Acts 21 Discussion

Danger wasn’t a detour for Paul; it was part of the map. We walk through Acts 21 and sit with the tension that faithful people, hearing the same Spirit, can draw different conclusions about risk—while a called disciple keeps moving toward a costly yes. From Tyre to Caesarea to Jerusalem, Luke’s eyewitness detail pulls us into the story: disciples plead, Agabus warns, friends weep, and Paul sets his face like flint because Jesus already told him he would suffer for his name.

We unpack the quiet brilliance of James and the elders as they celebrate Gentile conversions and still shepherd a volatile community. Their plan—a public act of purification alongside men under a vow—wasn’t capitulation; it was a strategy for unity, removing needless offense so the gospel could be heard. Along the way we revisit Philip the Evangelist and his four daughters who prophesy, exploring how biblical prophecy includes foretelling future events, forth telling God’s word, and even the prophetic voice of sacred song. Then the story turns: rumors ignite a crowd, the temple gates slam, and Rome of all powers shields the apostle. Submission to authority doesn’t shrink courage; it gives Paul a platform to speak.

Expect practical takeaways you can use today. We talk about choosing obedience over comfort, resisting the spread of rumors, holding freedom with love, and pursuing peace without surrendering truth. If you’ve ever wrestled with whether God could call you into something risky, or how to navigate convictions without needlessly offending others, this conversation will steady your steps and sharpen your discernment.

If this episode helped you think and live with bold humility, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a short review telling us your biggest takeaway. Your words help more people find the conversation.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Setting The Stage: Acts 21 Overview
• 0:27 Journey Warnings And Paul’s Resolve
• 1:00 Arrival In Jerusalem And Report
• 1:16 Riot At The Temple And Arrest
• 1:52 Luke Joins: Eyewitness Detail
• 3:36 Called To Suffer And Endure
• 5:20 Philip The Evangelist And His Daughters
• 6:01 What Prophecy Means Here
• 7:14 James’ Counsel And Church Unity
• 9:52 Nazarite Vows And Purification
• 12:12 Freedom, Conscience, And Not Offending
• 13:14 Rome Protects Paul, Ironically
• 13:44 People: Zeal, Rumors, And Anger
• 14:15 Yielding To God’s Call Over Safety
• 15:31 God’s Work Among The Gentiles
• 16:12 Spirit’s Warnings And God’s Will
• 17:48 Applications: Courage, Unity, Submission
• 19:06 Final Promise And Closing

Transcript

Pastor Plek: 0:10

And welcome back to a chapter a day. Keeps the devil away. I'm Pastor Pleck. That's Pastor Holland. And we are talking Acts chapter 21. We're going to outline it. We're going to observe it, interpret it, apply it so that you and Jesus can be close as possible as you make your way today. All right, so verses 1 through 14 of chapter 21 talks about Paul's journey and the warnings that he receives on the way. From Miletus to various ports, including Tyre and Ptolemy to Caesarea, entire disciples through the Spirit urge him not to go to Jerusalem, which is sort of wild because he, through the Spirit, has been told to go to Jerusalem. And so this is where they may have had the same image or vision, but they interpret it differently, not necessarily wrong, but when they saw that Paul was getting attacked or mobbed in Jerusalem, they freaked out on his behalf, said, Don't go. Now, verses 15 through 26, we have the arrival in Jerusalem and the report to the church leaders. So Paul arrives in Jerusalem, he's received warmly by leaders, he meets with James and the elders, reports what God has done among the Gentiles and through his ministry, and they all glorify God. Then verses 27 through 40, you have a riot, accusations, he's arrested in the temple. And then this is just such a near the end of that purification period that he he had gone through. The Jews from Asia stirred up the crowd against Paul and falsely accused him all sorts of stuff. And so that's where we sort of end that with him uh wanting to address the crowd. And uh I believe uh Pastor Holland there read verse one from chapter 22. We won't hold it against him, uh, but we will just for that. So let's get into some observations that we sound saw in chapter 21.

