Verses 1-2 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.
Coos was a small island in the Aegean Sea where wine and corn was grown and its name interesting enough means “a public prison”. Rhodes was another island and its name means “rosy”. Patara was a maritime city of Lycia and it was known for its oracle of Apollo, its name meaning “scattering and cursing”. Phenicia was a territory of the province of Syria on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and the name means “land of palm trees”. So in Patara the Apostle Paul and his traveling companions changed to another ship that was sailing in the direction they wanted to go.
Verses 3-4 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.
Tyre was a Phoenician city located on the Mediterranean that was an important center of commerce. The name means “a rock”. According to Scripture, Satan at one time had his headquarters at Tyre which is where the word tyrant comes from. The Apostle Paul was able to visit with the Church there and again he was warned by the disciples that he should not go up to Jerusalem.
Application: If Christian disciples were being told by the Holy Ghost/Spirit that the Apostle Paul should not go to Jerusalem and if this message was given wherever he journeyed and met disciples of the Faith, why did the Apostle Paul not heed the warning? Because he had been told by the LORD Jesus Christ that he was to go to Rome and witness there. Was he being tested by the LORD to see if he would waiver in his resolve? Don’t know for sure. But the Apostle Paul was trusting the LORD for protection just as he had been told he would have in a vision, and he was going to be obedient to the LORD regardless of the doubts and more than likely the fear that these messages given to him were creating. The converted Christian believer can also face these same challenges in that the LORD clearly instructs the believer to follow a particular course of action and yet others believe that this course is wrong and so warn against it. But like the Apostle Paul, the believer in order to be obedient to the LORD must go forward in faith and do that which has been instructed by the LORD to do. The problem is that the believer must be sure that what he has been told is actually from the LORD and not from the believer’s own flesh, the Devil, or the world.
Verses 5-6 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.
This must have been a scene of sadness for all attending the departure of the Apostle Paul and his companions. Up until this time, the Apostle Paul had done three major missionary journeys in which his established new churches and visited established ones where he renewed fellowship with people he knew and with new converts. But this departure was different in that he knew he would never be coming back this way again. This was goodbye and it was final.
Verses 7-9 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.
Ptolemais was a maritime city in Phoenicia and its name means “warlike”.
Philip was one of the twelve original apostles and he was sent forth and witnessed to the Ethiopian eunuch as recorded in Acts chapter 8. But verse 40 of that chapter records that he came to Caesarea. So this writer, until told differently from other Bible verses, concludes that the Phillip referred to as an evangelist in verse 8 above is the same Apostle Philip who had traveled and ministered with the LORD Jesus Christ.
Application: The Greek word translated as “prophesy” is “propheteuo” and it means to speak forth by divine inspiration, to declare a thing that can only be known by divine revelation, or to teach, refute, reprove, admonish or comfort others. Biblically, a prophet is one who brings forth the Word of God. The prophet or prophetess does not predict the future like a fortune teller. They can write or speak about future events as revealed by God, but their prophesy is totally controlled by God. The Church has been given five offices of administration by God. “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;” Ephesians 4:11 These offices are alive today, but in the western world, they are not functioning very well. There are plenty of pastors and teachers, but not many apostles, prophets and evangelists. In the verses above, Phillip’s four daughters had this gift of prophecy from God so that they could bring forth His Word to the people. In today’s western churches, women are excluded in most cases from the pulpit. Is this a correct position to have seeing that the Apostle Paul stated in Galatians 3:28 that, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” and since God stated in the book of Joel and again through the Apostle Peter in chapter 2 of this book, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:”? If the Apostle Paul did not denounce the four daughters of Philip, then women in all facets of ministry and service to the LORD God is acceptable by God and therefore should be acceptable by mankind.
Verses 10-12 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.
The name, Agabus, means “locust”. This man prophesied that the Apostle Paul would once again be attacked by the unbelieving Jews and then end up in the hands of Gentiles. He did not try to persuade the Apostle Paul to not go to Jerusalem, but he was letting him know what would happen so that he would be prepared and know that regardless of the events, he was in the will of the LORD Jesus Christ.
Application: Does the LORD warn his people today of upcoming situations or events that may be stressful or dangerous? Yes, He does. His children just need to be listening. This writer was facing financial difficulties and a physical move from one house to another when the LORD revealed that employment was going to be terminated. That very day, the boss of this particular company called and announced that the job was being terminated and that it was no longer necessary to show up for work the next day. Because of the warning via the Holy Ghost/Spirit, there was no panic but just a trusting that another job would come along soon, which it did. Now losing a job is not the same as losing one’s freedom or one’s life which was what the Apostle Paul was facing, but the comparison is not the issue here. The fact that the LORD governs the steps and path of the believer through this life and that He cares so much for the believer that He will often reveal future difficulties so that the believer will not worry is the point of this discussion. He is a loving and caring God.
Verses 13-14 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.
The Apostle Paul finally had to be firm with his companions and with fellow believers. He was going to Jerusalem and that was that. He was neither afraid of imprisonment nor of death, and all of the arguments or pleadings of the Christian believers were not going to dissuade him from doing what God wanted him to do.
Verses 15-17 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.
The name, Mnason, means “remembering”. Scripture does not reveal anything about this man and he is only mentioned in the verse above. The Greek word translated as “carriages” is “aposkeuazo” and it means to take up one’s personal property or to provide for its carrying away.
Verses 18-19 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.
James the brother of Jesus was one of the leaders of the Jerusalem church and someone to whom one would want to give a report of one’s ministry. So the Apostle Paul shared all that God was doing in the Gentile world. Remember that James and the elders were Jews by birth and their ministry was amongst the Jews in Jerusalem and the surrounding area. So this information would be of importance to them as they all knew that the New Covenant Church was open to all people and not just to the Jews only.
