Acts 21:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

NIV: After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

NASB: As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

CSB: After we had been there for several days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

NLT: Several days later a man named Agabus, who also had the gift of prophecy, arrived from Judea.

KJV: And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.

NKJV: And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

For the last several months, wherever Paul travels, the Holy Spirit has warned him that when he arrives in Jerusalem he will be imprisoned and afflicted (Acts 20:22–23). This was told to the elders of the church in Ephesus. The Holy Spirit told some in the church in Tyre (Acts 21:4). In Caesarea Maritima, it appears the Holy Spirit tells the four daughters of Philip (Acts 21:9). To drive the point home, Agabus arrives from the hills of Judea to confirm.

We first met Agabus in Syrian Antioch shortly after Paul joins Barnabas and before their first missionary voyage. Agabus prophesied a great famine would trouble Jerusalem (Acts 11:28). The church in Jerusalem is in a unique situation. Most of the apostles seem to be from Galilee, far from their source of income. They spread Jesus' offer of salvation to the residents, but Jerusalem is filled with Pharisees who believe Jesus broke the Law. It is also the home of many members of the Sanhedrin, who crucified Jesus rather than risk their powerful positions in Jewish and Roman culture. Many in the church in Jerusalem are either transplants or visitors. Significant numbers are Jews from throughout the Roman Empire who come for the required feasts or to live out their final days in the holy city. They hear about Jesus and realize they need to stay longer to learn more—far longer than they brought money for.

So, when Agabus mentioned the famine, the church in Antioch took a collection and sent Barnabas and Paul to deliver it. Paul took this event and turned it into a tradition: whenever he plants a church, he encourages the members to take a collection for Jerusalem. The men who accompany him (Acts 20:4), are most likely bringing that collection.

Here, however, Agabus prophesies about Paul. He takes Paul's belt and wraps his own feet and hands, saying, "Thus says the Holy Spirit, 'This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles'" (Acts 21:11). Unlike the prophets in Tyre, however, Agabus doesn't dissuade Paul from going to Jerusalem. It's possible he knows it's the Holy Spirit's will as well as His warning.

Acts 21:7–16 records Paul and his companions stopping in Caesarea Maritima. They are there briefly with the evangelist Philip before finally arriving in Jerusalem. For months, now, the Holy Spirit has warned Paul that when he reaches Jerusalem, he will be imprisoned and afflicted (Acts 20:22–23). The church in Tyre tried to stop him from going; the church in Caesarea will beg him. Paul reorients their concerns: Jesus comes first and if Jesus wants him to be imprisoned, he will serve his Savior in prison. The Holy Spirit's influence is meant to prepare Paul, not discourage him.

In Acts 21, Paul returns to Judea from his third missionary journey and promptly gets arrested. He begins by visiting Philip in Caesarea Maritima. Church elders in Jerusalem ask Paul to help men fulfill a Nazirite vow, to dispel rumors he has apostatized his Jewishness. While doing so, Ephesian Jews accuse Paul of bringing one of his Gentile Ephesian companions into the temple. The Roman military tribune keeps the enraged crowd from tearing Paul limb from limb by arresting him.

Acts 21 fulfills the fears of many of Paul's friends. Throughout the last part of his third missionary journey the Holy Spirit has been telling him he will be arrested in Jerusalem (Acts 20:23–25). When Paul reacts to dire personal prophecy, the Jesus-followers in Caesarea Maritima try to stop him from going on (Acts 21:8–14). Through a complicated trail of rumors, lies, and wrong assumptions, things go according to the Holy Spirit's foreknowledge and Roman soldiers arrest Paul. He will face the next 5 years in custody in Caesarea and Rome, but he will spread Jesus' story the entire time (Acts 22—28).

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.