Paul The Apostle: Part 13.
Before Paul departed from Corinth, he again met up with Luke, as is inferred from the change in the narrative from the third to the first person. We have seen already that Paul was bent on making a journey to Jerusalem; this for a special purpose; within a limited time and with this in view, he was intending to go by sea to Syria. But he was made aware of some sort plot spearheaded by the Jews to murder him, this to be carried out somewhere through this voyage; so armed with this knowledge he determined to evade their malice by changing his route.
Several brethren were associated with him in this expedition, their being the bearers of the collections made in all the churches for the poor at Jerusalem. They were sent on by sea, and probably the money with them to Troas, where they were to await Paul.
Paul would be accompanied by Luke as they sailed northward through Macedonia, and again Luke would be an eye-witness as the events became manifest. During the stay at Troas, there was a meeting on the first day of the week “to break bread;” and Paul was discoursing at length with the brethren. He was to depart the next morning, yet midnight found them still listening to his earnest speech.
A youth named Eutychus was sitting in the window, and had fallen asleep and fell into the street or court from the third floor, and was taken up dead. The meeting was interrupted by this accident, and Paul went down and fell upon the boy, and embraced him saying, “Be not disturbed; his life is in him.” His friends then appeared to have taken charge of the lad, while Paul went again, first presided at the breaking of bread, afterwards ate a meal and continued conversing until daybreak, than departed.
While the vessel which carried the others of Paul’s party sailed from Troas to Assos, Paul himself gained time by making the journey by land, and at Assos he went on board again sailing along the places called Mitylene, Chios, Samos, and Trogyllium, and finally at Miletus.
At Miletus Paul had time to send to the elders at Ephesus a message inviting them to come down to him at Miletus. At this meeting there was made the opportunity for recording another characteristic and representative address of Paul, Acts 20:18-35. This spoken address to the elders of the Ephesian Church may be ranked with the Epistles, and throws the same kind of light upon Paul’s apostolic relationship to the churches.
The course of the voyage from Miletus was by Coos and Rhodes to Patara, and from Patara in another vessel past Cyprus to Tyre. Here Paul and the others of his company spent seven days. From Tyre they sailed to Ptolemais, where they spent one day, and from Ptolemais proceeded, apparently to land, to Caesarea.
In this place lived Philip the evangelist, one of the seven; and he became the host of Paul and his friends. Philip had four unmarried daughters, who “prophesied,” and who repeated the warnings of the dangers that lie ahead for them at Jerusalem, warnings they had already heard. They now “tarried many days” at Caesarea.
During this interval the prophet Agabus, Acts 11:28, came down from Jerusalem and crowned the previous declarations of danger that lie ahead to the party. At this stage, a final effort was made to persuade Paul not to go up to Jerusalem, a warning given by the Christians of Caesarea, and his travelling companions. But after a time, they went up to Jerusalem, and were gladly received by the brethren. This would be Paul’s fifth and final visit to Jerusalem.
Paul’s Imprisonment: Jerusalem and Caesarea:
Paul who was escorted into Jerusalem by a group of anxious friends had by this time become a man of considerable fame among his countrymen. He was widely known as one who had taught with pre-eminent boldness that a way into God’s favor had been opened to the Gentiles, and it did not lie through the door of the Jewish Law.
He had moreover actually founded numerous and important communities, composed of Jews and Gentiles together, which stood simply on the name of Jesus Christ, apart from circumcision and observance of the Law.
Paul had now raised against himself enemies, those having a bitter hatred that was springing up from within that unfathomable Jewish pride, an enmity which was almost as strong in some of the Brethren who had professed the faith of Jesus as in the unconverted Jew.
He was now approaching a crisis in the long struggle, and the shadow of that struggle rest upon his mind throughout his journey to Jerusalem. He came “ready to die for the name of the Lord Jesus,” but he came expressly to prove himself a faithful Jew; and this emerges at every point of the history of Paul. Luke never mentions the contributions brought by Paul and his companions for the poor at Jerusalem.”
As on former occasions, the believers at Jerusalem could not but glorify God for what they heard; but they had been alarmed by the prevalent feeling concerning Paul. In order to dispel this impression, they ask him to do publicly an act of homage to the Law and its observances. They had four men who were under the Nazarite vow.
The completion of this vow involved, (Numbers 6:13-21) a considerable expense for the offerings to be presented in the Temple; and it was a meritorious act to provide these offerings for the poorer Nazarites. Paul was requested to put himself under the vow with the four, and to supply the cost of their offerings. He at once accepted the proposal. It appears that the whole process required seven days to complete.
Phillip LaSpino www.seekfirstwisdom.com