Verses 20-22 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.
The elders of the Jerusalem church gave all the glory to the LORD Jesus Christ which is what the Apostle Paul would have wanted. But apparently they were concerned about the Apostle Paul being present in Jerusalem as they would have been aware of his clashes with the Jews who wanted to kill him. This writer is unsure of whether the “thousands of Jews there are which believe” are converted Christians following Jesus or whether they are the Jews who have rejected the LORD Jesus but who are zealously following their religion made up of laws and the Babylonian Talmud and not made up of repentance and faith. Regardless, lies and misinformation about what the Apostle Paul taught during his missionary journeys were flourishing, especially the forsaking of Moses. Remember that the Jews reverenced the Prophet Moses and they still do to this day. He wrongly had/has pre-eminence over the LORD Jesus Christ. And the Jews were not going to give up their customs. So the Apostle Paul’s reputation was based on fiction and not fact, but the Jew’s hatred of him even after all the years he was away from Jerusalem and Judah was still very much alive and well in their minds and hearts. Hence the concern by James and the elders.
Verses 23-24 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.
So the elders came up with a plan that involved the Apostle Paul performing ritual purifying acts so that anyone looking at him would know that he was participating in the religious aspect of the law and therefore could not be preaching against Jewish customs and against Moses.
Application: There were three aspects of the Jewish law as written by the Prophet Moses. There was the moral law or the Ten Commandments that were written by the finger of God. Then there was the judicial law which defined things such as property boundaries or loss of livestock, or the establishment of cities of refuge. And there was the religious law which defined the three main religious festivals and the Temple sacrifices and purification rituals and so forth. Gentiles tend to lump all the law into one basket, but that can create misunderstanding of Scripture passages. God often does things in sets of three: three days in the belly of the fish, three days in the tomb, and three ways of manifesting Himself to mankind in the form of Spirit, mankind, and Holy Ghost. So it stands to reason that the law God established for the Hebrew people would be in three parts.
Verse 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.
The elders repeated the information that they had sent to the Gentiles many years before when there was a dispute between Gentile and Jewish believers. Gentiles were not required to practice circumcision and other Jewish customs, but they were to refrain from idolatry, sexual sin, and eating blood.
Verses 26-29 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.)
Notice that it was the Jews from Asia, the very place the Apostle Paul had traveled and ministered, that started the trouble.
Verse 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.
Application: Notice that throughout the book of Acts the Jewish attacks against the Apostle Paul and his fellow ministers of the Gospel were all violent. There was never any dialogue or reasoning with or from these Jews, but only vicious demonstrations of out of control anger and hatred towards the Gospel and therefore against the LORD Jesus Christ and His servants. Why were these people so cruel and vicious? Because, according to Jesus, they were serving their father the Devil. It was Satan who wished to destroy the Son of God and the Gospel message and so he was using, and today he is still using those people calling themselves Jews to persecute the Church of Jesus Christ.
Notice also that the doors of the Temple were shut after the Jews physically dragged the Apostle Paul out of the Temple, the very place that a true servant of the LORD Jesus Christ should be allowed to be in. Why does Luke record this fact? Perhaps because it was symbolic of the LORD finally leaving what should have been His house of prayer and shutting the door to salvation offered by His crucifixion to those Jews who rejected Him repeatedly. Jesus stated in Matthew 23:38, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” referring to the nation of Judah as well as to the Temple. It is estimated that the Apostle Paul was executed in Rome around 66-68 A.D. by Emperor Nero, and Jerusalem was destroyed by Roman forces in 70 A.D.. So the doors to the Temple were permanently shut not many years after this final attack by unbelieving Jews on the Apostle Paul, never to be opened again. Now the only way to salvation is through the shed blood of the LORD Jesus Christ. Animal sacrifices for sin are no longer possible without the
Temple and the Levitical priesthood and are no longer acceptable by the LORD who was and is the final blood sacrifice for the atonement and remission of mankind’s sin.
Verses 31-32 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.
The only thing that stopped the rioting Jews from beating the Apostle Paul to death contrary to their own law was the Roman military showing up to restore peace to the city.
Verses 33-34 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.
Because the Roman captain and the Roman soldiers did not know who the Apostle Paul was, and because there was such turmoil, the best thing they could do was to arrest the innocent victim of this mob of rioters as they could not arrest the entire population of Jerusalem that was engaged in this unlawful behavior.
Verses 35-36 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.
The Apostle Paul could not even walk under his own power because of the extreme violence of the mob and so he had to be carried to safety by the Roman soldiers.
Application: King Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes wrote, “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.” Why? Because mankind’s nature is one of wickedness unless changed by the Holy Ghost, and because Satan is the god of this world and he uses the same tactics over and over again, tactics which involve the wickedness of people. Here the unbelieving Jews are recorded as treating the Apostle Paul in the same manner as they treated the LORD Jesus Christ, their promised Messiah, and in the same manner that they treated the prophets of old. They killed the prophets and killed Jesus. They were violent and wanted him dead, and had continually tried to kill him all of the years he was in ministry.
Verses 37-38 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?
Apparently the captain of the Roman soldiers had the Apostle Paul mixed up with a criminal from Egypt. So he was surprised that Paul spoke to him in Greek, the international language of that day.
Verses 39-40 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, (Acts 21)
After the Apostle Paul explained who he was, he was given the opportunity to speak to the mob, using the language of the Jews. This had always been his way of trying to spread the Gospel message in any way he could to as many people as he could, and he now had a very large number of people to preach to, even if they had just tried to kill him for no reason