Chapter Twenty-One
Paul Goes to Jerusalem
21:1 And when we had parted from them and set sail, we came by a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. 2 And having found a ship crossing to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. 3 When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its cargo.
Luke quickly summarizes their trip from Miletus to Tyre by identifying their stops. They arrive and stay overnight on the Island of Cos (also known as Kos, the hometown of Hippocrates), sail to Rhodes on the Island of Rhodes, then to Patara in the region of Lycia on the mainland. Then they got on another ship going to Phoenicia, they saw the Island of Cyprus on the left as they passed and landed in Tyre (in verse two Luke named the region as being Phoenicia and here he uses the Roman province name of Syria, which included Phoenicia). The ship unloaded its people and cargo there.
21:4 And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. And through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.
While there in Tyre they found the disciples and stayed with them for seven days. The Holy Spirit through the believers told Paul to not go on to Jerusalem. This verse is another source of controversy raising questions like, “Did Paul disobey the Holy Spirit by continuing to Jerusalem?” The answer is no, he was not disobedient to God.
The believers in Tyre heard the Holy Spirit say that Paul would meet adversities, but they did not understand the purpose of Paul’s future suffering. So, they expressed a normal reaction to hearing about danger ahead, “Don’t go!” Even those given the gift of prophecy can interpret incorrectly, the prophecy was right, but they put their own spin on the interpretation. Previously in Acts 19:21 he was told to go to Jerusalem and later in Acts 20:22–23 he was warned, but never told not to go, he understood those instructions and warnings and now hearing these prophecies it was confirmation that he will indeed suffer. Was there a contradiction between the prophecy Paul received from the Holy Spirit and those which the believers in Tyre obtained? No, not at all, nor was Paul being disobedient.
21:5 When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the city. And kneeling down on the beach, we prayed 6 and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.
At the end of the seventh day in Tyre, all of the believers and their families accompanied them to the edge of town. They prayed together on the beach and exchanged farewells and Paul and his companions boarded the ship heading south.
21:7 When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for one day. 8 On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we 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.
From Tyre the next stop was Ptolemais, approximately 25 miles south. They were greeted by believers and stayed with them for one day. They left Ptolemais and sailed to Caesarea Maritima, the home town of Philip the evangelist, where they stayed. Luke identifies him as one of the seven, referring to him being chosen by the apostles to oversee care given to the widows and the distribution of provisions in Jerusalem (see Acts 6:1-6). Luke adds that Philip has four unmarried daughters and that they prophesied, we are not given any more information about them or about anything they may have prophesied.
21:10 While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ” 12 When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, “Let the will of the Lord be done.”
Luke reports that they stayed in Caesarea for several days, during which time Agabus the prophet (the one who had previously prophesied that there would be a famine and there was, giving him a lot of creditability, see Acts 11:19-30) came down and began to dramatically demonstrate Paul’s future incarceration due to the efforts of the Jews in Jerusalem. When everyone heard the prophecy they urged Paul not to go to Jerusalem. Paul already knew he was going to suffer (see Acts 20:22-23) and so he asks them what are they doing with all this sorrow and weeping, it was breaking his heart. He then told them that he was ready to be imprisoned and even die for the name of Jesus. Knowing that they could not persuade him to change his mind, they all accepted the fact and stopped discussing the issue, saying, “Let the will of the Lord be done.”
21:15 After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. 16 And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge. 17 When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly.
They left Caesarea after they got ready (greek episkeuasamenoi, to furnish of things necessary) and were joined by some of the disciples from Caesarea. They traveled to the house of Mnason of Cypus in Jerusalem, someone that Luke describes as an “early disciple,” with him living in Jerusalem, he may have been one of the first to believe on the day of Pentecost. The believers in Jerusalem were delighted to see them arrive. Paul’s arrival in Jerusalem marks the end of the third and final missionary journey.
Paul Visits James
21:18 On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.
