Acts 21

Acts 21:1

Good News for Everyone An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on the Book of Acts www.easyenglish.info Marion Adams This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

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Chapter 21 Paul visits the *believers in Tyre, 21:1-6 v1 We said goodbye to them and then we left. We sailed straight to Cos. The next day, we went to Rhodes. From there, we went to Patara. v2 We found a ship that was going to Phoenicia. So, we got on it and we sailed away. v3 We came to a place where we could see *Cyprus. We sailed south of *Cyprus and we sailed on to Syria.

We stopped at Tyre. Our ship had to deliver its goods there. v4 We found some *believers there and we stayed with them for a week. By means of the Spirit, they warned Paul not to go on to *Jerusalem. v5 When our time with them was over, we left. We went on our way again. All the men went with us out of the town. Their wives and children came too.

On the beach, we knelt down and we prayed. v6 Then we all said goodbye. We went on the ship. Then the *believers returned home.

Verses 1-3 Paul and his companions sailed 724 kilometres (450 miles) from Miletus to Tyre. They sailed across the Mediterranean Sea. Probably, this took them about 5 days.

Verses 4-6 Paul and his companions knew that there was a *church in Tyre. Probably, it had started after Stephen’s death. Many *Jews who spoke *Greek left *Jerusalem then. They went to this region (see Acts 11:19). Paul and his companions found these *believers. They stayed with the *believers while they waited to sail again.

‘By means of the Spirit, they warned Paul not to go on to *Jerusalem’ (verse 4). It was probably a *Christian *prophets who warned Paul. But Paul still wanted to go. That was because the *Holy Spirit had already told Paul to go (Acts 19:21; 20:22). The Spirit had not changed this decision. But the people knew ‘by means of the Spirit’ that Paul would be in danger. The people urged him not to go, not the Spirit. The Spirit just showed them that something bad would happen. So, they tried to persuade him not to go.

Paul reminds us of Jesus here. In his *Gospel, Luke wrote that Jesus decided to go to *Jerusalem. Nothing could stop him. But he knew that he would die there.

Before he left, the whole *church went with Paul to pray. They did not know him well. He had only stayed with them for one week. But they gave him their friendship and love. There is a strong love between *Christians, especially when people *persecute *Christians. People *persecute *Christians, like people *persecuted Paul.

It is the same today. *Christians everywhere are in God’s family. We speak different languages. We have different customs and traditions. We have different music. We *worship God in different ways. But we are all like brothers and sisters in *Christ.

We care about our brothers and sisters. We pray for our brothers and sisters. The Christians in Tyre welcomed Paul and his companions. *Christians always welcome other *Christians. This is because of the special love that we share by means of Jesus *Christ. Paul stays with Philip, 21:7-9 v7 We continued our voyage. We sailed from Tyre to Ptolemais. We greeted the *believers there and we stayed for one day with them. v8 The next day, we went to Caesarea. We stayed with Philip, the *preacher. He was one of the 7 men who helped the *apostles. v9 He had 4 daughters, who were not married. They were *prophets.

Verse 7 They sailed 40 kilometres (25 miles) south to Ptolemais. They met some more *believers there. These *believers had probably come from *Jerusalem. The *believers in Tyre had come from *Jerusalem.

Verses 8-9 They travelled on to Caesarea. Probably, Paul knew Philip. Philip had come to Caesarea about 20 years before (Acts 8:40). Now, he had 4 daughters. They all had the gift of *prophecy. But they did not give Paul a *prophecy. Instead, someone else did. Agabus the *prophet, 21:10-16 v10 We had been there for several days when a *prophet arrived. He was called Agabus. He came down from *Judea. v11 He came to us. He took Paul’s belt and he tied his own hands and feet with it. He said, ‘The *Holy Spirit says, “This is how the *Jews in *Jerusalem will tie the owner of this belt. They will hand him over to the *Gentiles.” ’ v12 When we heard this, we urged Paul not to go to *Jerusalem. The *believers there also urged Paul not to go to *Jerusalem.

v13 But Paul replied, ‘You must not cry. Do not break my heart (upset me very badly). I am willing not only for people in *Jerusalem to tie me. But I am also willing to die there for the *Lord Jesus.’ v14 We could not persuade him so we stopped. We prayed, ‘We want what God wants. That is what we want to happen!’

v15 After this, we prepared to go to *Jerusalem. v16 Some *believers from Caesarea went with us. They took us to stay in Mnason’s house. He was a man from *Cyprus. He had been a *believer since the early days of the *church.

