CHAPTER 21
After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara. Acts 21:1
Kretzmann describes this parting: “The leave-taking from the elders was attended with such difficulties that Paul and his companions literally had to tear themselves from their embraces, so bitterly did they feel the parting from the beloved apostle…” 1 Guthrie says of this meeting that it “…shows how firm a bond primitive Christianity was.” 2
The trip to Jerusalem by sea resumed as the party sailed next to Kos. This island was about 40 miles (64 km.) south of Miletus. The island was home to the famous Greek physician Hippocrates, who lived in the fifth century BC. It was also the site of a large medical school.3
The next day the party sailed to the island of Rhodes, another 50 miles (80 km.) to the south-east. Rhodes was famous for its roses, from which it got its name. The island and city of the same name had a university that specialized in rhetoric. In ancient times Rhodes was world famous for its Colossus, a statue of Apollo (and lighthouse) that stood over 100 feet (30 m.) in height. It was said that ships could pass between the legs of this giant statue and it was noted as one of the wonders of the ancient world.4
From Rhodes they sailed due east to Patara, which was near to the southernmost promontory of Asia’s mainland. It was about 59 miles (80 km.) further east. This natural harbor was a chief port for ships headed to Syria. The city was famous for its oracle of Apollo and later also for the home of St. Nicholas, who would eventually gain worldwide fame, especially around Christmas time.
“We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went on board and set sail” (21:2). At this point Paul and his company were only 400 miles (643 km.) from Syria. We sense some of the tension relaxing as the group was now making much better time. On the open sea they would not have to contend with the frequent delays that had plagued them with the small merchant ships.
“After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed on to Syria. We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo” (21:3). Paul must have had pleasant thoughts as he sailed passed the large island of Cyprus. Just a few years before, he had launched his First Missionary Journey there, along with Barnabas and John Mark. Surely, through the ministry of Paul, the words of Isaiah spoken long before were coming to pass and the islands of the sea were now exalting and praising the true God (Isa. 24:15; 42:10; 60:9).5 After a few days journey the large ship landed at Tyre. In earlier Phoenician days this port was one of the most famous commercial centers in the world. But the Apostle Paul was a trader in a far different sense. He was a trader for Christ both by land and by sea,6 distributing the precious wares of the gospel wherever he went.
ON TO JERUSALEM
We sought out the disciples there and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. Acts 21:4
We have mentioned that Paul was not a tourist, merely enjoying his travel from place to place. Wherever he went he also went to work. At Tyre, Paul and his group searched out the body of Christ and found it. This congregation was small and unknown but it was amazingly loving, and in addition seemed to have some good spiritual gifts in its midst. Ironically, this small congregation may have been established due to Paul’s earlier persecution of the church in Jerusalem. We remember that due to that persecution, the Hellenist believers scattered in all directions taking the gospel with them (8:1, 4). Once again with the establishment of this small church the ancient scriptures were fulfilled (Psa. 87:4). Because the ship had to unload its merchandise, the group spent a week with these believers.
As was the case in other places, these believers through their prophetic utterances warned Paul that danger awaited him in Jerusalem (cf. 20:22-23). We must understand that the Holy Spirit was not forbidding Paul to travel to Jerusalem, but only warning him about what would happen when he got there. We have seen earlier that Paul was compelled by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem (20:22).
Barker & Kohlenberger say here: “This section is theologically significant because Luke seems to describe Paul’s trip to Jerusalem in terms of Jesus’ going up to Jerusalem to die…a similar plot by the Jews…a handing over to the Gentiles…a triple prediction on the way of coming suffering…a steadfast resolution…so he describes Paul’s journey to Jerusalem in terms reminiscent of the Suffering Servant.” 7 Paul, like his Master, had set his face toward Jerusalem.
“When it was time to leave, we left and continued on our way. All of them, including wives and children, accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray. After saying goodbye to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home” (21:5-6). The visit with the Christians at Tyre surely encouraged Paul and verified the authenticity of the Christian faith he had suffered so much to preach. This is a precious and endearing picture as this small body of believers, including children, clung to Paul and his group, knelt together with them to pray and accompanied them to their ship.
