While Paul was being led into the castle bound, he asked if he might speak to the chief captian.  He did not demand to be released or to be heard.  If we are falsely accused, our best hope is that someone will listen to us reasonably.  The chief captain asked Paul if he could speak Greek, and then asked if he were not the Egyptian who had days before caused an uproar and led four thousand murders into the desert.  The religious leaders had falsely accused Paul of being guilty of religious heresy, but by now he was being accused of political crimes.  In a mob, the truth often gets pushed aside.  The political leaders had bound Paul and brought him into the castle without really knowing who he was.  If we are going to make charges against a person, we must insure that what we are accusing them of is true.  If we are joining a group in action against a person, we need to at least know who they are and what they are supposed to have done.  Paul told the chief captain that he was a Jew, a citizen of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia.  He simply told them who he was.  Sometimes, the simplest thing we can do is tell people who we are.  Often, we go through a list of things and somewhere in the list add Christian, but we really should start with that and then add anything else.  Paul had not ceased to be a Jew, but was instead a Jew who accepted the Messiah.  When Paul raised his hand the mob that had been trying to kill him grew silent.  There must have been something commanding about the presence of Paul.  I think it was God's power shining through him.  When we allow God to have complete control over our lives, even in the worst of times, He can silence the mobs around us.

After the Jews seized Paul, they were going to kill him.  While they were doing this, word went up to the chief captain that all the city was in an uproar.  They were acting as a mob, and the legal authorities soon heard about it.  Their anger kept them from acting rationality, much less as we would expect the people of God, as the Jews had always been, to act.  We today can never afford to be caught up in religious or even political ferver that goes against what God teaches us.  We should always pray before we act.  The Jews may have seen themselves as God's people, but the had not sought His guidance.  When the chief captain heard what was going on, he immediately took soldiers and centurians and ran down to them.  The people then stopped beating Paul.  I do not remember anywhere in the Bible where it teaches that if someone is doing something against God that a mob is supposed to beat them to death.  Personally, I think even the act of stoning, which was stated as a punishment for some sins, should have been done with sadness and not anger.  After the chief captain took Paul, he had him bound with two chains and demeaned to know who he was and what he had done.  Paul had been told by the Holy Spirit what awaited him in Jerusalem, and now it was happening.  He had been beaten and now he was in chains.  If the Holy Spirit truely reveals to us what is going to happen in our life in the future, we can be sure that it will happen if we are obedient.  In answer to who Paul was and what he had done, the mob gave different answers, so the chief captain had him taken into the castle.  When he was on the stairs, he had to be carried by the guards due to the violence of the people, who were crying away with him.  They still wanted Paul dead without answering about who he was and what he had done.  A mob mentality really never looks for answers, only for what it wants.  If we are confronted with a situation that seems to be bringing dishonor to God, we need to prayerfully get the facts, individually and as a group, and seek God's guidance in the situation.

Acts 21:37

Acts 21:37 says, And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto thee? Who said, Canst thou speak Greek?  As Paul was being led away, he asked the chief captain if he could speak with him, to which the chief captain replied by asking Paul if he could speak Greek.  Evidently, he had understood Paul, but he may have been looking for an excuse not to talk to him.  Whether this was the case or not, as Christians, we shouldn’t be surprised if people look for excuses not to talk to us. Verse thirty-eight adds, Art not thou that Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers?  The chief captain had assumed that Paul was an Egyptian who had led an uprising of four thousand men who were called murderers who had fled to the wilderness.  People may still make faulty assumptions about who Christians are and what we stand for.  Verse thirty-nine continues, But Paul said, I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people.  When Paul answered him, telling him he was a Jew of Tarsus, he asked permission to speak to the people.  The chief captain really had a problem because he had treated Paul the way he did without all the facts, and people who mistreat Christians today with or without all the facts will one day have a problem with God. Verse forty concludes, And when he had given him licence, Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying,  After Paul was given permission to speak to the crowd, he stood on the stairs and called the people to him.  When there was a great silence, Paul began to speak to them in Hebrew.  If we want to reach people with the gospel, we must call them to us and speak so that they can understand what we are saying. 