Pastor Holland: 1:56

Uh it's interesting how you know there's a lot in here that's just like reportage, you know, it's not necessarily like theological content, but it's like we went here and we stayed for this many days, and we went here. And you just see like how important it is to Luke to get just like give you a good understanding of everything that they did from this place to that place and how long they stayed. And I just think that's really interesting. It's kind of wild. And he's saying we, right? Yeah, so now Luke is in you know in the mix, right?

Pastor Plek: 2:24

Yeah, so I uh you gotta love that. And so you got the author is now first hand accounts, which is why he's like probably so specific about the number of days. Um and uh which I appreciate that that Paul's there. I mean Luke's there. How about this?

Pastor Holland: 2:38

When did he start traveling with Paul? Uh is it is it like just right now, or had he had he been saying we for a little while?

Pastor Plek: 2:46

Uh that's a great question.

Pastor Holland: 2:49

I I feel like we missed uh it was a few chapters back um when Luke actually started traveling. I think it was Acts 16, where it goes from the because that's that's where he picks up Timothy, right?

Pastor Plek: 3:01

Yeah, it goes from the third person to the first person. And um Yes, okay, Acts 16, verse 6 or something.

Pastor Holland: 3:08

Verse 6, they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia. They, they, they, and then verse 11. So setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage. Interesting. Right there, you see, Luke actually joins in with Paul, um, which is really cool. Yeah, so he's got firsthand knowledge of this stuff as well, not just hearing from other people.

Pastor Plek: 3:30

Okay, how about just the fact that Paul is unwavering in his resolve to endure the persecution that God had like set aside for him?

Pastor Holland: 3:39

Yeah, because it sounds like other people are getting these prophecies about, oh man, you're gonna suffer if you go there. And they're saying, they're concluding, therefore, you should not go there, Paul. If you do that, and Paul's saying, like, no, that's exactly it's kind of like what Jesus promised me, actually. Yeah, he told me how much I was gonna suffer for his name. So um, I'm not afraid of that. I'm kind of expecting it.

Pastor Plek: 4:00

Is there any like, I don't know, like I'm called to suffer? I guess there is, yeah. I mean, like, I think sometimes we always think like when somebody is having a hard time in their life, like things don't go their way, like clearly they did something wrong. Because for the most part, you follow the proverbs, uh, there's a general principle, you live your life right, there is blessing for you. Yeah, but clearly here you're seeing Paul is living his life right. He's repentant, he's trusting Jesus. However, things are not going well for him in the sense of his health and wealth. Yeah, right.

Pastor Holland: 4:34

And yeah, that's what he was called to. And um, you know, there the the general principle is like you reap what you sow, right? In Proverbs. That's why you you do the right thing, you experience blessings. Well, in some sense, Paul is um, I think we mentioned this on a previous ep episode, like he he sowed a lot of persecution against the church. Yeah, and now he's reaping persecution from the church, not necessarily from the world, I mean. Yeah. And Jesus, the scripture of Jesus never says it exactly in those terms, but you get the sense that I don't know, part of maybe the reason that Paul's ministry includes so much suffering is how much he persecuted the church. Yeah, that's good. Um, but now he's like happy to suffer for Jesus.

Pastor Plek: 5:17

He's like, Yep, you know what? I'm down. How about Philip the Evangelist getting more text time? I like it's kind of wild. Like he is seems to be he's outpacing Apostle Philip, apparently. Um, he's a you know, he's a deacon and he's an evangelist, right?

Pastor Holland: 5:36

Yeah, so when it says who was one of the seven, is that that's referring to the seven men selected back in Acts 6 to be yeah, to help the um apostles.

Pastor Plek: 5:46

Right. So Philip the Evangelist, he's also the guy that reached the Ethiopian eunuch, right, with his superpower teleportation um speed. And he's got four unmarried daughters that prophesy. What do you think that prophecy entails?

Pastor Holland: 6:01

Prophecy generally has two meanings, um, either or like maybe three. Um, foretelling or forth telling. Um foretelling, predicting a future event. That's like what Agabus does, right? Right after this. If you go to Jerusalem, here's what's going to happen to you. So that's foretelling. Forth telling uh is like telling forth God's word, um essentially like uh proclaiming what God has already said uh and bringing that to bear on your present situation. But prophesying can also refer to um singing holy songs to God. And so uh Miriam in Exodus 15, I think, was a prophetess who did not foretell or forthell anything, but rather she sang um songs. Asaph and He Man and Jedethun uh in 1 Chronicles 25, I think, are listed as um uh men who are chosen to lead in singing, and they're authors of psalms, and they're they're referred to as prophesying when they sing psalms. So prophesying can also refer to singing holy songs to God. Um it's unclear what exactly this uh verse is referencing, but it could mean that they had a message for God's people or that they were singers.

