August 14, 2022
Evening Service

Paul Goes to Jerusalem

Acts 21:1  Now it came to pass, that when we had departed from them and set sail, running a straight course we came to Cos, the following day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. 

Acts 21:2  And finding a ship sailing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. 

Acts 21:3  When we had sighted Cyprus, we passed it on the left, sailed to Syria, and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload her cargo. 

Acts 21:4  And finding disciples, we stayed there seven days. They told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem. 

Acts 21:5  When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way; and they all accompanied us, with wives and children, till we were out of the city. And we knelt down on the shore and prayed. 

Acts 21:6  When we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship, and they returned home. 

Acts 21:7  And when we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, greeted the brethren, and stayed with them one day. 

When God provides us with His protection and care and causes our circumstances to go well, we must acknowledge this and give God the praise and honor. In all of Paul’s travels, no matter where the Spirit led him, he would ask about which disciples were in the region and seek them out. Paul stayed with the disciples in this region seven days and they told Paul through the Spirit not to go to Jerusalem. At the end of these seven days, as Paul departed, they paused on the shore and prayed together. Remember from chapter 20 of Acts that the Holy Spirit testifies to Paul about the troubles awaiting him in Jerusalem.

Acts 20:22  And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, 

Acts 20:23  except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me.

Therefore, by example, we need to pray always for our Lord’s protection and care and continue to pray without ceasing. As the disciples and Paul said the goodbyes, the departure was made more memorable and honorable to God by praying together before separating.

Acts 21:8  On the next day we who were Paul's companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. 

Acts 21:9  Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied. 

Acts 21:10  And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 

Acts 21:11  When he had come to us, he took Paul's belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, "Thus says the Holy Spirit, 'So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.' " 

Acts 21:12  Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. 

Acts 21:13  Then Paul answered, "What do you mean by 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." 

Acts 21:14  So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, "The will of the Lord be done." 

Acts 21:15  And after those days we packed and went up to Jerusalem. 

Acts 21:16  Also some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and brought with them a certain Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to lodge. 

Paul Visits James

Acts 21:17  And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. 

Acts 21:18  On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 

Paul had received an early warning from Agabus and the Holy Spirit of his troubles, so that when they came, they did not catch him off guard or create extreme fear and dread in him. The Word has given us awareness of tribulation in this world and that we will suffer troubles along the way in our journey to Heaven. Therefore, since we have the Word in our possession, we have also received early warning of trials and we should not be surprised or be fearful when they come about. His companions were weeping about what Paul must go through and it had begun to weaken his resolution. Paul was very frank in saying, not only would he be willing to be bound, but also die for the name of the Lord Jesus if necessary. The weeping and heartbreak his companions were feeling troubled Paul because he could not do what they were urging him to do without giving him a guilty conscience, meaning to not go to Jerusalem. A lesson for us here is when we see trials coming, use our faith in Jesus to say, “The will of the Lord must be done!” and there is no other way. However, not only this, but to say, “Let the will of the Lord be done!” for the Lord’s will is His wisdom and He does everything for our edification and counseling us in His ways and discipline. Troubles will come, we are to endure them without misery that the will of the Lord is done; when we become aware of troubles coming, our faith in Jesus must silence our fears, that the will of the Lord shall be done; and then we should say, Amen, let it be done. It is a great honor to become an old follower of Jesus Christ, to have been enabled by God’s grace to continue a long time in our service and duty, being grounded in faith, growing more and more experienced, to a good old age. Paul had the opportunity to stay with these older disciples and with their many years of faith came wisdom to teach others. There were many brothers in Christ at Jerusalem that received Paul happily. One commentary I read said that we may think if we had Paul among us, we would eagerly receive him; but we should not think we would unless we first would receive the doctrine of Christ Paul was bringing with him. Paul was not just on vacation traveling around from place to place, he was on a mission to bring the doctrine of Jesus everywhere he went. You can be very certain if Paul was staying with you in your home, you had best like to hear about Jesus!

Acts 21:19  When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 

Acts 21:20  And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, "You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law; 

Acts 21:21  but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. 

Acts 21:22  What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. 

Acts 21:23  Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow. 

Acts 21:24  Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law. 

Acts 21:25  But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality." 

Acts 21:26  Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them. 