Paul agreed to the purification ritual.  He took the men the next day and purifying himself with them entered the temple, signifying the days of purification until an offering could be giving for each of them.  We must realize that we cannot purify ourselves before God.  The only purification of sin is faith in Christ.  Neither can we buy purification from sin, for ourselves or for others.  Then, when the seven days were nearly ended, the Jews saw Paul in the temple and laid hands on him.  The plan of the elders was to make Paul more acceptable to the Jewish Christians.  How they figured this would make him acceptable to the non Christian Jews is hard to understand.  In Acts 21:28, they cried out, "Men of Israel, help: This man that teaches all men everywhere against the people, and the Law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place." (KJV)  They said he brought Greeks into the temple because they had seen him in the company of Trophimus, an Ephesian.  It does not say they saw them in the temple, but they supposed Paul had brought him in.  Paul found himself where the Holy Spirit had warned him he would be.  The plan the elders made to have Paul accepted by following teachings other than the gospel failed.  The same will be true anytime we attempt to keep the world happy by changing the gospel.  The failure may not be immediate, but it will be certain.  The city was moved and the people ran together and grabbed Paul and brought him out of the temple and closed the doors.  If they couldn't keep the undesirables out, they would just keep everybody out.  May we never feel so threatened by anyone or any group that we close the doors of the church to keep anyone from getting in.  Evidently, the Jews felt that Paul, or what he was teaching, was more powerful than God.  Otherwise, they would have known that if he were teaching lies, they would pass and Paul would be forgotten.

Acts 21:28

Acts 21:28 says, Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.  Verse twenty-nine adds, (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)  They said he brought Greeks into the temple because they had seen him in the company of Trophimus, an Ephesian.  It does not say they saw them in the temple, but they supposed Paul had brought him in.  Verse thirty continues, And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut.  Paul found himself where the Holy Spirit had warned him, he would be.  The plan the elders made to have Paul accepted by following teachings other than the gospel failed.  The same will be true anytime we attempt to keep the world happy by changing the gospel.  The failure may not be immediate, but it will be certain.  The city was moved, and the people ran together and grabbed Paul and brought him out of the temple and closed the doors.  If they couldn't keep the undesirables out, they would just keep everybody out. May we never feel so threatened by anyone or any group that we close the doors of the church to keep anyone from getting in.  Evidently, the Jews felt that Paul, or what he was teaching, was more powerful than God.  Otherwise, they would have known that if he were teaching lies, they would pass, and Paul would be forgotten.  Verse thirty-one states, And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.  After the Jews seized Paul, they were going to kill him.  While they were doing this, word went up to the chief captain that all the city was in an uproar. They were acting as a mob, and the legal authorities soon heard about it. Their anger kept them from acting rationally, much less as we would expect the people of God, as the Jews had always been, to act.  We today can never afford to be caught up in religious or even political fervor that goes against what God teaches us.  We should always pray before we act.  The Jews may have seen themselves as God's people, but they had not sought His guidance. Verse thirty-two adds, Who immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down unto them: and when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left beating of Paul.  When the chief captain heard what was going on, he immediately took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them.  The people then stopped beating Paul.  I do not remember anywhere in the Bible where it teaches that if someone is doing something against God that a mob is supposed to beat them to death.  Personally, I think even the act of stoning, which was stated as a punishment for some sins, should have been done with sadness and not anger.  Verse thirty-three continues, Then the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and demanded who he was, and what he had done.  After the chief captain took Paul, he had him bound with two chains and demanded to know who he was and what he had done.  Paul had been told by the Holy Spirit what awaited him in Jerusalem, and now it was happening.  He had been beaten and now he was in chains.  If the Holy Spirit truly reveals to us what is going to happen in our life in the future, we can be sure that it will happen if we are obedient.  Verse thirty-four states, And some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude: and when he could not know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the castle.  In answer to who Paul was and what he had done, the mob gave different answers, so the chief captain had him taken into the castle. Verse thirty-five adds, And when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the people.  Verse thirty-six continues, For the multitude of the people followed after, crying, Away with him.  When he was on the stairs, he had to be carried by the guards due to the violence of the people, who were crying away with him.  They still wanted Paul dead without answering who he was and what he had done.  A mob mentality really never looks for answers, only for what it wants.  If we are confronted with a situation that seems to be bringing dishonor to God, we need to prayerfully get the facts, individually and as a group, and seek God's guidance in the situation.