We might note that it was a common practice in that day to accompany a departing guest some distance down the road (15:3; Rom. 15:24; 1 Cor. 16:6, 11). While this was a traditional custom, the practice of kneeling for prayer was uniquely Christian.8
“We continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed with them for a day” (21:7). Barclay says at this point, “The narrative is speeding up and there is an atmosphere of approaching storm as Paul comes nearer Jerusalem…” 9 Once more, Paul and his company are comforted by the church of God. Barclay remarks again: “…One of the great privileges of belonging to the church is the fact that no matter where a man goes, he is sure to find a community of like-minded people into which he may enter. The man who is in the family of the church has friends all over the world.” 10
Ptolmais was another ancient Phoenician seaport. It is known today by its biblical name of Acco (Judg. 1:31). The port rests at the northern end of beautiful Haifa Bay. In Paul’s day Ptolmais was a Roman colony. The stay at Ptolmais was brief, lasting only one day and then the group was on its way down the coastline to Caesarea.
THE STAY AT CAESAREA
Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.” Acts 21:8-9
The journey on to Caesarea was about a distance of 40 miles (63 km.). The city of Caesarea was rebuilt by Herod the Great and he had added a marvelous deep sea harbor. In Paul’s time Caesarea served as the Roman administrative center for the province of Judea.
Meyer says, “The days Paul spent at Caesarea were the last happy days of freedom that he was to enjoy for two or three years…An unseen hand was beckoning; a voice which only he could hear was calling.” 11
Paul and his group lodged with Philip the Evangelist for several days. Philip was one of the seven deacons mentioned in 6:5, but he had branched out into evangelistic work in Samaria and also with the Ethiopian Eunuch. His four daughters were prophetesses. No doubt Luke relished the time with Philip and his daughters as he gathered stories of early church activities from these original sources. Luke may have also gotten first-hand information about Stephen and his death at this time.12 We remember that in 8:40 we left Philip at Caesarea and apparently he had made it his home.
We have no indication that the four daughters warned Paul about going to Jerusalem. Being prophetesses they no doubt sensed that the visit to Jerusalem would cause Paul much difficulty. Later, as the Jewish revolt against the Romans began to heat up in Israel, Philip and his daughters apparently migrated to Hierapolis in Phrygia. Also John the Beloved moved to Ephesus.13 Philip’s four prophetically inclined daughters may have foreseen that when the revolt started more than twenty thousand Jewish people would be slaughtered in a single hour at Caesarea.14
“After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea” (21:10). As we remember, Paul had met Agabus before. When Paul and Barnabas were working together at Antioch of Syria, Agabus had arrived and correctly predicted the great famine under Emperor Claudius (11:27-28). Based on his prophecy, Paul and the others got together a relief offering for the city of Jerusalem. Now Agabus came to Caesarea, indicating that the word about Paul’s arrival was beginning to spread.
“Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles’” (21:11). Based on the prophetic track record of Agabus it was likely that no one, including Paul, doubted the accuracy of this prophecy.
It is interesting that in this event Agabus reflected an Old Testament style of prophesying, that of acting out the prophecy. We see this type of prophecy in several places in the Old Testament (cf. Isa. 20:3-4; Jer.13:1-11; 27:2-3; Ezek. 4:1-17; 5:1-4; 12:1-28; 1 Ki. 11:29-31). He bound himself hand and foot, indicating what was about to happen to Paul in Jerusalem. The belt in those days was a long, narrow piece of cloth which was wrapped several times around the waist. It was also used as a pocket or purse.15
Again, we emphasize that this prophecy was a warning to Paul. Agabus did not forbid him from going up to Jerusalem, but only told what would happen if he did go. None of this changed the apostle’s mind about his journey.
“When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. Then 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’” (21:12-13). Again, like his Master almost thirty years before, Paul had set his face like a flint. He would go up to Jerusalem regardless of the cost (Isa. 50:7). Like his Master, he was willing to die in Jerusalem if necessary. Paul was an amazing man!
“When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, ‘The Lord’s will be done.’ After this, we started on our way up to Jerusalem” (21:14-15). The King James Version here reads, “we took up our carriages.” This translation caused some commentators to think that they rode to Jerusalem on horses or carriages. What verse 15 says is likely clearer in the New King James Version: “And after those days we packed and went up to Jerusalem.” The trip up to Jerusalem from Caesarea was no small matter. Travelers climbed from sea level up some very steep hills to Jerusalem, an elevation of 2474 ft. (754 m), and this in a distance of 75 miles (121 km.). It was a hard three-day journey. It seemed at this point that all the team members as well as others had decided that it was the Lord’s will for Paul to go.
“Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us and brought us to the home of Mnason, where we were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus and one of the early disciples” (21:16). We note that the Caesarea disciples did not just accompany Paul for a reasonable distance from town but they went all the way to Jerusalem with him. They had apparently been busy making other arrangements for the comfort of Paul and his party. Likely they had arranged for an early disciple by the name of Mnason to be the Jerusalem host. Obviously, Mnason was a person of some means and apparently had a large house in Jerusalem.16 He was also probably a Hellenistic believer who was comfortable with Gentiles.17 That would not have been the case with many of Jerusalem’s Jewish believers. Bruce says, “Not every member of the church of Jerusalem would be prepared to have a party of Gentile Christians in his home …” 18
Since Mnason was a very early disciple there is no doubt that he also supplied Luke with much critical information for his gospel.19
PAUL’S ARRIVAL IN JERUSALEM
When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters received us warmly. Acts 21:17
The Jerusalem reception for Paul and his group of Gentiles was outwardly warm. This was not just because of the large offering the group brought, because Luke does not even mention this offering. There were still deep tensions underneath and they would promptly emerge. Paul was not going back to the Jerusalem he once knew. The date was around AD 57 and Israel was less than ten years away from the start of the great revolt against Rome that would begin in the Galilee in AD 66 and spread to Jerusalem. Already there were tensions related to the Gentiles, and nationalistic tendencies were being inflamed. For Jewish people to be too warm towards Gentiles would have surely raised suspicions. Stott focuses on this problem, saying: “One of the major themes which he has been developing concerns the relations between Jews and Gentiles in the Messianic community.” 20
“The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present” (21:18). For some time James, the half-brother of Jesus, was the recognized head of the church in Jerusalem. His influence even extended out to the world-wide church. Also, other leaders such as Peter and John had apparently left the city by this time.21
“Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry” (21:19). It is obvious that Paul was not just bringing a report of his activities among the Gentiles, but he was presenting several examples of his work by having a group of believing Gentiles present with him as “exhibit A.” Paul’s report was quite spectacular due to the great number of Gentiles converted and to the many signs and wonders God had produced in various situations.
“When they heard this, they praised 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’” (21:20). Certainly the leaders were full of praise when they heard the report of how God was working in the Gentile world. But immediately they brought up the Jewish problem that was vexing them sorely. Barker and Kohlenberger say, “…the Jerusalem church was increasingly being caught between its allegiance to the nation and its fraternal relation to Paul’s Gentile mission… But with the rising tide of Jewish nationalism and a growing body of scrupulous believers in the Jerusalem church, Jewish Christian solidarity with the Gentile mission was becoming more and more difficult to affirm…Undoubtedly Paul recognized the increased tensions at Jerusalem.” 22
We have scriptural evidence that many Jewish priests were now in the church, as well as many from the ranks of the Pharisees (6:7; 15:5). Probably most of these had strong leanings toward legalism. James was in the delicate position of trying to keep the legalists happy and still encouraging the evangelistic outreach to Gentiles. Some of these legalists were actually false brethren as Paul tells us (Gal. 2:4). Some of these no doubt found themselves in the ranks of the Judaizers, who caused the apostle so much trouble in the new churches. Many in these groups demanded the circumcision of Gentiles. However, Paul knew that “…circumcision was a matter of indifference; it made no difference to one’s status in God’s sight (Gal. 5:6; 6:15).” 23
Guzik says: “Based on Romans 14:4-6, it seems that Paul didn’t have a problem with Jewish Christians who wanted to continue to observe old customs and laws. It seems that he himself did so sometimes, such as when he took and fulfilled a vow of consecration in Acts 18:18 (probably a Nazirite vow). Paul seemed fine with this, as long as they didn’t think it made them more right before God.” 24
“They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs” (21:21). What is reflected here is false information. Wiersbe remarks, “It has well been said that, though a rumor doesn’t have a leg to stand on, it travels mighty fast!” 25 The genius of Paul’s churches was that they were mostly founded with Jewish converts, Jewish proselytes and God-fearers from the synagogues. All these groups were thoroughly instructed in the Old Testament. Paul never taught that the Old Testament should be rejected but he used it as a basis of all his teaching.26
“What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow” (21:22-23). We can almost sense the pressure in the voice of James. He was facing a dilemma and had to have a quick solution to it. It seems at that moment a solution must have popped into James’ head. He must have remembered four men who had taken a vow and who were scheduled to complete it. Possibly, Paul could join with them and at least pay their fees.
