Chapter Twenty-One

Paul’s journey from Miletus to Caesarea (1–9). His stay in Caesarea and the prophecy of Paul’s bonds in Jerusalem (10–14). The further journey to Jerusalem (15–16). Paul’s last stay in Jerusalem, the uprising of the Jews against him, and his arrest (17–40).

Acts 21:1. When we had parted from them and set sail, we came by a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara, “Having parted from them” — stronger in the Greek: ἀποσπασθέντας ἀπ’ αὐτῶν — in Slavonic: «отторгшымся от них» — having torn ourselves away from them. “By these words the writer expresses great effort — and not in vain, for otherwise they would not have been able to put out to sea” (Chrysostom). “Cos” — a small island, famous for its winemaking and production of costly fabrics, lying to the southwest of Miletus. At 15 Roman miles from it to the southeast lies the large island of “Rhodes.” “Patara” — a large maritime commercial city of the Asia Minor province of Lycia, with a well-known oracle of Apollo in antiquity.

Acts 21:2. and finding a ship crossing to Phoenicia, we went on board and set sail. “Having found a ship.” From Troas to Patara, Paul and his companions had been sailing on a private, probably hired, vessel entirely at his disposal (Acts 20:13); now, for the difficult and distant crossing over the open sea, he transferred to another, larger merchant vessel traveling with a cargo to Phoenicia.

Acts 21:3. Coming in sight of Cyprus and leaving it to the left, we sailed to Syria and put in at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its cargo. “Tyre” — a Phoenician maritime city, renowned for its commerce. Phoenicia, according to the Roman provincial division, was annexed to Syria (which also included Palestine); hence the reference to sailing “to Syria” and putting in at Tyre.

Acts 21:4. And having found disciples, we stayed there seven days. They, through the Spirit, told Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. “Having found disciples.” The expression implies that Paul searched out Christians here, and from this it follows that Christians were few in number and not widely known (cf. Acts 11:19), so that they had to be sought out in this large city. “Seven days.” Having previously been in a hurry, in view of the uncertainty of how safe the long and difficult sea crossing would be, Paul now has the opportunity to spend a whole week in Tyre. “They” — that is, probably some of the Tyrian Christians who possessed the gift of prophecy. “Through the Spirit they told Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.” What the Spirit properly inspired was only that the Tyrian prophets learned of the fate awaiting Paul in Jerusalem (as Acts 20:23). The request not to go there was an expression of their own loving concern for the apostle’s fate (cf. Theophylact). But the apostle knew the will of the Holy Spirit in this matter more perfectly, and not only saw his fate but also went toward it — by the prompting of that same Spirit (Acts 20:22).

Acts 21:5. When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and set out, and all of them, with their wives and children, accompanied us outside the city, and kneeling down on the beach, we prayed. “With their wives and children” — a special tenderness in the farewell to the apostle, explained by the small number of Christians, with whom the comparatively long stay had made it easier to enter into particularly close relations.

Acts 21:7. And when we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and stayed with them one day. “Ptolemais” — the ancient maritime city of Akko, south of Phoenicia, within the borders of Palestine proper, in the ancient division in the tribe of Asher (Judg 1:31), somewhat north of Mount Carmel.

Acts 21:8. The next day Paul and those of us who were with him went out and came to Caesarea, and entering the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven deacons, we stayed with him. “Caesarea” — (Stratonis), see note to Acts 8:40. “Having gone out” — apparently no longer by sea, but on foot through the magnificent Valley of Jezreel, past the majestic Carmel (a one-day journey). “The house of Philip” — see Acts 6 and note to Acts 8:40 — the evangelist, that is, the preacher of the Gospel, so called probably following his preaching activity in Samaria and other places on the Palestinian coast (Acts 8:5). This is the last mention of Philip. According to church tradition, he afterwards served as bishop of Tralles (in the Asia Minor province of Caria) and died at a great old age (Chet.-Min. Oct. 11).

