Acts 21:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the city. And kneeling down on the beach, we prayed

NIV: When it was time to leave, we left and continued on our way. All of them, including wives and children, accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray.

NASB: When our days there were ended, we left and started on our journey, while they all, with wives and children, escorted us until we were out of the city. After kneeling down on the beach and praying, we said farewell to one another.

CSB: When our time had come to an end, we left to continue our journey, while all of them, with their wives and children, accompanied us out of the city. After kneeling down on the beach to pray,

NLT: When we returned to the ship at the end of the week, the entire congregation, including women and children, left the city and came down to the shore with us. There we knelt, prayed,

KJV: And when we had accomplished those days, we departed and went our way; and they all brought us on our way, with wives and children, till we were out of the city: and we kneeled down on the shore, and prayed.

NKJV: When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way; and they all accompanied us, with wives and children, till we were out of the city. And we knelt down on the shore and prayed.

Paul and Luke are on their way to Jerusalem with an assortment of men from the provinces of Galatia and Asia in modern-day Turkey, as well as Macedonia. They landed in Tyre in Phoenicia a week before and have spent an emotional time with the church there. For some time, the Holy Spirit has warned Paul the Romans will imprison him in Jerusalem (Acts 20:22–23). The church in Tyre finds out, but instead of praying for Paul and encouraging him, they try to keep him from going to Jerusalem. Paul, however, knows this is God's will. It's how he can fulfill his commission to spread the story of Jesus to Jews, Gentiles, and kings; and he insists on continuing (Acts 9:15; 23:1–10; 24:10–21; 26:1–29; 28:7–10).

It is time for Paul and his companions to move on. They will stop at Ptolemais for one day before arriving at Caesarea Maritima where they will spend a week with the evangelist Philip before taking the trek over land to Jerusalem (Acts 21:7–8).

Before he leaves Tyre, however, the church finally realizes the most effective way they can protect Paul is to pray.

Paul's ministry runs on prayer. He prays that he can go to Rome (Romans 1:10). He gives thanks to God for the people and the fact God chose to save them (Ephesians 1:15–16; Philippians 1:3–4). He prays for their continued spiritual growth (Colossians 1:9) and their faithfulness to what God has given them (2 Thessalonians 1:11). And he tells his churches to pray—continually (Romans 12:12; Ephesians 6:18; Philippians 4:6; Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Before Paul left for Jerusalem, he wrote to the believers in Rome, saying, "I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company" (Romans 15:30–32). God will grant his request. After two years under house arrest in Caesarea Maritima and a harrowing sea voyage that ends in a shipwreck, Paul will finally reach Rome. He will spend another two years under house arrest, but instead of Paul traveling the world, God will bring people to him (Acts 28:30–31).

Acts 21:1–6 describes how Paul and his companions finally start their way back to Judea. They sail from Miletus on the southwest coast of modern-day Turkey around the islands to Tyre in Phoenicia. Whether because the Holy Spirit informs them or Paul tells them, the Jesus-followers there realize Paul faces arrest in Jerusalem. Not understanding God's purpose, they try to protect their friend by begging him not to go. When Paul insists, they pray for him and send him on his way.

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.