(Suggested Reading: Chapter 21)
Chapter 21 starts the third ‘we’ section of the Acts. This tells us that Luke is travelling with Paul once more. Tyre is the first significant point on their voyage to Jerusalem. Here the ship discharges her cargo and there is a seven-day stopover. There are disciples at Tyre but it does not say how many. Conversions in the first century were like a tidal wave. Surprising it is to find believers at such points as Troas in great numbers, here at Tyre, and then—v. 7—at Ptolemais. Both in the numerous towns and cities where believers are found, and also in their numbers we see the response to God the Father’s desire— “that My house may be filled” —Luke 14:2323And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. (Luke 14:23).
Warnings That Paul Should Not Go to Jerusalem
In the cities through which Paul passes, the Holy Spirit witnesses that bonds and tribulations await him see 20:23. As he approaches Jerusalem these warnings intensify. Here at Tyre we are given an account of the warnings he receives from the Spirit through disciples v. 4. Paul’s reaction is not given us here, but he continues on his course. The disciples’ love for Paul is beautifully portrayed. It is like a family scene, with wives and children on the seashore, sorrow at his departure, and united prayer. We might remark in passing that “the shore” in Acts is only found here and in Paul’s shipwreck. Paul’s sailings in the public preaching of the gospel are almost over and he is reaching the shore. That is the message. The next stop is the last one at Ptolemais where the ship docks. Although brethren are there the Apostle stops but briefly and goes on to Caesarea by foot.
At Caesarea he lodges in the house of Philip the Evangelist. It is noteworthy that of the three gifts evangelist, pastor and teacher Eph. 4:11I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, (Ephesians 4:1)1 There is no direct mention of the pastor in Acts. This is doubtless because Acts is a foundation book and in the early mighty rushing energy of the gospel, pastoral work had to wait until the first converts were made and taught. So we find teachers at Antioch—13:1—and an evangelist, Philip, here.
Philip is a hospitable brother. He has a large house which he opens to the apostolic party. This is the last mention of a house in the text until the very close—and “house” is a constantly recurring word in Acts which can yield much profit by private study. Well, in Philip’s house dwell with him four daughters who prophesy. Philip’s history, traced through the Acts is full of instruction, especially the descriptive phrase “one of the seven”. He was one of the seven deacons chosen by the people at Jerusalem to relieve the Apostles from the work of distributing money to the poor so they could devote their time to the Word of God. Here we find Paul bringing a collection of money to Jerusalem and leaving his ministry of the Word of God to the Gentiles. Philip’s Christian life spans these contrasting events.
And now Agabus, who appeared in the “Peter” part of the Acts re-appears in the “Paul” part. He is the prophet who foretold the famine which came to pass throughout all the world—this means the Roman Empire—in the days of Claudius Caesar—see 11:28. His odd name— “grasshopper” —ties in with such a prediction, for locusts, which desolate vast areas, are a form of grasshopper. Now he foretells another famine, although at first glance it does not seem so. His actual prediction is the binding and imprisonment of Paul. The Jews were to do this, handing Paul over to the Gentile power—to the Romans. The figurative meaning is not difficult to discern if we look down the centuries and see what happened to Paul’s doctrine—the continuation of Paul in the earth so to speak. The Church of Rome restricted the Bible to the clergy and reserved the right of interpreting it to the Church. For generations the Bible was chained to the Church pulpit and the people were kept in darkness. Thus the chaining and imprisonment of Paul by Rome at the beginning was continued for centuries. God graciously permitted the sun to burst through the clouds for a season at the time of the Reformation and later years. But only for a season. Until this temporary relief there was a spiritual famine throughout “all the world” —a spiritual famine of the Words of the Lord—Amos 8:1111Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: (Amos 8:11)—as real as the first famine Agabus predicted. Today the work of the Reformation has been largely undone by a spiritual landslide in Western countries. This has kept Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith unknown to the masses of the people or else unwanted. So famine conditions have been renewed with Paul bound once more.
Returning to the actual incident we might remark that it gives us the strongest warning Paul has received to date. Also, it is in contrast to Peter’s behavior. The Spirit said to Peter TO GO with them—the Gentiles—and to Paul NOT TO GO to Jerusalem—the Jews. When Luke, and Paul’s other companions, together with the brethren at Caesarea beseech Paul not to go up to Jerusalem he remonstrates “what mean ye to weep and to break my heart? For I am ready, not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the Name of the Lord Jesus.” At these words the brethren cease pleading, sensing the futility of it, and say “the will of the Lord be done.” And so it is. For Agabus’ mention of the Holy Spirit is the last mention of Him until the very close of the book when Paul condemns the Jews utterly—28:25—for their rejection of Christ. This is the most ominous of the many warning signs, for Acts, at least in the first two sections—the ministry of Peter and Paul—is really the Acts of the Holy Spirit. It is not so in the third section where there is no mention of the Holy Spirit for seven whole chapters.
