The narrative given of the apostle's progress toward Jerusalem suggests some serious and difficult questions. We now consider one of them. Once and again it appears as if the Divine Spirit sent messages which should have stopped the apostle, and prevented his going on to the holy city; and St. Paul evidently resisted these attempted hindrances. Then was he right in so doing? If he was right, how can we explain his conduct? The circumstances may be carefully compared with those narrated concerning the prophet who was unfaithful to the commission distinctly entrusted to himself (see 1 Kings 13:1-25). "It seems at first somewhat startling that St. Paul should reject what is described as an inspired counsel; or, if we believe him also to have been guided by the Spirit, that the two inspirations should thus clash. We remember, however, that men received the Spirit 'by measure,' and the prophets of the Churches at Tyre, as elsewhere, though foreseeing the danger to which the apostle was exposed, might yet be lacking in that higher inspiration which guided the decision of the apostle." This explanation is given in a simpler form in the ' Speaker's Commentary.' "The foreknowledge was inspired; the advice based upon it was merely a human inference. St. Paul accepted the information, but did not yield to the warning. Christ's approval of his conduct is implied in Acts 23:11." This suggestion in explanation of the difficulty may be fully considered and illustrated.

I. ST. PAUL HAD DISTINCT LEADINGS OF THE SPIRIT, He had

(1) those which were general to his apostolic work; and

(2) those which were special to particular occasions, as e.g. at Troas (Acts 16:9). We may, therefore, be quite sure that he knew perfectly well when he was under Divine lead; and, on this occasion, we have evidence that he knew what God's will for him was, and that he was taking the path of duty in going up to Jerusalem. In Acts 20:22 he distinctly says, "Now I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem." No doubts or questions disturbed his own mind. He knew that God led; and he knew that, regardless of consequences, it was his simple duty to follow. It may be shown that still, in our day, a man may have a full and clear knowledge of God's will for him, and then he is bound to do that will, however men's prophecies and advice and warnings may entice him aside. When a man has inward conviction of what is right for him, all prophesying of consequences becomes temptation to be resisted.

II. OTHERS HAD INTIMATIONS OF FACTS THAT WOULD OCCUR. These came by the Spirit. But carefully note the distinction - no one was commanded, in the Name of the Lord, to tell St. Paul that he must not go up to Jerusalem. We have only the fact noticed that certain persons, in the exercise of their prophetic gift, foresaw the consequences of his so going, and stated what they anticipated. This comes out plainly in the fuller account of what Agabus did and said (ver. 11). His intimation was simply of facts. Agabus does not seem to have felt entitled to add any personal persuasions. This distinction between the leadings of the Spirit in St. Paul and the leadings of the Spirit in the prophets and prophetesses, removes all difficulty of antagonistic inspirations. In the apostle the leadings concerned duty; in the prophets it concerned only facts. What relation the knowledge of the facts had to the doing of duty we shall presently see.

III. OTHERS ADDED PERSUASIONS BASED ON THEIR OWN PROPHETIC KNOWLEDGE. But the persuasions were their own, not the inspiration of God's Spirit, and St. Paul was in no sense bound to follow them. No conceivable authority could lie in them. The character of the attempts to hinder the apostle are clearly seen in ver. 12: "And when we heard these things, both we [St. Paul's companions], and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem." Manifestly the apostle would have been altogether wrong if he had yielded to these kind friends, and resisted the inward monitions and leadings of God's Spirit. Oftentimes in Christian life we find that our most anxious work is to resist the importunities and affectionate entreaties of those who would keep us from the work to which God plainly calls us. Illustration: keeping men back from consecration to ministerial and missionary life.

