Acts 21 Studies

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each chapter is divided into a number of studies and each study or passage has a simple four-Part, verse-by-verse approach, to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Acts 21:1-9

1 After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara. 2 We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went on board and set sail. 3 After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed on to Syria. We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo. 4 We sought out the disciples there and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 5 When it was time to leave, we left and continued on our way. All of them, including wives and children, accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray. 6 After saying goodbye to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.

7 We continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed with them for a day. 8 Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. 9 He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.

A. Find Out:

1. Where did their route take them? v.1-4
2. What happened there? v.4
3. Yet what happened? v.5,6
4. Where did they next go and to who? v.7
5. Where did they next go and stayed with who? v.8
6. What are we told about his family? v.9

B. Think:

1. What impression are you left with about this journey?
2. What impression are you left with about the church?
3. What impression are you left with about Paul’s future?

C. Comment:

The next stage of their journey takes them by boat, skirting Asia Minor and stopping off at many of the islands. Eventually they catch another boat that is crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Tyre. This seems a slow and tedious journey home.

At Tyre we find the local church greets them and they stay with them for a week. It is interesting that “Through the Spirit” they warned Saul against going to Jerusalem. What they caught was the sense that things would not go well (humanly speaking) for Paul there, and in their love for him, they wanted him to avoid that. Paul however, has a sense that he has to go down this path whatever it costs.

From Tyre they sailed further down the coast where yet again they meet with believers. Moving on the next day they sail to Caesarea where again they meet with the local church or, to be more precise, with one family. Philip was both an evangelist and one of those who had been set apart to care for the material well-being of the Jerusalem church (see Acts 6), and he had four prophetic daughters. What a family! Wherever they go here, we see they encounter believers. The church is clearly well established and well spread throughout Israel , as well as Asia Minor .

D. Application:

1. Travelling for the Gospel is tiring. Pray for those who do.
2. Even if the future is difficult, in Christ we can be at rest.

Passage: Acts 21:10-16

10 After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, ‘The Holy Spirit says, “In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.”’

12 When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, ‘Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.’ 14 When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, ‘The Lord’s will be done.’

15 After this, we started on our way up to Jerusalem. 16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us and brought us to the home of Mnason, where we were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus and one of the early disciples.

A. Find Out:

1. Who then arrived there in Caesarea? v.10
2. What did he do and say? v.11
3. What did the disciples do? v.12
4. Yet what was Paul’s answer? v.13
5. How did the disciples conclude it? v.14
6. So what then happened? v.15,16

B. Think:

1. What is obviously about to happen?
2. What was the disciples’ feeling about this?
3. What was Paul’s feeling about this?

C. Comment:

As they come to the end of this third journey, a third indication comes that, humanly speaking at least, all is not going to be well for Paul when he comes to Jerusalem. He had testified to the Ephesian elders (20:23) that he expected only trouble, and at Tyre the disciples had sensed in the Spirit the same thing.

Now the prophet Agabus prophesies the same thing. If we were there we might have seen the prophecy in one of two ways: either it is a warning to avoid Jerusalem or it is simply a warning saying, ‘Be prepared, for this is what is coming’. At Tyre and Caesarea the disciples had taken the former understanding, but on both occasions Paul took it as the latter. Yes, it will happen, so let’s just look to God for His grace to cope with the trying circumstances that are coming.

Eventually the believers with Paul came to the second understanding and they continue their journey with him up to Jerusalem. This is the end of this third journey, for there will be no returning to Antioch this time, a completely new chain of events is about to swing into being, but for those you will have to get the next in this Series of Studies, “The Long Road to Rome”. The churches of Asia Minor and Greece are established, it’s time for Paul to move on.

D. Application:

1. There are at least two ways to understand every prophetic word.
2. We need to seek understanding behind the words. Ask for it.

Passage: Acts 21:17-26

17 When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters received us warmly. 18 The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present. 19 Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

20 When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: ‘You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. 21 They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. 22 What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, 23 so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. 24 Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. 25 As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.’

26 The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.

A. Find Out:

1. With whom did they meet? v.18
2. What did Paul share? v.19
3. What concern did the apostles share with Paul? v.20-22
4. How did they propose he overcame that? v.23-24
5. What was their response for the Gentile believers? v.25
6. So what did Paul do? v.26

B. Think:

1. What two groups now existed in the Church at large?
2. How were the traditional group living?
3. How were the new group counselled?

C. Comment:

In Jerusalem Paul and his friends are warmly welcomed by the Christians they met. After settling in, the went, the next day, to visit the leaders of the church, headed up by James, and shared with them what had been happening among the Gentiles. When they heard this they rejoiced BUT there was a problem.

