HarperCollins Study Bible

by Harold W. Attridge

  20.5 The use of the first-person plural narration (us, we) resumes here and continues through 21.18, except for the speech in 20.17–38 (see note on 16.10). Troas. See 16.8–10.

  20.6 The days of Unleavened Bread, originally a harvest festival, was combined with Passover; see Lk 22.1, which begins Jesus’ passion narrative with the same reference.

  20.7 On the first day of the week, i.e., the day after the sabbath. See Mark 16.2; 1 Cor 16.2. This is the first reference to breaking bread since 2.42, 46, and may recall Jesus’ breaking bread just before his arrest (Lk 22.19).

  20.8 The room upstairs. See 1.13. The rare detail about the lamps burning at midnight reflects Luke’s frequent contrast between darkness and light, blindness and sight. See Lk 2.29–32; Acts 9.1–19; 13.4–12; 26.18.

  20.9 Eutychus means “good fortune.” On inappropriate sleepiness and the need for watchfulness, see v. 31; Lk 9.32; 12.35–38; 22.45–46.

  20.10 Like Peter (9.36–42), Paul is here identified with Jesus’ power to raise the dead (Lk 7.11–17; 8.41–42, 49–56).

  20.12 Not a little. See note on 12.18–19.

  20.13 Assos, a seaport in Mysia on the northwest coast of Asia Minor.

  20.14 Mitylene, harbor of the island of Lesbos in the Aegean.

  20.15 Chios, an island in the Aegean south of Lesbos. Samos, an island in the Aegean southeast of Lesbos. Miletus, a large seaport in Ionia, on the southwest coast of Asia Minor.

  20.16 On Paul’s mission in Ephesus, see 18.18–19.41. See 19.21 for Paul’s need to go to Jerusalem. Pentecost suggests Paul continues to observe Jewish customs.

  20.17–38 Paul’s farewell speech is his only speech to a Christian audience and his last speech prior to his arrest in Jerusalem.

  20.17 Elders of the church. See 11.30; 14.23; 15.2; 16.4.

  20.18–19 Serving the Lord, lit. “serving as a slave to the Lord.” Paul describes his life among the Ephesians; see 19.1–41.

  20.19 On plots against Paul, see note on 20.3.

  20.20–21 A concise summary of Paul’s mission.

  20.22–23 Here Jerusalem appears for the first time to be a place of danger for Paul; cf. 19.21. Paul’s imprisonment, like his ministry, occurs under the Spirit’s guidance; see, e.g., 16.6–10; 19.21. Imprisonment and persecutions. See 9.16; 21.11, 33.

  20.24 On Paul’s willingness to die, see 21.13. The conversion accounts (see 9.1–31; 22.3–21; 26.2–29) explain how Paul received his ministry.

  20.25 The first clear indication that this is a farewell speech.

  20.26 See note on 18.6.

  20.28 Overseers, or “bishops” (see Phil 1.1; 1 Tim 3.1–7; Titus 1.7), but an activity, not an office, seems intended here. That the church came about through Jesus’ blood is a new theme in Acts, but see Heb 9.12.

  20.29–30 The threat of false teaching, whether from outside or inside the church, is a new theme in Acts, but see, e.g., Mt 7.15; 1 Tim 1.3–7; 4.1–3; 2 Tim 2.14–18.

  20.29 In Lk 12.32, the disciples are the flock; cf. Jn 21.15–17; 1 Pet 5.2.

  20.33 By contrast with others (e.g., 16.19; 19.25), Paul has no profit motive (see also 1 Cor 9).

  20.34 On Paul’s labor, see 18.2; his Letters reflect the same practice (1 Cor 4.12; 1 Thess 2.9).

  20.35 Support the weak recalls 2.45; 4.32–35;6.1–6. It is more blessed to give than to receive. The saying itself does not appear in the Gospels, but see Lk 6.38; see also Sir 4.31. Close parallels appear in Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 2.97.4; Plutarch, Moralia 173d.

  20.36–38 The emotional farewell further anticipates Paul’s death (see vv. 23–25). On the community at prayer, see 1.14; 2.42;4.24–31; 13.3.

  Acts 21

  Paul’s Journey to Jerusalem

  1When we had parted from them and set sail, we came by a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.a 2When we found a ship bound for Phoenicia, we went on board and set sail. 3We came in sight of Cyprus; and leaving it on our left, we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, because the ship was to unload its cargo there. 4We looked up the disciples and stayed there for seven days. Through the Spirit they told Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 5When our days there were ended, we left and proceeded on our journey; and all of them, with wives and children, escorted us outside the city. There we knelt down on the beach and prayed 6and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.