Acts 21:9. He had four daughters, virgin women, who prophesied. The incidental remark about Philip’s prophesying daughters is meant simply to point out the remarkable character of this family of Philip (on the gift of prophecy, see Acts 11 and parallels). The Evangelist Luke adds that these prophesying daughters of Philip were “virgins” — that is, they remained in a state of virginity, having dedicated themselves to the service of God. They were among the first, after the Mother of the Lord, to show an example of consecrated virgins in Christianity, and by their blameless conduct gained such high regard that, according to the testimony of Jerome, for a long time the faithful made devout visits to the four cells in which these virgins lived. Two of them later settled in Hierapolis, and one, according to the testimony of Clement of Alexandria, lived in Ephesus, where she worked miracles and was distinguished for her holiness of life. This was the eldest — Hermione. Possessing the gift of healing, she brought healing to suffering Christians, and later established in Ephesus a special hospice where she gave free assistance to those afflicted in body and soul. In the reign of the Emperor Hadrian, already in advanced years, she was subjected to torments for confessing the Christian faith, enduring terrible sufferings at the hands of the pagans. Finally, when at her prayer the idols in a certain pagan temple fell and were shattered, her torturers beheaded her with a sword. The faithful took her holy relics and buried them with due honor in Ephesus (her feast: September 4).

Acts 21:10. While we were staying there several days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea, “We stayed several days,” which was permitted by the favorable early arrival of Paul, who had been in a hurry during the sea crossing. “Came down from Judea” — probably from Jerusalem (cf. Acts 11:27).

Acts 21:11. and coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own hands and feet and said: thus says the Holy Spirit: the man to whom this belt belongs will be bound like this by the Jews in Jerusalem and handed over to the Gentiles. Entirely in the spirit and after the manner of the ancient prophets, Agabus accompanies his prophecy with an expressive symbolic action (cf. Isa 10; Jer 13; Ezek 4 and others). “The Jews will bind him.” Although it was the Roman military tribune, not the Jews, who actually put the apostle in chains (Acts 21:33), the motivation was the uprising of the Jews (Acts 21:27), who were the chief agents of Paul’s imprisonment.

Acts 21:12. When we heard this, both we and those there begged him not to go up to Jerusalem. The plea of Paul’s companions and admirers, here as above (Acts 21:4), was the voice of natural love for the apostle, and was not a revelation of the Spirit, which was directing Paul in exactly the opposite direction from these counsels and pleas.

Acts 21:13. But Paul answered: what are you doing? why do you weep and break my heart? I am ready not only to be imprisoned but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. “No one was more tenderhearted than Paul: he was grieved to see them weeping, yet felt no grief over his own sufferings. You are wronging me, he says, by doing this: am I grieving? I weep for you, he says, and not over my own sufferings; but as for those, I am ready even to die” (Chrysostom).

Acts 21:15. After these days we made our preparations and went up to Jerusalem. “Having prepared...” — both in spirit, for a courageous encounter with the dangers ahead, and with a supply of everything needed for the journey and for the time in Jerusalem during the festivals.

Acts 21:16. Some of the disciples from Caesarea also came with us, bringing us to the house of a longtime disciple, Mnason of Cyprus, with whom we were to lodge. “Mnason of Cyprus” — judging by the Greek name, if not of pure Greek origin, then among the Hellenists. Staying with this “longtime” disciple who had believed long ago — perhaps at the time of the first Pentecost — and who was not bound in his beliefs by the traditions of those zealous for the Jewish law, promised to be most suitable and safe for the apostle, who had so many enemies among the Jews. This disciple showed Paul hospitality as hoped — thoroughly warm and welcoming.

Acts 21:18. The next day Paul went with us to James, and all the elders came. “With us” — that is, with the companions, among whom was the author of Acts. “To James” — the brother of the Lord, bishop of Jerusalem (Acts 12:17 ff.). The other apostles are not mentioned, obviously because they were out preaching in other lands. But all the “elders” came (see note to Acts 11 and parallels), forming a special solemn gathering of Church representatives on the occasion of the arrival in Jerusalem of the great “apostle to the Gentiles.”

Acts 21:19. After greeting them, Paul described in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. “Again he recounts to them what had happened among the Gentiles — not out of vainglory (God forbid!), but to show God’s love for humanity and to fill them with great joy” (Chrysostom). “Through his ministry” — a specific indication of Paul’s particular calling to the work of apostleship especially among the Gentiles. At the same time, in “greeting” the Jerusalem Church on behalf not only of himself but of the numerous churches he had founded among the Gentiles, the apostle also delivered for the needs of the Jerusalem Church the aid that he and his coworkers had collected (see note to Acts 19:21).

