Bible Study series: Acts 21:1-14. They stopped along the way in various cities. They meet Christians, like the prophet Agabus and his team and Philip and his four unmarried, prophetic daughters.
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At the link to the original post, next, I write more commentary and dig a little deeper into the Greek. I also offer a section titled Observations for Discipleship at the end. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided in the commentary section for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Acts 21:1-14
1 Tearing ourselves away from them, we set sail. We ran a straight course and came to Cos, and soon afterwards to Rhodes and from there to Patara. 2 And after finding a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we boarded and set sail. 3 When Cyprus appeared, and we left it behind on the left, we sailed into Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload the cargo. 4 We sought out the disciples and stayed there seven days. Some kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to go on to Jerusalem. 5 When those days were completed for us, we departed and went on, while everyone, including women and children, accompanied us outside the city. After we kneeled on the sandy beach and prayed, 6 we said goodbye to each other; we boarded the ship, and they returned to their own homes.
7 Continuing our voyage from Tyre, we landed at Ptolemais, greeted the brothers and sisters and we stayed one day with them. 8 The next day we departed and went to Caesarea and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the seven, and stayed with him. 9 He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.
10 While we stayed there several days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 He approached us and took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, “The Holy Spirit says this: ‘In this way the Jews in Jerusalem shall bind the man whose belt this is and turn him over to the hands of the Gentiles.’” 12 When we heard this, we and the local residents urged that he should not go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart in pieces? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 When he was not persuaded, we kept quiet and said, “Let the will of the Lord be done.” (Acts 21:1-14)
Comments:
1:
“Tearing … away”: it used only four times in the NT: Acts 20:30; 21:1; Matt. 26:51; Luke 22:41. And it means as it does here: “draw,” draw away, attract,” and “be parted” or an extra-strong goodbye. F. F. Bruce suggested my translation, and the NIV has it too.
Paul and his team are landing on various islands, except Patara, on the mainland. They did not stay long, so he did not go inland on the island to preach. He must have trusted that the Spirit would eventually lead men and women to go to the islands to evangelize, which did happen.
2-3:
Phoenicia is a region on the west coast of the larger area Syria. The town of Tyre is in Phoenicia.
They sailed past the island Cyprus on their left side of the ship, without stopping. It was the island home of Barnabas, who was a cousin of John Mark. When Paul and Barnabas split (Acts 15:36-41), Barnabas took John Mark to strengthen the churches back home. Their split was not amicable. How did Paul feel when he saw the island and memories flooded back? Did Paul tell Luke the narrator-historian about the incident as they sailed past the island, or did Luke hear about it from another source?
4:
“Tyre”: Apparently the Christian mission had already reached the coastal town of Tyre. I wonder who they were, because the missionaries did not usually travel alone. In any case, Paul and his team must have asked people for directions to the “Christians” or followers of the “Way.”
Don’t forget that Jesus went that far north and ministered in the power of the Spirit, with signs and wonders (Matt. 11:21-22; 15:21; Mark 3:8; 7:24; Luke 6:17; 10:13-14). So he softened the ground.
“disciples”: they are believers in and followers of Jesus. Whenever “disciples” is mentioned in Acts, it refers to Christians.
Before we begin our exegesis of the prophecy, let’s consider that in Acts 20 Paul told the Ephesian elders in the city of Miletus that this sort of prophetic word was given in every town:
22 “And now consider! I am bound by the Spirit I go to Jerusalem, without knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except in every town the Holy Spirit testifies to me, saying that chains and troubles await me. 24 But on no account do I make my life precious to me, as I complete my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, testifying of the good news of the grace of God. (Acts 20:22-24, emphasis added)
It is amazing that prophets or prophecies were spoken in every town. But Paul held to his Spirit-inspired conviction that God called him to go to Jerusalem.
So then, how do we respond when we hear believers speak through the Spirit—prophecies—that something dangerous is about to happen, when we have the Spirit tell us to proceed ahead? We have to follow the deepest part of our soul and heart. Paul was ready to die in Jerusalem, just like his master was ready to die in the city (Luke 9:51). Paul followed Jesus. Do we?
However, get the context right.
