What does Acts 21:8 mean?
When the apostles learned the Greek-speaking widows of the church in Jerusalem were not receiving sufficient aid, they commissioned seven Greek-speaking men to make sure the donations reached everyone in need. Two of those men were Stephen and Philip (Acts 6:1–6).Stephen was so gifted an evangelist that Jews from the Greek-speaking synagogue of the Freedmen could not refute his testimony about Jesus. Among those he angered were Jews from Alexandria in northern Egypt, the island of Cyprus, and from the district of Asia in southwest modern-day Turkey. They falsely accused Stephen of speaking against the Mosaic law (Acts 6:8–15). Stephen gave his testimony, using Jewish history to show how Jesus fulfilled Messianic prophecy and His crucifixion was in line with the habit of murdering God's prophets. The crowd promptly murdered Stephen, leaving their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul (Acts 7).
Saul promptly received permission from the Sanhedrin to hunt the Jesus-followers in Jerusalem and beyond. Philip, Stephen's fellow deacon, fled north to Samaria before settling in Caesarea Maritima, the large port that serves as the Roman capital for Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:3–5, 40). Other Jesus-followers from Alexandria and Cyprus escaped north to Syrian Antioch where they told Jesus' story to Gentiles who knew little about the Jewish God (Acts 11:19–20). Still others fled northeast to Damascus (Acts 9:1–2).
While hunting Christians in Damascus, Saul met Jesus. Jesus explained that Saul would no longer endeavor to destroy His followers, instead he would make it his life's mission to multiply them (Acts 9:3–19). Later, Barnabas called Saul to help him pastor the quickly growing church in Syrian Antioch (Acts 11:25–26); soon after, the two would go on their first church-planting mission where Saul would take the name Paul (Acts 13:2, 9).
Now, at the end of Paul's third missionary voyage, he meets Philip in Caesarea. Paul no longer sees an apostate of Judaism; he sees one of the first leaders of the church he serves. Philip no longer sees the man who approved of his friend's murder and drove thousands from Jerusalem; he sees a faithful Jesus-follower whose life is marked by suffering for the cause of Christ.
Soon, Paul will travel to Jerusalem. Jews from Asia will falsely accuse him of speaking against the Mosaic law and bringing a Gentile into the temple (Acts 21:28). To protect Paul's life, the Roman tribune will arrest him, and he will spend the next five years under house arrest (Acts 21:33; 24:27; 28:30). For now, however, Paul and Philip spend what time they have remembering they are brothers in Christ.