Acts 21:20. And when they heard it, they glorified God and said to him: you see, brother, how many thousands of believing Jews there are, and they are all zealous for the law. “They glorified God,” thereby acknowledging the great worth of Paul’s work among the Gentiles. But at the same time James and the elders do not hide from him the unfavorable opinion of him held by Jewish Christians, who believed that conversion to the Gospel did not oblige them to abandon the formalities and rites prescribed by the law. These convictions of the “zealots for the law,” with whom special caution and gradual introduction into the kingdom of Christian freedom of spirit were required, aroused considerable prejudice against Paul, who considered the reign of the law to have ended, and advised those Jews who were capable and inclined to rise to such an understanding to live fully according to the Gospel. This “anticipation” of the historical development of Christian ideas, which had borne so many good fruits among the Gentiles, could not but become a subject of discord among the Jews, among whom the inertia of so intensified a gravitation toward the ancestral sanctuaries, customs, and precepts of the Mosaic law had to be overcome. “You see, brother” — an expression of love and friendly good wishes. “How many thousands of believing Jews” — not only Jerusalemites but also visitors from other cities, of whom, as was customary, a great multitude had probably gathered in Jerusalem at this time. Already more than 20 years earlier they had numbered up to 8,000 persons (Acts 2:41). Now their number all the more justified the vague but emphatic phrase — “how many thousands!” “They are all zealots for the law.” Although the apostolic council had worked out strictly defined minimal requirements for Christians from among the Gentiles, the apostles, as is evident, long continued to permit the habitual attachment of Jewish Christians to Old Testament worship, guided by a wise caution which the apostle to the Gentiles himself recognized when, yielding to “the weak,” he acknowledged their right to observe certain rites, and urged “the strong” not to scandalize the weak by indifferent violation of the demands of the law. The Jerusalem bishop James himself was, according to tradition, a strict adherent of the law, which greatly contributed to reconciling the Jews to the other new elements and beliefs of Christianity.

Acts 21:21. But they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or follow the customs. “They have been informed about you” — more precisely: they have been instructed, Greek κατηχήθησαν — specially instructed by teachers particularly hostile to Paul, the Judaizers (Acts 25:1-2), with a distortion of the facts and the substance of the matter, as is evident from what follows. In the form in which the accusation against Paul was circulated among the people, it was a plain slander. The essence of his teaching consisted not at all in merely teaching “apostasy” from the Mosaic law and its customs, arousing contempt and disdain for them as apostasy implies. Paul’s teaching insisted only that the main thing is faith in Christ, while the Mosaic law is inessential for a Christian. This was acknowledged, though more cautiously, at the apostolic council, which freed believers from the yoke of the Mosaic law; from this it was more than natural to conclude that if Gentiles, freed from this yoke, could be saved, then a Jew who had also laid down the same yoke could be saved. The law here is not important: one can be saved while observing it, and one can equally be saved without observing it — so observe it if you wish, and if you do not wish, do not. In the particular case of Timothy, who was circumcised by Paul, the latter provided the most convincing possible evidence of both attitudes toward the law in his own person, clearly refuting the malicious instigation and slander that Paul is an apostate from the law and teaches others to apostatize.

Acts 21:22. What then is to be done? A crowd will certainly gather, for they will hear that you have come. Acts 21:23. Do therefore what we tell you: we have four men who have taken a vow. Acts 21:24. Take them and purify yourself together with them, and pay the expenses for the offering on their behalf, so that they may shave their heads, and everyone will know that what they have been told about you is not true, but that you yourself also continue to observe the law. Knowing this, and when necessary, Paul’s dual attitude toward the law, James and the elders propose to him to give assurance once more before the whole people of his respect for the law — through the performance of the rite of “purification,” with the customs established for the occasion, which Paul gladly carried out, in no way contrary to his own convictions. “We have” — in our midst, among Jewish Christians. “Who have taken a vow” — from what follows (the shaving of the head) it is clear that this was a vow of voluntary Naziriteship (Num 6; cf. Acts 18:18). It was customarily given for 30 days, but the period could be shortened to as few as seven days. The substance of the vow: abstinence from wine and everything produced from grapes; its outward expression — not cutting the hair until the completion of the days of the vow. All of this is entirely consistent with the Christian spirit and Christian life, combined with faith in Jesus Christ. “Take them and purify yourself with them.” Join them in the legally prescribed rites of purification, consisting of washing, prayer, and a special offering (John 11:55), performed by Jews before the great festivals. It is not entirely clear whether Paul was first required to take upon himself even a one-day vow of Naziriteship, or whether the intent was simply to give evidence of zealous respect for the law by covering the expenses for the poor Nazirites, which would have been entirely sufficient as such evidence in the view of the Jews (Josephus, Ant. XIX, 6, 1; Jewish War Jude 2:15). “That they may shave their heads” — as a sign of the completion of the vow, the hair was cut off and burned in the sacrificial fire (Num 6:13-20). “You yourself also continue to observe the law.” This does not at all give advice to hypocritical compliance with all the prescriptions of the Mosaic law. Participation, even minor, in the observance of even a small part of it was enough, insofar as it served to refute the slander that Paul was an apostate who demeaned the whole Mosaic law. The spirit of Christian freedom was not violated by the voluntary observance of prescriptions of the former God-given law that were not contrary to it, as long as this was needed out of condescension to the weak and for their salvation (1 Cor 9:20).