The next day Paul, and those traveling with him, went to see James and all the elders. This verse gives us some insight of the transition of the church’s leadership in Jerusalem’s, previously it was led by the apostles (see Acts 6:2) and now by James, the half-brother of Jesus, and the elders.
21:19 After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 And when they heard it, they glorified God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law, 21 and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs.
Paul walked them through all of their recent adventures and how God was working among the Gentiles, and they responded by glorifying God. They then told Paul that there were “many thousands” of Jews there that also believed in Jesus, but were still zealous of the law. He was likely speaking of Jewish Christians who were still devoted to the ceremonial elements of the law, but not as a means of salvation. This adherence may sound strange to a Gentile believer but since these protocols were from God, and that they were never told not to, they chose to continue, as many still do today.
These Jewish believers had been told that Paul has been teaching that any believing Jew who live among the Gentiles are to reject the law of Moses by not circumcising their children or follow their customs. The phrase, “they have been told,” is one Greek word, katēchēthēsan, referring to an oral, but formal instruction, the root word is where the term catechism comes from, giving the impression that this was more than a rumor but perhaps an organized agenda. These accusations were false, likely spread by the same Judaizers that Paul had fought in the past, but the impression of his perceived “anti-law mentality” had been formed and was prevalent among the Jewish believers in Jerusalem.
21:22 What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come.
Knowing that the Jews will soon learn that Paul has arrived in Jerusalem, they felt that something should be done, something big enough to get the attention of the Jewish believers, to prove that those rumors are not true, and that Paul still had respect for the law. So, they developed a scheme to show that the law is still respected by Paul.
21:23 Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; 24 take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law.
They first suggest that Paul cleanse himself since everyone knows he had been visiting Gentile lands and would be ceremonially unclean. They also had four men who had taken the Nazarite vow and were willing to prematurely terminate their vows, even though the vows were voluntary, there were strict rules that needed to be followed, if a vow was not fulfilled, there was a protocol in the law that would allow the release from the vow, but it could be costly. If Paul was willing to pay their expenses, which would include the cost of the sacrifices and the shaving of their heads as required by the law (see Numbers 6:14-21), this gesture, and the cleansing, would demonstrate to the Jewish community that Paul did not disdain the law.
21:25 But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality.”
Almost as if they were anticipating the question, “Does this change the prior decision regarding Gentile believers?,” they restate that decision, in other words ’no’, this observance does not change anything (see Acts 15:19-20, 29).
21:26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day he purified himself along with them and went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and the offering presented for each one of them.
Paul and the four unnamed men did as they requested, they began the purification ritual, then went to the Temple, gave notice of the completion of the days of purification and when the sacrifices would be offered for each of them.
Considerations
Slow to Accuse
The issues that separate Judaism and Christianity are complex as both see the other as being incompatible with the other. Which is true, especially when reviewing what is necessary for the atonement of sin. When a Jew turns to Jesus they are not just turning away from some habit or man-made custom, they see the festivals, the dietary restrictions, the Sabbath, etc. as being instructions for their people from God. Gentiles for the most part can’t relate, first they weren’t the recipients of the law, and secondly they know they don’t need to comply with the law. As long as the observance of the law is not considered legalistic (requirements for salvation), then the Christian should be slow to criticize, if at all.
Paul Arrested in the Temple
21:27 When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him,
Before the seven days that were required for the purification ritual were completed, some Jews from Asia (probably in town to celebrate Pentecost, likely from Ephesus) recognized Paul in the Temple, they seized him and began to make a scene. The plan involving the purification process and the four previous Nazarite vow takers apparently was insufficient to persuade all of the Jews or they were unaware.
21:28 crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” 29 For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.
