Acts 21:8-15

And the next day we … came to Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the Evangelist.

Paul at Caesarea

I. Paul visits Philip. Learn--

1. That fidelity in our present calling is the highway to promotion to a more important one. Philip had acquitted himself well in the lowest ecclesiastical office, that of deacon, and was now promoted to one of the highest, that of evangelist--the founder of new churches, and the stimulater of existing ones.

2. That every converted daughter should be at work in endeavouring to bring others to the Saviour. Philip’s daughters were decided Christians, and engaged in active service for Christ. In the Apostolic Church women did great service in the gospel cause. See Paul’s list of useful women in Romans 16:1.

II. Agabus visits Paul. We have here--

1. An instance of intense human love and sympathy; beautiful traits of sanctified human nature; but mark, these must not be carried so far as to interfere with our friends’ calls to duty.

2. Paul’s tenderness of heart. He was an intellectual giant, but he had a woman’s tenderness of heart. Every tear and sob went to his soul. Illustrate further by other instances of his compassion and tears.

3. Paul’s unalterable determination. Duty called and he obeyed. Wherever duty called he went, despising all toil and danger. He was a man. He could say No. Imitate. “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” (Christian Age.)

St. Paul in Philip’s family

1. Philip, at the conclusion of the missionary tour which succeeded the conversion of the eunuch, had settled at Antioch, which, from its being the centre of political influence, and from the extensive commerce facilitated by its harbour, was a most important sphere of missionary operations. Caesarea, too, was the place where, by the conversion of Cornelius, the door of faith was first opened to the Gentiles.

2. In this last notice of Philip, the evangelist falls into the background, and the eye of the reader is fixed on Paul. Planetoids, many of which are wandering about in space, sometimes come within the attraction of a comet, and are drawn in towards the larger body; and here the evangelist is drawn into the apostle’s orbit and quenched there.

3. It was natural that Paul should go to the house of Philip--a man like-minded with himself; and there was another who would take as much delight in Philip’s company--Luke, the writer of the Acts, for which history he was now collecting materials; and we cannot doubt that he here obtained the narrative of the conversion of the eunuch. How remarkable this gathering. Paul and Luke wrote the greater part of the New Testament; Philip had taken the place of Stephen, to whose death Paul had consented; yet here are the colleague and the murderer each emulating the martyr’s example, We can well understand the refreshment and nerve for future effort which must have been gained by such intercourse.

4. Philip had four daughters, in whom Joel’s prediction had received a literal accomplishment (Joel 2:18), and who may have given the first intimation of the disasters which threatened the apostle. Thus the fourfold ministry of Ephesians 4:12 was here represented--the apostle Paul, the evangelist Philip, the teacher Luke, the prophetesses Philip’s daughters.

5. Whether these women made the prediction or not, it was certainly made under the same roof by Agabus, who began with one of those symbolic actions which the old prophets were accustomed to use, by which the senses were impressed with the truth they were commissioned to convey. A religion wholly devoid of symbolism would not be a religion adapted to the wants of man. Man, though a spiritual being, is not a purely spiritual being, and is more vividly affected by a truth exhibited to the eye than spoken in the ear. To meet this constitution of our nature God has made the sacraments an essential part of Christianity, and chosen the Incarnation as His mode of manifestation to the senses of men. But on the other hand this principle, as all Church history shows, may be easily carried to mischievous lengths. The limits are admirably traced in the discourse “Of Ceremonies” prefixed to the Prayer Book.

6. The prophecy of Agabus aroused great anxiety, and Paul was entreated by those instigated by the Spirit to alter his purpose. Yet the apostle persisted. And not from obstinacy, for on two occasions, at Damascus and Ephesus, he had yielded to the solicitations of the brethren. Nor was he a man of stoical insensibility (verse 13). The reason for the apostle’s persistency is indicated in Acts 19:21; and to this obligation he adverts in Acts 20:22. He was not going to Jerusalem without the direct sanction of the Spirit, by which Agabus had spoken. He must, then, act upon his own light, Nor was Agabus’s prediction without its attraction for the apostle (Acts 9:16; Philippians 3:10). If he was to be bound at Jerusalem, etc., was there not here the closest conformity to the fate of his Master? His friends eventually desisted, not doubting that he had made up his mind under the influence of the Spirit. They had been praying that if it were possible the cup might pass from their beloved apostle. Now, in the spirit of their Divine Master, they added, “Nevertheless, not our will, but Thine be done.”

7. From this explanation of the motives of Paul in declining to listen to the advice of his friends, we may gather the important practical lesson that in matters of duty every man must be guided by the light which his conscience affords. He must take every method of enlightening his conscience, but he must never defer to the conscience of another when it prescribes a course at issue with his own convictions. (Dean Goulburn.)

And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.