Acts 21:25. But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have written, having decided that they should observe none of these things, but only keep themselves from what is offered to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality. “And as for the believing Gentiles, we have written.” The letter with the decree of the apostolic council is recalled — to give assurance that this decision retains its unshaken force, and that the counsel offered to Paul is only a matter of wise foresight and condescension toward the weak conscience of the Jewish brethren. “Just as we commanded them (Christians from the Gentiles) this, while preaching to Jews, so you, while preaching to Gentiles, act in accordance with us here. Do not be afraid!” (Chrysostom, Theophylact).

Acts 21:26. Then Paul took the men and the next day, having purified himself together with them, entered the temple and announced when the days of purification would be completed and when an offering would be brought for each of them. “Announced” — that is, to the priests — that the days of the vow were ending, so that they could perform the prescribed rites. “Paul, see, obeyed them and did everything proposed to him and did not delay, but, showing his obedience in action, immediately took those with whom he intended to perform the purification — so fervently did he embrace this prudent course!” (Chrysostom).

Acts 21:27. When the seven days were almost completed, the Asian Jews saw him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd, and laid hands on him, “The seven days were almost completed” — the seven days of the vow were not yet finished, and Paul, as is evident, had not yet succeeded in completing the intended purification, unexpectedly forestalled by the violent uprising against him of the Jews who had seen and recognized him in the temple. The disturbance was provoked or initiated by the “Asian Jews” — that is, those living in proconsular Asia (see Acts 16 ff.) — specifically in Ephesus and its surroundings (cf. Acts 21:29). These were not Jewish Christians but unbelieving Jews, from whom he had suffered so much everywhere throughout his preaching, as they dogged his steps (Acts 19:9; 1 Cor 16:9; cf. Acts 14 and others).

Acts 21:28. crying: men of Israel, help! this is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place; and furthermore he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place. The “crying” accusation against Paul has the character of the same slander as in Acts 21:21. “He teaches against the people and the law and this place” (i.e., the temple, cf. Acts 6:13-14). The accusation is exaggerated, distorting the very essence of the apostolic preaching, which had entirely different elevated aims by no means exhausted by such negative aspects as preaching against the people, the law, and the temple. For arousing the crowd, however, it was the most effective and powerful means. In itself terrible and quite sufficient, this accusation is reinforced by a new one that presented, so to speak, factual evidence and was calculated to inflame passions. This is the bringing of Greeks — that is, Gentiles — into the temple, with the plural used instead of the singular (Acts 21:29) to intensify the accusation and the agitation. “Brought into the temple” — that is, into the court of the Israelites, where Gentiles were forbidden to enter, under penalty of defiling the temple.

Acts 21:29. For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city and thought that Paul had brought him into the temple. This last accusation was an outright slander, based only on the fact that the accusers thought they had seen Paul bringing his companion Trophimus (Acts 20:4) into the temple, having seen the two of them together in the city.

Acts 21:30. The whole city was thrown into commotion, and the people rushed together; and seizing Paul, they dragged him out of the temple, and the doors were immediately shut. The false accusation, built on false suspicion, having fully achieved its purpose of inflaming the crowd to the utmost, posed a deadly danger to Paul, since the Jews claimed to have the right to kill any Gentile, even a Roman, who violated the absolute prohibition on entering the temple. It seems that even the Roman authorities, who in general dared not offend the religious sensibilities of subjugated peoples, were prepared to seriously uphold the inviolability of the temple. Paul was on the verge of destruction: “they dragged him out of the temple” in order to commit murder. The killing was to take place outside the city by stoning (Acts 7:58). But in view of the fact that the crowd was extremely agitated and might tear Paul apart on the spot, “the doors were immediately shut,” so as by this very act to shield the temple from the defilement of murder and to give the crowd, which had rushed out to tear Paul apart, a free hand (Acts 21:31). Thus the preemptive sympathy of the servants of the temple themselves for the crowd is evident, along with full authorization for immediate mob justice against the man hated by them all.

Acts 21:31. While they were seeking to kill him, a report reached the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. “The tribune of the cohort” — the chief commander of the Roman military detachment stationed in the Antonian fortress, which adjoined the outer wall of the temple on its northwest side, connected to its galleries by staircases (Acts 21:35). The name of this tribune was Claudius Lysias (Acts 23:26).

