,
1After we tore ourselves away from them, we put out to sea, and sailing a straight course, we came to Cos, on the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.
2We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went aboard, and put out to sea.
3After we sighted Cyprus and left it behind on our port side, we sailed on to Syria and put in at Tyre because the ship was to unload its cargo there.
4After we located the disciples, we stayed there seven days. They repeatedly told Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem.
5When our time was over, we left and went on our way. All of them, with their wives and children, accompanied us outside of the city. After kneeling down on the beach and praying,
6we said farewell to one another. Then we went aboard the ship, and they returned to their own homes.
7We continued the voyage from Tyre and arrived at Ptolemais, and when we had greeted the brothers, we stayed with them for one day.
8On the next day we left and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.
9(He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.)
10While we remained there for a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.
11He came to us, took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it, and said, “The Holy Spirit says this: ‘This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man whose belt this is and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’”
12When we heard this, both we and the local people begged him not to go up to Jerusalem.
13Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be tied up, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
14Because he could not be persuaded, we said no more except, “The Lord’s will be done.”
15After these days we got ready and started up to Jerusalem.
16Some of the disciples from Caesarea came along with us too, and brought us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, a disciple from the earliest times, with whom we were to stay.
17When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us gladly.
18The next day Paul went in with us to see James, and all the elders were there.
19When Paul had greeted them, he began to explain in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
20When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all ardent observers of the law.
21They have been informed about you—that you teach all the Jews now living among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs.
22What then should we do? They will no doubt hear that you have come.
23So do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow;
24take them and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself live in conformity with the law.
25But regarding the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter, having decided that they should avoid meat that has been sacrificed to idols and blood and what has been strangled and sexual immorality.”
26Then Paul took the men the next day, and after he had purified himself along with them, he went to the temple and gave notice of the completion of the days of purification, when the sacrifice would be offered for each of them.
27When the seven days were almost over, the Jews from the province of Asia who had seen him in the temple area stirred up the whole crowd and seized him,
28shouting, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this sanctuary! Furthermore he has brought Greeks into the inner courts of the temple and made this holy place ritually unclean!”
29(For they had seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him previously, and they assumed Paul had brought him into the inner temple courts.)
30The whole city was stirred up, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple courts, and immediately the doors were shut.
31While they were trying to kill him, a report was sent up to the commanding officer of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.
32He immediately took soldiers and centurions and ran down to the crowd. When they saw the commanding officer and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.
33Then the commanding officer came up and arrested him and ordered him to be tied up with two chains; he then asked who he was and what he had done.
34But some in the crowd shouted one thing, and others something else, and when the commanding officer was unable to find out the truth because of the disturbance, he ordered Paul to be brought into the barracks.
35When he came to the steps, Paul had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob,
36for a crowd of people followed them, screaming, “Away with him!”
37As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the commanding officer, “May I say something to you?” The officer replied, “Do you know Greek?
38Then you’re not that Egyptian who started a rebellion and led the 4,000 men of the ‘Assassins’ into the wilderness sometime ago?”
39Paul answered, “I am a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city. Please allow me to speak to the people.”
40When the commanding officer had given him permission, Paul stood on the steps and gestured to the people with his hand. When they had become silent, he addressed them in Aramaic,
1When we had departed from them and had set sail, we came with a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.
2Having found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard, and set sail.
3When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left hand, we sailed to Syria, and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload her cargo.
4Having found disciples, we stayed there seven days. These said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem.
5When those days were over, we departed and went on our journey. They all, with wives and children, brought us on our way until we were out of the city. Kneeling down on the beach, we prayed.
6After saying goodbye to each other, we went on board the ship, and they returned home again.
7When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais. We greeted the brothers, and stayed with them one day.
8On the next day, we, who were Paul’s companions, departed, and came to Caesarea. We entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.
9Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.
10As we stayed there some days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.
11Coming to us, and taking Paul’s belt, he bound his own feet and hands, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit: ‘So will the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and will deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’”
12When we heard these things, both we and they of that place begged him not to go up to Jerusalem.
13Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
14When he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The Lord’s will be done.”
15After these days we took up our baggage and went up to Jerusalem.
16Some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us, bringing one Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we would stay.
17When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly.
18The day following, Paul went in with us to James; and all the elders were present.
19When he had greeted them, he reported one by one the things which God had worked among the Gentiles through his ministry.