Prophecy

Teachers possessing in a special manner the inspiration of the Spirit of God indicated in some peculiar supernatural gift as that of healing or of foretelling. Observe that in the Apostolic Church women are not only teachers (Acts 18:26), as in the Jewish Church (Acts 22:14), but also inspired teachers. The prophet was not necessarily a foreteller. The Hebrew word is derived from a root signifying to boil or bubble over, and simply conveys the idea of the bursting forth, as of a fountain of truth, with which God has inspired the soul. The early English kept tolerably near this original idea. Thus Jeremy Taylor, in the reign of Elizabeth, wrote a treatise on the “Liberty of Prophesying”--i.e., of preaching. In the classics the Greek word is used to describe those who interpreted the unintelligible oracles, and, metaphorically, the poets as interpreters of the gods or muses. In both the Old Testament and the New Testament the prominent idea in prophecy and prophesying is not prediction, but inspiration--not telling before what is to happen, but delivering messages of warning, instruction, comfort, helpfulness--such as are commissioned by or given under the inspiration of the Divine Spirit. This characteristic of prophecy appears very clearly from the titles given to the prophet in the Scriptures. He is called “the interpreter,” “the messenger of Jehovah,” “the man of Spirit,” “the man of God”; and it is declared that the “Spirit of Jehovah “ enters into him, or “clothes him,” or, as here, that he speaks “by the Spirit.” In the New Testament Paul gives some detailed description of prophesying, which is distinguished from what we should call preaching only in that the presence and power of God is, perhaps, more prominent. (E. Abbott, D. D.)

There came down from Judaea a certain prophet named Agabus; and when he was come to us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet.--

The girdle of Paul

An admonitory memorial for all his successors, to remind them of the--

I. Apostolic fidelity, with which he was bound to the Lord, even to death.

II. Apostolic bonds, in which he must experience the hatred of the world.

III. Apostolic zeal, with which he was at all times girt, to hasten to the combat appointed to him. (K. Gerok.)

The only bonds by which a servant of God feels himself to be indissolubly bound

I. Not the bonds of his own flesh and blood, which he has torn asunder by the power of the Spirit.

II. Not the bonds of human force and enmity (Paul bound at Jerusalem), which cannot injure him contrary to the will of God.

III. Not the bonds of brotherly love and friendship: for whosoever loveth brethren and sisters more than the Lord is not worthy of Him.

IV. But only the bonds of love to the Lord, to whom he is bound in grateful love and childlike fidelity even unto death (K. Gerok.)

Prophetic warnings

I. Instances of--

1. Joseph warning Pharaoh (Genesis 41:32).

2. Moses warning the Israelites (Exodus 4:29).

3. Moses warning Pharaoh (Exodus 9:29).

4. Joshua warning Israel (Joshua 3:9).

5. Nathan warning David (2 Samuel 12:7; 1 Kings 1:22).

6. A prophet warning Ahab (1 Kings 20:38).

7. Elisha warning Jehoshaphat (2 Kings 3:11).

8. Jonah warning the Ninevites (John 3:4; Matthew 12:41).

9. John the Baptist warning the Jews (Matthew 3:1; Luke 3:3).

10. Agabus giving warning of a famine (Acts 11:28).

11. Agabus warning Paul of danger (Acts 21:10).

II. Inspired by--

1. The visions of God (2 Chronicles 26:5; Ezekiel 1:1).

2. The writing of God (1 Chronicles 28:19).

3. The Word of God (Luke 3:2).

4. The words of God (John 3:1; Habakkuk 2:2).

5. The Spirit of God (1 Samuel 10:6; Joel 2:28; Acts 2:4).

6. The various agencies of God (Hebrews 1:1).

III. Nature of--

1. A gift of Christ (Ephesians 4:11; Revelation 11:3).

2. Christ usually the subject of (Acts 10:43; 1 Peter 1:10).

3. Concerning the need of repentance (Mark 1:4).

4. Regarding present safety (Acts 21:11).

5. Concerning eternal salvation (Revelation 14:13).

6. Regarding future events (Genesis 49:1; Numbers 24:14). (S. S. Times.)

And when we heard these things … we … besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.--

Anti-Christian prudence

The poorest advice in the world to a man in time of danger is, counsel to shun the path of duty. If he is a pliable man, it may work his ruin. If he is a determined man, the foolish entreaty only tends to break his heart, or to increase his trial. If duty points a man to Jerusalem, let all who love him point in the same direction. Let the mother tell her son to be truthful and honest, if he starves. Let the wife urge her husband to pay his debts, if his family must be turned into the streets because of his fidelity. Let the teacher commend his scholars for their purpose of daring everything for the right. Let every Christian man and woman speak words of cheer to every other Christian who must face danger at the call of God. Let none beseech a brother not to go where he ought to go; but let the word sound in heartiness, “Be thou strong, and show thyself a man.” And if friends try to swerve us from a right purpose, let us be firm against their strongest persuasions. If they weep, and our hearts break in consequence, let us keep our faces as a flint towards the right, and if we fall, let it be in the path in which God has called us to be. (H. C. Trumbull, D. D.)