Our text raises an
interesting question. How far should we go
in listening to others before we make a decision that
nobody will approve of?
Here we are obviously not talking about going against a clear moral matter. This text does not endorse someone that plans
to go against the explicit moral will of God. So, we are dealing with a fairly narrow scope.
The issue at hand is that Paul, on a number of occasions was warned not
to go to Jerusalem, as the Jews were
plotting to kill him, but he went nevertheless, and against an overwhelming opinion.
Following the text ….
1 And when we[1]
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. 2 And having found a ship
crossing to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. 3 When we had come in sight
of Cyprus, leaving it on the left we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for
there the ship was to unload its cargo.
Everywhere Paul
goes the disciples are concerned about the fact that Paul
is going to Jerusalem. When he was at Cenchrea, the port city nearest to Corinth, he
had discovered a plot of the Jews to kill him as he was then on his way to
Jerusalem (20:3). And he
decided to foil their plot by taking another route
- a very roundabout land journey north, through Thessalonica and Philippi and
then across and down to Miletus, which is close to Ephesus. Here he and his travelling companions were hoping to
find a ship to cross the Mediterranean sea
towards Tyre and Caesarea, and
eventually on to Jerusalem. In Acts 20 we saw
that Paul had met with the Ephesian elders in Miletus, and
after a tearful farewell, he sets his sights on Jerusalem. He says
that he is “constrained by the Spirit to go
to Jerusalem , not knowing what will happen to him there.” He says that the
Holy Spirit testifies to him in every city that imprisonment and
afflictions await him. He knew that he
would probably not see the Ephesian elders again (20:22-25).
The journey takes Paul and his travelling companions to the island of
Cos, and on to Rhodes and Patara. At
Patara they would take a ship down to
Phoenicia, more than 600 kilometres eastward across the Mediterranean sea, a
sea journey of about 5 days. Syria controlled Phoenicia in the Roman
period, and here they landed at the port of Tyre, a city well known in the Old Testament.
Paul and his companions spent seven days in Tyre. Here he does
what he always does. He meets with the Christian church. There is the wonderful fact
that wherever Paul went, he found a Christian community waiting to welcome him.
One of the great privileges of belonging to the Church is the fact that no
matter where we go we can find a church community. We have a worldwide family and friends. The
same will happen at Ptolemais (21:7) and also in Caesarea (21:8). Paul’s heart beats
for the church of Jesus. And you will notice that in Tyre and Caesarea, just as
in Miletus there are many emotions
involved.
Our key verse is found in v. 14. Everywhere people are saying that
Paul is going against counsel
to Jerusalem, and so they
literally give him up to the will of God .
Tyre (21:3-7)
The disciples in Tyre ‘through the Spirit’ warned Paul not to
go to Jerusalem. Everyone knew, and
Paul knew (cf. 20:22,23) that He would suffer, if not be killed there. Clearly Paul was very valuable to all these
disciples. It is understandable. They do
not want him to die, and they do everything possible to stop him from going. The problem is with that little phrase ‘through the Spirit’. They were telling
Paul not to go, ‘through the Spirit’.
So then if what they are saying is genuinely of the Holy Spirit, is Paul now disobedient to the Holy Spirit by resisting
their counsel? How do we understand this?
The answer is that they rightly discerned what the Holy
Spirit was saying would happen if Paul
should go to Jerusalem. But their conclusion was not of the Holy Spirit. John
Stott says, “The warning was Divine,
while the urging was human!” And so Paul went to the next
destination… the port of Caesarea.
Caesarea (21: 7-12)
Caesarea some 100
kilometres further south was a seaport built by King Herod the Great and at
this time it was also the provincial capital of Judea. Here we find a more intense repetition of what happened in Tyre (v.
12). A prophet named Agabus from
Judea invokes a graphic warning
upon Paul. We have heard of him before, in Acts 11. In the days
when the apostle Peter was still the dominant figure he
prophesied that there would a devastating
famine throughout the then known world. This led
to the fact that the church in Antioch sent relief
aid to the brothers living in Judea (11:
27-30). There is no doubt that this
was a proven a prophet of God, a man who spoke by the Spirit of God. Jewish prophets had a certain custom. When
words were inadequate, they dramatized their message. There are many instances
of this in the Old Testament, for example, Isaiah
20:3-4; Jeremiah 13:1-11; Jeremiah 27:2; Ezekiel 4:1-17 ; Ezekiel 5:1-4; 1
Kings 11:29-31. Agabus takes Paul's belt and binds his own hands and feet,
and tells him : 'This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt
and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.' We know that this prophecy was fulfilled.