Verses 10-11 Luke first mentioned Agabus in Acts 11:27-28. He was one of the men who *prophesied about the *famine. These *prophets came down from *Jerusalem to Antioch to tell this *prophecy. Here, Agabus had come down to Caesarea. He showed Paul what would happen to him in *Jerusalem. Agabus’s words remind us of Jesus’ words in Mark 10:33. Jesus was speaking about himself. He said that the *Jewish leaders would arrest him. He said that they would give him to the *Gentiles.

Agabus used both actions and words to *prophesy. Some of the *Old Testament *prophets used both actions and words. For example, the *prophet Ahijah took his new coat. He tore it into 12 pieces. This showed Solomon how God would divide his *kingdom (1 Kings 11:29-39). The *prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel also used actions in their *prophecies (Isaiah 20:2-4; Ezekiel 4:1-3). It was a powerful way to give God’s message.

Verses 12-14 Agabus did not warn Paul not to go to *Jerusalem. But Paul’s friends did. This included Luke. Paul became very upset because they were weeping. To break a person’s heart means to make them very sad. But Paul did not change his decision. He was willing to die if necessary.

His friends realised that they could not persuade him. Instead, they all prayed. They wanted what God wanted. This prayer is like Jesus’ prayer before he died. He did not want to suffer. But it was the only way to save people from the results of *sin. So, he agreed to what God wanted. He prayed, ‘Do not do what I want. Do what you want.’ (Luke 22:42).

Verse 15 The *Greek word here means that they probably had horses to ride. It was 103 kilometres (64 miles) from Caesarea to *Jerusalem.

Verse 16 Some *believers from Caesarea showed them where to stay in *Jerusalem. Some *Jewish *Christians in *Jerusalem would not allow *Gentile *Christians in their home. But Mnason welcomed them. He was one of the *Jews who spoke *Greek. He had not left *Jerusalem after Stephen’s death. Probably, Mnason had been a *believer from when the *church began. Some students think that he gave Luke important information about the early *church, for example, the stories in Acts 9:32-42. These stories are about Aeneas and Dorcas. Paul visits James in *Jerusalem, 21:17-26 v17 When we arrived in *Jerusalem, the *believers welcomed us eagerly. v18 The next day, Paul went with us to visit James. All the leaders of the *church were there. v19 Paul greeted them. Then he gave a complete report about his work. It was about everything that God had done among the *Gentiles. v20 When they heard this, they all *praised God. They said, ‘Brother Paul, you can see how many thousands of *Jews have become *believers! You can see how they all want to obey the *Law. v21 But people have told them things about you.

They said that you teach all *Jews who live among *Gentiles to turn away from Moses’ *Law. They said that you tell them not to *circumcise their male children. They also said that you tell them not to follow *Jewish customs. v22 Our people will hear that you have come. We have a plan. v23 So, please do what we tell you. There are 4 men with us, who have made special promises to God. v24 Go with them and prepare yourself for *purification. Pay for them to cut all their hair off.

Then everyone will know that these things about you are not true. They will know that you obey Moses’ *Law. v25 We sent a letter to the *Gentiles who have become *believers. We told them what we want them to do. They must not eat any food that people have offered to *idols. They must not eat meat that has blood in it. They must not eat animals that people have *strangled.

They must not do wicked things that are about sex.’

v26 The next day, Paul took the 4 men with him. He prepared himself for *purification with them. Then he went into the *Temple. He told the people there when the time of *purification finished. He also told them when he would offer a *sacrifice for each of them.