Until Paul’s ministry, most of the Christians had been converted Jews and these converted Jews still felt they ought to hold on to the Law of Moses. When they heard about Paul, they assumed he was casting off all Jewish trappings, including the Law. As yet, they themselves were still bound by it, although as the church increasing became Gentile based, that would cease.

For now though, the leaders in Jerusalem were worried about the effect of Paul’s presence in town on the more traditional Jewish Christians and so asked Paul to go along with some of their other jewish Chrsitian men who would shortly be going through the rite of purification having made particular commitments to the Lord (vows). This Paul accepted and did.

That only left the leaders there, as the accepted present heads of the church, to give some basic guidance to be passed on to the gentile believers to follow rudimentary practices, including particularly abstaining form any form of sexual immorality.

D. Application:

1. No longer are WE under the direction of the Law of Moses.
2. Yet we still follow the Ten Commandments and the guidance of the New Testament.

Passage: Acts 21:27-38

27 When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, 28 shouting, ‘Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.’ 29 (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)

30 The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. 31 While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32 He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

33 The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another, and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. 35 When Paul reached the steps, the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers. 36 The crowd that followed kept shouting, ‘Get rid of him!’

37 As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, ‘May I say something to you?’

‘Do you speak Greek?’ he replied. 38 ‘Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the wilderness some time ago?’

A. Find Out:    

1. What accusation did the Jews make against Paul? v.28
2. What did they do with Paul? v.30,31a
3. What stopped this happening? v.31b,32
4. What then happened to Paul? v.33
5. What then was done with him and why? v.34
6. Who did the soldiers think he was? v.38

B. Think:

1. Read again 21:11 How accurately was that prophecy fulfilled?
2. Why were the Jews against Paul?
3. Why were the Romans against him?

C. Comment:

The prophecy of Agabus is being fulfilled. Paul has been going through the seven-day Jewish purification ritual and is at the temple. Some Jews from Asia Minor recognise him and denounce him as one who teaches against the Jews. A clear case of misunderstanding. They then denounce him for bringing Gentiles into the temple. That was clearly untrue, but emotional religious crowds frequently are not too concerned with truth. So worked up are they that they beat Paul desiring to kill him. Those are the lengths to which religious fervour will go. Zeal without righteousness soon becomes sin!

Jerusalem was obviously in a bad way, for crowds came and joined in from all directions and a full-blown riot soon ensued. This quickly comes to the attention of the Roman garrison who turn out to quell the trouble. Arriving on the scene they stop the violence and arrest Paul without further questioning. We later find out they mistakenly believe Paul to be an Egyptian revolutionary. The situation is clearly out of hand and the soldiers seek to take Paul into custody although that was difficult under the circumstances. Well, it wasn’t actually the Jews who bound Paul but they certainly gave him over to the Gentiles who bound him. God knew this would happen.

D. Application:

1. Over zealousness is not to be commended. It breeds sin.
2. Before we condemn, we need to be sure of the facts.

Passage: Acts 21:39 – 22:5

39 Paul answered, ‘I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.’

40 After receiving the commander’s permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic:

 1 ‘Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defence.’

2 When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.

Then Paul said: 3 ‘I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. 4 I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5 as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

A. Find Out:

1. How does Paul identify himself? v.39
2. What does Paul want to do? v.39c,40
3. How does Paul address the crowd? v.1,2
4. What does Paul say about his background? v.3
5. What does he say he did? v.4
6. Who did he say can testify to that? v.5

B. Think:

1. Why do think the crowd listened to Paul?
2. What is Paul trying to do in these first verses of his speech?
3. How has Paul sought to use this situation for good?

C. Comment:

Having shown the Roman commander that he is learned by speaking in Greek, Paul now shows the crowd that he is one of them by speaking in Aramaic. He addresses them as brothers and fathers, again identifying with them. Indeed the whole the first part of his speech seeks to identify with the people of Jerusalem. He wants them to listen to his whole message so he goes to some lengths to get them to identify with him and accept him.

He tells them he is a Jew, born elsewhere but brought up in Jerusalem. He was even trained by the famous Gamaliel. He was a good Jew, fully trained in the Law, and just as zealous for God as any of them. Indeed he went even further and had been persecuting the Christians who belonged to this new sect (as the Jews saw it), throwing men and women into prison. He worked with the help of the high priest and the Sanhedrin, so they could all testify to the truth of what he is saying. In all he says here, he seeks to show his credibility in the eyes of the Jewish population. He had been just like they were, he understood what they felt and why they were acting as they were, he had been just where they were (all implied). That’s how he had been, so he knew what they felt. But he has yet more to tell them.

D. Application:

1. We can be utterly zealous and utterly wrong! Beware!
2. Seek to identify with those to whom you share the Gospel.