ACTS 21:1

The Bible says in Acts 21:1-3, “And it came to pass, that after we were gotten from them, and had launched, we came with a straight course unto Coos, and the day following unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara: And finding a ship sailing over unto Phoenicia, we went aboard, and set forth. Now when we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria, and landed at Tyre: for there the ship was to unlade her burden.” The Apostle Paul was on the move. There is a time to stay right where you are, and there is a time to move. God called Abraham to move. God called Moses to lead the children out of Egypt. That was a move. God called Paul to be almost constantly on the move. Are you able to detect God’s leading in your life so that you know when He wants you to move and when He wants you to stay? If not, you might be going the wrong way.

Paul was on the move to Jerusalem. He was constrained in His spirit to go there. He wanted to go to the capital of the Jews, and then to Rome, the capital of the Gentiles. He was after all called to bring the gospel to the Jew first and then also to the Gentile. We see the kind of person that Paul was. Once he had a goal, there was no stopping him from accomplishing that goal, unless the Lord closed the door. The fact that there would be difficulties in going the way that he had chosen in service to the Lord certainly did not stop him.

The Bible says in Acts 21:4-9, “And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem. 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. And we had taken our leave one of another, we took ship; and they returned home again. And when we had finished our course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, and saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day. 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. And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.”

We are told some very important things about Philip. We are not told what was his financial condition nor his occupation in this world. Like we said: we are told the important things about Philip, the things concerning his spiritual accomplishments. He was called Philip, the evangelist. You can only be an evangelist if you have the gift of an evangelist. Evangelists have a unique ability to present the gospel in a clear and open way to lost souls. We already know about one of Philip’s evangelistic efforts. This is the same Philip who took the gospel to the Ethiopian eunuch. Undoubtedly he took the gospel to many others also, because years later he is still called an evangelist. Obviously he took the gospel to his own family members because verse 9 says, “And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.” If you do not have sons that prophesy, it is just as good to have daughters who do. Remember that Acts 2:17 says, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.”

Another thing that we notice about Philip is that it says that he had four daughters who were virgins. Any parent with four daughters would consider themselves blessed if they were able to help their children stay unspotted from the degeneration of the world around them. The ways of the Bible and the ways of God are the best ways to follow. Far too many have learned the hard way that chastity and purity always are the best way. God created the beautiful idea of the union of male and female, but only in the marriage bond. Those who violate that principle can pay a heavy price unless they repent. Hebrews 13:4 says, “The bed in marriage is undefiled, but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” Maybe you are not a virgin like the daughters of Philip were; but you can always confess your sins to Christ, be totally forgiven, and be a virgin from this day forward.

The Bible says in Acts 21:10-13, “And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judea a certain prophet named Agabus. And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? For I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” Once again the Holy Spirit let Paul know what was ahead in the path that Paul had chosen: the path to Jerusalem. When Jesus went to Jerusalem, He knew that He was going there to die. When Paul went to Jerusalem, he knew that he was going there to suffer for the name of Christ. Strange is it not, that the great city of God would become the city where the saints and prophets would be massacred and the Christ Himself would be put to death. Even Jesus pondered this terrible characteristic that had become Jerusalem’s. Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen does gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.”

Paul had a good idea what would happen to him if he went to Jerusalem. The Lord let him know through the Spirit. But Paul was not deterred by the future sufferings that lay in his path. He counted the cost, and he said, “I am willing to pay the price of doing that which burns within my heart to do for Christ.” “If I perish, I perish.” “I must do what I must do.” “I do not live for this life; I live for the next and for the Savior who died for me.” As Paul wrote in Philippians 3:7-8, “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.” Make sure that you really understand the cost of what you may be required to pay in the path that you have chosen. A surprise in just how great the cost might be could send you off course. Peter told believers not to be surprised about what might happen to them. He wrote in First Peter 1:12, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.”

The Bible says in Acts 21:14-17, “And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done. And after those days we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem. There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge. And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.” Luke and the others did the right thing when they finally realized that they were not going to be able to change Paul’s mind. They said, “The will of the Lord be done.” One of the advantages of being a Christian in this world is being able to say in any situation, “The will of the Lord be done.” After all, we do want the Lord’s will and not our own will. The Lord can change anything, if He wants to change it. If you are going to live by faith, you have got to believe that. You are not going to be able to change everyone’s mind or everyone’s heart. Therefore, you must believe that God will do so, if He thinks it necessary. Pharaoh’s heart was as hard as stone, and God changed Pharaoh’s heart to let the children of Israel go free. If God could change Pharaoh’s heart and mind, God can change anyone’s.

The Bible says in Acts 21:18-19, “And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present. And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.” Of course, we all know that great things were accomplished in the ministry of the Apostle Paul. God had prepared hearts to hear the gospel. The fullness of times had come. Opportunities were there waiting to be taken advantage of. God called Paul to go through the door of opportunity; and Paul obeyed, and surrendered, and went with the gospel of Christ. But in all the things that were accomplished, Paul did not take the credit to himself. Notice that he did not talk about what he accomplished: Paul talked about what God accomplished. Yes, Paul was well aware of his own efforts. It does say, “what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.” Watch out for people who take credit to themselves for things that have been accomplished in their ministries, or who boast of their own great accomplishments or their own faithfulness. Paul did not do that. He spoke of what God had wrought. Paul knew that anything done in his life was by the grace of God. He said, “By the grace of God, I am what I am.” If you understand your own sinfulness and God’s grace through Christ, then you know that any good thing done in your life is done by God, and therefore God deserves all the glory.

The Bible says in Acts 21:20-26, “And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law; And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. What is it therefore? The multitude must needs come together; for they will hear that thou art come. Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them. Take them, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads; and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law. As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication. Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.”

Paul had just told the leaders of the church at Jerusalem that God had done great things for the Gentiles. That act immediately raised the issue that was on the minds of the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem: what about the difference between Jew and Gentile? What happens when a Jew becomes a Christian, and what happens when a Gentile becomes a Christian, and is there any difference? Because of Peter’s experience with Cornelius, the Jewish believers in Jerusalem by the grace of God had already resolved the fact that once Gentiles were saved, they would not be required to become Jews. But the other side of the issue was equally important to them: once a Jewish person becomes a believer in Jesus Christ, does that mean that the Jewish person is no longer Jewish or that they in some way must renounce their Judaism? Of course not: in no way. Jews are still Jews even after they accept Christ. The Jewish religion is the only religion that you can keep once you become a Christian, as long as you believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that you understand the difference between law and grace. You can still keep the Jewish feasts and do all the other things that Jewish people do that are based on the Old Testament. You can be a Jew and a Christian at the same time. Paul was.

Even after a Jew accepts Christ, he can still celebrate Hannukah, go to the synagogue, and do all the other things that Jews do. The Jewish people are still God’s chosen people, and they still retain their national and religious identity even if all of them come to believe in Jesus as Savior. The Bible says in Romans 11:1-2, “I say then, Hath God cast away His people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people which He foreknew…” Paul was still a Jew even after being saved by Jesus and being the great Apostle Paul for many years. Paul encouraged Timothy to become circumcised as is normal for Jewish males to do. Paul had been falsely accused. He was not telling Jewish Christians that they had to stop being Jews.

Paul participated with other Jews in the city of Jerusalem. This was perfectly acceptable. The important thing for everyone, whether Jew or Gentile is this: are you saved? Do you know Jesus Christ personally? Have you believed on Him for salvation? If not, today you can give your heart to Christ. Today you can turn from your sins and turn to Jesus. Jesus is the Savior of the world, and He can become your Savior today.

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