Lechem Panim #219 “A Rough Road Ahead” (Acts 21:5-16) Pastor Cameron Ury

Greetings! It’s good to have you with us today. In our passage today here in Acts 21, we find Paul and his companions on their way to Jerusalem to deliver a special offering. And they are about to leave the city of Tyre, where (if you were with us last week) you’ll remember they found a community of believers with whom they stayed seven days. And now they are getting ready to leave. And in looking at this passage, I found it so astounding how quickly these believers in Tyre grew to love Paul. Or perhaps it’s not so amazing. It seems to be the case in many of the churches Paul goes to. It is easy to fall in love with somebody who genuinely loves and shows care for you. Maybe you know somebody who, whenever they enter a room, immediately makes you and other people there feel like the most important people in the world and who seems to communicate that you are the best thing to have happened to his/her day. There are people like that. I know people like that. I want to be a person like that. And Paul definitely was, which is why we see that even after just one week Paul and his missionary team are accompanied to the shore not just by the church leaders; and not just by the men, but by everyone; all the men, accompanied by their wives and children. Look at verse five. It says…

Acts 21:5 (NKJV)— 5 When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way; and they all accompanied us, with wives and children, till we were out of the city. And we knelt down on the shore and prayed.

Kneeling— And one scholar notes that normally the custom during that time was to stand when praying. We see that in Mark 11:25 Luke 18:11-13. And so here the fact that we see them kneeling together publicly shows just how intense, solemn, and sincere their prayers for Paul’s protection really were. Now after they pray together, it says in…

Acts 21:6-7 (NKJV)— 6 When we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship, and they returned home. 7 And when we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, greeted the brethren, and stayed with them one day.

At Ptolemais— Now Ptolemais was only a few miles south of Tyre. Paul and his missionary team stay there just one day, but take the opportunity to greet the believers there and spend some time with them. After that, it says…

Acts 21:8 (NKJV)— 8 On the next day we who were Paul’s companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.

Philip The Evangelist— Now Philip of course had been one of the original deacons (Acts 6:1-6) of the church who also served as an evangelist (Acts 8:5ff). He was both a public evangelist, which we saw in his ministry in Samaria; but he was also a personal evangelist, as he was the one who remember led the Ethiopian eunuch to Christ (Acts 8). But he had also been an associate of Stephen, who’s murder Paul had been a part of. So in another very personal way, it is amazing to see how God can bring good out of bad, as we see these men (20 years later) coming together under the banner of ministry for Christ. Now it says of Philip…

Acts 21:9 (NKJV)— 9 Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.

Philip’s Daughters— Now this is an interesting little detail given to us. The Greek word that Luke uses here to describe them (parthenoi) probably indicates that they are a young, under the age of sixteen. And prophecy wasn’t unusual in the early church. In fact it was one of the most cherished gifts (1 Corinthians 14:5, 39). But why this verse is important (and maybe why Luke includes it) is because women (and especially unmarried women) usually did not have a very high standing in culture. And so this little verse shows that people of low status in society were often included in positions of prominence in the Church. Now we do know a little bit more about them outside of the Bible. [Eusebius refers to these daughters twice, mentioning that they lived and were buried in Hierapolis, which is in Phrygia in Asia Minor. Papias, bishop of Hierapolis, said that these daughters were sources of valuable information of what happened in the early years of Christianity. Philip and his daughters may have been one of Luke’s information sources.] Now it says…

Acts 21:10 (NKJV)— 10 And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

Agabus Comes Down— Now this prophet Agabus was not a stranger to Paul. Fifteen years prior he had worked together with Paul in a famine relief program for Judea (Acts 11:27-30). It was he who had predicted the famine (accurately) which remember prompted a collection from the church in Antioch. And here we see that he comes to deliver a message to Paul. And it is a very dramatic and visually powerful acted prophecy, which was a familiar method used by many of the Old Testament prophets. It says in…

Acts 21:11 (NKJV)— 11 When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”

Fighting For Unity— Now note that the Holy Spirit does not forbid Paul to go to Jerusalem here either. Agabus doesn’t say that. He just merely tells what will happen to Paul if he does go. And Paul, who sees the growing division between the “far right“ legalistic Jews and the believing Gentiles, sees the task of fighting for the unity of the church as being more important than his very life. He knew that he was part of the answer to the problem and that he could not solve it remotely through a representative. No, he had to go to Jerusalem personally. Now the believers try to convince him otherwise. It says in…