Acts 21:32. He immediately took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them; and when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. “They stopped beating Paul.” It seems the tribune did not arrive too late with his help only because the crowd was not in a hurry to finish Paul off and was for the time being merely satisfying its rage with violent blows.

Acts 21:33. Then the tribune came up, took hold of him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains, and asked who he was and what he had done. “Ordered him to be bound with two chains,” already considering him guilty simply because the people had risen against him so violently, and nursing a vague suspicion that this was the notorious recent agitator, the Egyptian (Acts 21:38).

Acts 21:34. Some in the crowd shouted one thing, others another. And since he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the fortress. As above (Acts 19:32), the agitated crowd itself did not know against whom or for precisely what cause it had risen, and was unable to give proper clarification to the authorities.

Acts 21:35. When he came to the stairs, the soldiers had to carry him because of the pressure of the crowd, Acts 21:36. for the mass of the people followed, shouting: away with him! When the tribune ordered Paul brought to the fortress, where he hoped to obtain a full deposition from him, the crowd naturally might have thought they could release him, and therefore rushed after the soldiers up the steps of the fortress staircase. Murmuring and cries demanding his death were heard. The soldiers leading Paul had to carry him, either because the chains hindered him from walking quickly, or because he did not wish to quicken his pace in the face of the commotion.

Acts 21:37. As Paul was about to be brought into the fortress, he said to the tribune: may I say something to you? He said: you know Greek? “At the entrance to the fortress” — where probably a particularly convenient place for a public address presented itself, and where, in the presence of authorities ready to deprive him of his freedom at any moment, the people could listen to Paul more calmly. Paul addressed the tribune “in Greek” when asking permission to speak to the people, which surprised the tribune and convinced him of the error of his assumption that Paul was the same person as the former Egyptian agitator. The tribune himself expresses this realization in verse 38.

Acts 21:38. Then are you not the Egyptian who before these days stirred up a revolt and led four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness? The Russian as well as the Slavonic text of this passage distorts the nuance of thought in the original, owing to a misreading of the Greek ἄρα. This ἄρα with an acute accent, in contrast to ἆρα (a question particle — with a circumflex accent) means “so,” “therefore,” “then,” “really,” “in fact.” Therefore the Greek — οὐκ ἄρα σύ εἶ ὁ Αἰγύπτιος — should be translated, with a tone of surprise: “so you are not, it turns out, that Egyptian, who?” and so on. This presupposes that the Egyptian did not speak Greek, which was known to the tribune. According to the testimony of Josephus (Jewish War Jude 2:13; Ant. XX, 8.6), this Egyptian was a sorcerer who claimed to be a prophet and had many followers. By means of his false prophecies he led Jews to the Mount of Olives, from which he promised to show them the miraculous spectacle of the city wall’s collapse. From there, with four thousand Jews (according to Josephus, all his followers numbered up to 30,000), he traversed the whole country, carrying his fanaticism to the point of banditry everywhere. The governor Felix managed to capture them, but their leader himself managed to escape. “The Assassins” — properly Sicarii (from the Latin sica — a dagger), the dagger-men. In contrast to ordinary bandits, this was a party of cutthroats, terrorists who set as their goal not robbery and murder of everyone indiscriminately, but only of those most harmful from a Jewish standpoint — collaborators with Rome, and later in general anyone suspected of Roman sympathies. Of course, as is always the case, hardened criminals pursuing their own personal ends of a purely criminal character also infiltrated the ranks of these “ideological” swordsmen. Such brigands were especially numerous in the country, largely brought about by Felix (Josephus, Ant. XX, 6 ff.; Jewish War Jude 9:13).

Acts 21:39. But Paul said: I am a Jew, a Tarsian from Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city; I ask you, permit me to speak to the people. “I ask you, permit me.” This is proof of the truthfulness of his words — that he calls all as witnesses, that he is so ready to justify himself and dares to confront the crowd of Jews with his word” (Chrysostom).

Acts 21:40. When he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the stairs, motioned with his hand to the people; and when a deep silence had fallen, he began to speak to them in the Hebrew language, as follows: “Standing on the stairs.” The place was greatly in his favor, since he spoke from a height, and also the fact that he was bound. What spectacle can compare with this, when Paul spoke, bound in two chains...?” (Chrysostom). “In the Hebrew language” — that is, in the Syriac-Chaldaic dialect of that time. “First of all he wins them over with their native language” (Chrysostom). This indeed aroused greater attention and contributed to the settling of deep silence (Acts 22:2).