Acts 21:22

Acts 21:22 says, What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.  The elders asked Paul to do as they said, stating that the multitude needed to come together, but under the law.  If anyone ask us to give up our believe that salvation comes through anything other than Christ alone, we best never give up our belief for the sake of unity.  Verse twenty-three adds, Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;  Verse twenty-four continues, Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.  Verse twenty-five concludes, As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.  The elders said there were four men that had a vow, so Paul was to take them and purify them and himself.  I do not see where they told Paul that this was what God had instructed them to do. They had a plan to placate the Jewish Christians.  Notice also that Paul had not made this vow, whatever it was, but he was being asked to act as though he had.  I believe that if this were what God wanted Paul to do, then the Holy Spirit would have already led him to this decision.  We can never let others dictate what actions we are to take for God.  They did not say that there was a problem with the Jewish Christians, and they needed Paul to pray with them for a solution. Verse twenty-six says, Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.  Paul agreed to the purification ritual.  He took the men the next day and purifying himself with them entered the temple, signifying the days of purification until an offering could be giving for each of them.  We must realize that we cannot purify ourselves before God. The only purification of sin is faith in Jesus Christ.  Neither can we buy purification from sin, for ourselves or for others. Verse twenty-seven adds, And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,  Then, when the seven days were nearly ended, the Jews saw Paul in the temple and laid hands on him.  The plan of the elders was to make Paul more acceptable to the Jewish Christians. How they figured this would make him acceptable to the non-Christian Jews is hard to understand. As Christians, we cannot just go through meaningless rituals to appease others. 