20They, when they heard it, glorified God. They said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law.
21They have been informed about you, that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children neither to walk after the customs.
22What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come.
23Therefore do what we tell you. We have four men who have taken a vow.
24Take them, and purify yourself with them, and pay their expenses for them, that they may shave their heads. Then all will know that there is no truth in the things that they have been informed about you, but that you yourself also walk keeping the law.
25But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written our decision that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from food offered to idols, from blood, from strangled things, and from sexual immorality.”
26Then Paul took the men, and the next day, purified himself and went with them into the temple, declaring the fulfillment of the days of purification, until the offering was offered for every one of them.
27When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the multitude and laid hands on him,
28crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place. Moreover, he also brought Greeks into the temple, and has defiled this holy place!”
29For they had seen Trophimus, the Ephesian, with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.
30All the city was moved, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple. Immediately the doors were shut.
31As they were trying to kill him, news came up to the commanding officer of the regiment that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.
32Immediately he took soldiers and centurions, and ran down to them. They, when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, stopped beating Paul.
33Then the commanding officer came near, arrested him, commanded him to be bound with two chains, and inquired who he was and what he had done.
34Some shouted one thing, and some another, among the crowd. When he couldn’t find out the truth because of the noise, he commanded him to be brought into the barracks.
35When he came to the stairs, he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd;
36for the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, “Away with him!”
37As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he asked the commanding officer, “May I speak to you?” He said, “Do you know Greek?
38Aren’t you then the Egyptian, who before these days stirred up to sedition and led out into the wilderness the four thousand men of the Assassins?”
39But Paul said, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city. I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.”
40When he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the stairs, beckoned with his hand to the people. When there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying,
Summary
Paul sails toward Jerusalem, and in Tyre the disciples, prompted by the Spirit, urge him not to go, though he continues on (vv. 1-6). At Caesarea he stays with Philip the evangelist, whose four daughters prophesy, and the prophet Agabus binds his own hands and feet with Paul's belt to symbolize the binding that awaits him in Jerusalem (vv. 8-11). Despite the pleading of his companions, Paul insists he is ready not only to be bound but to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus, and the group submits to the Lord's will (vv. 12-14). In Jerusalem, Paul reports to James and the elders all that God has done among the Gentiles, and they ask him to join four men under a vow and pay their expenses to show he still lives in observance of the law (vv. 17-26). Before the vow is completed, Jews from Asia stir up the crowd, falsely accusing Paul of defiling the temple, and a mob drags him out and beats him, intending to kill him (vv. 27-32). Roman soldiers under a commander rescue Paul, bind him in chains, and carry him into the barracks amid the violence of the crowd, and Paul asks permission to address the people (vv. 33-40).
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Tyre (v.3): A Phoenician port city (modern Lebanon) where Paul stayed seven days with believers on his way to Jerusalem.
- Caesarea (v.8): Paul stayed with Philip the evangelist in Caesarea, the Roman administrative capital on the coast.
- Jerusalem (v.17): Paul arrived in Jerusalem and met with James and the elders. He was seized by a mob in the Temple.
- The Antonia Fortress (v.34): The Roman barracks adjoining the Temple where Paul was taken after his arrest.
Places on this map
- TyreSour, LebanonOriginally an island fortress a half mile off the Phoenician coast, which is why it held out against Assyria and Babylon and only fell when Alexander built a causeway to it. That causeway silted up, and Tyre has been a peninsula ever since. Wikipedia
- LebanonMount Lebanon range, LebanonIn the Bible this is the mountain range, not the modern country: a snow-capped wall rising over 10,000 feet behind the Phoenician coast. Its cedar was the prestige timber of the ancient Near East and both the tabernacle's successors and Solomon's temple were built from it. Wikipedia
- JerusalemJerusalemA hill town about 2,500 feet up in the central spine of Judah, roughly 35 miles inland from the Mediterranean and 15 miles west of the Jordan. It sits on no trade route and has no river, which is why it mattered as a fortress and a sanctuary rather than as a market. Wikipedia
- CaesareaCaesarea, IsraelHerod built an artificial deep-water harbor on an open coast that had none, and it became the Roman administrative capital of Judea. Paul was held here two years and sailed for Rome from it; it is also where the gospel first went to a Gentile household. Wikipedia
- Phoeniciacoastal LebanonA narrow strip of coast backed hard against the Lebanon range, with too little farmland to feed itself and excellent harbors. That combination made its cities trade by sea, plant colonies as far as Spain, and supply Israel with timber, craftsmen and Jezebel. Wikipedia
Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.
