Sha’ul’s Third Missionary Journey ~ Part 6

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We continue in the Book of Acts. Sha’ul continues his Third Missionary Journey in Acts 21:1 in this post.

In your public life, Acts 21 emphasizes the value of courage and conviction. If you face challenging conversations about your faith at work or in social settings, reflect on how Sha’ul remained focused on his mission despite opposition. Prepare yourself by thinking through key points of your faith that you want to share confidently. Plan for those moments by memorizing Scripture that speaks to your defense of the hope you have. When those problematic discussions arise, you will be equipped to stand firm and share your testimony, all while exemplifying the love of Yeshua.

Visiting Talmidim at Tyre

21 ¹ After we had torn ourselves away from the Ephesian elders, we set sail and made a straight run to Cos. The next day, we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara. ² On finding a ship that was crossing over to Phoenicia, we embarked and set sail. ³ After sighting Cyprus, we passed it on the left, sailed to Syria and landed at Tzor, because that was where the ship was unloading its cargo. ⁴ Having searched out the talmidim there, we remained for a week. Guided by the Spirit, they told Sha’ul not to go up to Yerushalayim;

The shipboard journey continued from Ephesus through Cos to Rhodes and Patara. This is the third “we” section in Acts ~ referring to Luke being with Sha’ul. It extends through 21:18. They left the smaller ship at Patara and took a larger one able to travel the 400 miles to Phoenicia. The most common vessels sailing the Mediterranean were grain ships from Egypt, heading to the rest of the Roman Empire (but especially Rome). Some Believers in Tyre had received from the Ruach HaKodesh the same message that Sha’ul disclosed in Ephesus: trouble awaited Sha’ul in Yerushalayim (20:22–23).

⁵ but when the week was over, we left to continue our journey. All of them, with their wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the town. Kneeling on the beach and praying, ⁶ we said goodbye to each other. Then we boarded the ship, and they returned home.

The departure from the Believers at Tyre resembled the departure from Miletus and the Ephesian Elders (Acts 20:37–38). They knew Sha’ul was heading for his deepest trouble yet.

Agabus Prophesies Imprisonment

⁷ When the voyage from Tzor was over, we arrived at Ptolemais. There, we greeted the brothers and stayed with them overnight.

Ptolemais were named after the Ptolemys, the rulers of Egypt. [Modern Akko (Acre), north of Haifa.]

⁸ The following day, we left and came to Caesarea, where we went to the home of Philip, the proclaimer of the Good News, one of the Seven, and stayed with him.

Philip, the proclaimer of the Good News, not the emissary but one of the Seven appointed shammashim (deacons) (Acts 6:5, 8:5), settled in Caesarea (Acts 8:40). Although it was the Roman capital, Philip must have won only Jews to the Lord at first; since Kefa later brought the first Gentile to faith in that very city (Acts 10:1–11:18).

⁹ He had four unmarried daughters with the gift of prophecy. ¹⁰ While we were staying there, a prophet named Agav came down from Y’hudah ¹¹ to visit us. He took Sha’ul’s belt, tied up his own hands and feet, and said, “Here is what the Ruach HaKodesh says: the man who owns this belt—the Judeans in Yerushalayim will tie him up just like this and hand him over to the Goyim.” ¹² When we heard this, both we and the people there begged him not to go up to Yerushalayim; ¹³ but Sha’ul answered, “What are you doing, crying and trying to weaken my resolve? I am prepared not only to be tied up but even to die in Yerushalayim for the name of the Lord Yeshua.” ¹⁴ And when he would not be convinced, we said, “May the Lord’s will be done,” and kept quiet.

A prophet named Agav was mentioned earlier (Acts 11:28; see also 11:27). Facing a similar situation, Yeshua said to Kefa, “Get behind me, Satan!” (Mattityahu 16:23). Yeshua was angry at the Adversary; here Sha’ul is sorrowful over his friends’ efforts to dissuade him from doing what the Ruach wants him to do (see v. 4 above). In the end, the others assent, subordinating their feelings to the Lord’s will.

Ultimately, the only appropriate response for a Believer is the one that Sha’ul’s companions stated: May the Lord’s will be done. One of the major themes of the book of Acts is the simultaneous reality of human choice and the sovereign divine will (Acts 4:24–28).

Journey Ends in Yerushalayim

¹⁵ So at the end of our stay, we packed and went up to Yerushalayim; ¹⁶ and with us went some of the talmidim from Caesarea. They brought us to the home of the man with whom we were to stay, Mnason from Cyprus, who had been a talmid since the early days. ^[1]

Mnason was a Cypriot Believer who was probably saved during Sha’ul’s First Missionary Journey. Mnason may be a Hellenized (Creek Culture) form of a Jewish name, or he may have been a Gentile.

Now, with Sha’ul back in Yerushalayim, this completes his Third Missionary Journey.

In our next post, we will turn to Sha’ul’s Arrest and Trial.

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^[1] Acts 21:1–16.