Acts 21:33 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done.

NIV: The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done.

NASB: Then the commander came up and took hold of him, and ordered that he be bound with two chains; and he began asking who he was and what he had done.

CSB: Then the commander approached, took him into custody, and ordered him to be bound with two chains. He asked who he was and what he had done.

NLT: Then the commander arrested him and ordered him bound with two chains. He asked the crowd who he was and what he had done.

KJV: Then the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and demanded who he was, and what he had done.

NKJV: Then the commander came near and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and he asked who he was and what he had done.

Paul is in the temple, in part trying to disprove lies that he has abandoned the Jewish faith. He is helping a group of men complete their Nazirite vow. Jews from modern-day Turkey spot him and assume he has brought a Gentile from their district into the temple. The accusers cry out that Paul "brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place" (Acts 21:28). The crowd responds by dragging Paul out of the temple so they can beat him to death without spilling his blood inside (Acts 21:29–31).

On the northwest corner of the temple mount sits the Antonia Fortress. This is the barracks for the Roman military outpost in Jerusalem. Word of the disturbance reaches the tribune, and he runs down with officers and soldiers to break up the riot (Acts 21:31–32). As often happens in such an event, there is more noise than knowledge; even though the tribune asks what is happening, everyone tells him something different. He chains Paul and has him carried to the barracks to interrogate him (Acts 21:34–36).

Maybe two weeks before, Paul had been visiting Philip the Evangelist in Caesarea Maritima on the coast of Judea. Philip has four daughters who apparently prophesied what the Holy Spirit had already warned Paul: when he reaches Jerusalem, he will be arrested. The famous prophet Agabus then came down from the hills of Judea to say the same thing with a little more flair. He took Paul's belt, wrapped it around his own feet and hands, and said, "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 21:8–11).

Some question the accuracy of the Bible because the specific actions taken by Agabus don't perfectly match every detail of Paul's experience. The Jews didn't voluntarily give Paul to the Romans. There's no indication that they tied Paul's hands and feet with his belt; the Romans bound him in chains. That was not the point of the prophecy, however. The Jews "bind" Paul by containing him and restricting his movements. Despite being forced, they do hand him over to the soldiers. And his wrists are literally bound.

The prophecy the Holy Spirit gave Paul, Philip's daughters, and Agabus is fulfilled.

Acts 21:27–36 explains why Paul's public ministry takes a five-year hiatus. He has arrived in Jerusalem only to hear a rumor that he abandoned the Mosaic law. Seeking to prove otherwise, he is then slandered with a rumor that he brought a Gentile into the temple. Before the mob can kill him, the Roman tribune takes him into custody. He will face two years house arrest in Caesarea Maritima and two in Rome, broken up by a dangerous sea voyage that ends in a shipwreck. But he will also be able to share Jesus' story with audiences he never dreamed of. These include a king and Caesar's own household.

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.