Verses 17-22 Mnason welcomed Paul and his companions into his home. Then, Paul met James (Jesus’ brother) and the other leaders. James was a leader of the church in *Jerusalem.

Luke was there also (verse 18). Verse 18 ends this ‘we’ passage. Paul told them about all the *Gentiles who had become *Christians. Some of these *Gentiles were there with Paul. So, everyone knew that his report was true.

The leaders were very pleased but they were also worried. They had a problem. Many *Jews in *Jerusalem had become *Christians too. They wanted to remain *Jewish. They still wanted to follow *Jewish customs. But they had heard that Paul did not want *Jewish *Christians to do this.

They had heard that he persuaded them ‘to turn away from Moses’ *Law’ (verse 21). But this was not true. Paul did not teach this. He did not agree that *Gentile *Christians must receive *circumcision. He said that they must just have *faith in *Christ (Galatians 5:2-4). But he did not say that *Jews must not receive *circumcision.

He did not think that it mattered. It does not matter to God (Galatians 5:6; 6:15). They could follow *Jewish customs if they wanted. But they did not have to follow *Jewish customs. Each person must decide (Romans 14:2-6).

Verse 23 Probably, Paul persuaded the leaders that he was not against *Jewish customs. But he had to convince the other *believers. So, the leaders asked him to follow a *Jewish custom in public. Then people would know that he was not against their customs. They asked him to help 4 men. These men had made special promises to God. These promises were called Nazirite promises. People made Nazirite promises to thank God when he had helped them in a special way.

Perhaps God had cured them. Or perhaps he had saved them from danger. They had to prepare to offer *sacrifices. They had to make themselves ‘clean’ to God. For 30 days, they did not drink wine. They did not touch anything that was not ‘clean’, for example, a dead body. They did not cut their hair.

After 30 days, they offered *sacrifices in the *Temple. They cut their hair. They burned the hair with the *sacrifices. They also had to offer other gifts to God. This cost a lot of money. People had to stop work for 30 days. They had to buy the animals and other gifts. Many people could not afford it. So, often, a richer person would also join in with them for *purification. The leaders asked Paul to do this. This was to show that he also obeyed Moses’ *Law.

Verses 24-26 But the leaders did not want to make *Gentiles obey the *Law. They reminded Paul about the letter that they had written (see Acts 15:19-21, 23-29). Paul did what the leaders wanted. He did it the next day. He wanted to show the *Jewish *Christians that he followed *Jewish customs too. The people try to kill Paul, 21:27-36 v27 The 7 days for *purification were nearly finished. Some *Jews from Asia saw Paul when he was in the *Temple. They made the crowd become angry and they seized Paul. v28 They shouted, ‘Men in *Israel, help us! This man says bad things about us and our *Temple. He teaches against Moses’ *Law. He travels everywhere and does this.

Now he has brought some *Gentiles into the inner part of the *Temple. This holy place is now *unclean.’ v29 (They said this because they had seen Trophimus in the city. Trophimus was from Ephesus. He was with Paul. They thought that Paul had brought Trophimus into the inner part of the *Temple.) v30 Many other people in the city heard that there was trouble. They all ran and seized Paul.

They dragged him out of the *Temple and shut the doors immediately. v31 The crowd were trying to kill Paul. Meanwhile, this news reached the leader of the *Roman army. He heard that everyone in *Jerusalem was upset. There was a *riot. v32 Immediately, the leader ran down to the crowd. He took some officers and soldiers with him. The crowd saw the leader and his soldiers.

They stopped hitting Paul. v33 The leader went to Paul and he arrested him. He ordered people to tie Paul with two chains. Then he asked, ‘Who is this man? What has he done?’ v34 Some people in the crowd shouted one thing. Other people shouted something else. The leader could not discover what had happened.

This was because there was much confusion. So, he ordered his soldiers to take Paul into the *fort. v35 When Paul reached the steps, the crowd became very angry. So, the soldiers had to lift him and carry him. v36 The crowd followed. They continued to shout, ‘Kill him!’

