Acts 21:1-16

Like a Flint

The passage today finally takes us all the way to Jerusalem.

Before I dive into the title topic let me just take a few lines to point out verse 9. Philip the evangelist had “four unmarried daughters who prophesied.” To prophesy is to bring the word of the Lord. Joel prophesied, and Peter repeated it, that both “sons and daughters” will prophesy. I know that some have a problem with women speaking in a church service but I am not one of those people. Neither was Philip. Neither was Joel. Neither was Peter. And I would argue that neither was Paul. Now that we have that out of the way...

At Tyre Paul spent seven days with the disciples. “Through the Spirit” they urged him not to go to Jerusalem. It wasn’t safe. They were right; it wasn’t safe. Paul went anyway.

At Caesarea a fairly well known prophet named Agabus prophesied that Paul would be taken prisoner by the Jews in Jerusalem and handed over to the Gentiles. We don’t know that Agabus was saying not to go but we do know that pretty much everyone else was crying and trying to talk Paul out of going. Paul went anyway.

Paul had a good example to follow in this, the Lord Jesus. When He decided to go back to Jerusalem for the last time His disciples tried to talk Him out of going because it was too dangerous. When it was revealed what would happen to Him there Peter made a big push to keep Him from going. Jesus went anyway.

Jesus, and later Paul, as well as others who have followed in their footsteps were close enough to the Father that they knew His will. It didn’t make sense to anyone else. It didn’t make sense in the natural. Who willingly walks into danger? Only those who know they are not alone and have heard clearly from the Father.

Most of us will never be called to take such a drastic road, but there will be times when to some degree we will be called to do something, or go somewhere, that promises to be uncomfortable; something that seems against our best interest in the natural. Don’t do it, don’t go, unless you have heard clearly from the Father. But if you have heard from Him, don’t be talked out of it.