Paul, James, and the Elders at Jerusalem
The Apostolic party now load their baggage and head for Jerusalem. They are joined by disciples from Caesarea, and Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple— “with whom we should lodge.” This is the last mention of “disciple” in the Acts. “And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. And the day following Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.” This closes off the third “we” section of Acts. Luke’s movements after attending this meeting are not given us and for some time now Paul is alone.
The Apostles are not present at this meeting—only James and the elders. It is straining the interpretation to invent imaginary journeys which would absent all the Apostles from Jerusalem at the very time of Paul’s arrival there. Especially is this so when Scripture states with great precision when the Apostles were all present—8:1. This misconception is based on a faulty understanding of the Apostles’ role in the Church. Their education in divine things was not imparted by human tutors, be they ever so learned, but from God Himself—from God manifest in the flesh. Not only so, but in His last prayer on earth to His Father the Lord places them in a most exalted position—John 17:6-196I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. 7Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. 8For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. 9I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 10And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. 11And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. 12While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 16They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 19And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. (John 17:6‑19). Even in praying for others—John 17:2020Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; (John 17:20)—that is for us—the Lord makes it clear that we are to believe on Him through the Apostles’ word. Their primary role was to communicate this teaching to others. Hence it was always their policy to avoid becoming entangled in local matters, so they could devote their time to teaching and preaching the Word of God. We saw this in the beginning—how they delegated routine matters to the seven deacons. So here they are not found diverting their energies into matters that can be handled by the elders. It is clear that the local oversight was delegated to James and the elders. The arrival of Paul with a collection from the Gentile Assemblies would of course interest them, but no doctrinal questions are at stake as at the Council of Jerusalem, requiring their presence. So the Apostles do not attend the Meeting. As to the elders it is thought that as many as seventy of them were present,1 based upon the great number of believers at Jerusalem—in the tens of thousands now. Be that as it may Paul went in to James, the Scripture says. As at the first Jerusalem council, it is clear that James is presiding here too.
Paul first salutes them. No mention is made of the collection Paul has raised from the Gentiles. Do the Jewish Christians accept it as a matter of right? It has been most close to Paul’s heart for he mentions it to Felix later— “Now after many years I came to bring alms to my nation” —24:17. At any rate Paul begins by declaring particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. The significance of this statement is often overlooked. Really, it terminates the third mission. Three missions had started at Antioch and at the conclusion of two of them Paul had returned to the Assembly there. Now he gives a report of his work, not to Antioch which would have been interested in it, but to Jerusalem, which is not. In so doing Paul not only ends the third mission but his recorded public ministry too. This is what he predicted to the Ephesian elders—20:24. His general public ministry, as recorded in Acts began after he left Jerusalem and ended when he returned there.
The reaction at Jerusalem is to be expected. They glorify God true—but they soon veer away from that to the subject of law keeping. What can we expect from them? They are continuing with the law of Moses, the Temple, etc. although God had ended all that when the Jews stoned Stephen. The Spirit had signaled the end of that ministry . . .2 in Stephen’s death. If Paul thought, as presumably the other Apostles did also, that the meeting was to be routine in character, James and the elders thought otherwise. Paul is first informed that there are tens of thousands of believing Jews who keep the law and who have heard sad tidings concerning Paul. These pious Jews have been informed that Paul has taught all the Jews among the nations apostasy from Moses. They are not concerned about Gentile Christians. They want to preserve the law of Moses in all its purity in all the Jews among the nations. They themselves are scarcely distinguishable from other Jews except that they acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah and eat the Lord’s Supper. But they keep the law, circumcise their sons, go to the Temple and sacrifice animals there, shave their heads for vows. They have their own synagogues, and are regarded by the Jews in Jerusalem as just another of their numerous sects. They tolerate the Gentile Christians who do not do these things, for after all they are only Gentiles! Paul then is before a body of Christians who think more like Jews than Christians. And so now the blow falls!
Paul is told, essentially, that he must remove any doubts that he is a good Jew by publicly demonstrating that he is. He must take four men with a vow and ‘purify’ himself with them. A man whom the blood of Christ has cleansed is to purify himself! This means that Paul must pay the cost of lambs to be sacrificed in the Temple for the four poor Jews who have taken a Nazarite vow. In the Old Testament a man who took a vow of Nazariteship let his hair grow and did not drink wine or strong drink until his vow was completed. Then he shaved his head and offered a sacrifice to the Lord. If he were a poor man, a rich man—like Paul!—might buy the lamb for him. Is it any wonder that in this proposition we find the last reference to Moses in the text—v. 21. The proposal of James and the elders simply amounts to this—that Paul shall publicly unite Christianity with Judaism, thus virtually repudiating his Galatian epistle.
