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11. From Tyre to Caesarea (Acts 21:7-14)
ACTS 21:7-14
7 When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais. We greeted the brothers, and stayed with them one day. 8 On the next day, we, who were Paul’s companions, departed, and came to Caesarea. We entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. 9 Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied. 10 As we stayed there some days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 Coming to us, and taking Paul’s belt, he bound his own feet and hands, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit: ‘So will the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and will deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” 12 When we heard these things, both we and they of that place begged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 When he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The Lord’s will be done.”
Paul traveled southward on another ship. He stopped for one day in Akka, and greeted the brothers there. Then he continued on his way to Caesarea, the Roman capital in Palestine, where the Lord had for the first time poured out his Spirit on a great number of Gentiles. It is strange that we do not read anything about this church of the Gentiles, but it may be because they had moved to other cities. Caesarea was a Roman center, where officials served for a relatively short time before the government moved them to other regions, in accordance with their decrees.
In Caesarea there lived Philip, the active evangelist, and one of the seven early church deacons who had been forced to flee Jerusalem, away from the zealous Saul, after the stoning of his fellow evangelist, Stephen. Otherwise he, too, may have been killed. Now Paul came into his house as an honored guest. Through the love of God an enemy had become a brother in Christ. Imagine how the two brothers must have thanked Christ for His grace. Luke assuredly asked this witness, also, about the historical events surrounding the beginning of the church, in order to compose his book on the Acts of the Apostles. Philip had been in complete agreement regarding preaching to the Gentiles, for he had already baptized the Ethiopian treasurer from the court of Candace, (before any of the other apostles), and Christ had used him to preach His kingdom in many places. Paul stayed in Philip’s house for many days, amid spiritual harmony and great joy.
The famous evangelist was married, as marriage is not a shameful thing, but a gift from the Lord. His four daughters were believers, and filled with the spirit of true prophecy. They spoke in the church, for the Holy Spirit revealed through them, with power and clarity, the will of God. The blessing of the Father reigned over his entire house.
A prophet from Judea, Agabus, whose name is also mentioned by Luke in (Acts 11:28), had come down to visit this church. He had had a prophetical ministry in the vigorous early church. The Spirit of the Lord had shown him that Paul was coming by sea toward Jerusalem. He warned the apostle, in order to prepare him for the sufferings that would be awaiting him in Jerusalem. The prophet clearly stated that the Jews would bind Paul and sentence him to death, as they had done to Jesus, and shamefully deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. Christ himself, who was the seal of the prophets, had foretold Paul the way of his sufferings. Paul had also been foretold his sufferings by the church, as the spirit of prophecy had spread from Christ to many believers.
When God’s revelation about Paul’s fate became known before the eyes of the church of Caesarea, the brothers did the same as Peter had previously done when he tried to stop his Lord from going to the cross. But Paul, as all true prophets, knew the will of his Lord. He agreed to the divine purpose, and began separating himself willingly from his ministry in the world, while getting ready to follow the example of his Lord in sufferings. He chose to leave the churches behind rather than miss his Lord’s design. Though his heart was nearly broken, he wanted even more to glorify his Lord Jesus through the obedience of faith.
On this occasion Paul spoke the doctrine of the early church, saying that the Man Jesus is Lord. In these two names we find the fullness of the godhead bodily, humbly hidden in human nature. This Lord of Glory had overcome Paul, who then came to worship Him for the rest of his life. He wanted to follow Him to the last moment, and was prepared to go on toward the same fate as that of the Lamb of God. He stood fast through all the difficult temptations around him. All the churches recognized that Paul did not submit to human inclination, but fulfilled the will of his Lord in every detail. This certainly was the banner riding over all subsequent events.
PRAYER: O Lord Jesus, we thank You, for You are true God and true Man. You have redeemed us from death, fear, and cowardice. You have strengthened us, and You will still strengthen us in our final journey, so that we may pass assuredly through the trials of distress and torment, and testify to Your glorious name.
QUESTION:
- Why did Paul not fear the suffering awaiting him in Jerusalem?