Only God’s grace and His Word can straighten this dark world out. The Apostle Paul faced a similar dark pagan world. Keep a prayerful mind and heart as we go through His Word. We are looking at the infant church as reported in Acts, but the lessons also apply to the church in today’s darkened world, sorely in need of the Savior.  

The great commission wasn’t just for the 1st century apostles and disciples. We also are His witnesses. Those who received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior continued to spread the gospel message to the far reaches of the known world. We as the church are commissioned, under the power of the Holy Spirit, to do likewise. Those early Christians risked their lives in sharing their faith; but by God’s grace, we don’t have to risk ours. We see the same message in Pastor Scott’s Wednesday study on the Great Commission. We have the Holy Spirit to empower us to share the Word of God’s grace with a world in dire need of Jesus Christ. Worried about the direction of the United States? God can put it back on tract through His people, but with prayer, word and deed, and yes, even at the ballot box. God fearing people in government can and will make all the difference.  Keep that in mind as we go through our study of Acts. 

Chapter 21 opens with Paul in Miletus, a seaport in Roman Asia, south of Ephesus, preparing to depart for Jerusalem. Both Acts and the Gospel of Luke were written by Luke who accompanied Paul on much of his travels described in Acts. Both books were written to the 1st century church, which are also for today’s church through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 

Chapter 21 picks up where chapter 20 left off, with Paul saying goodbye to the Ephesian elders that traveled to Miletus to say their goodbyes. V.1 notes Paul and his companions’ emotional farewell to those Ephesian elders. Not just a warm friendship, but a show of true Christian joy. Paul’s sea voyage is noted, beginning in v.2, describing his return to Jerusalem. 

The noted stages of Paul's journey were daylong trips from one harbor to the next along the conventional sea route keeping close to the southern coast of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey), then to the open sea past the southern coast of Cyprus to Tyre. From there they continued by boat to Ptolemais where they disembarked and continued by land to Jerusalem.

They docked at the port city of Tyre (noted by star)—which was an important location in the region’s trade route. Image on right show a layout of the island city, connected to the mainland by a causeway. 

Their “time being up” in v.5 was after the ship had finish unloaded its cargo destined for that location, and perhaps loaded additional cargo for the next stop. In spite of the risks, Paul was still determined to return to Jerusalem. When Paul and his travel companions boarded the ship to continue their trip, the other Christians returned home. 

Since Luke doesn’t give us the names of the “we” it's safe to surmise they are the same men that accompanied Paul back in chapter 20:4-6 (noted on the next slide). Ptolemais is a seaport city in the province of Galilee. V.9 may indicate that Philip’s daughters, who prophesied, were teachers in the church, since this is a frequent meaning of the word prophesy. 

A reminder of who Paul’s travel companions were from chapter 2.... (So-pa-ter), (P-rus), (A-ri-star-kus), (Se-cun-dus), (Ty-chi-cus), (Tro-phi-mus) 

Here we see Philip the Evangelist, noted in v.8. Our travel through Acts has been a long journey, and it’s easy to forget some of it. So, here’s a reminder of who Philip the Evangelist is, who first appeared in Acts 6 through 8 including his encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch as shown on the slide. 

Agabus (A-gu-bus) is one of the 70 disciples described in Luke 10:1-24. He is thought to have been born in Pisidia Antioch. Acts notes a number of prophets in those days. Agabus received his prophecy from the Holy Spirit, regarding what lay ahead for Paul. The Gentiles noted in v.8 are the Roman authorities in Jerusalem. Noting the danger that awaited him, yet Paul felt compelled to return to Jerusalem. 

The “we” in v.12-14, most likely included Luke, Timothy, and the others who were accompanying Paul. Was the prophesy in v.11, a warning to Paul to stay away from Jerusalem? Yet, with little regard for his own safety, Paul apparently felt compelled to proceed, and that doing so was the Lord’s will, as noted in v.14. Paul did not know what awaited him, but he trusted the Lord’s will to return, even if it meant his life. 

In v.15, Jerusalem was south of them geographically, yet at a higher elevation, thus they went “up to Jerusalem.” Mnason (M-na-son) a Cyprian Christian (v.16) was apparently one of Paul’s early converts. In returning to Jerusalem, not only was Paul’s life at risk, but anyone accompanying him was also at risk. One reason for their trip was to bring gifts (financial support) from the churches in Asia to the Christians in Jerusalem, many of whom lost their livelihood for professing Jesus, as part of “the Way”—since Christianity was viewed as a Jewish heresy.