Paul was a very mature believer and disciple. He was with a rather large team of heroes and mature men of God: “He was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, son of Pyrrhus, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius of Derbe and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia,” and we can include Luke because he is now writing with the pronoun “we” (Acts 20:4-5). Paul was not an independent operator. Paul had apostolic authority; we don’t (or very few of us do).
One gets the impression that these prophetic disciples were just trying to help, so Paul was moved by their love, as Luke will reveal later in this chapter (v. 13). Marshall is right to say that the Christians at Tyre were led by the Spirit to foresee Paul’s suffering and then of their own accord told him not to go (comment on v. 4). That sounds reasonable. Keener is right: “The Spirit inspires their knowledge of what awaits Paul, as in the more extended example in 21:11 (cf. 20:23). But although they rightly apply this knowledge in love, their prophetic knowledge is limited, marring their application (cf. 2 Sam 7:3-5; 2 Kgs 2:3-5, 16; Jer 35:2-14 [esp. 35:5; Luke 7:20; 1 Cor 13:9; 14:29. Paul will suffer, but this is God’s will (Acts 20:13)” (p. 512).
In other words, prophecy is an inexact “science” and is limited (1 Cor 13:9 “we prophesy in part”) and its listeners can misapply, as the prophetic person overinterprets or misinterprets the word. I have seen prophets misapply their own words from the Lord, as well. They miss the timing and meaning of their words. The Christians back then in Tyre did the same thing. But the prophecy, as delivered, was not false. The interpretation was.
“through the Spirit”: this is Luke’s way of saying that people were speaking prophetically. Some will claim that the Spirit contradicted himself. In Acts 20:22, Paul was compelled or bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. But here in v. 4 some disciples by the Spirit told him not to go into Jerusalem. The answer is that the Spirit-inspired Bible records the inconsistent behavior and words of the believers, even when they claim to be speaking by inspiration of the Spirit. Paul noted this in his writings when he said that prophecies must be tested and judged and evaluated (1 Thess. 4:19-20; 1 Cor. 14:29). Sometimes prophetic people speak out of their own soul or add something because their emotions are running high. The Spirit may have spoken to these prophets just as he did to Agabus who said Paul was going to be bound hand and foot, but Agabus, a mature prophet, did not add that Paul should not go (vv. 10-14).
What 1 Corinthians 14 Really Teaches
And no, New Covenant prophets do not fall under the old law of being put to death if they get some elements wrong (Deut. 18:20). Deut. 18:21-22 says that if what a prophet says does not come to pass, then he spoke presumptuously, and the people are not to be alarmed. In the era of the New Covenant, anyone who has hung out or hangs out among charismatics and prophetic people (as I have) know that sometimes they get an element or two of their prophecies wrong, but the sum and substance of their word is right. That’s why Paul said to evaluate their words. And then we encourage and teach these prophetic learners to hone their skills and not to speak out of their excitement or soul power, beyond what the Spirit says. If they refuse to listen, then they will have to move on, probably to their own destruction. But we don’t put them death!
False Prophets in Sinai Covenant and Imperfect Prophets in New Covenant: Life and Death Differences
In the New Covenant, there is a difference between being false and wrong.
Next, this prophetic scene in v. 4 is one more hint that the church of the first century was a powerhouse of believers—every single one of them. It was the norm for the first-century church, and it should be the norm for us today. Just because Luke does not go into detail about the power and fulness of the Spirit in every other verse does not mean the baptism in the Spirit did not happen. It happened with manifested gifts all throughout the areas that the apostles reached, along the lines we see in 1 Cor. 12-14. You’ve heard of the Midas touch? The apostles and other preachers in Acts had the Spirit touch! By God’s grace, so can we.
Finally, Jesus himself appeared to Paul after Paul had testified before a crowd of people and the Jewish High Council (Sanhedrin) in Jerusalem and told him: “Take courage, for as you testified to the things about me in Jerusalem, thus it is required of you to testify in Rome” (Acts 23:11). Paul was right to go into Jerusalem, and the people speaking prophetically got some elements wrong, while the mature prophet Agabus is about to be right and did not add anything extra (vv. 10-11).
6. Gifts of the Spirit: Prophecy
Do NT Prophets and Prophecy Exist Today?