PAUL AND JEWISH RITUAL
Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. Acts 21:24
If Paul could somehow join in with these men it might calm the fears of the legalists. Bruce says, “If he were seen to take part publicly in one of the ancestral customs, it would be realized that he was, after all, an observant and practicing Jew…” 27 It seems that some rituals were not exactly foreign to Paul. He had once shaved his head in a Nazarite vow (18:18-21) as we have mentioned. It appears that this was the vow that the four men had taken.
It was an acceptable act of Jewish piety for someone to pay all the expenses of concluding the Nazarite vow for another person or persons.28 However, it does not seem possible that Paul could have joined these four men in the Nazarite vow itself. The period of the vow was a minimum of thirty days,29 so Paul could not possibly join them for this period. It is far more likely that Paul was involved in a different type of ceremony. Stott says, “…it may mean that Paul had a seven-day purification ceremony of his own to undergo because during his long absence from Jerusalem the Jews regarded him as having become Levitically unclean…” 30
Bruce says of Paul, “He himself was happy to conform to Jewish customs when he found himself in Jewish society.” 31 Paul had earlier stated this principle in 1 Corinthians 9:20. Bruce adds, “A truly emancipated spirit such as Paul’s is not in bondage to its own emancipation.” 32
For Paul to join in and pay the expenses of these four men would have involved quite a large amount of money. Clarke list the total items offered as “Eight lambs, four rams, besides oil, flour, etc… (cf. Num. 6:1-21).” 33
“As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality” (21:25). This whole scenario involved mostly the Jewish believers in Jerusalem. However, James makes reference here to the decision of the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15, and that decision mostly regarded Gentile believers. Marshall feels that this statement is addressed mostly to Paul’s Gentile companions.34
Barnes speaks of this section concisely: “The sum of the whole matter is this, that when the observance of the Jewish ceremonial law was urged as necessary to justification and acceptance with God, Paul resisted it; when it was demanded that its observance should be enjoined on the Gentiles, he opposed it; in all other cases he made no opposition to it, and was ready himself to comply with it, and willing that others should also.” 35
“The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them” (21:26). Apparently, the next day Paul went to the temple to begin his own cleansing, while at the same time giving notice that the vow of the four men, as well as his own, would be concluded on the seventh day.36
THE TEMPLE RIOT
When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, Acts 21:27
As Paul walked about in the temple area he was soon recognized. Those recognizing him were from the province of Asia. In all likelihood they were Jews from Ephesus, where Paul had spent a great deal of time. We cannot rule out Alexander the Coppersmith as being part of this hostile crowd. Tempers flared, especially on those hot summer days. It was never difficult to ferment a riot in Jerusalem due to the abnormally high religious feelings that most Jews had regarding the temple and the city. The agitated crowd immediately seized Paul.
The mob ran together, “shouting, ‘Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place’” (21:28). The mob was shouting untruths. Paul had not taught against the law or the temple. He had certainly not brought a Gentile into the temple complex. Unfortunately, mobs generally have little tolerance for truth.
It would have been quite impossible for Paul to have brought Trophimus, his Gentile helper, into the Court of Israel. Gentiles were confined to the Court of the Gentiles. They could go no further. In those days four-and-a-half-foot (1.37 m.) barriers were erected to prevent this very thing and no doubt they were manned under the watchful eyes of the Levites. In recent years two of these barriers have been discovered by archaeologists. The signs on these barriers read, “No foreigner may enter within the barricade which surrounds the temple and enclosure. Any one who is caught trespassing will bear personal responsibility for his ensuing death.” 37
In the case of Gentiles transgressing the temple compound, the Romans had given the Sanhedrin permission for the Jews to put such a one to death, even if the person was a Roman citizen.38 So, not only could the mob have murdered Paul on this trumped-up charge, but the Sanhedrin could have also murdered him.
“(They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)” (21:29). We remember how Trophimus from Ephesus had accompanied Paul on this journey. As we have said, it was virtually impossible for Trophimus to have gone into the temple area. Also, Paul would have been wise enough to forbid any Gentile helper following him into the Court of Israel.
PAUL SEIZED
The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut (21:30).
News of the riot must have spread like wild fire through the city and people came from everywhere. They seized Paul and probably dragged him out into the Court of the Gentiles. 39 At this moment Paul’s life was in great danger as they were no doubt hitting and kicking him with all their might. Obviously, they did not want to murder Paul in the temple complex itself.
We are told here that the temple doors were immediately shut. How symbolic this act was! They were at last officially shutting the doors on the gospel. Of course, God was also shutting the doors on them.40 Their temple would be left to them desolate (Lk. 13:34-35). In a little over a decade the temple would be totally destroyed by the Romans.