Deep Dive
Setting: Spring of about AD 57. In 20:22 Paul said he was "bound by the Spirit" to go to Jerusalem. Here the binding becomes literal. This chapter turns Acts from a story of missionary travel into a story of arrest and trial. From here on Paul is a prisoner, and he remains one to the end of the book.
Paul Goes to Jerusalem (vv1–16)
- "When we had parted from them" (v1). The verb (apospaō) means to tear oneself away. It is the word used of Jesus withdrawing from the disciples in Gethsemane (Luke 22:41). Leaving the Ephesian elders on the beach (20:37–38) was painful.
- Cos, Rhodes, Patara, Tyre (vv1–3). Luke writes like a ship's log. At Rhodes the famous Colossus lay toppled, brought down by an earthquake two centuries earlier. At Patara they change to a larger ship and cross open sea, passing south of Cyprus, Barnabas's home and the first stop of Paul's first journey (ch 13).
- "Through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem" (v4). This is the hardest verse in the chapter. Paul goes "constrained by the Spirit" (20:22), yet believers speaking "through the Spirit" urge him not to. The most common reading: the Spirit revealed the danger, and the believers drew the conclusion that he should stay away. That is real revelation plus human interpretation. A minority reading says Paul was stubborn and should have listened. Most commentators reject it because of 23:11, where the Lord himself stands by Paul and says, "Take courage… you must testify also in Rome." That is hardly a rebuke for disobedience.
- "Kneeling down on the beach, we prayed" (v5). Whole families, wives and children too, walk them out to the shore. It mirrors the Miletus farewell (20:36). Paul built deep bonds even in a week's stay.
- Philip the evangelist (vv8–9). The same Philip as ch 6 (one of the seven chosen to serve tables) and ch 8 (Samaria, the Ethiopian, and settling "at Caesarea," 8:40), about twenty years on. Paul once took part in the persecution that scattered Philip and his friends (8:1–4). Now he is a guest at Philip's table.
- "Four unmarried daughters, who prophesied" (v9). This fulfills Joel's promise quoted at Pentecost: "your sons and your daughters shall prophesy" (2:17). Luke records nothing they said. Early church writers (Papias, Eusebius) remembered them as valued sources on the first generation.
- Agabus and the belt (vv10–11). The same prophet who foretold the famine (11:28). He acts out his message the way the Old Testament prophets did: Isaiah walking barefoot (Isa 20), Jeremiah's buried loincloth (Jer 13), Ezekiel lying on his side (Ezek 4). "Thus says the Holy Spirit" echoes the prophets' "Thus says the LORD." The belt (zōnē) was a long cloth sash, long enough to bind hands and feet. "Deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles" is almost exactly what Jesus said of himself (Luke 18:32). Paul is walking his Lord's road.
- "What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart?" (v13). "Breaking" (synthryptō) is a vivid word, like pounding something to pieces. Their tears are not changing his mind, but they are crushing his heart. Then: "I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." He had settled it before the crisis came.
- "Let the will of the Lord be done" (v14). An echo of Gethsemane (Luke 22:42). Luke the narrator had been among those pleading ("we… urged him," v12). Then the whole group surrenders the question to God.
- Mnason of Cyprus, "an early disciple" (v16). He was perhaps a believer since Pentecost. A Hellenistic Jewish host was a wise choice for a team that included uncircumcised Gentiles, since not every Jerusalem believer would have opened his home to them.
- Commentators: Guzik reads v4 as the Spirit revealing the danger, with "don't go" being the hearers' own application. He says Paul would otherwise have been disobeying the Spirit by going. He sums up Agabus the same way: the warnings were meant to prepare Paul, not stop him. JFB agrees that they were sent "not to prohibit him from going, but to put his courage to the test." On v13 it adds: "It was well he could add this, for he had that also to do." Henry grants that "it is a thousand pities that such a workman should be laid aside," but insists Paul in prison glorifies God as truly as Paul in the pulpit. On the stop at Tyre he notes that wherever Paul came, "he enquired what disciples were there, found them out, and associated with them."
