Chapter Twenty-One: Jerusalem's Chains

Acts 21:1–12 CSB

1 After we tore ourselves away from them, we set sail straight for Cos, the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. 2 Finding a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we boarded and set sail. 3 After we sighted Cyprus, passing to the south of it, we sailed on to Syria and arrived at Tyre, since the ship was to unload its cargo there. 4 We sought out the disciples and stayed there seven days. Through the Spirit they told Paul not to go to Jerusalem. 5 When our time had come to an end, we left to continue our journey, while all of them, with their wives and children, accompanied us out of the city. After kneeling down on the beach to pray, 6 we said farewell to one another and boarded the ship, and they returned home. 7 When we completed our voyage from Tyre, we reached Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed with them for a day. 8 The next day we left and came to Caesarea, where we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven, and stayed with him. 9 This man had four virgin daughters who prophesied. 10 After we had been there for several days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 He came to us, took Paul’s belt, tied his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him over to the Gentiles.’ ” 12 When we heard this, both we and the local people pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem.

How do we deal with loss?

The church was losing a pastor, a friend, a father

Some people would never see Paul again

Jason Helmbacher

The Lord was in control.

When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace; In every high and stormy gale, My anchor holds within the veil.

How do we commit to following Christ no matter the cost?

Resolving to give our lives for the mission of Christ no matter the cost

Peter’s Denials

Three times Peter was asked and three times he denied

Paul’s perseverance

Three times Paul was warned yet he kept on

He was not worried about being bound by the Jews because he was already bound to the Spirit

We as Christians are bound to Christ.

It is no longer us who lives but Christ who lives through us

Our lives are not our own, we have been bought at a price

Paul running his race with his eyes set on eternity

the shortness of life

the meaning in life

finding meaning in the weight of glory

2 Corinthians 4:7–18 CSB

7 Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us. 8 We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; 9 we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. 10 We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be displayed in our body. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’s sake, so that Jesus’s life may also be displayed in our mortal flesh. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life in you. 13 And since we have the same spirit of faith in keeping with what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke, we also believe, and therefore speak. 14 For we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you. 15 Indeed, everything is for your benefit so that, as grace extends through more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God. 16 Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. 17 For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. 18 So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

“The Lord’s will be done.”

You can choose today to take a stand for Christ. Sometimes in the moment it is hard to make the decision. “What will I do when my faith in Christ is challenged? When my back is against the wall how will I respond?” Let us respond with, “not my will, but the Lord’s be done!”

Acts 21:15–25 CSB

15 After this we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. 16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us and brought us to Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to stay. 17 When we reached Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters welcomed us warmly. 18 The following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19 After greeting them, he reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 When they heard it, they glorified God and said, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law. 21 But they have been informed about you—that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or to live according to our customs. 22 So what is to be done? They will certainly hear that you’ve come. 23 Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have made a vow. 24 Take these men, purify yourself along with them, and pay for them to get their heads shaved. Then everyone will know that what they were told about you amounts to nothing, but that you yourself are also careful about observing the law. 25 With regard to the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter containing our decision that they should keep themselves from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality.”

James and the elders presented a solution for Paul to get him out of the circumstance he had come to find himself in. The Jews were hostile towards Paul and the message of the Gospel. Rumors had spread about Paul claiming that he was teaching the Jewish believers to abandon the teachings of Moses. They thought that by sending Paul to the temple to perform one of the rituals of cleansing that he would be free of suspicion and danger.

Acts 21:26–36 CSB

26 So the next day, Paul took the men, having purified himself along with them, and entered the temple, announcing the completion of the purification days when the offering would be made for each of them. 27 When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd, and seized him, 28 shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place. What’s more, he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” 29 For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. 30 The whole city was stirred up, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul, dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. 31 As they were trying to kill him, word went up to the commander of the regiment that all Jerusalem was in chaos. 32 Taking along soldiers and centurions, he immediately ran down to them. Seeing the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 Then the commander approached, took him into custody, and ordered him to be bound with two chains. He asked who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd were shouting one thing and some another. Since he was not able to get reliable information because of the uproar, he ordered him to be taken into the barracks. 35 When Paul got to the steps, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, 36 for the mass of people followed, yelling, “Get rid of him!”

Despite the efforts, Paul was bound by the Jews in Jerusalem. This fulfilled what the Spirit spoke through Agabus. Paul would be bound. No human scheme can change what the Lord has declared.

The hospitality of the faith vs. the hostility of the Jews

What is hospitality?

(Kind attention to; refresh self; place of entertainment/lodging)

Look at how the early church operates.

Acts: Commentary Chapter 21

The camaraderie and fellowship in the early church in these pristine days is wonderful to observe. The hospitality, concern and interest that they had for one another is something that, for the most part, we in our age have not experienced. It might be well in counseling to stress these things, looking forward to the time when we might come to know these warm traits again, and urging counselees to become part of that revival. While there is always more excitement at the inception of something, that is no reason not to expect at least some approximation of the Christian concern that we have seen here. What happened once can happen again.

What would it look like to live in hospitably today?

House those in need, to serve others, to care for, to pay kind attention to one another

How does hospitality effect our relationships?

What is hostility?

(to be an enemy/hatred)

The Jews showed hostility to Paul and the Gospel message.

How has hostility shown up in your relationships?

How does hostility effect how you see others?