New Testament Restricts Authority of Modern Prophets
I like Polhill’s summary of v. 4:
The Spirit’s role is best seen as informing them of those coming hardships for the apostle. Their very natural reaction was to urge him not to go. Their failure to deter him only heightens the emphasis on Paul’s firm conviction that God was leading him to Jerusalem and had a purpose for him there. (comment on v. 4)
5-6:
“women and children”: it is good to see them out and about. Luke has a soft spot in his heart and writings for them. Good for Dr. Luke!
“kneeled… prayed”: they prayed in public on the beach (“sandy” is not a separate word in Greek, but it is implied) with the visible and public display of kneeling. Back in the Jesus Movement in the late 1960’s and throughout the 1970’s, “Jesus freaks” gathered on the beaches and sang their new “innovative” and “nonconformist” and “groundbreaking” and “radical” songs, which by today’s standards are very meek and mild. Then someone stood up and gave a Bible study. They were fearless back then, stepping outside the old mainline churches. Yes, people do the same thing nowadays, and that’s good, but it does not have the same pioneering spirit behind it.
7-8:
“Ptolemais”: it is farther south than Tyre on the Mediterranean coast. It is also called Acco. The view must have been as wonderful back then as it is today.
“brothers and sisters”: the Greek reads “brothers,” but it is broad enough to include women, much like our word mankind includes women.
“Caesarea”: it is still farther south, and from there Paul and his team could walk or take pack animals up to Jerusalem. As noted in the previous verse, the view must have been wonderful.
Philip believed that the Spirit permitted him leave his ministry of watching over the funds and food, even though the apostles themselves prayed for the seven (Acts 6:1-7). He had a successful evangelistic campaign in Samaria, and Peter and John endorsed it (Acts 8:4-25). Luke probably heard from Philip himself about his selection to be deacon (Acts 6) and his evangelistic campaign in Samaria and his ministry to the Ethiopian eunuch and being whisked away (Acts 8).
“unmarried”: it literally reads “virgin” (parthenos, pronounced pahr-theh-nohss). Being unmarried and virginity meant the same thing back then. Does it mean the same thing today? God says it should.
9:
“who prophesied”: it is a participle, feminine plural. So it could be translated as “four unmarried, prophesying daughters.” It was an ongoing ministry, not a one-off.
Recall Acts 2:17:
‘It shall be in the last days, says God,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people,
And your sons and daughters shall prophesy,
And your young people shall see visions,
And your elderly people shall dream dreams (Acts 2:17)
To prophesy means to speak by the fulness of the Spirit, not just preaching that comes from study, though study is important. And it does not mean just shriekin’ and freakin’ behind the pulpit (too much soul power). It has to go deeper. The Spirit speaks special knowledge that the human speaker did not know before (1 Cor. 14:24-25).
We don’t know what the daughters said prophetically, but it would have been great to hear more details. (Once again, Luke omits things.) But I have no doubt that they spoke to Paul that danger was ahead of him in Jerusalem, just like Agabus is about to do, and the other prophetic disciples did (v. 4). Bruce is right: if Luke were a romance novelist, he would have invented prophecies in Acts, but he did not (comment on v. 9). Bruce further says that the Philip and the four girls migrated to the province of Asia (Turkey today) at the city of Hierapolis in Lycus valley. The tombs of Philip and at least two of the daughters were pointed out toward the end of the second century. The daughters lived to great old age and were informants for the early years of Judean Christianity. Why move to Asia Minor? The rising tensions between Rome and Jerusalem; the Roman army attacked Jerusalem in AD 66 and sacked in 70.
Let’s not forget that these four girls had a ministry, and no doubt they were young, some premarriage age and others of marriageable age, but unmarried. Kids don’t get “Holy Spirit, Jr.” They get the fullness of the Spirit, both boys and girls. They can have a prophetic ministry—and so can single people.
Do NT Prophets and Prophecy Exist Today?
Women can prophesy in church (1 Cor. 14:31; Luke 2:36). Acts 2:37 says daughters shall prophesy. That ministry is not denied to them.
10-12:
Agabus first appeared in Acts 11:27-28, where he predicted that famine was going to take place, which did, under the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius. God in his graciousness revealed this, so the people could prepare. God did not cause the famine. Likewise, God in his graciousness foretold what would happen to Paul, but God did not cause the chains and beatings.