Pastor Plek: 7:14

Yeah, in church history, uh Papius or Papias, P-A-P-I-A-S, uh refers to the uh the prophetesses of Philip, the daughters of Philip, as being the ones that gave him information about the early church. And and so he was like from 60 to 130, and he he has great reverence and love for the daughters of Philip, where he got a lot of info on this time period, which is kind of wild, right? That's pretty cool. Yeah. He also believed in the Millennial Kingdom, which was very controversial back then, because back then they thought that was crazy. But which now we're all on board with Millennial Kingdom.

Pastor Holland: 7:53

Yeah, in some form.

Pastor Plek: 7:56

Nice. All right. So uh what about uh James and the elders' pastoral concern? Like I love how they're like they're rejoicing about Gentile conversions, and then they prioritize unity and peace among Jewish believers who are zealous for the law, and then they advise a conciliatory act to dispel false rumors about Paul. So they're trying to bring everyone together and they're making sure that um Paul and his people are doing the right thing, even though there is freedom within the church.

Pastor Holland: 8:29

Yeah, well, it's interesting because um they're saying that Paul, you know, these Jews, uh, you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children. Or while and that is that is what Paul taught. Right. Um, but he didn't forsake the law of Moses in the sense of like God's moral law, the Ten Commandments. But he he did say, like, hey, the old covenant has been fulfilled. You're no longer obligated to the dietary restrictions, the circumcision commands, um, those types of things that were strictly under the old covenant. So um, yeah, it's interesting that they're you would think that James would correct those zealous Jews and be like, hey, here, yeah, here's why he's teaching that. Right. But instead they come up with a plan to just kind of like help Paul, right?

Pastor Plek: 9:18

Right. Yeah, that's where it's like they're I think they're like, hey, that's your conviction, and we're not gonna tell you to not circumcise your children, but at the same time, we are gonna try and help us all figure out a way for us all to be together. Right? I mean, is that kind of what I'm seeing here?

Pastor Holland: 9:37

Yeah, I I think to me, let's see, let's see what the old uh study Bible says. What this is uh verse 20 20? Yeah, the rumor was Okay, let's see what it says. Here's what the study Bible says Circumcision is singled out because it was considered the badge of God's covenant with the Jews. The rumor was false. Paul did not object to Jewish believers voluntarily following the okay. So he was saying like you can't do it at the Paul wasn't saying you can't do it at all, right, but that you don't have to to be saved. Right. And they they thought he was saying you can't do it at all. Right. Wait, which yeah, that is false because Paul had Timothy circumcised a few chapters back. Right.

Pastor Plek: 10:20

Interesting. Yeah, it's kind of wild. It uh yeah, it's interesting. And what here's the one I thought was interesting. Look at verse 26. Then Paul took the men, and the next day he purified himself along with them and went to the temple. What was the purification like to do that? Do you know?

Pastor Holland: 10:36

I think this is referring back to the Nazarite vow. That's what the shaving their heads is, right? And you had to complete the vow um with a purification ritual in the temple by sh you shaved your head and you burned the hair. I think we talked about this a few chapters.

Pastor Plek: 10:52

Was this the Nazarite vow? I thought this was like um this is where you well, maybe it was a Nazirite, yeah. I guess it was a Nazarite vow. The law didn't prescribe the week's wait, but it was customary. Paul, this is where from Tom Constable, Paul came to the four men into the temple and underwent the rites of purification with them because he was paying the expense of their vow. And um few people feel like Paul compromised his convictions here, um, but that's a minority opinion. So the Jews considered paying the charges for votive offerings as an act of piety and symbolic identification with the Jews. Anyway, yeah.

