Acts 21:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.

NIV: Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven.

NASB: On the next day we left and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.

CSB: The next day we left and came to Caesarea, where we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven, and stayed with him.

NLT: The next day we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven men who had been chosen to distribute food.

KJV: And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.

NKJV: On the next day we who were Paul’s companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.

When the apostles learned the Greek-speaking widows of the church in Jerusalem were not receiving sufficient aid, they commissioned seven Greek-speaking men to make sure the donations reached everyone in need. Two of those men were Stephen and Philip (Acts 6:1–6).

Stephen was so gifted an evangelist that Jews from the Greek-speaking synagogue of the Freedmen could not refute his testimony about Jesus. Among those he angered were Jews from Alexandria in northern Egypt, the island of Cyprus, and from the district of Asia in southwest modern-day Turkey. They falsely accused Stephen of speaking against the Mosaic law (Acts 6:8–15). Stephen gave his testimony, using Jewish history to show how Jesus fulfilled Messianic prophecy and His crucifixion was in line with the habit of murdering God's prophets. The crowd promptly murdered Stephen, leaving their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul (Acts 7).

Saul promptly received permission from the Sanhedrin to hunt the Jesus-followers in Jerusalem and beyond. Philip, Stephen's fellow deacon, fled north to Samaria before settling in Caesarea Maritima, the large port that serves as the Roman capital for Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:3–5, 40). Other Jesus-followers from Alexandria and Cyprus escaped north to Syrian Antioch where they told Jesus' story to Gentiles who knew little about the Jewish God (Acts 11:19–20). Still others fled northeast to Damascus (Acts 9:1–2).

While hunting Christians in Damascus, Saul met Jesus. Jesus explained that Saul would no longer endeavor to destroy His followers, instead he would make it his life's mission to multiply them (Acts 9:3–19). Later, Barnabas called Saul to help him pastor the quickly growing church in Syrian Antioch (Acts 11:25–26); soon after, the two would go on their first church-planting mission where Saul would take the name Paul (Acts 13:2, 9).

Now, at the end of Paul's third missionary voyage, he meets Philip in Caesarea. Paul no longer sees an apostate of Judaism; he sees one of the first leaders of the church he serves. Philip no longer sees the man who approved of his friend's murder and drove thousands from Jerusalem; he sees a faithful Jesus-follower whose life is marked by suffering for the cause of Christ.

Soon, Paul will travel to Jerusalem. Jews from Asia will falsely accuse him of speaking against the Mosaic law and bringing a Gentile into the temple (Acts 21:28). To protect Paul's life, the Roman tribune will arrest him, and he will spend the next five years under house arrest (Acts 21:33; 24:27; 28:30). For now, however, Paul and Philip spend what time they have remembering they are brothers in Christ.

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.

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.