IV. SUCH PERSUASIONS TESTED ST. PAUL'S LOYALTY TO THE SPIRIT'S INWARD LEADINGS. And this is the reason why the prophetic intimations of coming facts were given. How deeply the apostle felt both the prophecies and the persuasions is seen in ver. 13. Would he be drawn aside from the plain path of duty by them? They made it hard to be faithful to God's will as he knew it; but he did not yield. Well he knew that mere consequences resulting from action, as men see them, never can decide the right or the wrong of the action. A man must always act upon the light and lead which God gives him, and accept the issues which Divine providence is pleased to bring out of his conduct. A man is always fight who is true to the witness that God makes in his own heart. Show how much of Christian failure is really due to yielding under the temptations that would remove us from following out our convictions. So St. Peter tried to hinder his Lord and Master, and received this severe answer, "Get thee behind me, Satan." Distinguish, however, very clearly between mere self-willedness and the conviction of an inward Divine leading such as open and trusting hearts need never fail to recognize. This example of the great apostle should impress upon us that, if we distinctly know what God would have us do, then no kind of peril of circumstances or fear of consequences may be permitted to lead us aside from the plain path of duty. We must ever be loyal to the "inward lead." - R.T.

How timid is man, how fearless is God, about Scripture contradictions! The disciples at Tyre "say to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem." Yet he goes. And when he goes, those who have heard the prohibitory voice of inspiration, say, "The will of the Lord be done." The one was the Divine voice of prudence; the other was the Divine voice of courage. Who shall say that either of these voices is not Divine? Would Paul have been guilty if he had followed the one? Was Paul guilty because he followed the other? Some great principles are here illustrated.

I. THE COMMUNICATIONS OF GOD ARE NEVER DESIGNED TO SUPERSEDE MAN'S THOUGHT OR JUDGMENT. "The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets," i.e., the man is responsible for the management of his own inspiration. He must so order it, that its utterance shall not provoke ridicule nor cause confusion. The principle is very clear and comprehensive. Whether it be a point of doctrine or duty, God never so speaks as to take the matter out of the hands of the man himself, as an intelligent and responsible being.

1. St. Paul has to decide whether he shall go or not to Jerusalem. God puts before him the suggestion of prudence. "There is special peril in this journey. It will cost thee years of imprisonment, and imminent risk of death. Go not." God "proposes" the alternative of caution. Counsels of prudence are from the Lord. Words of loving friends, bidding you spare yourself over-exertion, premature decay, may be from the Lord, and, like the words of these disciples, have a right to be pondered and to be prayed over.

2. But let no man say, God has but one voice. Having proposed counsels of prudence by the voice of man, God proposed counsels of courage to the inward ear of His soldier. "This journey, though it be full of peril, has in it, also, the fulfilment of thy desire to preach Christ in Rome. This journey, though it cut thee off from other evangelistic journeys, yet has, in its undiscovered future, epistles which shall make thee the theologian of generations yet unborn. Judge thou if thou hast courage for it, and if thou knowest Me to be faithful — go." In these things, "God proposes, man disposes."

3. How often is this alternative propounded; the same suggestion of love, the same suggestion of heroism — and both from God. Could we but realise to ourselves the alternative voices, Go, and Go not — the loving permission to forego toils and perils too great for us; and then the grander instinct, "What is life but a moment? up, and be doing — live for God, live for eternity" — could we but realise these alternative voices as alike voices of the Spirit, how should we rid ourselves, in a moment, of that which makes our decisions so unhappy — the idea, namely, that God has but one voice, and that if we mishear that one, we shall be "beaten with many stripes."

II. THIS INSPIRATION OF CONDUCT IS ALSO THE INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE. Can a man open his Bible at random, and draw, from the first text which he lights upon, the very truth of God concerning any one doctrine? Is there not a "saying through the Spirit," which yet, taken alone, would be both misleading and contradictory to another "saying"? Who will pretend that the utterances of the Bible are always and everywhere absolutely uniform? Where is the heresy which cannot fortify itself by a text? Where is the reader who might not err, if he stayed not to compare scripture with scripture? True theology is the residuum of these comparisons; pondered for ages, and at last agreed upon by the churches. Yet, even now, not so agreed upon as that an individual man can dispense with the pondering. We must go through the process, each for himself; listen for the first, for the second, and for the third voice of the Spirit; and not till then, nay not even then, be so certain of the conclusion as to condemn him who thinks that he has heard a fourth voice or a fortieth. Revelation is not a thing of exact definitions and stereotyped formulas. It is God speaking through men, to men, variously constituted and circumstanced, and each speaking in his own character, through the medium of his own faculties, and in all the movements and activities of a real and changing life.

