ACTS 21-23

 21:4 Why does Paul seemingly refuse to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit? Although Paul is aware of the danger involved, he goes ahead with his plan because of its great importance. It was not exactly a command from the Holy Spirit, but more of a warning. Comparing other places in Acts to Paul's letters, it seems as if guidance from the Spirit came to a group after prayer, discussion and reaching a consensus. 

21:9-10 Early Christian historians state that they migrated to Asia where the daughters lived to old age 

and were a valuable source of information to the early church. What does this say about the role of 

women in the church?

21:11-12 Agabus: Remember that in Acts 11 he predicted the famine of AD 46. The prophecy is 

similar to the prophecy of John being bound with a belt in John 21:18. Jesus was bound with a belt 

when he was arrested.

21:14 There is a parallel with Jesus and the Garden of Gethsemene.

21:17-26 Was Paul bending his principles by being all things to all people?

21:18 The “We” passages stop here. It sounds as if none of the original 12 apostles was still in 

Jerusalem by this time.

21:20-21 Do we ever spread rumors about other Christians that are unfounded? Where do Jewish 

Christians of today fit into the church?

21:20-24 The population of Jerusalem was about 55,000 at the time. Early accounts regarding James 

show that he was admired by the Jews of the time as being ultra-orthodox in his behavior. He 

obviously tried hard not to offend the Jews and more legalistic Jewish Christians. As with Paul in this 

case, ultimately it did not help because James was later killed by a combined action of the Sadducees 

and Pharisees.

21:23-24 This was a temporary Nazarite vow (Numbers 6): abstain from wine, avoid the dead, don't 

shave. If accidentally defiled, they had to shave their head seven days later and bring offerings on 

eighth day to temple.

21:25 It seems to indicate that Paul did not know about the letter. However, he was present in Chapter 

15 when it was drafted. Possible explanations: (a) Just an indication to Paul that the earlier decision of 

the apostles had been carried out and that the present elders did not go back on it; (b) announcement 

that they had extended the ruling to Gentile Christians everywhere, not just to the original audience; or 

(c) the original letter was drafted after the Jerusalem Council and this is the first time Paul learns about 

the actual wording.

21:27 Why was it bad for the Romans to rough Paul up as a citizen, but the people in Jerusalem could 

do what they wanted with him – he was a citizen either way? There was a tricky legal situation here. 

The Jews could enforce their own punishments on other Jews, but the Romans would not stand for civil 

unrest. And at this point no one knows that he is a Roman citizen.

21:27-29 Compare this charge against Paul with that of Paul and others against Stephen earlier. Is this 

possible divine retribution upon Paul?

21:27-40 Don't the subsequent events prove that Paul made a mistake in trying to win over the Jews?

21:28 There is an echo here of the earlier charge against Stephan in Acts 6:13: "This man never ceases 

to speak words against this holy place and the law."

“he brought Greeks into the temple”: Because Gentiles were considered to be unclean, they could go as 

far as the Court of the Gentiles in the temple, but no further. An inscription has been found near the 

temple site warning Gentiles of this prohibition, and the Roman government approved Sanhedrin death 

sentences for trespassing even if it was by a Roman citizen.

Lesson: You can try to be all things to all people and avoid the appearance of wrongdoing, but it is no 

guarantee that your good won't be spoken of as evil. If an opponent wants to find something to 

complain about, he will find it no matter what we do. Notice Paul switching languages in vv. 37 and 40.

21:38 This event happened at about this time according to Josephus, who says he had 30,000 followers. 

The Egyptian himself escaped while many of his followers were killed by Roman soldiers.

21:39 The crowd hushes when they hear Paul speaking in Hebrew.

22:1-23 Compare Paul's speech and the Jews' response with Stephen's case.

22:2-4 Note how Paul first established a link with his audience. How do we raise barriers of 

communication between us and non-Christians?

22:21 They listen to his speech until he mentions the hated word “Gentiles.”

22:28 F. F. Bruce suggests that Paul's grandfather may have provided tents for a Roman campaign and 

been rewarded with citizenship.

22:38 The tribune's name Claudius Lysias (see 23:26) suggests he became a citizen under Claudius' 

reign when this practice was quite common. It ended with Nero.

23:1-3 Ananias was high priest from 47-58 AD. He was known to be unscrupulous and money hungry. 

Paul's curse came true when Ananias was assassinated in 66 AD by zealots for his pro-Roman policies.

Why didn't Paul turn the other cheek? Compare this event with Christ's cleansing the temple.

23:5 Paul may have been talking sarcastically, i.e., I didn't think a high priest would act in such a 

manner.

23:6 Is Paul purposely starting discord between the Pharisees and the Sadducees or just pointing out to 

the Pharisees present that there is nothing contradictory about believing that Jesus rose from the dead?

23:8 Was Paul mistaken in saying that the Sadducees did not believe in angels, even though they 

appear in the Pentateuch? A possible answer is that Sadducees were known to be strict in matters of 

legality only but free to dispute other matters such as angels.

23:10 Again (see 21:33-36) Roman authorities save Paul from a mob. This detail may have been 

included in this document for Theophilus to stresses the legality of Christianity under Roman law.

23:16-22. Note how easily they believe the story of Paul’s nephew. The Romans were always on guard 

against any sign of armed rebellion. I have always wondered about the vow in verse 21 and what 

happened to these men when they couldn't carry it out.

23:26 The same title is given to Festus and Theophilus (see Luke 1:3), which may indicate a high rank 

for the latter.