18  The Courage  of Conviction  (Acts 21:1–16)

And when it came about that we had parted from them and had set sail, we ran a straight course to Cos and the next day to Rhodes and from there to Patara; and having found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. And when we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left, we kept sailing to Syria and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload its cargo. And after looking up the disciples, we stayed there seven days; and they kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem. And when it came about that our days there were ended, we departed and started on our journey, while they all, with wives and children, escorted us until we were out of the city. And after kneeling down on the beach and praying, we said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home again. And when we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais; and after greeting the brethren, we stayed with them for a day. And on the next day we departed and came to Caesarea; and entering the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him. Now this man had four virgin daughters who were prophetesses. And as we were staying there for some days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” And when we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!” And after these days we got ready and started on our way up to Jerusalem. And some of the disciples from Caesarea also came with us, taking us to Mnason of Cyprus, a disciple of long standing with whom we were to lodge. (21:1–16)

Courageous commitment, stemming from strong convictions, is an essential quality found in all those whom God chooses to lead. Convinced that God had given Israel the land of Canaan, Joshua and Caleb argued forcefully for an immediate invasion (Num. 13:30; 14:7–9)—despite the fearful, cowardly recommendations of the other ten spies. Believing that God would grant His people victory over the Canaanite forces led by Sisera, Deborah urged Barak to lead the Israelites against him (Judg. 4:4–14). Such was David’s conviction that God would defeat Goliath (one of the cursed Anakim) and deliver Israel from the Philistines that he willingly risked his life in battle with the giant (1 Sam. 17:32–37). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were willing to forfeit their lives rather than give up their conviction that God alone is to be worshiped (Dan. 3:16–18). Daniel, too, was willing to die rather than cease worshiping the true God (Dan. 6:10).

The apostle Paul stood in the line of those saints who held such strong convictions. He was completing a critical mission to deliver relief funds from the Gentile churches in Asia Minor and Greece to the many poor in the Jerusalem church. Because of the many pilgrims in that church, and the alienation and persecution of the Jerusalem believers, there were many poor among the congregation who were in constant need. The church had surely depleted its resources in the generosity of the early years (cf. Acts 4:32–37) and now it needed generous help (cf. 2 Cor. 8:20; 9:5). Paul’s goal was not only to meet the basic needs of the Jerusalem congregation (cf. Gal. 2:9–10) but also to solidify the loving unity between the Jewish and the Gentile churches (cf. Eph. 2:11–17). As the apostle traveled to Jerusalem to deliver the money, he was repeatedly warned of the trials and persecution he would face when he got there (Acts 20:23). Despite those warnings, he never wavered in his conviction that he was to fulfill God’s will in the matter, which gave him the courage to see his ministry through no matter what the personal consequences.

From the narrative in verses 1–16 emerge four aspects of the courage of conviction displayed by the apostle Paul: such courage knows its purpose, cannot be diverted, pays any price, and motivates others.

THE COURAGE OF CONVICTION KNOWS ITS PURPOSE

And when it came about that we had parted from them and had set sail, we ran a straight course to Cos and the next day to Rhodes and from there to Patara; and having found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. And when we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left, we kept sailing to Syria and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload its cargo. (21:1–3)

Conviction presupposes a clear purpose. Joshua and Caleb were convinced God had given Israel the land of Canaan. Deborah was convinced God would give victory to Israel. David was convinced God would judge Goliath and preserve Israel from the Philistines. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were convinced that the true God was to be worshiped instead of idols. Paul was convinced that he moved and ministered in the purpose and power of God. From that unshakable conviction came his indomitable courage.

The Acts 21 narrative begins with a reminder of Paul’s emotional farewell to the Ephesian elders. Luke, one of Paul’s main traveling companions and the author of Acts, notes that when it came about that we had parted from them and had set sail, we ran a straight course to Cos and the next day to Rhodes and from there to Patara. Luke’s use of the term apospaō (parted), which means “to tear away” (cf. 20:30; Luke 22:41), shows the trauma of that parting. So great was the Ephesian elders’ love for him that Paul literally had to tear himself away from his sorrowing friends.

Having with difficulty parted from them, Paul and his companions set sail to resume their sea journey to Palestine. Leaving Miletus, they ran a straight course to Cos, capital city of the island of the same name. From there they sailed to Rhodes, passing as they entered the harbor there the famed Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. From Rhodes they rounded the southwestern corner of Asia Minor, stopping at Patara. Each of those ports represents a day’s voyage; the ship sailed during the day and anchored in each port for the night.