  7When we had finishedb the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais; and we greeted the believersc and stayed with them for one day. 8The next day we left and came to Caesarea; and we went into the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the seven, and stayed with him. 9He had four unmarried daughtersd who had the gift of prophecy. 10While we were staying there for several days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11He came to us and took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands with it, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’” 12When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14Since he would not be persuaded, we remained silent except to say, “The Lord’s will be done.”

  15After these days we got ready and started to go up to Jerusalem. 16Some of the disciples from Caesarea also came along and brought us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to stay.

  Paul Visits James at Jerusalem

  17When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us warmly. 18The next day Paul went with us to visit James; and all the elders were present. 19After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20When they heard it, they praised God. Then they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and they are all zealous for the law. 21They have been told about you that you teach all the Jews living among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, and that you tell them not to circumcise their children or observe the customs. 22What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23So do what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow. 24Join these men, go through the rite of purification with them, and pay for the shaving of their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself observe and guard the law. 25But as for the Gentiles who have become believers, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is stranglede and from fornication.” 26Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having purified himself, he entered the temple with them, making public the completion of the days of purification when the sacrifice would be made for each of them.

  Paul Arrested in the Temple

  27When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, who had seen him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd. They seized him, 28shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place; more than that, he has actually brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” 29For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. 30Then all the city was aroused, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. 31While they were trying to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32Immediately he took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. When they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33Then the tribune came, arrested him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains; he inquired who he was and what he had done. 34Some in the crowd shouted one thing, some another; and as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he
ordered him to be brought into the barracks. 35When Paulf came to the steps, the violence of the mob was so great that he had to be carried by the soldiers. 36The crowd that followed kept shouting, “Away with him!”

  Paul Defends Himself

  37Just as Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” The tribuneg replied, “Do you know Greek? 38Then you are not the Egyptian who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?” 39Paul replied, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city; I beg you, let me speak to the people.” 40When he had given him permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the people for silence; and when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrewh language, saying:

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  a Other ancient authorities add and Myra

  b Or continued

  c Gk brothers

  d Gk four daughters, virgins,

  e Other ancient authorities lack and from what is strangled

  f Gk he

  g Gk He

  h That is, Aramaic

  21.1–16 New anticipations of Paul’s arrest mark the final stages of his journey to Jerusalem.

  21.1–3 The route is around the southwestern perimeter of Asia Minor and then southeast to Tyre. We. See note on 16.10.

  21.4 Nothing has been said of a mission in Tyre to account for the disciples, but see 11.19; 12.20; Lk 6.17; 10.13–14. Since Paul’s decision to go to Jerusalem also came through the Spirit (19.21), this warning presumably reflects a fearful misinterpretation of the Spirit’s message.

  21.5–6 Cf. the farewell scene in 20.36–38.

  21.7 Ptolemais, a major port city south of Tyre. Although nothing has been said of a mission there, see 11.19.

  21.8 Caesarea, a port city south of Ptolemais, was the location of Cornelius’s conversion (10.1, 24; 11.11; see also 9.30; 18.22). This is the first appearance of Philip since the conversion of the Ethiopian (8.26–40).

  21.9 The detail about Philip’s daughters is unusual, since they play no role in the story, but it recalls 2.17–18, the promise that both women and men would prophesy.

  21.10–11 Agabus. See 11.28; his dramatic action here recalls those of earlier prophets (see, e.g., Isa 20.2; Jer 13.1–11; Ezek 4.1–8). This prophecy contributes to the expectation that the trip to Jerusalem will have dire consequences for Paul (see note on 20.22–23).

  21.13 On the trip to Jerusalem, see note on 19.21. Paul’s declaration that he is prepared for death for the name recalls 9.16 as well as 2.21, 38; 3.6, 16; 4.7, 10; 5.41.

  21.17–26 Paul receives a warm reception in Jerusalem, but also news of ominous charges against him that anticipate the fulfillment of 20.22–25, 38; 21.4, 11, 13.

  21.18 The first reference to James since the Jerusalem council (15.13–21).

  21.19 Luke consistently attributes the church’s mission to God; see notes on 2.47; 8.26; 8.29; 10.1–11.18.

  21.20–25 This brief speech prescribes a course of conduct to avert the charges against Paul. The charges themselves recall earlier charges against Stephen (6.11–14).

  21.20 Paul here finds himself in conflict with Jewish Christians (cf. earlier conflicts with Jews and Gentiles; e.g., 13.45; 14.2; 16.20–21; 19.25–27). Zealous for the law. See 22.3; 1 Macc 2.27; Rom 10.2; Gal 1.14.