Verses 27-29 The *Jews from Asia probably came from Ephesus. We think this because they recognised Trophimus, one of Paul’s companions. They also recognised Paul, probably because of the *riot in Ephesus. That was why they were so angry.

It was *Pentecost. So, there were many *Jews from different countries in the *Temple. The *Jews from Asia accused Paul of two crimes. They said that he taught against the two most important things in *Judaism. These were the *Law and the *Temple. This reminds us of Stephen. False witnesses said that Stephen had spoken against the *Law and the *Temple (Acts 6:13). They said this about Stephen and Paul because they did not understand their message.

They also said that Paul had brought *Gentiles into the inner part of the *Temple. This was not true. They said it because they had seen Paul with Trophimus, a *Gentile, in the city. So, they thought that he had come with Paul during his *purification. *Gentiles had to stay in the outer parts of the *Temple. This was because *Jews believed that *Gentiles made their *holy place *unclean. A fence separated the inner from the outer parts. If a *Gentile passed it, they would die. The *Roman rulers allowed the men in the *Sanhedrin to kill anyone who did this.

Verse 30 When the *Jews from Asia accused Paul, everyone became very angry. They dragged Paul from the inner part of the *Temple. They could not kill him there, so they took him to the outer part. Luke records that the gates closed. So, then Paul could not run back inside. Paul’s death would not make the inner part of the *Temple *unclean.

Verses 31-32 But Paul did not die. The *Romans rescued him! There was a *fort north west of the *Temple. It was called the Antonia *fort. Soldiers watched the city from this *fort. A thousand soldiers were there. This was because there were many visitors.

There were steps from the *Temple to the *fort. So, people reported the *riot quickly. The leader, officers and soldiers ran down the steps. They did not let the crowd kill Paul.

Verses 33-36 Instead, their leader arrested him. He ordered his men to put a chain on each of Paul’s arms. Then he ordered them to tie Paul to two soldiers. The leader wanted to discover what Paul had done. *Roman law did not allow people to kill someone without a *trial. But there was a lot of noise and confusion. The leader could not decide what Paul had done. So, he ordered his soldiers to take Paul into the *fort. They had to carry him. This was probably because the crowd were trying to seize him. They still wanted to kill him. Paul asks a question, 21:37-40 v37 The soldiers were taking Paul into the *fort. Just before he entered, he spoke to their leader. He said, ‘Can I say something to you?’

The leader said, ‘So, you speak *Greek! v38 Are you not that *Egyptian who started a *riot not long ago? He led 4000 men with knives (see note) into the desert.’ v39 ‘No’, answered Paul, ‘I am a *Jew. I am a citizen of Tarsus in Cilicia. It is an important city. Please let me speak to the people.’

v40 The leader allowed Paul to speak. So, Paul stood on the stairs. He waved his hand. When they were quiet, he spoke to them in *Aramaic.

Verse 37 The army leader thought that Paul had not had an education. Paul surprised him when he spoke in *Greek.

Verse 38 Josephus, a writer of *Jewish history, wrote about this *Egyptian. In *AD 54, the *Egyptian led many men to the *Mount of *Olives. He wanted to attack *Jerusalem. But the *Roman ruler Felix ordered soldiers to attack them first. The *Egyptian ran away. The *Roman army caught or killed many men. But the *Egyptian escaped. The army leader thought that perhaps Paul was this *Egyptian.

‘men with knives’ (verse 38) The *Greek word here is sicarii. ‘Sicarii’ was the name for certain groups of *Jews. These ‘sicarii’ did not want the *Romans to rule them. They wanted to fight the *Romans.

Verses 39-40 Immediately, Paul told the army leader who he was. He was not the *Egyptian! The leader allowed Paul to speak to the crowd. Probably, he wanted to discover what Paul had done.

Paul waved his hand. He wanted them to be quiet. Then he spoke in *Aramaic. *Aramaic was the local language. Paul wanted the people to listen. He wanted them to understand. Paul, too, was a *Jew. He was not their enemy. He was one of them.

© 1997-2005, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

April 2005

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