It was that north wind that allowed the ship to run a straight course from Miletus to Cos.

Patara, located on the mainland of Asia Minor near the mouth of the Xanthus River, was a large and busy port. In his haste to reach Jerusalem before the Day of Pentecost (20:16), Paul decided to risk crossing the Mediterranean Sea, rather than continuing to hug the coast. The prevailing west winds made such a crossing of the open sea possible. Accordingly, having found a ship crossing over the Mediterranean from Patara to Phoenicia, Paul and his friends went aboard and set sail. This ship was undoubtedly much larger than the smaller coastal vessel they had been sailing on. The ship that would bear Paul across the Mediterranean on his eventful voyage to Rome carried 276 people (Acts 27:37), and this one may have been similar in size.

Crossing the Mediterranean, they passed to the south of Cyprus, leaving it on the left. The ship did not anchor at Cyprus but kept sailing to Syria and landed at Tyre. The crossing from Patara to Tyre, on the east coast of the Mediterranean, normally took five days. Paul and his party then had seven days (v. 4) to wait before the ship was ready to continue its voyage.

This simple recounting of Paul’s travels portrays a man driven to fulfill the priority of meeting the needs of the poor and unifying the church. It shows that the strength of his courage stemmed from devotion to obey what he knew were divine priorities.

THE COURAGE OF CONVICTION CANNOT BE DIVERTED

And after looking up the disciples, we stayed there seven days; and they kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem. And when it came about that our days there were ended, we departed and started on our journey, while they all, with wives and children, escorted us until we were out of the city. And after kneeling down on the beach and praying, we said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home again. (21:4–6)

Traveling on the ship that sailed directly across the Mediterranean to Palestine allowed Paul and his party to spend time in Tyre and still arrive in Jerusalem on schedule for Pentecost. Paul had not founded the church at Tyre and may not have known the Christians in that city, since the church there had been founded by believers fleeing the persecution that broke out in Jerusalem after Stephen’s martyrdom (Acts 11:19)—a persecution led, ironically, by Paul himself. That Paul was unfamiliar with the church in Tyre required his looking up the disciples. Having found them, Paul and his companions stayed with them during the seven days they remained in Tyre.

The Christians there quickly attached their love to the apostle and, fearing for his safety, they kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem. The question arises as to whether Paul received here a direct command from the Holy Spirit that he obstinately disobeyed. Some argue that Paul, driven by his passionate concern for the poor and the unity of the church, was disobedient in going to Jerusalem. The Bible quite candidly reveals the shortcomings of even the greatest men of God. Scripture presents the failings, as well as the triumphs, of men such as Noah, Abraham, Jacob, David, Peter, John, and the rest of the apostles. Paul was no more immune to failure than they were; in fact, Luke has already recorded Paul’s quarrel with Barnabas over John Mark (15:37–39). That Paul was not disobedient on this occasion, however, is evident from several considerations.

First, the phrase through the Spirit is inconclusive; it merely means that someone spoke as from a spiritual gift of prophecy. As Paul notes in 1 Corinthians 14:29, however, not every manifestation of the gift of prophecy is legitimate. Whether it was legitimate in this instance must be determined by other factors.

Second, Paul lived a life sensitive to the Spirit’s leading. When forbidden by the Spirit to preach in certain regions, Paul did not disobey (Acts 16:6–7). When led by the Spirit to minister in Macedonia, Paul immediately obeyed (Acts 16:9–10). That long-term pattern of obedience makes it unlikely that he was disobedient in this matter.

Third, the Holy Spirit had never before prohibited Paul from going to Jerusalem. According to Acts 20:22–23, He warned Paul repeatedly of what would happen to him when he got there but did not tell him not to go.

Fourth, Paul described his mission to Jerusalem as “the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus” (Acts 20:24). How could the Holy Spirit forbid Paul from doing what the Lord Jesus Christ had commanded him to? Further, Acts 19:21 records that “Paul purposed in the spirit to go to Jerusalem,” while in Acts 20:22 the apostle describes himself as “bound in spirit … on my way to Jerusalem.” He was compelled in his innermost being by the Holy Spirit to undertake this mission.

Finally; the Scriptures nowhere suggest that Paul sinned by going to Jerusalem. After he got there he declared, “I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day” (Acts 23:1; cf. 24:16). It is difficult to see how he could have said that if he had just flagrantly sinned against God.

