Sha'ul in Acts 21

The second Brit Chadashah reading is from Acts 21. Sha'ul (Paul) was doing a lot of sailing around in these chapters, which is the reason for the ship up above. When my eyes fell on the first verse - "After we had torn ourselves away from the Ephesian elders...." - of course, I had to go back to the previous chapter to see what was going on!

    Each chapter has me going one chapter further back, but I think I'd best return to the chapter and subject at hand, lest this blog become a book!

    Something that jumps out at me as I read through these chapters is how many of the early believers are recorded by name. Imagine having your name forever recorded in the Word of God!

    Another thing that jumps out at me is how much Sha'ul travelled. He literally lived out of a suitcase, I'm sure!

    Yet another, very important, thing to note is that Sha'ul (Paul) kept the Torah and the Festivals of God, according to the instructions in Leviticus: 

    Acts 20:7: "On Motza'ei Shabbat, when we were gathered to break bread, Sha'ul addressed them."

    Motza'ei Shabbat is sunset on Saturday night, when Shabbat ends. To mark the end of Shabbat and the beginning of the 6-day work week, we gather for Havdalah, which is what they were doing here, breaking bread together.

    Acts 20:16: "For Sha'ul had decided to bypass Ephesus on his voyage, in order to avoid losing time in the province of Asia, because he was hurrying to get to Yerushalayim, if possible, in time to celebrate Shavu'ot."

    Shavu'ot is one of the Shelosh Regalim (three festivals) during which every male among Israel had to present himself at the Temple in Jerusalem.

    Acts 20:17 now sets the scene for what is happening in Acts 21:1: "But he did send from Miletus to Ephesus, summoning the elders of the Messianic community."

    

    He recounted to them all he had done for the community of believers, both Jew and Gentile alike; He told them he was on his way to Jerusalem and that he anticipated imprisonment and persecution once he got there.

    Acts 20:25: (Sha'ul speaking to them): "Now listen! I know that none of you people among whom I have gone about proclaiming the Kingdom will ever see me again." This was followed by many exhortations for them to guard the flock and keep the faith.

    Acts 20:36-38: "When he had finished speaking, Sha'ul kneeled down with them all and prayed. They were all in tears as they threw their arms around his neck and kissed him farewell. What saddened them the most was his remark that they would never see him again. Then they accompanied him to the ship."

    Then, Acts 21:1: "After we had torn ourselves away from the Ephesian elders, we set sail and made a straight run to Cos."

    Then, according to the following verses, they went to Rhodes, then to Patara, found a ship that was going to Phoenicia, they sailed past Cyprus and went to Syria, landing at Tzor. They searched out the talmidim there and stayed for a week. Wow! Talk about traveling!

    Acts 21:5: "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, we said goodbye to each other. Then we boarded the ship and they returned home."

    Sha'ul was going around, saying his goodbyes. This was followed by a bit more traveling until they came to Jerusalem in Verse 17, which is where the Brit Chadashah portion begins. The portion ends in Verse 32, but it's worth reading the rest of the chapter as well.

    Acts 21:17-20: "In Yerushalayim, the brothers received us warmly. The next day Sha'ul and the rest of us went to see Ya'aqov, and all the elders were present. After greeting them, Sha'ul described in detail each of the things God had done among the Gentiles through his efforts. On hearing it, they praised God."

    Some interesting things about the above verses: Who was Ya'aqov? He was the brother of Yeshua, a believer in Him and the President of the synagogue in Jerusalem. As you can see, everybody and everything is very Jewish. Not surprising, as Yeshua Himself was and is Jewish and will be returning as the King of the Jews!

    The last sentence indicates that the elders who were present, all Jewish, were believers in Yeshua as well. If all the elders of Israel were present, Nicodemus was also present - and we know he was a believer that Yeshua is the Jewish Messiah. Isn't that interesting? That so many of the Jewish elders believed in Him!

    I will stop here for today, as the subject matter changes a bit and this blog is getting too long.

    Have a wonderful day!