Acts 21:8 - Meaning and Application

At last Paul and his companions arrived at Caesarea, where he meant to stay for a while. This was the place where the gospel was first preached to the Gentiles, and where the Holy Spirit came on them (Acts 10:1, Acts 10:44). Luke notes who welcomed Paul there, and he also shows how travelers often part ways when their work is done. Some stayed with the ship to unload its cargo (Acts 21:3), while others went on to their own business, but Paul and his group went together to Caesarea.

Paul was received by Philip the evangelist, who had lived in Caesarea for many years after baptizing the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:40). Philip had first been chosen as one of the seven deacons, men appointed to serve the needs of the church (Acts 6:5). Now he was an evangelist, a worker who traveled to preach, plant churches, and strengthen them, giving himself to the word and prayer. He had used his earlier service well, and now he was trusted with greater work. He had a home in Caesarea large enough to host Paul and his companions, and they stayed with him. This is a good picture of Christian hospitality, which believers and ministers should practice willingly, without complaining (1 Peter 4:9).

Philip also had four unmarried daughters who prophesied (Acts 21:9). This likely means they spoke by the Spirit about the troubles Paul would face in Jerusalem, either warning him not to go or encouraging him for what lay ahead. In them, another part of the promise in Joel 2:28 was being fulfilled, where God said that sons and daughters would prophesy, meaning they would speak by divine revelation. Under the new covenant, such gifts were given broadly, even to people of lesser public rank in the church.

Paul and his companions stayed in Caesarea for many days. Perhaps Cornelius, the Roman centurion who had believed there, was still alive and could also have shown them kindness. We are not told why Paul remained there so long or why he seemed to move so slowly near the end of his journey to Jerusalem. But we do know that he did not waste the time, because he measured his days carefully and used them well.

During that stay, Agabus the prophet came down from Judea. This was the same Agabus who had earlier come from Jerusalem to Antioch and foretold a great famine (Acts 11:27, Acts 11:28). God gives his gifts in different ways. Paul received wisdom, knowledge, and healing as an apostle, while Agabus and Philip’s daughters received prophecy, the Spirit-given ability to reveal what was coming (1 Corinthians 12:8, 1 Corinthians 12:10). In the New Testament, that gift was still real, but it was overshadowed by other gifts and was often given to less prominent members of the church.

Agabus foretold Paul’s imprisonment in Jerusalem by using a sign, as the older prophets often did (Isaiah 20:3; Jeremiah 13:1, Jeremiah 27:2; Ezekiel 4:1, Ezekiel 12:3). He took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it, and then explained the meaning. The sign made the message more striking, because seeing something happen before our eyes often affects us more than hearing about it. The Holy Spirit said that the Jews in Jerusalem would bind the owner of that belt and hand him over to the Gentiles, just as they had done to Jesus, his Master (Matthew 20:18, Matthew 20:19). Paul was given this warning ahead of time so he could be ready for it. The general truth for all believers is the same: we must enter the kingdom of God through much suffering.

Paul’s friends then strongly urged him not to go on to Jerusalem (Acts 21:12). This came not only from the believers in Caesarea, but also from Luke and the others who traveled with him, and who had heard the warning before. They loved Paul deeply, and they thought it right to try to spare him pain. Strong, useful believers sometimes need to be warned not to overwork themselves, and brave believers sometimes need to be warned not to put themselves in danger too far. Yet their grief also showed human weakness. They knew Paul had God’s direction, and they had seen his steady courage before, but when trouble comes close, people often begin to shrink back. What seemed light at a distance now felt heavy when it was near (Job 4:5).

Paul answered them with holy courage. Their love and concern were sincere, but they were pulling in a direction that opposed his duty. Because they loved him, they tried to stop him; because he loved them, he rebuked them for trying to turn him aside. He asked, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart?” Their tears wounded him deeply, as Peter once tried to turn Christ from the path of suffering by saying, “Master, spare yourself.”

This was a temptation to Paul. It shocked him, weakened his resolve, and made him think about turning aside. He was saying, in effect, “I know I am appointed to suffer, and you should encourage me. You should say what will strengthen my heart. But your tears break my heart and discourage me. What do you mean by doing this? Has not our Master told us to take up our cross? Would you have me avoid mine?”

