Acts 21:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.

NIV: The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present.

NASB: And the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.

CSB: The following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.

NLT: The next day Paul went with us to meet with James, and all the elders of the Jerusalem church were present.

KJV: And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.

NKJV: On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.

Paul and his traveling companions are in Jerusalem meeting with James, the half-brother of Jesus and pastor of the Jerusalem church, as well as the other elders of the church. Along with Luke, the "we" here would include Sopater, Aristarchus, Secundus, Gaius, Timothy, Tychicus, and Trophimus (Acts 20:4). These men have brought donations from their home churches in Ephesus, Troas, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, and Galatia for the church in Jerusalem (Romans 15:26). Paul joins the meeting as the coordinator of the support (Galatians 2:10) and to report what he has been doing for the last several years.

"To James" probably means they are meeting in James' house; there's no indication if any of the apostles are there. When the elders hear all that Paul and his team have done, the elders glorify God (Acts 21:19–20). Then they share some disturbing news.

Many years before, legalistic Jewish Christians tried to convince the churches in Galatia and Syrian Antioch that to properly worship the Jewish Messiah, Gentiles needed to follow the Jewish law (Acts 15:1). The Jews said this because they wanted to be part of the church but didn't want to lose their standing in the synagogue (Galatians 6:12–13). Paul and Barnabas disagreed and brought the matter to the church in Jerusalem. James and the elders determined that in order to make the Jews comfortable eating with Gentile believers, the Gentiles should avoid eating food sacrificed to idols and blood, and avoid sexual immorality (Acts 15:19–21).

Paul affirmed the council's decision and distributed their letter. But now someone is accusing Paul of teaching that Jewish Christians should—or must—stop following Mosaic law. This is patently false. The church comes up with a plan to prove Paul is a good Jew. In the course of fulfilling it, Paul gets arrested (Acts 21:19–36).

Acts 21:17–26 is an account of Paul reporting to the "upper management" of the early church. He has spent the last several years along the coastline of the Aegean Sea, establishing the church in Ephesus and building up the congregations in Troas, Macedonia, and Corinth. Now he returns to Jerusalem to give an account of his ministry. James and the elders of the Jerusalem church also have news: a rumor is going around claiming Paul teaches that Jews who worship with Gentiles should entirely forsake the Mosaic law. Ironically, when he cooperates with the elders' recommendation to prove his respect for Old Testament truth, Paul is again falsely accused and arrested.

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.