In Tyre, as in so many other places, the Holy Spirit warned Paul of the persecution he faced in Jerusalem. The believers in Tyre, through the Spirit, foresaw the suffering he would endure when he reached his goal. It was only natural that they would try to dissuade him from going to Jerusalem—just as some of his older friends would soon do (21:12). The Spirit’s message to Paul in Tyre, as elsewhere, was a warning, not a prohibition.

After a week of fellowship and ministry at Tyre, it was time for Paul and his group to leave. Luke writes, when it came about that our days there were ended—the ship had finished unloading its cargo and was ready to sail—we departed and started on our journey. So devoted had the Christians at Tyre become to them that they all, with wives and children, escorted Paul and his companions until they were out of the city (cf. 20:38). At the shore they held an impromptu prayer meeting. Luke records that after kneeling down on the beach and praying, we said farewell to one another. Then Paul and his companions went on board the ship, and the believers from Tyre returned home again.

Neither the threat of persecution nor the pleadings of well-meaning fellow believers could divert Paul from fulfilling his calling. He retained the courage of his conviction despite the repeated warnings of severe persecution once he reached Jerusalem (Acts 20:23). Nothing could dissuade him from carrying out the task the Lord had assigned him.

THE COURAGE OF CONVICTION PAYS ANY PRICE

And when we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais; and after greeting the brethren, we stayed with them for a day. And on the next day we departed and came to Caesarea; and entering the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him. Now this man had four virgin daughters who were prophetesses. And as we were staying there for some days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” And when we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!” (21:7–14)

Having completed the voyage from Tyre, Paul and the others arrived at Ptolemais. Known in Old Testament times as Acco (Judg. 1:31), Ptolemais was about twenty-five miles south of Tyre. Never one to waste ministry opportunities (cf. Eph. 5:16), Paul immediately sought out the Christians in that city. After greeting the brethren, Paul and his companions stayed with them for a day. The church at Ptolemais, like that of Tyre, had likely been founded by those who fled Jerusalem following Stephen’s martyrdom (Acts 11:19). Paul’s care for them was no less because he had not founded their church; his was a “concern for all the churches” (2 Cor. 11:28).

After a day’s delay, the ship resumed its journey south along the coast. On the next day it covered the forty miles to Caesarea, Jerusalem’s port, located about sixty miles northwest of the holy city. It was the seat of the Roman government in Judea and the official residence of its governors (most notably Pilate). Caesarea had a mixed population of Jews and Gentiles. It was also home to Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven faithful men chosen by the early church some twenty years earlier to oversee the distribution of food to widows (Acts 6:5–6). God honored his service and called Philip to be an evangelist. It was he who preached the gospel in Samaria (Acts 8:5) and many other nearby cities (8:40). Philip also was the pioneer in preaching the gospel to non-Jews, first to the half-breed Samaritans, then to the Gentile Ethiopian eunuch (8:26ff.). He richly deserved the appellation evangelist—a title given to no one else in Acts (though Timothy was told to do the work of an evangelist [2 Tim. 4:5]).

Although many years earlier Paul had been a bitter enemy of Philip and the gospel he preached, they were now fellow preachers of salvation. The Christians’ chief persecutor, once so feared (cf. Gal. 1:22–24), was welcomed into his house, and he and his friends stayed with him.

Philip’s household included his four virgin daughters who were prophetesses. That Luke describes them as virgins suggests that they may have been set aside by God for special ministry (cf. 1 Cor. 7:34). Prophets, like apostles, were specially appointed by God in the church. They must be distinguished from individual believers with the gift of prophecy (1 Cor. 12:10). They complemented the ministry of the apostles (Eph. 4:11), functioning exclusively within a particular local congregation, while the apostles had a broader ministry. In contrast to the apostles, whose doctrinal revelation was foundational to the church (Acts 2:42; Eph. 2:20), the message of the prophets was more personal and practical. They sometimes received new revelation from God concerning matters that would later be covered in Scripture. The main thrust of their ministry, however, was the reiteration or exposition of existing divine revelation (1 Cor. 14:3), much like today’s preachers and teachers of the Word.