(Dean Vaughan.)

Agabus, Israelites, James, Mnason, Paul, Philip, TrophimusAsia, Caesarea, Cilicia, Cos, Cyprus, Jerusalem, Judea, Patara, Phoenicia, Ptolemais, Rhodes, Syria, Tarsus, TyreDisciples, Finding, Foot, Jerusalem, Kept, Meeting, Orders, Paul, Proceed, Repeatedly, Searched, Seven, Sought, Spirit, Stayed, Tarried, Taught, Telling, Tyre, Urged1. Paul calls at the house of Philip, whose daughters prophesy.
10. Agabus, foretelling what should befall him at Jerusalem,
13. he will not be dissuaded from going thither.
17. He comes to Jerusalem;
27. where he is apprehended, and in great danger, but by the chief captain is rescued;
37. and requests, and is permitted to speak to the people.

Acts 21:4

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An Old Disciple
'... One Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge.'--ACTS xxi. 16. There is something that stimulates the imagination in these mere shadows of men that we meet in the New Testament story. What a strange fate that is to be made immortal by a line in this book-- immortal and yet so unknown! We do not hear another word about this host of Paul's, but his name will be familiar to men's ears till the world's end. This figure is drawn in the slightest possible outline, with a couple …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Philip the Evangelist
'... We entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.'--ACTS xxi. 8. The life of this Philip, as recorded, is a very remarkable one. It is divided into two unequal halves: one full of conspicuous service, one passed in absolute obscurity. Like the moon in its second quarter, part of the disc is shining silver and the rest is invisible. Let us put together the notices of him. He bears a name which makes it probable that he was not a Palestinian Jew, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Drawing Nearer to the Storm
'And it came to pass, that, after we were gotten from them, and had launched, we came with a straight course unto Coos, and the day following unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara: 2. And finding a ship sailing over unto Phenicia, we went aboard, and set forth. 3. Now when we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria, and landed at Tyre: for there the ship was to unlade her burden. 4. And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Paul in the Temple
'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. 28. Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth 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. 29. (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.) …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Jerusalem to Rome
Acts 21:17-28:31 THIS JOURNEY Scripture, Acts 21:17-28:31 1. The speech before the Jewish mob in the temple (Acts 22:1-29) in which Paul tells the Jews how he was changed from a persecutor to a believer in Christ. He relates also the story of his conversion. 2. The speech before the Jewish council (Acts 22:30; 23:1-10) in which he creates confusion by raising the question of the resurrection. But the provocation was great for the high-priest had commanded that Paul be smitten …
Henry T. Sell—Bible Studies in the Life of Paul

Parting.
"What mean ye to weep, and to break mine heart!"--Acts 21:13 "Was macht ihr, dass ihr weinet." [32]Spitta. transl., Sarah Findlater, 1855 What mean ye by this wailing To break my bleeding heart? As if the love that binds us Could alter or depart! Our sweet and holy union Knows neither time nor place; The love that God has planted Is lasting as His grace. Ye clasp these hands at parting, As if no hope could be; While still we stand for ever In blessed unity! Ye gaze, as on a vision Ye never could …
Jane Borthwick—Hymns from the Land of Luther

As Thou Wilt.
"The will of the Lord be done."--Acts 21:14. "Wie Gott will! also will ich sagen." [72]Neumeister. transl., Jane Borthwick, 1858 As Thou wilt, my God! I ever say; What Thou wilt is ever best for me; What have I to do with earthly care, Since to-morrow I may leave with Thee? Lord, Thou knowest, I am not my own, All my hope and help depend on Thee alone. As Thou wilt! still I can believe; Never did the word of promise fail. Faith can hold it fast, and feel it sure, Though temptations cloud and fears …
Jane Borthwick—Hymns from the Land of Luther