Agabus says “thus saith the Lord” (to use the older language). This speaks of more authority than the language the Christians at Tyre used.
Following in the prophetic stream of Ahijah the Shionite who tore his new cloak to demonstrate how Solomon’s kingdom would be torn (1 Kings 11:29-39, of Isaiah who went about naked and barefoot to demonstrate how the Egyptians would be led into captivity by the Assyrians (Is. 20:2-4), and of Ezekiel who built a model of Jerusalem and laid siege to it to imitate the Babylonians who were about to besiege it (Ezek. 4:1-3), Agabus was a demonstrative prophet (HT: Bruce, comment on vv. 10-11).
Note that Agabus did not say, “Don’t go!” He simply acted out what was going to happen. It was the Christians in Tyre and the ones here in Caesarea who said he should not go. And so they leaped to a wrong conclusion. It was natural for them to do this because of their love for him, but it was a “good idea,” as distinct from a “God idea.” Sometimes the two overlap, but often they do not. So be careful.
See my comments in v. 4 for further clarification of prophecies and their application and interpretation or misapplication of misinterpretation.
Remember Paul’s calling, which the risen Jesus told Ananias:
15 But the Lord told him [Ananias], “Go! Because this man is my chosen vessel to carry my name to the nations, kings, and descendants of Israel. 16 For I shall show him everything he must suffer for my name.” (Acts 9:15)
Paul was called to suffer, not needlessly or for no good reason, but to testify about Jesus in difficult, hard-to-reach areas of society. Roman officials are about to learn who he is and what his message is.
Much of today’s church would have freaked out and told him to leave or hauled him before a strict committee to tone him down. However, Agabus’s demonstration or visual illustration does not give permission to wandering prophets today to barge into a church that does not have a culture of free-flowing gifts. The arrogant disruption hurts the cause of Christ and the fulness of the Spirit. Here in Caesarea at Philip’s house, the environment was Spirit-filled and full of signs and wonders and prophecies, so Agabus fit right in. He was not out of place.
New Testament Restricts Authority of Modern Prophets
13:
“breaking my heart in pieces”: it comes from the verb which is an onomatopoeic word—the pronunciation of the word sounds like its meaning. It means to pound clothing during washing day. It is used only here in the NT.
“name”: this noun stands in for the person—a living, real person. In Jesus’s case, he has the highest status in the universe, under the Father (Col. 1:15-20). He is exalted above every principality and power (Matt. 28:18; Eph. 1:20-23; Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8). His character is perfection itself. His authority and power are absolute, under the Father. In his name you are seated in the heavenly places with Christ (Eph. 2:6; Col. 3:1). Now down here on earth you walk and live as an ambassador in his name, in his stead, for he is no longer living on earth, so you have to represent him down here. We are his ambassadors who stand in for his name (2 Cor. 5:20). The good news is that he did not leave you without power and authority. He gave you his. Now you represent him in his name—his person, power and authority. Therefore under his authority we have his full authority to preach the gospel and set people free from bondages and satanic spirits and heal them of diseases.
14:
“Let the will of the Lord be done”: A literal translation is “Let the will of the Lord happen.” Any prophecy that someone speaks over you is not binding on your conscience. The prophet could be wrong. Here, Agabus’s prophecy was merely descriptive (it described what was going to happen). It was the people who turned it into a prescription or prohibition. Often counselors are wrong. And as noted, even prophets are wrong about their own words. Be warned! The more arrogant and strident the prophets, the more they are at risk to be wrong. Instead, you must follow the deep conviction of your heart, when you are sure that the conviction comes from God. Don’t allow a prophet or his interpreters to knock you off course—off of your conviction.
GrowApp for Acts 21:1-14
1. How do you respond when you hear believers speak through the Spirit—prophecies—that something dangerous is about to happen? How do you sort out cross-messaging?
2. Paul was ready to die for Jesus. How about if we start with dying to ourselves, daily (Luke 9:23). Where do you begin?
RELATED
The Historical Reliability of the Book of Acts
Book of Acts and Paul’s Epistles: Match Made in Heaven?
SOURCES
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