Paul Visits James (vv17–26)
- "The brothers received us gladly" (v17). First a warm welcome from ordinary believers, then the official meeting the next day.
- James and all the elders (v18). This is James the brother of Jesus, leader of the Jerusalem church (15:13; Gal 1:19), remembered as "James the Just" for his devotion to the law. No apostles are mentioned, so they had probably scattered on mission by now.
- "He related one by one the things that God had done" (v19). A detailed report, with the credit going to God, "through his ministry." Luke does not say so, but this is almost certainly when the collection was handed over (24:17), the Gentile churches' gift to Jewish believers.
- "How many thousands… all zealous for the law" (v20). The word is myriades, "tens of thousands." Jewish Christianity in Judea was large and still very Jewish in practice. "Zealous" in the 50s AD also carried a heated nationalist mood that was building toward the war of AD 66.
- The rumor (v21). The rumor was that Paul taught Jews to abandon Moses and stop circumcising their sons. It was false. Paul taught that Gentiles need not become Jews, and that no one is justified by the law (Gal 2:16). But he never told Jews to give up their heritage. He circumcised Timothy (16:3) and kept a vow himself (18:18).
- The plan (vv23–24). Four Jewish believers were completing a Nazirite vow (Num 6:1–21). It ended with shaved heads and costly sacrifices: lambs, a ram, grain and drink offerings. Paying for them was a recognized act of piety. Paul also needed his own seven-day purification, the normal practice for a Jew returning from years in Gentile lands.
- "As for the Gentiles… we have sent a letter" (v25). James restates the Jerusalem Council's decision (15:20, 29). Nothing changes for Gentile believers. This is about Jewish believers' practice, not about salvation.
- Was Paul right to go along with it? Christians have long disagreed. One view says it was wise. It was Paul's own principle, "To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews" (1 Cor 9:20). Temple customs were not sin for a Jew. They simply could not save, and love for weaker believers and unity between Jewish and Gentile churches were worth a week and some money. The other view says it was a compromise that backfired, because it put Paul right where the riot broke out. Luke gives no verdict. He reports it, and then shows God carrying out his purpose through what followed (23:11).
- Commentators: Guzik does not fault Paul. He reads the episode as 1 Corinthians 9:20 in action, made possible because no one was requiring Gentiles to keep these customs. Henry weighs those who call the plan "fleshly wisdom" but judges Paul's compliance "justifiable enough, as the case stood." He describes the ceremonial law at that point as "dead, but not buried." He even suggests the plan's failure served God's purpose, loosening Jewish believers' hold on the law more than argument could. And he adds a caution against pressing others "to do what is contrary to their own judgment to oblige us." JFB takes the four men to be Jewish Christians and notes the elders "glorified the Lord," constrained to approve Paul's work despite the Jewish character of their own church.
Paul Arrested in the Temple (vv27–36)
- "The Jews from Asia" (v27). These were pilgrims in town for Pentecost, very likely from Ephesus, since they recognize Trophimus. They were the same opposition Paul met in the synagogue there (19:9). The trouble comes not from Jerusalem locals but from opponents who followed him from Asia.
- The charges (v28). Teaching against "the people and the law and this place" is almost word for word what was said against Stephen (6:13). Paul once guarded the coats while Stephen was stoned on those charges. Now they are turned on him.
- "He even brought Greeks into the temple" (vv28–29). This was a capital charge, and it was false. A stone barrier separated the Court of the Gentiles from the inner courts. Warning notices in Greek and Latin said any foreigner who went past it would have himself to blame for his death. One of the actual stone inscriptions was found in 1871. Luke is honest about how the charge arose: they had seen Trophimus with Paul in the city and "supposed" the rest. Paul later writes that Christ "has broken down… the dividing wall of hostility" between Jew and Gentile (Eph 2:14). The image is that very barrier, and the letter was written to Ephesus, Trophimus's hometown.
- "At once the gates were shut" (v30). The Levite guards seal the inner temple off from the mob. Luke may mean it symbolically as well: the temple shuts its doors as the gospel moves on.
- The tribune (vv31–32). A chiliarchos commanded a cohort of up to 1,000 men. The Fortress Antonia stood at the northwest corner of the temple courts, with stairs leading down into them, and soldiers watched constantly during festivals. He grabs troops and "ran down" at once. The beating stops only when the crowd sees Roman soldiers.