Pastor Holland: 11:30

I mean, similar to having Timothy circumcised, is basically like, hey, for the sake of peace, we're willing to do these things to show you like we're not trying to be your enemies. We we're trying to teach you really like the fulfillment of the of these scriptures about Jesus and the gospel.

Pastor Plek: 11:47

Um and sometimes, not that it means I say I think they're saying the compromise is like, hey, you're giving up your conviction that you don't need to do this. He's like, but I am doing it so I'm not offending people everywhere I go.

Pastor Holland: 11:58

Like, remember when it's similar to not eating food sacrificed to idols. Right. When Paul talks about that in 1 Corinthians and in Romans, he's like, You may know that you're free to eat this meat, but don't causing someone to stumble, then just don't eat it. Exactly. Yeah.

Pastor Plek: 12:11

Or you remember when Jesus uh paid the two drachma tax by having Peter go catch the fish? He's like, so we won't offend them. Yeah. Which I thought was fascinating that Jesus cared about not offending someone. Yeah. Uh, but like he didn't want Peter to have to lie on his behalf or like to go back. You know, it was an interesting thing that there's times where you don't need to stick it to the man with your convictions every time. There's times where you can let some some things go.

Pastor Holland: 12:35

Yeah. There, yeah, because uh clearly Paul offended a lot of people. Yeah, he's gonna be. But he if he he was willing to um, you know, go go a less offensive route if he thought, you know, that it could gain him access to preach the gospel or something. So he didn't ever go against um like the teaching of scripture, doesn't go against the gospel, but he does make, you know, it's like the I become all things to all people.

Pastor Plek: 13:00

Yeah, when I'm like when I'm with the Jews, I'm act like a Jew. When I'm not with the Jews, I'm like those who are not touched, but I myself am under the moral law of God. Yeah, right. Okay, what about let's just take a look at this mob's fury, yeah, and then a Roman commander's intervention. Yeah, isn't it just sort of weird how like the one who's protecting Paul is probably the one that he hated the most back in the day as a as a Pharisee of Pharisees, right? Because the Pharisees were all about getting rid of Rome, Roman power. Yeah, and so here it is a Roman commander protecting Paul and then giving him a place to speak uh to the crowd to share the gospel, which is wild. Yeah, it's pretty awesome.

Pastor Holland: 13:44

Um let's get into some truths about uh people. Okay. Um, yeah, you see the anger of the people and just how like how how many times people are ready to kill Paul for their over their their anger, yeah, and their religious zeal.

Pastor Plek: 14:04

Yeah. Um how about um people plead from love but must yield to God's call. Like there's a where people are totally wanting Paul not to die, but they're gonna have to yield to the will of God. And that's hard. I think there's a part of which you like it's Yeah, I just think our culture is so um it's so foreign to us of self-sacrifice to that degree that you would say to someone, stay safe, do the most safe possible thing, don't be in danger at all. That's probably God's will for you. And here it's like and and to be fair, they were saying that. Yeah, and what Paul is saying, like, no, no, God's will for me is to go into the ultimate high highest risk place because safety is secondary to the gospel going forward.

Pastor Holland: 14:59

Yeah, that's good. You also see like the nature of man, how easily um misinformation and confusion can stir up, you know. Um, you have these people who are believing these false rumors about Paul, um, whether the circumcision stuff or like, hey, he brought Greeks into the temple. He's the and you can see like how quickly things can get out of hand with um gossip and rumors and stuff like that.

Pastor Plek: 15:24

So that's good. What about let's let's I feel like we've got we've nailed that. What about going to truth about God, uh character of God? I think God works mightily among Gentiles, which I love that they're uh Paul reported what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry, and everyone's really excited about that. Yeah, like God is working through Paul and then beyond to reach the all the nations.

Pastor Holland: 15:51

Yeah, I love that. Um I also just love you know the the reminder that God sometimes, like you were saying, calls you into very risky and dangerous things. And um, yeah, just the fact that something's risky or dangerous doesn't mean that it's uh not God's will. Yeah. Sometimes that's exactly where you gotta go.

Pastor Plek: 16:12

Yeah, the Holy Spirit speaks, warns, comforts, and thrusts you into dangerous situations. I just think of Jesus going for 40 days to be tempted um by the devil. That was he was the Holy Spirit led him. Yeah. Here the Holy Spirit's leading Paul. The Holy Spirit's also telling Agabus about what's about to happen, uh, which then fulfills what Jesus said to Paul originally in the first vision.

