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Home , Acts 11, Acts 21

Acts of the Holy Spirit (: 1 – 36) Christ Church Study

Chapter 21 completes the account of Paul’s third missionary journey, and moves on to the events that the Holy Spirit revealed in the latter stages of that journey – the “imprisonment and afflictions” that awaited Paul.

Having had a sorrowful parting from the Ephesian elders, Paul and his travelling companions continue by ship around the coast of Minor (south-west Turkey), past the islands of Cos and , to the port of in Lycia. Here they swap to a trading ship that heads directly for the city of Tyre in (), a 400 mile journey that would have taken about 5 days. This is the only time in Acts that Tyre is mentioned in connection with the spread of the church, though it’s very likely the gospel first came there with the believers who were scattered during the persecution following Stephen’s death (11:19).

They stayed in Tyre for a week so would have had a chance to meet with the whole church. As on previous occasions the Spirit speaks of the difficulties that lay ahead, but this time it’s recorded as an instruction “not to go on to ”. At a superficial level it would appear that the Spirit is giving Paul a different message to what is described in :22. But, in this earlier verse, if we distinguish what Paul received in his own spirit, i.e. the sense of being “bound”, from what the Holy Spirit reveals about the imprisonment and afflictions that await him, then the conflict is not so obvious. Or it could have been that the prophets in Tyre were adding their own advice to the warnings of the Holy Spirit, or perhaps it was just that the Spirit was giving Paul the freedom to choose a different course that meant he didn’t have to walk in to a storm of opposition.

The farewell from Tyre is a touching moment. Though Paul and his group had only stayed a week, they had created a bond of friendship with the fellowship there, and not just with the men but with the wives too such that whole families walked with them out of the city, and knelt and prayed with them on the beach. The next stop down the coast was Ptolemais (i.e., Acco), there they met the brothers, stayed overnight, and the next day arrived at Caesarea. Caesarea and its remarkable harbour were built by Herod the Great in 23 BC and he named it in honour of Caesar Augustus. The architecture was typically Greco-Roman and its scale was designed to impress. It was the provincial capital of and, from 6 AD, where the Roman governors lived.

The group stayed in Caesarea with Phillip the evangelist, and either on this visit or a perhaps a subsequent one Luke would have heard and recorded Phillip’s stories that we read in which happened some 24 years earlier. The prophet (also mentioned in :27–28) added to the Spirit’s warnings about the days ahead and he illustrated his word using Paul’s own belt. This dramatic touch, or perhaps his reputation as a prophet, prompted the local believers as well as Paul’s companions to urge him not to continue to Jerusalem. Though affected by their pleas Paul remained firm in his resolve to face even death for the sake his Lord. It’s possible to see parallels in a number of aspects between this journey of Paul’s to Jerusalem and ’ last journey to the city where he knew he would die.

The group set off on the 64 mile journey to Jerusalem accompanied by some of the disciples from Caesarea. They stayed with who had a large heart as well as a large house that could accommodate a group of perhaps 12 or more. In Jerusalem the group was well received and a meeting was arranged for the next day with James and the church elders. I imagine no one would want to miss Paul’s report of his 5-year mission and how the Lord has worked powerfully among the Gentiles to his glory. James in turn reports on the harvest among the Jews in Jerusalem where thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands (“myriads”), had responded.

However, the issue that becomes central is to reassure those believers who are “zealous for the law” that the rumours they’d heard about Paul’s teaching on circumcision were not accurate. So Paul agrees to take a vow himself and also pay the expenses of 4 believers who were under a Nazirite vow (this normally lasted 30 days and, on completion, involved several costly sacrifices (Num. 6:14–17)). In the end the trouble arose from a different quarter: Jews from Asia (perhaps ) falsely accused Paul of defiling the temple by taking a Gentile beyond the barrier (the Soreg) where they were forbidden on pain of death. Paul was dragged out of the temple and was in danger of his life when the Roman commander intervened. The soldiers were housed in the Antonia Fortress that overlooked the temple mount from the north-west, this was a strategic position that enabled them to quickly intervene. Paul was bound to 2 soldiers and hastily removed for his own safety from the riot. He was carried up the steps to the barracks away from the crowd who were shouting for his blood.