The revelatory aspect of the gift of prophecy ceased at the close of the apostolic era with the completing of Scripture. The nonrevelatory, reiterative aspect of the prophets’ ministry of doctrinal and practical exhortation has been taken over by the evangelists, pastors, and teachers. In fact, in the last letters he wrote, the pastoral epistles, Paul does not refer to prophets at all; instead, teaching is to be done by the elders (1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:9). This lack of references to prophets is especially significant in epistles devoted largely to church structure, officers, and service (cf. 1 Tim. 3:15). (For a further discussion of prophets and the gift of prophecy, see 1 Corinthians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 1984], 323–24; Charismatic Chaos [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992], 69–70; and Reckless Faith [Wheaton, III.: Crossway, 1994], 177–99.)

Luke records no details regarding Philip’s daughters’ prophetic ministry. It is therefore impossible to know how often they prophesied or even if they did so more than once. However the New Testament does not permit women to assume the role of preachers or teachers in the church (1 Cor. 14:34–36; 1 Tim. 2:11–12). It is likely, therefore, that they prophesied by receiving divine revelation, rather than preaching sermons. It is also possible that they spoke instructively to individuals rather than to congregations.

It has been recorded that early believers regarded these women as valuable sources of information on the early history of the church. The historian Eusebius notes that the church Father Papias received information from them (Ecclesiastical History, III. XXXIX; [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1973], 126). Perhaps Luke used them as a source of information in writing his gospel and Acts. He would have had many opportunities to talk with them, not only during this visit, but also during Paul’s two-year imprisonment at Caesarea (Acts 24:27).

Whatever the nature of their prophetic ministry, the four women did not prophesy on this occasion regarding Paul. It was left to another prophet to do that. After the apostolic party had stayed for some days in Philip’s house, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. Although located in Judea, Caesarea was considered a foreign city by the Jews, since it was the seat of the hated Roman occupation forces. Scripture mentions an earlier prophecy by Agabus (Acts 11:28) and prophecies by Judas and Silas (Acts 15:32), but only here is a verbatim prophecy recorded. That prophecy graphically depicts Paul’s impending arrest at Jerusalem. In a dramatic enactment reminiscent of the Old Testament prophets (cf. 1 Kings 11:29–39; Isa. 20:2–6; Jer. 13:1–11; Ezek. 4–5), Agabus took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands. He then explained the significance of his actions: “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” Agabus’s dramatic actions and words were a warning to Paul of what awaited him in Jerusalem, and a test of his courage.

Like the believers in Tyre, the Caesarean Christians were appalled when they learned of Paul’s fate. Along with Luke and the rest of the apostle’s companions, the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem. Their love and concern for the beloved apostle caused them, in view of his inevitable capture, to try to dissuade him from risking his life.

Paul’s response reflected his willingness to pay any price required to complete the task the Lord had assigned him. To their appeals Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” Paul would not be turned aside from his goal, even by the concerns of well-meaning friends. His determination mirrored that of Ezekiel:

Because of Israel’s stubborn and obstinate refusal to heed his message, Ezekiel would have to be even more stubborn and obstinate in his determination to deliver it.

At last, realizing Paul would not be persuaded to cancel his plans to go to Jerusalem, the rest of the believers fell silent, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!” That was not fatalistic resignation but confident trust in God’s sovereign and perfect will (cf. 1 Sam. 3:18; Matt. 6:10; Luke 22:42). They committed Paul into His care.

THE COURAGE OF CONVICTION MOTIVATES OTHERS

And after these days we got ready and started on our way up to Jerusalem. And some of the disciples from Caesarea also came with us, taking us to Mnason of Cyprus, a disciple of long standing with whom we were to lodge. (21:15–16)

Unable to dissuade Paul, his companions got ready and started on their way up to Jerusalem. Despite their forebodings, some of the disciples from Caesarea also came with Paul and his party, taking them to Mnason of Cyprus, a disciple of long standing with whom Paul and his party were to lodge. Instead of their fears affecting him, his courage motivated them. They knew he would be a marked man in Jerusalem, facing hatred, imprisonment, even death. They also knew that by identifying with him they put themselves at risk. Yet they were willing to accept that risk because the apostle was. His courage was contagious.

The Civil War battle of Antietam was one of the bloodiest days in American military history. On that September day in 1862 nearly 6,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were killed and 17,000 others wounded. To put that in perspective:

Some of the fiercest fighting on that awful day took place in a part of the battlefield known as the Cornfield. Some Union soldiers, their ranks decimated by heavy Confederate fire, fled toward the rear in wild panic—only to be stopped by the contagious courage of one man. Historian Bruce Catton describes the scene:

Like that nameless soldier, Paul had the courage not only to face the enemy himself but also to inspire others to do likewise.