18 And the following day Paul went in with us to James , and all the elders were present . 19 After he had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry . 20 And when they heard it they began glorifying God ; and they said to him, "You see , brother , how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed , and they are all zealous for the Law ; 21 and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses , telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs . 22 "What , then , is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come . 23 "Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who are under e a vow ; 24 take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads ; and all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly , keeping the Law . 25 "But concerning the Gentiles who have believed , we wrote , having decided that they should abstain from meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication ." 26 Then Paul took the men , and the next day , purifying himself along with them, went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification , until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them.
27 When the seven days were almost over , the Jews from Asia , upon seeing him in the temple , began to stir up all the crowd and laid hands on him, 28 crying out, "Men of Israel , come to our aid ! This is the man who preaches to all men everywhere against our people and the Law and this place ; and besides he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place ." 29 For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple . 30 Then all the city was provoked , and the people rushed together , and taking hold of Paul they dragged him out of the temple , and immediately the doors were shut . 31 While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the commander of the Roman cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion . 32 At once he took along some soldiers and centurions and ran down to them; and when they saw the commander and the soldiers , they stopped beating Paul . 33 Then the commander came up and took hold of him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains ; and he began asking who he was and what he had done . 34 But among the crowd some were shouting one thing and some another , and when he could not find out the facts because of the uproar , he ordered him to be brought into the barracks . 35 When he got to the stairs , he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob ; 36 for the multitude of the people kept following them, shouting , " Away with him!"
37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks , he said to the commander , "May I say something to you?" And he said , "Do you know Greek ? 38 "Then you are not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness ?" 39 But Paul said , " I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia , a citizen of no insignificant city ; and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people ." 40 When he had given him permission , Paul , standing on the stairs , motioned to the people with his hand ; and when there was a great hush , he spoke to them in the Hebrew dialect , saying ,
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Acts 21:18-40
Commentary on Acts 21:8-18
(Read Acts 21:8-18)
Paul had express warning of his troubles, that when they came, they might be no surprise or terror to him. The general notice given us, that through much tribulation we must enter into the kingdom of God, should be of the same use to us. Their weeping began to weaken and slacken his resolution Has not our Master told us to take up our cross? It was a trouble to him, that they should so earnestly press him to do that in which he could not gratify them without wronging his conscience. When we see trouble coming, it becomes us to say, not only, The will of the Lord must be done, and there is no remedy; but, Let the will of the Lord be done; for his will is his wisdom, and he doeth all according to the counsel of it. When a trouble is come, this must allay our griefs, that the will of the Lord is done; when we see it coming, this must silence our fears, that the will of the Lord shall be done; and we ought to say, Amen, let it be done. It is honourable to be an old disciple of Jesus Christ, to have been enabled by the grace of God to continue long in a course of duty, stedfast in the faith, growing more and more experienced, to a good old age. And with these old disciples one would choose to lodge; for the multitude of their years shall teach wisdom. Many brethren at Jerusalem received Paul gladly. We think, perhaps, that if we had him among us, we should gladly receive him; but we should not, if, having his doctrine, we do not gladly receive that.
Commentary on Acts 21:19-26
(Read Acts 21:19-26)
Paul ascribed all his success to God, and to God they gave the praise. God had honoured him more than any of the apostles, yet they did not envy him; but on the contrary, glorified the Lord. They could not do more to encourage Paul to go on cheerfully in his work. James and the elders of the church at Jerusalem, asked Paul to gratify the believing Jews, by some compliance with the ceremonial law. They thought it was prudent in him to conform thus far. It was great weakness to be so fond of the shadows, when the substance was come. The religion Paul preached, tended not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it. He preached Christ, the end of the law for righteousness, and repentance and faith, in which we are to make great use of the law. The weakness and evil of the human heart strongly appear, when we consider how many, even of the disciples of Christ, had not due regard to the most eminent minister that even lived. Not the excellence of his character, nor the success with which God blessed his labours, could gain their esteem and affection, seeing that he did not render the same respect as themselves to mere ceremonial observances. How watchful should we be against prejudices! The apostles were not free from blame in all they did; and it would be hard to defend Paul from the charge of giving way too much in this matter. It is vain to attempt to court the favour of zealots, or bigots to a party. This compliance of Paul did not answer, for the very thing by which he hoped to pacify the Jews, provoked them, and brought him into trouble. But the all-wise God overruled both their advice and Paul's compliance with it, to serve a better purpose than was intended. It was in vain to think of pleasing men who would be pleased with nothing but the rooting out of Christianity. Integrity and uprightness will be more likely to preserve us than insincere compliances. And it should warn us not to press men to doing what is contrary to their own judgment to oblige us.
Commentary on Acts 21:27-40
(Read Acts 21:27-40)
In the temple, where Paul should have been protected as in a place of safety, he was violently set upon. They falsely charged him with ill doctrine and ill practice against the Mosaic ceremonies. It is no new thing for those who mean honestly and act regularly, to have things laid to their charge which they know not and never thought of. It is common for the wise and good to have that charged against them by malicious people, with which they thought to have obliged them. God often makes those a protection to his people, who have no affection to them, but only have compassion for sufferers, and regard to the public peace. And here see what false, mistaken notions of good people and good ministers, many run away with. But God seasonably interposes for the safety of his servants, from wicked and unreasonable men; and gives them opportunities to speak for themselves, to plead for the Redeemer, and to spread abroad his glorious gospel.