They cry out (Greek krazontes, to shout with the implication of making an unpleasant noise) almost as if Paul just committed some major crime or perhaps blasphemy, “Men of Israel, help!” They continued by loudly announcing to everyone that Paul was the man who had been teaching “everyone everywhere” against the Jewish people, against the law of Moses, and against the Temple itself. They also falsely accused him of bringing Greeks into the Temple, thus defiling it. Luke adds that they had previously seen Trophimus, a man from Ephesus with Paul earlier in the city, and assumed that Paul had brought him now into the Temple.
21:30 Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. 31 And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.
They were successful in riling up the people who now join in and drag Paul out of the Temple followed by the gates being shut as they desired to kill him there and now (killing a person on Temple ground would defile the Temple). Likely now in the Court of the Gentiles, the crowd continued to beat Paul, soon the tribune (Greek chiliarchō, commander of a thousand) of the Roman cohort was informed that ‘all’ of Jerusalem was in confusion.
21:32 He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done.
The Romans quickly responded and when the crowd saw the Romans approach they stopped beating Paul. The tribune (possibly Claudius Lysias, see Acts 23:26) came up to Paul and arrested him and had him bound with two chains, one for his hands and one for his feet, and by doing so fulfilled Agabus’ prophecy (see verses 10-11). The tribune then asks who is he and what did he do.
21:34 Some in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another. And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks. 35 And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, 36 for the mob of the people followed, crying out, “Away with him!”
The crowd responded loudly, but everyone was saying something different, the tribune could not ascertain the facts due to the clamor, so he ordered his men to bring Paul to their barracks. When they came to the stairs, the Romans had to pick up and carry Paul to keep him away from the violent crowd. As they were heading to the barracks a large mob followed shooting “Away with him!”
Paul Requests to Speak to the People
21:37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek? 38 Are you not the Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?”
Paul engages the tribune by asking him if he could speak, likely in Greek. The tribune was probably surprised that Paul spoke Greek, the language that was considered to be more suited for educated people, not criminals, as he supposed Paul was, so he replied, “Do you know Greek?” He then wonders if Paul is the Egyptian who recently led a revolt that didn’t end well. The historian Josephus wrote about this man:
But there was an Egyptian false prophet that did the Jews more mischief than the former; for he was a cheat, and pretended to be a prophet also, and got together thirty thousand men that were deluded by him; these he led round about from the wilderness to the mount which was called the Mount of Olives, and was ready to break into Jerusalem by force from that place; and if he could but once conquer the Roman garrison and the people, he intended to domineer over them by the assistance of those guards of his that were to break into the city with him, but Felix prevented his attempt, and met him with his Roman soldiers, while all the people assisted him in his attack upon them, insomuch that, when it came to a battle, the Egyptian ran away, with a few others, while the greatest part of those that were with him were either destroyed or taken alive; but the rest of the multitude were dispersed every one to their own homes and there concealed themselves.[1]
The number of men vary significantly (4,000 versus 30,000) but some believe Josephus’ numbers may have been an exaggeration or was a scribal error in the manuscripts of Josephus’ writings. The tribune calls the men Assassins here, which during Antonius Felix’s time as the Roman procurator of Judea there was a Jewish group that was hostile to the Romans called Assassins due to their ability to get away with murder. The Jewish sect known as the Zealots were often called assassins as they employed assassination as a tactic, these men were feared by the other sects (click here to read about the Jewish sects during this time). Paul was neither the Egyptian nor one of the Assassins as he now testifies.
21:39 Paul replied, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people.” 40 And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying:
The tribune likely confused (with Paul as a Jew being attacked by Jews) and impressed (with Paul’s ability to speak Greek) along with his own desire to quell the still very loud mob on the steps of the barracks, he gave Paul permission to speak. Paul motioned with his hand that he wanted to speak. Once the noise died down he spoke to them in Hebrew.
The message is recorded in the next chapter. This is a major turning point for Paul as from this moment on he will no longer be free and will remain a prisoner of some sort for the rest of his life.
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[1] Josephus, F., & Whiston, W. (1987). The works of Josephus: complete and unabridged (p. 614). Hendrickson.