Pastor Holland: 16:36

Yeah, you'll you'll have to and eventually everyone's like, All right, you know, verse 14, uh he would not be persuaded. We ceased and said, Let the will of the Lord be done.

Pastor Plek: 16:46

Yeah, I I love going back to this of God's spirit, God's word, God's people. And you see in in the absence of God's word here, meaning like there wasn't a specific word, other than what the word from Jesus, which was indefinitely inspired, although that you know, the the canonicity hadn't been like proclaimed yet or like decided on. Yeah. But they were going back to the word of the Holy Spirit and uh the council of people, and eventually like, I feel like I feel like this is of the Lord, and they came together to agree on it.

Pastor Holland: 17:17

Yeah.

Pastor Plek: 17:19

Um yeah, what else what else do you see here uh as far as the character of God?

Pastor Holland: 17:27

Um just the yeah, I mean, related to just what you said, but God does speak through his people and the importance then of like being in community and um being in not isolated. Um that God God Himself is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you know, and and like for us, the importance of us being in relationship and community with other people.

Pastor Plek: 17:49

It's good. All right, let's get into some application. We got sin to avoid or confess, maybe a promise to claim, an example to follow, command to obey, or knowledge to believe. What you got for application?

Pastor Holland: 18:01

Um, example to follow of Paul when he says, I'm ready not only to be in prison, but even to die for the name of the Lord Jesus. Just like, man, he was all in. And I love that. It's inspiring and emboldening.

Pastor Plek: 18:13

That is inspiring. And I think we need more Christians that are that hardcore. How about this? Um, sin to avoid, avoid spreading or believing false accusations and rumors that divide the body of Christ. Yeah. Like the Asian Jews did in verses 27 and 28.

Pastor Holland: 18:30

Yeah, example to follow of Paul being willing to undergo this vow and pay the expenses of the other guys. Just really go the extra mile out of his way to try and get the gospel to people.

Pastor Plek: 18:42

It's good. Um, how about command obey? Pursue unity and remove unnecessary stumbling blocks for others in faith. Uh, as elders urge Paul to participate in the purification rites to counter rumors and affirm his law observance, and then his obedience was considering the how maybe your actions, how they affect weaker believers. Yeah. So I I really appreciate like Paul like makes a defense for let's not put this on the Gentiles at the same time. He's like, if when the Jews are putting it on you, be like, cool, I'll do it.

Pastor Holland: 19:16

Yeah. Um, Paul did not uh try to fight against the law enforcement that were uh, you know, uh in this, you know, you got this mob situation, you have the Roman soldiers, the centurion. Uh and and Paul is like, he knows he hasn't done anything wrong, and yet he um is subject to governing officials.

Pastor Plek: 19:40

That's good. He doesn't go like you, this is unjust, this is unfair. He's like, the Lord is so in control, he will use this to move the gospel forward in some form or fashion.

Pastor Holland: 19:51

And he does say, I beg you, permit me to speak to the people. But look at verse 40. When he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, spoke to the people. And so you just see like the humility and submission of Paul in this, too. And that which takes great trust in the Lord.

Pastor Plek: 20:05

Yeah, I really feel like that might be an example to follow. Just like at some point, you go, I'm gonna trust God that he's gonna allow me to do this or not do this, and that's the best thing. And I don't have to fight against it or battle against it. I should have a sense of peace in my soul that uh I'm doing the Lord's will. Yeah. Uh, how about uh yeah, I feel like we've covered it. How a promise to claim maybe God is at work among all people.

Pastor Holland: 20:33

Yeah.

Pastor Plek: 20:34

Um like he is constantly working in, you know, from the perspective of the Jerusalem Christians, they may have said, like, well, he's only working here because I couldn't see it. But when they get the reports, like, wow, this is amazing. God is working everywhere.

Pastor Holland: 20:47

Amen. Love it.

Pastor Plek: 20:48

All right. Hey, I think that wraps it up. Thanks so much for watching. We'll see you next time on a chapter a day.