“While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul” (21:31-32). Obviously, Paul was in grave danger. Barclay says, “There was never a time when Paul was nearer death than this and it was the impartial justice of Rome which saved his life.” 41 How true the words of Jesus that his servants would fall into the hands of men (Lk. 9:44; 24:7).
The temple mount was the traditional hot spot for trouble and uprisings. The Romans knowing this had made thorough preparation for such outbreaks. In those days the massive Fortress of Antonia stood at the northwest corner of the temple mount. One could observe the whole temple complex from the towers of this fortress.42 The structure had been built by King Herod the Great and named in honor of his friend Mark Antony.
In normal times the garrison was manned by a tribunus militum (our rank of major or colonel) along with a cohort of troops. This would have included 760 infantry and 240 cavalry.43 During festival times when nationalistic fervor was high the Romans would be certain to have a thousand men present.44 From the fortress the Romans had immediate access to the temple area by two flights of stairs, so they were quick to respond to the outbreak of violence. By the fact that officers are mentioned, it is felt that at least two centurions and perhaps 160 soldiers were sent down to rescue Paul.45 We can realize that with the presence of such a force the people stopped beating the apostle.
PAUL AND THE COMMANDER
The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done. Acts 21:33
In the Roman world such outbreaks of violence were taken very seriously. “Rome insisted on civil order and a riot was unforgivable sin both for the populace who staged it and the commander who allowed it.” 46 We can thus understand why the commander appeared in person in this instance. He was taking no chances and had Paul bound with two chains. From this point on Luke will assign a good deal of space to Paul’s imprisonments and examinations. We can feel that these things marked an important part of the book of Acts in Luke’s estimation.47 The commander’s immediate concern was to get information out of Paul, but as we will see, this was impossible in the midst of such mayhem.
“Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another, and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. When Paul reached the steps, the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers” (21:34-35). There was such confusion all around that the commander could not determine what the charge should be regarding Paul. He thus ordered that he be taken up the stairs and into the fortress. There was such bedlam that Paul’s life was still in danger despite the soldiers present. It became necessary for the soldiers to actually carry Paul to prevent his injury.
“The crowd that followed kept shouting, Get rid of him!’” (21:36). We can remember that a very similar thing was shouted almost thirty years before regarding Jesus (Lk. 23;18; Jn. 19:15). So, despite his troubles, Paul was certainly in good company.
PAUL ADDRESSES THE HOSTILE CROWD
As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, “May I say something to you?” “Do you speak Greek?” he replied. Acts 21:37
Most of us would have been happy to get inside the fortress at such a time, but Paul was a very courageous person and wished to address the angry crowd. He asked to speak a word to the commander and the commander was shocked to hear him speaking cultured Greek without an accent.48
“Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the wilderness some time ago?” Paul answered, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people” (21:38-39). It appears that the commander was laboring under the misconception that Paul was the Egyptian rebel who had caused much trouble in the past. The historian Josephus tells that this rebel claimed he was a prophet. He drew a great multitude after him to the Mount of Olives, where he declared that at his command the walls of Jerusalem would fall down. The governor Felix ordered an attack on these fanatics slaying four hundred of them and taking two hundred alive. However, the Egyptian somehow escaped.49
The word for terrorists is the Greek sikariōn. As the revolt against Rome drew closer, this word described a group of assassins (Gk. sicarri) who carried curved daggers under their clothing and stabbed to death aristocrats who were mingling in the crowds. These murderers often slipped away unseen.50 The assassins are often called “zealots” in the New Testament (cf. Lk. 6:15; Acts 1:13). It is amazing that one of these assassins did not get close enough in the crowd and plunge a dagger into Paul’s heart. It is further amazing that at least one and perhaps two of these radicals were reformed and called to be disciples of the Lord (cf. Matt. 10:4). Some commentators have felt that Judas had such a connection.
Paul assured the commander that he was a citizen of Tarsus in Cilicia. Tarsus was no small city but had become a cultural center of Hellenism. The city had actually become a rival to both Rome and Athens.51
“After receiving the commander’s permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic:” (21:40). It seems that a great hush fell over the crowd as Paul began to speak. They were no doubt shocked that he spoke to them in their Hebrew language, as the Greek text says. Some scholars have insisted that he spoke in the Aramaic language, which was the vernacular at the time. The languages are very similar.