Acts 21
(1) Paul Travels to Lebanon
After parting ways with the leaders of the Ephesian church, we got on a ship and sailed directly to Cos [modern-day Kos].
The next day we went to Rhodes [an island east of Kos].
Then Patara [on the mainland of SW Turkey].
There we found a ship headed to Phoenicia [Lebanon], so we got on board and set sail. We passed Cyprus on our left, kept sailing toward Syria, and eventually landed in Tyre [southern Lebanon], where the ship was delivering its cargo.
We found the Jesus-followers in Tyre and spent 7 days there. But the whole time we were there, the Spirit compelled the Jesus-followers to keep telling Paul not to step foot in Jerusalem. When it was time for us go, the Jesus-followers along with their wives and kids escorted us out of the city. When we reached our destination, we all kneeled on the beach, prayed together, then said our goodbyes. Then we boarded the ship and they returned to their homes.
(7) Prophet Foretells Paul’s Arrest
Leaving Tyre, we sailed to Ptolemais [Acre, Israel] where we greeted the spiritual family and spent a day with them. The next day we traveled 35 miles south to Caesarea. For a number of days, we stayed with Philip the evangelist, who was one of the 7 leaders that had been appointed to distribute food. He had 4 unmarried daughters who were all prophetesses, and during our stay, a prophet named Agabus showed up from Judea. He used Paul’s belt to tie up his own hands and feet, and said,
“The Different Spirit says,
‘Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the owner of this belt just like this and hand him over to the non-Jews.’”
After hearing that, we and the locals both started begging Paul not to go to Jerusalem. But Paul just said,
“What are you guys doing, crying and breaking my heart like this? I’m ready—not just to be tied up, but also to die in Jerusalem for the sake of King Jesus.”
There was no persuading him, so we let it go and said,
“May the Ruler’s plan be carried out.”
(15) Mnason’s House
After that, we made preparations and started heading towards Jerusalem. Some of the Jesus-followers from Caesarea came with us and brought us to a guy named Mnason. He was a long-time Jesus-follower from Cyprus who let us stay in his house.
(17) Paul Practices a Jewish Custom to Win the Jews
When we arrived in Jerusalem, we received a warm welcome from the spiritual family there.
The next day, Paul joined us to meet with James and the elders. After greeting them, he told them everything God had done in the non-Jewish circles through Paul’s service. After hearing all the details, James and the elders started raving about God and told Paul,
“As you know, there are tens of thousands of people in Jewish circles who have believed yet are still very passionate about Moses’s law. And those guys heard that you’ve been visiting Jews outside of Judea and teaching them to disregard Moses’s law. They think you’ve been telling them to stop following Jewish customs like circumcision. What should we do about that? They will definitely have heard that you’re in town.
“Here’s what we think you should do. We know 4 guys who are completing Nazarite vows. You should join them for their purification ceremony, participate in being purified yourself, and even pay for their heads to be ritually shaved. That way, everyone will know that the stories they’ve heard about you aren’t accurate. They’ll see that you actually do conduct yourself in an orderly manner and follow to the Jewish law.
“That letter we wrote earlier was addressed specifically to non-Jewish believers. They were the ones we decided to only give 4 rules to. (And those 4 rules were abstaining from: meat that’s been offered to idols, blood, anything that’s been strangled, and sexual perversion.)”
So the next day, Paul went with the 4 men who were completing Nazarite vows and got purified alongside them. He went into the temple and formally announced the date that their vows would be complete and sacrifices would be offered for each of them.
(27) Paul Assaulted & Arrested
But just as Paul’s 7-day purification ritual was about to be over, the Jews from western Turkey found out he was in the temple. So they stirred up a mob and sized him, saying,
“People of Israel, come and help us! We got the guy who travels all over the world teaching everyone to oppose us, our law, and our country! And on top of that, he brought non-Jews into our temple! This place is supposed to be set apart, but he’s making it commonplace!”
The reason they said he was bringing non-Jews into the temple was because they had seen Paul with Trophimus (the Ephesian), and assumed he brought him into the temple.
That got the city so riled up that the mob seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, slamming the doors shut behind them.
The mob fully intended to kill Paul, but the commander of 1,000 Roman soldiers heard that Jerusalem was in an uproar, so he immediately took some soldiers and centurions [commanders of 100] and ran over to the mob. When the mob saw that a commander had shown up with soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.
Then the commander grabbed Paul and ordered for him to be shackled with two chains. Then he asked about who Paul was and what he had done, but people in the crowd were shouting different things. The commander didn’t know who to believe, so he ordered for Paul to be brought to the barracks [soldier’s area]. As the soldiers were brining Paul by the stairs, they had to carry him because of how violent the mob had gotten. People were following them, shouting,
“Get that guy outta here!”
(37) Paul Asks to Address the Mob
As they were about to enter the barracks, Paul asked the commander,
“Can I ask you something?”
The commander responded,
“You’re speaking to me in Greek! I guess that means you aren’t the Egyptian guy from a while back who led 4,000 assassins out into the wilderness.”
Paul said,
“I’m a Jew from Tarsus, Cilicia [a province in modern-day Turkey]. I’m a citizen of a major city! But please—I beg of you—just let me say something to the people.”
The commander granted his request, so Paul stood on the stairs and motioned to the crowd with his hand. The crowd fell silent, and then started speaking to them in Hebrew. Here’s what he said:
