ACTS 21 – 22
Bible Study Notes Rev. Betsy Perkins
On to Jerusalem
- Think about some situations you have had to go into, knowing that they were going to be very difficult. How did you feel?
- What do you think Paul’s thoughts and emotions are at this point in his journey?
Sailing and Stormy Prophecies (21:1-14)
- Paul leaves Melitus, where he had met with the Ephesus church leaders, and travels on. Trace his journey on the map.
- What do Paul and his traveling companions do during their layover in Tyre?
- What advice did the disciples in Tyre give Paul? Why?
- Where do they stay on a layover in Caesarea? What do we already know about this person?
- What does Agabus do with Paul’s belt? What is his prophetic message? (we met him before too, in 11:27-29)?
- How do Paul’s companions and the other disciples respond to the prophesy? What is their advice to Paul?
- Does Paul follow their advice? What is his reasoning?
- How do you discern whether to follow the advice of friends and fellow believers, or not?
- How does a group of Christians discern what is the Lord’s will?
And eventually the whole party agrees with Paul, in the words of the Lord’s prayer, and in the words which echo what Jesus himself said in Gethsemane: the Lord’s will be done. And it is precisely that echo which raises in our minds, if we are alert as to how Luke is telling the story, the question of whether Paul, going up to Jerusalem as Acts reaches its climax, is somehow to be seen in parallel with Jesus going up to Jerusalem as Luke’s own gospel reaches its climax. Are we going to see the suffering of Paul set in parallel with the suffering of Jesus? Is Luke going to say, by the way he has arranged his material, that just as Jesus suffered for the good news, so each generation, each new wave of kingdom-work, will have to suffer in the same way?
There is a sense in which something like that is partly true, but the main answer is No… N.T. Wright
Arriving in Jerusalem (21:15-26):
- How do the church leaders and believers in Jerusalem receive Paul? How do they react to his report of what God had done through his missionary work?
- What are the things being said about Paul around town in Jerusalem? Who is saying these things?
- Why do the church leaders ask Paul to pay for and participate in a Jewish vow ceremony? What do they hope it will accomplish?
That is how it feels reading about the vain attempts of the poor Jerusalem church to stop what they could see was highly likely to happen. And, if Paul’s own account of his travels and escapades (vs.19) had been anything other than the most anodyne and expurgated account, they might well have found their anxiety levels rising. Riots in Antioch, stoning in Lystra, beatings in Philippi, more riots in Thessalonica, run out of town in Beroea, court cases and anti-Jewish violence in Corinth, and then that little escapade with 25,000 chanting pagans in Ephesus: so what do we think is likely to happen now he’s back in Jerusalem? A Sunday-school picnic? N.T. Wright
Joe Boyd, Bible Experiment – Acts of the Apostles (RightNowMedia), 1:24:35 – 1:28:35
Paul Arrested (21:27-36):
- Who are the folks that spark the commotion that leads to Paul’s arrest? What are they upset about? Are their accusations true?
- How does the crowd respond?
- How does God use the Roman commander to vindicate (clear of blame, demonstrate innocence) Paul? (see N.T. Wright, page 150)
Paul Shares His Story (21:37-22:16):
- How does Paul use his knowledge of languages to navigate his sticky situation?
- What assumptions has the Roman commander made about Paul? What assumptions has the crowd made?
- Have you ever surprised people when they have made assumptions about you? What changes in a situation when that happens?
- What does Paul choose to reveal to the commander? What card does Paul keep up his sleeve?
- What do you think Paul was hoping to accomplish by sharing his story with the crowd? (see Romans 9:2-5, 10:2)
Paul is not finished with his story. But he has staked out the ground. He has spoken the Name. His deeply Jewish, deeply orthodox, deeply respected birth, background, training and zeal led him straight into the path of the Messiah, and he discovered that it was Jesus. And now Jesus had led him to face a mob of people just like the person he himself had been. N.T. Wright
And Then He Blows It! (22:12-22):
- What do we learn about a second encounter Paul had with Jesus in Jerusalem?
- What does Paul say that makes the crowd suddenly turn on him once again? Why is that offensive? (see N.T. Wright, pages 158-161)
- Do you think Paul blew it on his speech or do you think he spoke what needed to be said?
- What are the hot button issues today that can get a preacher in trouble for speaking the truth of the mission of Jesus Christ?
Paul Arrested (22:23-30):
- Why does the Roman commander order that Paul be tortured and interrogated?
- How does this practice still go on today for the same reasons? Name some examples.
- What is the trump card that Paul chooses to play just before he is to be beaten?
- How does that make the Roman centurion feel and respond?
- How might the world be changed if everyone had a citizenship that would exempt them from cruelty and injustice?
- What is the commander’s next step to try to get to the truth of what is going on with Paul?
In light of this passage and our discussion, what one truth about God and about yourself stand out as something to “take to heart” this week?
Are there steps you will take, by God’s grace, to more fully apply it to your life?
Resources: NIV Zondervan Study Bible, 2015
N.T. Wright, Acts for Everyone, Part 1 2008
Max Lucado, Life Lessons from Acts: Christ’s Church in the World, 2018
Kay Arthur, The Holy Spirit Unleashed in You: Acts, 1994
Joe Boyd, Bible Experiment – The Acts of the Apostles (RightNowMedia), 2014
Add Your Comment