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Acts 21:1–6
“When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the city. And kneeling down on the beach, we prayed and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home” (vv. 5–6).
Today we return to the book of Acts, resuming our study in the portion of the book where Luke narrates Paul’s journey to Jerusalem to bring relief to the impoverished Christians there (see Rom. 15:25). We left off our study in Acts at the end of chapter 20, with Paul’s departing Miletus after having given his farewell to the elders of the church of Ephesus. Acts 21:1–6 records the Apostle’s journey south and southeast from Miletus, ending with Paul in the city of Tyre. The total trip represented a distance of just under six hundred miles.
Luke does not give us many details about Paul’s stops in Cos, Rhodes, and Patara on his way to Tyre (vv. 1–3), though we know that each trip from one locale to the next took one day. Jewish populations existed in both Cos and Rhodes, and Cos was home to a well-known medical school established by the famous Greek doctor Hippocrates. One of the wonders of the ancient world, the Colossus of Rhodes, once stood at that city, but by Paul’s day it had been destroyed by an earthquake and lay in ruins. Patara was home to an oracle of the Greek god Apollo.
The journey from Patara to Tyre in Syria took about three days. A major port city one hundred miles north of Jerusalem, Tyre was a center of trade in the region, and Paul chose to stay there for seven days as his ship was unloaded and then reloaded with new cargo (v. 4a). Luke tells us more about Paul’s time in Tyre. We read in Acts 21:4b that the Christians in Tyre tried to convince Paul not to go to Jerusalem, and they did so “through the Spirit.” This seems odd at first glance, for we have already seen that Paul was going to Jerusalem precisely because the Holy Spirit had told him to go there (19:21; 20:22). Since we know that the Holy Spirit cannot contradict Himself, it seems that those Christians in Tyre had heard from the Spirit that Paul would be arrested in Jerusalem and were warning Paul out of concern for him and not because the Spirit had told them that Paul should not go to Jerusalem (see 21:11–14). John Calvin comments, “The Lord showed to these brethren, of whom Luke makes mention, what should come to pass; yet, nevertheless, they know not what is expedient, and what Paul’s calling does require, because the measure of their gift does not reach so far.” We must be careful not to speak too quickly, for it is possible for us to draw wrong conclusions.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Today God guides us not by prophecy but by His inscripturated Word, giving us principles that we are to apply in a wide variety of different circumstances. We do not need a specific word from God about every decision. If we want to do something that is not contrary to Scripture and will not harm ourselves or others, we are free to do it.
For further study
- Psalm 73:24
- 2 Peter 1:16–21
The bible in a year
- Song of Solomon 1–3
- 2 Corinthians 12
- Song 4–Isaiah 1
- 2 Cor. 13–Galatians 1