Acts 21:12-13 (NKJV)— 12 Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place {(so not Agabus, which is something to observe)} pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Was Paul Right or Not?— Now people have argued back-and-forth about whether or not Paul was right or not in making this trip to Jerusalem. And for us it may seem wrong to question an apostle; but we need to remember that Paul wasn’t infallible. He was a human being just like us. His writings were inspired, but that doesn’t mean that everything he did was perfect or that he always made the right choice. To the believers Paul encountered, as well as to us, these repeated messages to Paul through the ministry of prophetic Christians do sound like warnings for Paul to stay out of Jerusalem. And over 20 years prior, the Lord had commanded Paul to get out of Jerusalem because he knew that the Jews would not receive Paul’s testimony (Acts 22:18). But that was not a permanent command, and we see afterwards that the Lord did allow him to return to Jerusalem on other occasions: with famine relief (Acts 11:27–30); to attend the Jerusalem Conference (Acts 15:1ff.); and after his second missionary journey (Acts 18:22 – “going up to greet the church” refers to Jerusalem). But Paul seems to see things differently here. He doesn’t sense any prohibition from God. As we said before, he felt compelled by God. But even before these prophecies, Paul was aware of the dangers that awaited for him should he go to Jerusalem. Paul had written in his letter to the Romans concerning the dangers in Judea (Acts 15:30–31) and had shared these same feelings with the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:22–23). So he was obviously fully aware of the dangers. But these warnings (and this is what Paul sensed) may not in fact to be prohibitions at all. Rather than God saying “You must not go”, God may in fact be saying “Get ready!”.

Acts 21:14-16 (NKJV)— 14 So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.” {Now after this it says… } 15 And after those days we packed and went up to Jerusalem. 16 Also some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and brought with them a certain Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to lodge.

From Caesarea to Jerusalem— And so the Christians in Caesarea leave and travel with Paul to Jerusalem, probably intending to celebrate the feast themselves. Now this was a sixty-five mile trek that took three days if they went on foot – two days if they had animals. So they had some time together, no doubt fellowshipping, praying with one another, worshiping together, sharing stories about what God had done in and through them, but also anticipating the challenges that they ahead of them; and particularly the persecution that awaited Paul. But Paul was no doubt greatly encouraged by their companionship as he took this difficult journey up to Jerusalem.

Arrival At Jerusalem— Now it’s a long trip, so they stop somewhere along the way at the house of a man named Mnason, who is described as “an early disciple”. We don’t know exactly who he is. It is possible that he came to faith after hearing Peter preach at Pentecost at the beginning of the book of Acts. Or he may have come to faith later in and through the ministry of Barnabas (Acts 4:36). We don’t know. But what we do know is that now he is traveling with them. He had been visiting Caesarea (where they just were), but he had a house somewhere along the route to Jerusalem. And so, apparently being given to hospitality, he opens his home to Paul to help him and his team at this very important time in his ministry. Now after this Paul and his team make the rest of the trek to Jerusalem and arrive there. The city is crowded with other pilgrims who have come up for the feast. And Paul and his missionary team are received by the Church there.

How Was The Gift Received?— Now we don’t know how the first meeting with the church leaders in Jerusalem went. It would’ve been nice for Luke to give us more detail on that. We do know that James and the other leaders in Jerusalem received Paul and his missionary team gladly; but it would’ve been great to see their reaction at receiving this gift from Paul. Did they all receive it gladly or did some of them look on it with suspicion? A few years after this, the Roman writer Martial said “gifts are like hooks!” And maybe some of the Jewish leaders looked at Paul’s gift that way. The legalistic wing of the church would certainly have questioned anything that Paul said or did.

What To Worry About— But you and I can’t always worry about how other people will look at or receive the good things we do. And we shouldn’t. All we need to worry about is pleasing our Lord. Paul did not let what his adversaries thought of him affect either the way he viewed himself or the way that he did his ministry. He didn’t even allow well-meaning believers to dissuade him from what he thought was right. He always acted confidently and with full assurance, knowing that his security was in his relationship with God. And the same is true of us. You and I must always remember that when we live our lives on purpose for Christ, He can give us confidence and courage to accomplish all that He wants us to accomplish. And so let’s live on purpose for Him. Amen.