What is of significance is that Agabus’s prophecy was seen by the church community in Caesarea as a sign that Paul should not go to Jerusalem. It also seems
that Luke and Paul’s other travelling
companions include themselves in this opinion. (21:12)
Paul's interpretation and correct understanding of God's will (
21:13-16)
14 And since he would
not be persuaded, we ceased and said, "Let the will of the Lord be
done."
What is Paul's conclusion? He knows what will happen, but against all
prevailing counsel he comes to the opposite conclusion. What are we to make of this? The most obvious
answer is that which is provided for
us in the text: 13 Then Paul
answered, "What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am
ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of
the Lord Jesus."
What is
Paul’s motive? He is doing this
for the name of the Lord Jesus. You will remember that Jesus faced the same objections from His team of disciples when He
went to the vicinity of Jerusalem (e.g. John 11:16). And He, in accordance with
prophecy (e.g. Isaiah 53) was killed in Jerusalem.
Paul was mastered by One. Therefore we can see that
Paul did not fear what they feared. They feared losing Paul. He was valuable to them, and they could
not think their lives without him, and so , in one sense there is a
selfish motive involved here.
In Paul’s heart
there is the motive of completing the work that the Lord Jesus had given Him to do. He was after all, an apostle of
the Lord Jesus Christ. As it is, we will learn that he will not die in Jerusalem, although he will be beaten and abused (21:32).
But the Lord Jesus has a lot more work to do for Paul before he takes him home, eventually we believe in Rome. And Paul will be a
most useful servant, even though
he will be in prison. Just think of the fact
that we now have in hand some of Paul’s so called prison epistles — Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and
Philemon.
I will close with a brief survey of
Paul’s theology and thinking as a result
of his not listening to his Christian brothers and sisters. I will
restrict myself to portions of his letter to
the Philippians:
1. Phil. 1:12-18 : There were some amongst the Imperial Guard who had heard the gospel! It was worth
it just for that! The church at Tyre and Caesarea wanted Paul not to go, but God's will was deeper and profounder. God had
more work to do for Paul – from
prison, and that would never have happened unless
Paul went to Jerusalem and unless he was arrested and sent to a jail in Rome. And what is more is that
other Christians had become emboldened to speak the Word without fear because of Paul’s presence and testimony in this Roman prison.
2. Phil. 1:20-23:
Remaining alive for the sake of simply remaining alive was no reason for Paul to stay away from Jerusalem. Paul’s motive was to honour
Christ in his body, whether by life or
death. I am afraid, that modern
Christians make too much of life for life’s sake –to the point of
being idolatrous about life. We desperately want to live as long as we can,
because, I suspect we believe that this sad earth is our heaven. Few have this
idea in their minds that they should die in the service of Christ. Few
desire heaven and Christ more
than this life. Paul would rather depart and be with Christ. There is a legitimate reason however why Paul wants to stay alive, and that is
for the sake of those that still need
his encouragement and the testimony of his Christlike example - see Phil.
1:24
3. Phil 2:1-11: Paul’s
greatest reflection in his letter to the
Philippians is found here in this text in which he thinks about the life and death of Christ. Christ went willingly to Jerusalem to offer himself up as a sacrifice for us and this
humiliation which made no sense to the disciples nor to anyone at the time
of His dying was vindicated when
He was raised from the dead. Against all popular opinion God exalted Him! Aren’t you glad today that Christ
obeyed God and not popular opinion, and
not even His own fear in the Garden of
Gethsemane?
Let that be sufficient for now. The point we are making is that God had greater plans for Paul than the churches everywhere where able to conceive or understand.
And so the big lesson
of Acts 21:1-16 is not for you to have an excuse to be self- willed. Generally and overwhelmingly speaking it is important for all of us to listen to the counsel of our
Christian brothers and sisters. The big lesson
here is that Paul as an apostle
knew himself to be in the hands of God. And in this specific mission he
stands unique. It is not for you to go
now to Jerusalem to figure out your future against the counsel of your brothers and sisters in the Lord.
The general principle is that
you must always obey the clear call of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
sometimes (and you better make sure that this is so!) it means going
against popular opinion (Acts 4:19,20). And when you do that, for Christ’s
sake, do not hold your
Christian family’s differing opinion against them. And if it is God that is truly calling, and you perceive that your church does not understand then do not hold them ransom to your calling. Instead you go in the Lord's strength trusting Him alone. Be extremely careful however when you choose such a course.
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