Acts 21:15

Acts 21:15 says, And after those days we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem.  Paul and his group took up their carriages and came to Jerusalem.  Paul traveled by whatever means was available to spread the gospel, and so should we.  Verse sixteen adds, There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge.  Certain of the disciples of Caesarea went with them, and there was with them an old disciple named Mnason, with whom they were to lodge. Even though they tried to talk Paul out of going, they were now there with him.  Sometimes, we may only be able to support God's workers with prayer, but sometimes we may be able to go with them.  Verse seventeen continues, And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.  When they got to Jerusalem, the brethren received them gladly.  Verse eighteen concludes, And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.  The following day, Paul went with them to see James, and all the elders were present. Paul was not attempting to slip into Jerusalem nor was he ignoring those Christians and their leaders who were already at work there.  We need to always be bold in our work for the Lord and we need to always work with our fellow Christians.  Though we must be bold, we must never be boastful.  Paul did not come into Jerusalem as though he were better than other Christians.  He went to them and reported what things God had wrought by his ministry among the Gentiles. Notice he did not say let me tell you what I have done, but instead what God had done through him.  If we ever take the emphasis off what God has done and put it on what we have done, then the glory goes to us.  There are times today when preachers or evangelists, while seeming to give God the glory, seem to somehow keep the emphasis on themselves.  Paul did not go boasting about what he had done, but about what God was doing in the world around him through his ministry.   Verse nineteen states, And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.  Paul saluted the elders and told them what particular things God had achieved among the Gentiles by his ministry.  Paul told the elders of his work with the Gentiles.  This was what had the Jews so upset to start with.  Still, even with all the warnings of trouble awaiting him in Jerusalem, he stayed true to his call.  We can never be successful in doing God's will if we try to placate the world.  If we attempt to appease the world, then before long, there will be no difference between the Christian and the lost people of the world.  Instead of turning the world upside down for Christ, we will turn the gospel into a powerless belief.  Verse twenty adds, And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:  We are told when they heard what had been accomplished through Paul's ministry, they glorified God.  Whenever we hear people being saved, we should always glorify God, no matter who they are.  Verse twenty-one continues, And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. The elders glorified God and added a qualifier.  They asked Paul to look at the many thousands of Jews who believed and they were zealous of the Law.  They were upset that Paul taught that circumcision was no longer required.  We are told the Law was given to point us to God and to show us our inability to be saved by the Law. Christ came to set us free from the Law by His giving Himself in our place.  Circumcision was a sign identifying a person as one of God's chosen people, but the new sign was the cross of Christ.  The elders at Jerusalem had already said that circumcision was unnecessary (Acts15:10) and was a burdensome yoke, but some Jewish Christians were still unwilling to accept this.  Since there were thousands of them, the elders were worried about how they would receive Paul.  The elders then stated that Paul had taught that circumcision was unnecessary, though they themselves had agreed with the truth.  If Christians today start to add requirements for salvation more than believing that Jesus Christ died for our sins and salvation comes only through belief in Him, we need to stand firm against that teaching.  It does not matter how many thousands of professing Christians say otherwise.  The elders should have been working to correct the Jewish Christians belief instead of attempting to make Paul more acceptable to them.  An example today is that some people teach that you must be baptized to be saved, and this leads to infant baptism to ensure their salvation.  We cannot support this belief just because thousands or millions of people believe it.  Baptism is a sign of obedience to Christ after salvation, but it in no way is a requirement of salvation.  We must follow what the Bible teaches if we are going to be a follower of Christ and work to correct errors people attempt to add as a requirement for salvation. 

Acts 21:8

Acts 21:8 says, And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.  Paul and those with him separated from those they had been traveling with and went to Caesarea.  There they entered the house of Philip the evangelist and stayed with him.  Philip was one of the first seven deacons but had then been called to be an evangelist.  We may start serving in one role in the church and know that is what God has called us to do, but that doesn't mean we may not be called to another role.  A teacher may feel the call to preach or a pastor to missionary work later, but that does not mean the first calling was wrong.  Paul himself went first to the Jews before being sent by the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles. Verse nine adds, And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.  Philip had four daughters who prophesied.  We aren't told any more about their ability than the statement, but since it was mentioned, it had to have been a real talent or ability that they had.  We may want to discredit women in the work of the church, but that is not really what the Bible teaches.  We are told there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female in the eyes of God.  In Joel 2:28, we are told, "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions," (KJV).  Verse ten continues, And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.  Then, after they had been there many days, there came down from Judea a prophet named Agabus.  Verse eleven concludes, And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.  He took Paul's girdle and bound his own hands and feet and said, "Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.” Again, a warning to Paul about what awaited him in Jerusalem.  Even if we know beforehand that following God's plan and purpose for our life is going to lead to hardship, possibly even death, we must press on.  Paul was not going blindly to Jerusalem, but he was going with his eyes wide open to what awaited him.  We must be no less faithful.  Verse twelve declares, And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.  His friends once again, instead of praying for him to be strengthened in his call, begged him to abandon it.  It was not safe.  Verse thirteen adds, Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord.  Paul would not turn aside from his mission, saying that not only would he be willing to be bound for the sake of the gospel, but that he would die for it.  We need this same commitment today.  When someone tells us that they know beyond a doubt what God wants them to do, whether we think it is safe or not, may we always pray for them to be strengthened in their call.  If Paul had listened to his friends, we might know very little about him today, because he would have been following the world and not God.  Verse fourteen continues, And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.  When they could not dissuade Paul, they said, "The will of the Lord be done."  That should always be our first statement.