- "Bound with two chains" (v33). Agabus's sign is fulfilled. Paul is chained to a soldier on each side, as Peter was in 12:6. The irony: Agabus said the Jews would deliver him to the Gentiles, and in the event the Gentiles rescue him from the Jews.
- "Some… shouting one thing, some another" (v34). The same confusion as the Ephesus theater (19:32). The riots at Ephesus and Jerusalem mirror each other, one defending an idol's temple, the other God's.
- "Away with him!" (v36). The very cry of the crowd at Jesus' trial (Luke 23:18; John 19:15). Luke intends the echo.
- Commentators: Guzik calls the charges baseless. Paul refused to trust in the law or the temple for righteousness, but he never attacked them. Guzik and JFB both hear the echo of Jesus' trial in "Away with him!" JFB identifies the accusers as Ephesian Jews, "embittered by their discomfiture." It reads the shut doors darkly: shut so "the murder they meant to perpetrate might not pollute that holy place." On Agabus's wording it notes that though the Romans did the binding, it was "at the Jews' instigation." Henry sets the two riots side by side, the same zeal for God's temple as the Ephesians showed for Diana's. He notes the irony that Paul was attacked in the temple, "where he should have been protected, as in a sanctuary."
Paul Speaks to the People (vv37–40)
- "Do you know Greek?" (v37). The tribune is surprised, because he had assumed his prisoner was a dangerous nobody.
- "The Egyptian" (v38). Josephus describes him: a false prophet who, a few years earlier, gathered followers on the Mount of Olives promising Jerusalem's walls would fall at his command. Rome crushed the movement, but he escaped. Josephus gives a much larger number than Luke's 4,000, and Luke's figure is generally thought the more realistic. The "Assassins" were the sicarii, "dagger-men," who stabbed opponents in festival crowds. The tribune thinks he has caught a terrorist leader.
- "A Jew, from Tarsus… a citizen of no obscure city" (v39). Tarsus was a renowned university city, so this is quiet, true pride. He keeps his Roman citizenship in reserve until 22:25.
- "In the Hebrew language" (v40). Most likely Aramaic, the everyday language of Judea, as the ESV footnote notes. The crowd that wanted him dead falls into "a great hush" at the sound of their own tongue. The speech continues in Acts 22.
- Commentators: Guzik observes that even in mortal danger Paul's concern was to preach, and that he chose the crowd's own language to identify with them. JFB describes the fortress as built by Herod on a high rock at the northwest corner of the temple area and named for Mark Antony. Henry, looking ahead to everything this arrest begins: "When we see the beginning of a trouble, we know not either how long it will last or how it will issue."
Pointing to Christ
Luke deliberately shapes this to echo Jesus' last journey. Paul sets his face toward Jerusalem despite warnings, friends try to turn him back, he says "the will of the Lord be done," he is seized in the temple, a mob cries "Away with him!", and he is handed over to the Gentiles. Paul is not the Savior, but he follows him "in the fellowship of his sufferings" (Phil 3:10), down a road Jesus walked first.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik examines the warnings, Paul's determination, the meeting with James, the Temple incident, and the arrest.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Acts -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
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Reflection
- Counting the Cost Before the Warning Comes True (vv.11-13) — Agabus predicts Paul will be bound in Jerusalem, and Paul answers that he's ready not only to be bound but to die for the Lord's name. Have you settled in advance what you're willing to suffer for Christ, or are you only deciding in the moment?
- Surrendering What You Can't Control (v.14) — When Paul won't be talked out of going, his friends stop arguing and simply say the Lord's will be done. Is there someone you love whose choices you need to release to God instead of continuing to fight?
- Giving God the Credit (v.19) — Paul reports to James and the elders not what he accomplished but what God had done through his ministry. When you talk about your own work or ministry, does the story center on you or on God?
- Bending Without Breaking (v.26) — Paul joins a Jewish purification rite he doesn't need for salvation in order to preserve unity with Jewish believers. Where might you need to set aside your own preference or freedom for the sake of peace with other believers, without compromising truth?
- Responding to False Accusation (vv.27-29) — A mob attacks Paul over a rumor that turns out to be false, assuming rather than verifying. When you're wrongly accused or misjudged, do you respond with anger and self-defense, or with trust that God will vindicate you in time?