Paul was very diligent about accrediting all his success to God, and the brothers in Christ gave praises to God for the blessings of his ministry. God had shown great honor to Paul, possibly more honor than any other apostle had, but they did not show envy of him; actually, it was to the contrary, they glorified the Lord together. The brothers in Christ did everything they could to encourage Paul to continue happily in his work. James and the brethren at Jerusalem, asked Paul to satisfy the believing Jews by some compliance with the ceremonial law. They thought it would be wise of him to conform to a limited extent. Paul knew in his heart it was great weakness to be so attentive of the shadows, when the substance had already come. The religion Paul preached and we can say the spiritual beliefs here, was not intended to destroy the law, but to fulfill the law. He preached Christ, meaning the Messiah has come and Jesus ended the strict obedience of the law for righteousness, but through repentance and faith, we are to make great use of the law. We see that evil and weakness of the human heart appeared strongly when viewing the ministry of Paul, the law is not done away with at all, but Christ fulfilled the law by giving of Himself as the Holy Lamb of God.  Christ bore our sins upon Himself so that the law would no longer burden us; He replaced the old covenant in which humans could not become forever forgiven. Paul’s character was excellent, his obedience was such that Jesus blessed his ministry and gave him success, but even with all this he could not gain their esteem and affection when they saw he did not hold on to the old ways of the law and ceremonial observances as they themselves continued. This gives us a good example of how we should be careful with our prejudices! The other apostles with Paul were not free from the blame in wanting him to pacify the Jews in a limited way, but it would be difficult to defend Paul from the charge of gratifying them too much in this consideration. It is pointless to attempt to run after the approval of fanatics, or antagonists to a movement. Even though Paul had agreed to a limited compliance, it did not serve as the peaceful solution as intended, he had hoped to pacify the Jews and it provoked them instead and they violently acted against him. God in His infinite wisdom overruled both the brethren’s advice and Paul's compliance with it, to serve a better purpose than was intended. It served no purpose thinking of pleasing men who would be gratified with nothing else but the rooting out of Christianity. Being graced by the Holy Spirit and having a committed faith will do more for our integrity and uprightness than any compliance made lacking sincerity. Likewise, we can learn from this passage that we ought not to urge anyone to doing anything contrary to his or her own convictions to pacify us.

Paul Arrested in the Temple

Acts 21:27  Now when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, 

Acts 21:28  crying out, "Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place." 

Acts 21:29  (For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.) 

Acts 21:30  And all the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut. 

Acts 21:31  Now as they were seeking to kill him, news came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. 

Acts 21:32  He immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down to them. And when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 

Acts 21:33  Then the commander came near and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and he asked who he was and what he had done. 

Acts 21:34  And some among the multitude cried one thing and some another. So when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, he commanded him to be taken into the barracks. 

Acts 21:35  When he reached the stairs, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob. 

Acts 21:36  For the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, "Away with him!" 

Paul Speaks to the People

Acts 21:37  Then as Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander, "May I speak to you?" He replied, "Can you speak Greek? 

Acts 21:38  Are you not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a rebellion and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?" 

Acts 21:39  But Paul said, "I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people." 

Acts 21:40  So when he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying, 

A person would think that being in the temple, Paul should have been protected as in a place of safety and sanctuary, however he was dragged out in an act of violence. The people, who dragged Paul out, bore false witness against him and accused him of unacceptable doctrine and unacceptable practice against the Mosaic ceremonies. It is common for those who are honest in their intents and act like a regular person, to be charged for things they do not know anything about and never had thoughts related to the accusation. As sad as it is, people have had false charges brought against them by evil people with bad intentions even when they know they had tried to accommodate their convictions. God will often make someone a protector to his people, who have no sentiment for them, but have only a compassion for sufferers and regard to the peace of the community. Here we see that false witness and mistaken opinions of good people and good ministers, many bystanders will join in the act of the evil intent on honest good people. God will at times intercede for the safety of his servants from wicked and evil men. He will give them opportunity to speak for themselves, to plead his case for the Redeemer and to spread the gospel message to whosoever will receive the Word and believe.

Next week, Brother Greg will tell you what Paul had to say to the people who had beaten and ridiculed him for the name of Christ and the redeeming of their souls.