The Way to the Kingdom
"The kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." Mark 1:15 These words naturally lead us to consider, First, the nature of true religion, here termed by our Lord, "the kingdom of God," which, saith he, "is at hand;" and, Secondly, the way thereto, which he points out in those words, "Repent ye, and believe the gospel." I. 1. We are, First, to consider the nature of true religion, here termed by our Lord, "the kingdom of God." The same expression the great Apostle uses in his Epistle …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

India as Carey Found It
1793 Tahiti v. Bengal--Carey and Thomas appointed missionaries to Bengal--The farewell at Leicester--John Thomas, first medical missionary--Carey's letter to his father--The Company's "abominable monopoly"--The voyage--Carey's aspirations for world-wide missions--Lands at Calcutta--His description of Bengal in 1793--Contrast presented by Carey to Clive, Hastings, and Cornwallis--The spiritual founder of an Indian Empire of Christian Britain--Bengal and the famine of 1769-70--The Decennial Settlement …
George Smith—The Life of William Carey

Chel. The Court of the Women.
The Court of the Gentiles compassed the Temple and the courts on every side. The same also did Chel, or the Ante-murale. "That space was ten cubits broad, divided from the Court of the Gentiles by a fence, ten hand-breadths high; in which were thirteen breaches, which the kings of Greece had made: but the Jews had again repaired them, and had appointed thirteen adorations answering to them." Maimonides writes: "Inwards" (from the Court of the Gentiles) "was a fence, that encompassed on every side, …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Matthew.
Critical. Bernh. Weiss: Das Matthäusevangelium und seine Lucas-Parallelen erklärt. Halle, 1876. Exceedingly elaborate. Edw. Byron Nicholson: The Gospel according to the Hebrews. Its Fragments translated and annotated. Lond., 1879. Exegetical Commentaries on Matthew by Origen, Jerome, Chrysostom, Melanchthon (1523), Fritzsche, De Wette, Alford, Wordsworth, Schegg (R. Cath., 1856-58, 3 vols.), J. A. Alexander, Lange (trsl. and enlarged by Schaff, N. Y., 1864, etc.), James Morison (of Glasgow, …
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

Knox in Scotland: Lethington: Mary of Guise: 1555-1556
Meanwhile the Reformer returned to Geneva (April 1555), where Calvin was now supreme. From Geneva, "the den of mine own ease, the rest of quiet study," Knox was dragged, "maist contrarious to mine own judgement," by a summons from Mrs. Bowes. He did not like leaving his "den" to rejoin his betrothed; the lover was not so fervent as the evangelist was cautious. Knox had at that time probably little correspondence with Scotland. He knew that there was no refuge for him in England under Mary Tudor, …
Andrew Lang—John Knox and the Reformation

Chrysostom Evades Election to a Bishopric, and Writes his Work on the Priesthood.
About this time several bishoprics were vacant in Syria, and frequent depositions took place with the changing fortunes of orthodoxy and Arianism, and the interference of the court. The attention of the clergy and the people turned to Chrysostom and his friend Basil as suitable candidates for the episcopal office, although they had not the canonical age of thirty. Chrysostom shrunk from the responsibilities and avoided an election by a pious fraud. He apparently assented to an agreement with Basil …
St. Chrysostom—On the Priesthood

Whether Since Christ's Passion the Legal Ceremonies Can be Observed Without Committing Mortal Sin?
Objection 1: It would seem that since Christ's Passion the legal ceremonies can be observed without committing mortal sin. For we must not believe that the apostles committed mortal sin after receiving the Holy Ghost: since by His fulness they were "endued with power from on high" (Lk. 24:49). But the apostles observed the legal ceremonies after the coming of the Holy Ghost: for it is stated (Acts 16:3) that Paul circumcised Timothy: and (Acts 21:26) that Paul, at the advice of James, "took the men, …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether the Grace of the Word of Wisdom and Knowledge is Becoming to Women?
Objection 1: It would seem that the grace of the word of wisdom and knowledge is becoming even to women. For teaching is pertinent to this grace, as stated in the foregoing Article. Now it is becoming to a woman to teach; for it is written (Prov. 4:3,4): "I was an only son in the sight of my mother, and she taught me [*Vulg.: 'I was my father's son, tender, and as an only son in the sight of my mother. And he taught me.']." Therefore this grace is becoming to women. Objection 2: Further, the grace …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