It also troubled him that they pressed him so strongly to do what he could not do without hurting his conscience. Paul had a very tender heart. He often wept himself, and he felt deep pity for the tears of his friends. Their sorrow made a strong impression on him and could almost move him to agree to anything. So it pained him deeply when he had to refuse the request of his weeping friends.

Their kindness was unkind in this case. Their pity became painful because it only added to his grief. When our friends are called to suffer, we show our love better by comforting them than by grieving in a way that weakens them. Yet notice this: the Christians in Caesarea, if they had known the details of what was coming, might have felt less troubled for their own sake. When Paul was later taken prisoner in Jerusalem, he was quickly sent to Caesarea, the very place where he was now staying (Acts 23:33). He remained there for at least two years (Acts 24:27), and he was not kept in complete confinement, since he had some freedom to visit with friends and receive them (Acts 24:23). So the church in Caesarea had much more of Paul’s company and help while he was imprisoned than they would have had if he had remained free. What we resist, thinking it will harm us, God’s providence may turn into something that helps us. That is a good reason to follow providence and not be afraid of it.

Paul then repeated his determination to go on anyway. “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready to suffer whatever has been appointed for me. I am fully resolved to go, whatever happens, so your objections will not change me. I am willing to suffer, so why are you unwilling for me to suffer? Am I not the one most able to judge my own calling and condition? If I were unprepared, then your grief would be fitting. But thanks be to God, I am prepared, and so it should not frighten you so much.”

When he says, “I am ready,” he means, “I have put myself in readiness,” like soldiers prepared for battle. He expected trouble and counted on it, so it would not surprise him. He had been told from the beginning what he must suffer (Acts 9:16). He was prepared by a clear conscience, firm trust in God, a holy disregard for this world and the body, strong faith in Christ, and a joyful hope of eternal life. He could welcome suffering as we welcome a friend we have expected and prepared for. By God’s grace, he could not only endure it, but rejoice in it.

His resolve went very far. They had heard that he would be bound at Jerusalem, and they wanted him to stay away because of that. But he said, “I am ready not only to be bound, but, if God wills it, to die at Jerusalem. I am ready not only to lose my freedom, but also my life.” It is wise to think about the worst that may happen and prepare for it, so that we may stand complete in all the will of God.

What carried him through was this, that all of it was for the name of the Lord Jesus. People will give everything they have to save their lives. But Paul was ready to give even his life for the service and honor of Christ’s name.

His friends then gave in to his firm decision. They had pressed the matter as far as they could with proper respect, but when he would not be persuaded, they stopped urging him. Paul knew his own mind and what he had to do, and they saw it was best to leave the matter with him. They should not judge him as rash, stubborn, or contrary just because he would not do exactly what they wanted. No doubt he had good reasons for his choice, even if he did not share them with them, and God had gracious purposes in strengthening him in it. It is good manners not to keep pushing people too far in their own affairs when they will not be persuaded.

They also submitted to the will of God. They said, “The will of the Lord be done.” They did not blame Paul’s firmness on stubbornness, but recognized both his willingness to suffer and God’s will in it. The prayer “Your will be done” is a rule for both our prayers and our lives, and it also teaches us patience.

This may refer to Paul’s present firmness. He was unmovable and could not be persuaded, and they saw in that the will of the Lord being done. It was God who had given him this fixed resolve, so they accepted it. When God turns the hearts of our friends or ministers in a way we did not want, we should recognize his hand and submit to it.

It may also refer to the suffering ahead. If there was no way to stop Paul from walking into bonds, then “the will of the Lord Jesus be done.” They had done all they could to prevent it, and now they left it to God and to Christ, to whom the Father has given all judgment. So they did not say, “As we will,” but “As he will.”

When we see trouble coming, especially when it may mean that our ministers are silenced or taken away from us, it is right to say, “The will of the Lord be done.” God is wise, and he knows how to make all things work for good. So we should welcome his holy will. Not only, “The will of the Lord must be done, and there is no remedy,” but also, “Let the will of the Lord be done.” His will is wise, and he does everything according to that wisdom. Therefore let him do with us and ours as seems good in his eyes. When trouble has come, this should calm our grief, that the will of the Lord is done. When trouble is still ahead, this should quiet our fears, that the will of the Lord will be done. To that we must say, Amen, let it be done.