Acts 21:15 - Printer Friendly

ESV: After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem.

NIV: After this, we started on our way up to Jerusalem.

NASB: After these days we got ready and started on our way up to Jerusalem.

CSB: After this we got ready and went up to Jerusalem.

NLT: After this we packed our things and left for Jerusalem.

KJV: And after those days we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem.

NKJV: And after those days we packed and went up to Jerusalem.

Paul, Luke, and a group of men from Macedonia and modern-day Turkey (Acts 20:4) are on the last stretch to Jerusalem. They landed in Tyre, stayed a week, spent one day in Ptolemais, and have been in Caesarea Maritima since. A few of the church members from Caesarea accompany them.

Luke and the other companions are probably bringing donations their churches gathered for the church in Jerusalem (Romans 15:26). The church members from Caesarea go to introduce them to Mnason with whom they will stay (Acts 21:16). Paul is going knowing full well the Roman soldiers will imprison him.

Paul has known his fate for several months. However, it's only recently that he has convinced his friends it is the Holy Spirit's will (Act 20:22–24; 21:13–14). It's natural for people to see the drawbacks of Jesus' chosen apostle to the Gentiles being locked up. But for the next two years, at least, it won't be as bad as they fear. In Jerusalem, Paul will be beaten and arrested, but he will avoid being flogged and murdered (Acts 21:33; 22:24–29; 23:12–24). For his protection, the Roman tribune will send him back to Caesarea where he will share Jesus' story with Herod Agrippa II, and the church in Caesarea will be able to visit and minister to him as much as he needs (Acts 24:23; 26). Even when Paul faces the long, hazardous sea voyage to Rome, Luke and Aristarchus are with him (Acts 27:2). And when he reaches the end, he will be in Rome, chained to Roman guards who will take his message to Caesar's household while a steady stream of visitors come to hear about Jesus (Acts 28:16, 30–31; Philippians 4:22). In addition, he will write Ephesians, Colossians, and Philippians.

Paul proves faithful to God and God proves faithful to His people.

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.