From Antioch to the Destruction of Jerusalem.
Acts 13-28 and all the rest of the New Testament except the epistles of John and Revelation. The Changed Situation. We have now come to a turning point in the whole situation. The center of work has shifted from Jerusalem to Antioch, the capital of the Greek province of Syria, the residence of the Roman governor of the province. We change from the study of the struggles of Christianity in the Jewish world to those it made among heathen people. We no longer study many and various persons and their …
Josiah Blake Tidwell—The Bible Period by Period

The Letter of the Synod to the Emperor and Empress.
(Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. VII., col. 577.) To our most religious and most serene princes, Constantine and Irene his mother. Tarasius, the unworthy bishop of your God-protected royal city, new Rome, and all the holy Council which met at the good pleasure of God and upon the command of your Christ-loving majesty in the renowned metropolis of Nice, the second council to assemble in this city. Christ our God (who is the head of the Church) was glorified, most noble princes, when your heart, …
Philip Schaff—The Seven Ecumenical Councils

Sudden Conversions.
"By the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain."--1 Cor. xv. 10. We can hardly conceive that grace, such as that given to the great Apostle who speaks in the text, would have been given in vain; that is, we should not expect that it would have been given, had it been foreseen and designed by the Almighty Giver that it would have been in vain. By which I do not mean, of course, to deny that God's gifts are oftentimes abused and wasted by man, which …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

Prov. 22:06 the Duties of Parents
"Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it."--Prov. 22:6. I SUPPOSE that most professing Christians are acquainted with the text at the head of this page. The sound of it is probably familiar to your ears, like an old tune. It is likely you have heard it, or read it, talked of it, or quoted it, many a time. Is it not so? But, after all, how little is the substance of this text regarded! The doctrine it contains appears scarcely known, the duty it puts …
John Charles Ryle—The Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times

The Epistle to the Hebrews.
I. Commentaries on Hebrews by Chrysostom (d. 407, hermeneia, in 34 Homilies publ. after his death by an Antioch. presbyter, Constantinus); Theodoret (d. 457); Oecumenius (10th cent.); Theophylact (11th cent.); Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274); Erasmus (d. 1536, Annotationes in N. T., with his Greek Test., 1516 and often, and Paraphrasis in N. T., 1522 and often); Card. Cajetanus (Epistolae Pauli, etc., 1531); Calvin (d. 1564, Com. in omnes P. Ep. atque etiam in Ep. ad Hebraeos, 1539 and often, also Halle, …
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

Of the Prerogatives which the Elect Shall Enjoy in Heaven.
By reason of this communion with God, the elect in heaven shall have four superexcellent prerogatives:-- 1. They shall have the kingdom of heaven for their inheritance (Matt. xxv.; 1 Pet. i. 4), and they shall be free denizens of the heavenly Jerusalem (Eph. ii. 19; Heb. xii. 22.) St. Paul, by being a free citizen of Rome (Acts xxi. 26), escaped whipping; but they who are once free citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, shall ever be freed from the whips of eternal torments. For this freedom was bought …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

The Positive Side
What is the relation of the Law (the Ten Commandments) to Christians? In our previous chapter we pointed out how that three radically different answers have been returned to this question. The first, that sinners become saints by obeying the Law. This is Legalism pure and simple. It is heresy of the most dangerous kind. All who really believe and act on it as the ground of their acceptance by God, will perish eternally. Second, others say that the Law is not binding on Christians because it has been …
Arthur W. Pink—The Law and the Saint

Paul's Journeys Acts 13:1-38:31
On this third journey he was already planning to go to Rome (Acts 19:21) and wrote an epistle to the Romans announcing his coming (Rom. 1:7, 15). +The Chief City+, in which Paul spent most of his time (Acts 19:1, 8, 10), between two and three years upon this journey, was Ephesus in Asia Minor. This city situated midway between the extreme points of his former missionary journeys was a place where Ephesus has been thus described: "It had been one of the early Greek colonies, later the capital …
Henry T. Sell—Bible Studies in the Life of Paul

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