What a contrast there is between Paul before the Ephesian elders and the elders at Jerusalem! Paul addressed the former; the latter address him. And what coldness in the expression “you know brother” —for Paul is the Apostle of Jesus Christ and entitled to a more respectful salutation. His apostleship and the life he lived and the example he set was a testimony to the Ephesian elders; at Jerusalem the zeal of the law-keeping Jews is held up before him as an example. Then Paul told the Ephesian elders how the toil of his hands had provided for his necessities and those who were with him. At Jerusalem the elders tell him to pay the expenses of the four men with the vow. Grace gives freely; law demands but gives nothing. Neither James, the elders at Jerusalem, or the tens of thousands of Jewish Christians seem to take any interest in the great Apostle once he is imprisoned. But then perhaps the Temple ritual is too demanding at this time!
Paul in the Temple
So Paul “purifies” himself. He enters the Temple to signify the accomplishment of the days of “purification”. Then an animal is to be sacrificed for every one of the four men. Happily, the Lord prevents this taking place in Paul’s company. If it had, how could Paul later write the Epistle to the Hebrews or defend his Epistle to the Galatians? So Paul is spotted by the Jews of Asia who incite the people to riot at the very sight of him. They remember his work in Ephesus. That work had ended in a riot because of what Paul was doing for God there. Now there is a riot at Jerusalem, not because of what he is doing for God, but at the remembrance of what he had done for Him. The Temple is mentioned here for the last time in the text in connection with Paul. While it does occur later it is only a flashback to the events in the Temple of which the Jews accuse Paul. Paul is falsely accused of bringing a Gentile into the “Court of Israel” area, an offence punishable by death. The Romans passed the death sentence on Gentiles found in this area even if they were Roman citizens, to placate the Jews. Notices in Greek and Latin, warning of the death penalty for trespass were posted, and two of these in Greek have been found by archaeologists. The inflamed people drag Paul out of the inner precincts down the steps into the outer court of the Gentiles. The Temple police lock the gates leading into the Temple leaving Paul exposed to the violence of the mob in the outer court. They start to beat Paul. He would have been killed quickly had not the sentries in the nearby fortress of Antonia spotted the commotion. They alerted the soldiers to put down the uproar before it could spread further. Almost at once the Court of the Gentiles swarmed with Roman soldiers approaching at the run.
The Fortress of Antonia
Next to the Court is the hated fortress of Antonia. A strong Roman garrison is stationed here at all times to maintain law and order. It is a striking comment on the worthlessness of the Jews’ religion that the pagan Romans who do not know God distrust the Jews, who think they do, so much as to keep a police garrison near their Temple. The Temple to the Romans is the most likely place for a riot to break out. They consider the Jews religious fanatics. A sketch of the Temple, its surroundings and Antonia has been inserted to help the reader understand how the Romans kept the peace.
When Titus, son of the Roman Emperor Vespasian, destroyed Jerusalem, he back-filled structures too formidable to dismantle. Because of this those parts of the fortress of Antonia which survived the warfare in Jerusalem have been preserved to us today. The rocky pavement and road under one of the great bays of the fortress gateway is still intact, the games the Roman soldiers played, and some of the huge Roman siege engines used to batter down the walls and buildings of Jerusalem.
The fortress served as a barracks, jail, and depositary for the garments of the Jewish high priest and other dignitaries. The Romans made the Jews check their religious vestments in and out of the fortress. This control was imposed to inform them when a religious festival might be expected. When they knew this, the Romans reinforced their troops. At feasts such as the Passover they made a glittering show of force. In ordinary times, as here, sentries kept the temple area under continuous surveillance and instantly reported any disorders. The fortress was linked to the outer court of the Temple by two flights of steps so that soldiers could run down to disturbances on the double and stamp them out.
Paul Is Chained; He Asks Permission to Address the Jews
When the Jews see Roman soldiers rapidly coming up, they stop beating Paul. Then the Chiliarch3 who commands them orders Paul to be bound with two chains, thus fulfilling Agabus’ prediction. Peter too had been bound with two chains—12:6—but was delivered. At the end of Acts Paul has to say “for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain” —28:20. Now the Chiliarch asks the people who Paul is and what he has done. He receives conflicting testimonies, and rejecting them as worthless, commands the soldiers to bring Paul into the fortress. Seeing their quarry about to escape, the Jews lose all reason and try to seize Paul from armed and trained soldiers. This scene happens at the stairs already referred to. Their frenzy is so great that Paul has to be carried by the soldiers. Just as he is about to enter the fortress, he addresses the Chiliarch, who is astounded that Paul speaks to him in Greek. He has been unable to discover the cause of the tumult from the people. So he tells Paul that he must be the Egyptian whom the Romans are seeking—the leader of a band of assassins they have recently routed. Paul refutes this, saying “I am a Jew of Tarsus, a citizen of no insignificant City of Cilicia, and I beseech you to let me speak to the people.” That Paul should make such a request under the circumstances shows his superb physical courage; that the Chiliarch should grant it shows that God was behind the scenes. So Paul stands on the stairs and beckons with his hand to the people. A great silence follows. This is the second time people at Jerusalem keep silence when Paul speaks—see 15:12. Here when Paul addresses them in Hebrew, they keep the more silence. In both cases law is silenced by grace.