Paul met with the apostles and church elders in Jerusalem. Luke most likely was present in the “we” since he is the one who recorded the account. Paul was the “link” to the Gentile church for those in Jerusalem, many of whom had originally believed Jesus came strictly as a Jewish Messiah. 

Back to the same argument that Paul had encountered with the Jews throughout his travels. His message then and here is that both Jew and Gentile are saved by grace alone, not observance of the law of Moses or religious practices. Many wanted to remain Jews and yet follow Christ. Hard for Jews to walk away from culture and the Abrahamic Covenant that set them apart from the world. Yet, they did not understand that the Abrahamic covenant was based on Abraham’s faith, not his works. God formed His covenant with Abraham 430 before the Mosaic laws were even established. 

In Jerusalem, adherence to the Law was an essential part of the Jewish Covenant and culture, or they would be ostracized from family and community. This was no small matter. In v.24 they tell Paul “be a Jew” or face the consequences. Something that Paul would have to demonstrate if he was to be accepted. Paul never told the Jews that they had to abandon their religious observances, only that Gentiles did not have to observe them to follow Christ as Savior; because both Jew and Gentile are saved by grace alone and not by works, nor observance of the Mosaic Laws. 

The Mosaic Law was ingrained in the Jews. This takes us back to Acts 15—instructions for Gentile believers. This was not only needed, but necessary so as not to alienate Jew from Gentile believers. Also that we as Christians are not exempt from following God’s commandments (i.e., not Jewish customs), which isn’t the cause of our salvation, but rather the fruit of our salvation. 

Did Paul compromise? We saw in chapter 18:18, Paul had taken a similar vow. Again, Paul’s basic message did not tell the Jews they had to abandon their Abrahamic culture and observances when they accepted Christ as Messiah, but in no uncertain terms, they were not saved by them nor should they impose them on the Gentile believers.

Once again there was both anger and outrage against Paul by those Jews who were there from Asia for the Jewish holidays and recognized him. It was a custom for Jews from Asia and the Roman provinces to visit Jerusalem during the Feast days. These were the very ones that Paul debated with—their anger was inflamed at seeing Paul in the temple, since they considered him a heretic.  

They wrongly assumed Paul took Trophimus into the temple area, forbidden to Gentiles, which he did not do. 

Layout of the Jerusalem temple. Gentiles were not permitted in any of the inner courts under penalty of death. It shows the outlining area where the Gentiles were permitted, but only those areas. 

The Jews were religious zealots, and not receptive to Jesus as Messiah. Roman soldiers were stationed in all major cities, including Jerusalem, to retain order. Once again, the Romans had to intervene, saving Paul from physical harm and possibly even death by stoning as Stephan was stoned to death under similar circumstances in Acts 6:12-7:60. 

Rome’s intent was to preserve order within the Empire. Outrage against Paul reached climax, yet their shouts and charges weren’t consistent. So the Romans took Paul into protective custody. 

In Acts 18:10, when in Corinth, the Holy Spirit told Paul, to continue preaching and not be afraid of attack or harm. Did Paul think it would also be true for him in Jerusalem? Nevertheless, God had a different plan for Paul in Jerusalem. 

The Roman commander confused Paul with an Egyptian who had started a revolt, but when Paul professed his Roman citizenship in Greek, the commander realized that Paul wasn’t that Egyptian—which could be the difference between life and death. A citizen of Tarsus, an important Roman city, apparently carried weight within the Roman Empire. 

Paul was given permission by the commander to address the angry crowd. Aramaic was in the Semitic language family—common language of Judea, also spoken by Jesus and the apostles. As was Greek in Asia Minor. We will pick up Paul’s defense in chapter 22.

We leave Paul under arrest by the Romans in Jerusalem. The fact that he was a Roman citizen and spoke Greek saved him from the outraged Jewish mob, and as a Roman citizen, placed him under protection of the Romans. The Roman Empire, under God’s sovereignty, existed and served as the platform for spreading the Gospel, including a common language and Roman law and order. “Pax Romana” (Roman Law and Order), was the basis of peace that existed throughout the Empire, including the cities Paul visited and protected Paul in his travels. 

Just as Paul faced perilous times in his day for speaking and spreading the Gospel, the United States of America is in perilous times today for neglecting and even suppressing the Gospel. Pray for our Nation, for our Pastor and his family, for our church and its elders, that we may serve God as He would have us serve Him. 

End of

The Acts of the Apostles

Chapter 21