The Long Road Home - Acts 21

Paul leaves an emotional group in Ephesus and starts his journey back to Jerusalem. He travels with his entourage to many different cities “and saluted the brethren.” He kind of set the stage for what he was expecting in Jerusalem when he told the group in Ephesus that he went “not knowing the things that shall befall me there,” and the closer he gets to Jerusalem, those feelings are just intensifying. One incident happens when he is in Caesarea in the house of Philip, and “there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus” who prophesied that Paul would be bound in Jerusalem “and shall deliver him unto the hands of the gentiles.”

The IM points out that this man was directed by the Holy Ghost to make that statement to Paul and it made me wonder, why would Paul be told what was going to happen to him? One thought that I had was that Paul had given so much to the work, maybe the Lord wanted him to consent to dying for it as well. It reminded me of when Elijah and Elisha were traveling together and everyone kept telling them that Elijah was going to be leaving soon. 

Finally, after hosts of people imploring him not to go, Paul finally answers, “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.” The people, seeing that they couldn’t change his mind, answered, “the will of the Lord be done” and they “took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem.” Paul was determined to go to Jerusalem because he felt that that was what the Lord wanted him to do. The IM says, “From Paul’s determination to go to Jerusalem, we learn that even if a certain course in life will bring adversity, it may still be the right path to pursue. We also learn that we should put the Lord first regardless of the consequences.”
The little group was welcomed by “the brethren” and the next day Paul went into a meeting with James, the brother of Jesus and “all the elders were present.” He debriefs them on his third and longest mission, “and when they heard it, they glorified the Lord.” But the good times can’t last forever and after he’s done speaking, the leaders of the Church tell Paul that the Jews in Jerusalem, “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.”
Paul was specifically prepared and well suited for teaching the gospel to not only the gentiles, but also the Jews who lived outside of the bubble of Jerusalem. But now that he was back in zealot territory, the people were irritated with him. The IM explains, “When Paul arrived in Jerusalem, he discovered that many Jewish converts were troubled by reprts that he had been speaking out against the law of Moses during his missions, and particularly against the practice of circumcision. The implications of the Jerusalem conference’s decisions concerning the law of Moses were still unclear to many Church members.
According to the Bible Dictionary, ‘the Church under direction of Peter and the Twelve, and acting under the guidance of the Spirit, declared that circumcision was not obligatory for gentile converts. However, it apparently did not settle the matter of whether or not Jewish members of the Church should have their children circumcised… The Jewish part of the church membership, especially in Jerusalem, appears to have been very reluctant to cease from the rituals and ceremony of the law of Moses. This is a marked contrast to the Church among the Nephites, in which there seems to have been a cessation of the law immediately upon their awareness of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.’”
With the general membership in Jerusalem wary of Paul and his teachings, the elders suggest that Paul go to the temple with four men “and purify thyself with them… 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.” The IM points out that while Paul and his group had taught that the gentiles didn’t have to be circumcised to join the church, “they had not discouraged Jewish converts from following the practice or from observing other aspects of the law of Moses. Jewish Christians continued to worship in the temple, and Paul still considered himself an observant Jew.” This is what caused the misunderstanding between Paul and the Jewish converts in Jerusalem.
The suggested purification process wasn’t a one time thing, but instead, the IM quotes Sidney B. Sperry as explaining, “The Temple rituals would occupy seven seven days of purification and sacrifice. Paul would pay for the four lambs and eight pigeons used for sacrifice and would attend the four men in their Temple appearances and rituals… In so doing the Apostle would be obliged to cross the Court of the gentiles and the Court of Women, and enter the Court of Israel, and finally approach the altar on which burnt offerings were made. He was bound to be in full view of either friend of foe in these Temple areas.”
It was probably during one of these transitions between the courts at the end of the seven days that “the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him, Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.” Now to me, this doesn’t seem like the reaction of someone who wants to be sure of their accusations before they make them, or who wants to uncover the whole truth before inciting violence. Their actions lead me to believe that they didn’t care if Paul was really teaching contrary to the Law of Moses, they just wanted him out so that he didn’t threaten their peace anymore.
These guys surround Paul and start beating him up “as they went about the kill him.” The Romans aren’t interested in civil unrest so they run out of the Fortress Antonia and break up the fighting and arrest Paul. As they were carrying Paul back to the Fortress he saked to speak to the “chief captain” who answered “Canst thou speak Greek? Art thou not that Egyptian?” The IM explains that “that Egyptian” was a rebel who “about three years prior to that time, an Egyptian Jew had raised a large following in the wilderness and brought them to the Mount of Olives. He promised his followers that the walls of Jerusalem would crumble when they approached and that they would be able to drive out the Romans with ease.” Long story, short, the Romans met the group outside of the gate and defeated the Jewish uprising, but the Egyptian leader got away and was considered a fugitive.
It would make sense that the Romans might assume that the same old trouble maker was back, but Paul assured them “I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city,” and asks to speak directly to the people who were assaulting him. The chief captain grants him permission, and what he says in Hebrew is what we will cover tomorrow.