  21.21 Unlike the dispute in Jerusalem, which concerned the demand that Gentiles obey the law, Jewish Christians claim that Paul dissuades Jews from observing the law. Although Paul’s behavior in Acts does not support this claim, the question of Jewish-Christian law observance would inevitably arise as churches in the Diaspora incorporated both Jews and Gentiles (see note on 10.28).

  21.23–24 Paul’s own observance of the law, already established in the narrative (see 16.3; 18.18; 20.16), will serve as his defense.

  21.25 See 15.20, 29. It is strange that the church leaders remind Paul of this decree, since he was present in Jerusalem, but repetition may remind Luke’s audience that gentile Christians were liable to only a fraction of the law.

  21.26 The public fulfillment of the vow enacts Paul’s respect for Mosaic traditions, but it also sets the stage for the reaction that follows.

  21.27–36 The events leading to Paul’s arrest are not instigated by Jewish Christians, despite v. 20, but by the Jews from Asia.

  21.28 The charges recall those against Stephen (6.13) and even those against Jesus (Mt 26.59–61; Mk 14.55–58; cf. Acts 18.13; 25.8). A Gentile who went beyond the temple’s outer court could be put to death (Josephus, War 5.193–94; 6.124–26; Antiquities 15.417; Philo, Embassy to Gaius 212). The charge that Paul brought Greeks into the temple combines all the earlier charges (people, place, and law).

  21.30–31 The mob’s action recalls 7.57; 19.28–29, 32. The exaggerated references to all the city and all Jerusalem portray the danger. Tribune of the cohort, the military officer in charge.

  21.33 Two chains. See 12.6; 21.11. The need to identify what he had done recurs in 22.30; 25.26. For the remainder of Acts, Paul will be in custody.

  21.34 On the crowd’s confusion, see 19.32.

  21.36 Away with him! See also 22.22; Lk 23.18; Jn 19.15.

  21.37–22.21 A brief exchange with the tribune clarifies Paul’s identity as an educated Jew and introduces his defense.

  21.37 Do you know Greek? betrays the tribune’s assumption that Paul is uneducated, since Greek was the lingua franca.

  21.38 The Egyptian, the leader of a revolt against Rome ca. 52–59 CE; although the rebellion was quelled, the Egyptian leader escaped. Egyptians were often viewed with suspicion and condescension. See Strabo, Geography 17.1.12; Philo, Dreams 1.240; 2.255; Allegorical Interpretation 2.84;3.13, 37–38, 81.

  21.39 I am…from Tarsus. See note on 9.11; 22.3. It was possible to be a citizen of two cities, and Luke portrays Paul as a citizen of both Tarsus and Rome (see 16.37–38; 22.25). The people. See note on 3.11.

  21.40 Motioning for silence is a characteristic gesture of an orator; see, e.g., 12.17; 13.16; 26.1. In the Hebrew language, i.e., in the Aramaic dialect. Paul’s use of Aramaic signals his identification with this Jewish audience.

  Acts 22

  1“Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense that I now make before you.”

  2When they heard him addressing them in Hebrew,a they became even more quiet. Then he said:

  3“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law, being zealous for God, just as all of you are today. 4I persecuted this Way up to the point of death by binding both men and women and putting them in prison, 5as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I went there in order to bind those who were there and to bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment.

  Paul Tells of His Conversion

  6“While I was on my way and approaching Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me. 7I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Then he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazarethb whom you are persecuting.’ 9Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10I asked, ‘What am I to do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told everything that has been assigned to you to do.’ 11Since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, those who were with me took my hand and led me to Damascus.

  12“A certain Ananias, who was a devout man according to the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living there, 13came to me; and standing beside me, he said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ In that very hour I regained my sight and saw him. 14Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear his own voice; 15for you will be his witne
ss to all the world of what you have seen and heard. 16And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.’

  Paul Sent to the Gentiles

  17“After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18and saw Jesusc saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. 20And while the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing by, approving and keeping the coats of those who killed him.’ 21Then he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

  Paul and the Roman Tribune

  22Up to this point they listened to him, but then they shouted, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.” 23And while they were shouting, throwing off their cloaks, and tossing dust into the air, 24the tribune directed that he was to be brought into the barracks, and ordered him to be examined by flogging, to find out the reason for this outcry against him. 25But when they had tied him up with thongs,d Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who is uncondemned?” 26When the centurion heard that, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? This man is a Roman citizen.” 27The tribune came and asked Paul,e “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” 28The tribune answered, “It cost me a large sum of money to get my citizenship.” Paul said, “But I was born a citizen.” 29Immediately those who were about to examine him drew back from him; and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him.

  Paul before the Council

  30Since he wanted to find out what Paulf was being accused of by the Jews, the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and the entire council to meet. He brought Paul down and had him stand before them.