Simple outline for the book of Acts:
- Acts 1-7: Pentecost and Jerusalem. - Acts 8-12: Crossing Boundaries.
- Acts 13-20: Missionary Journeys.
- Acts 21-28: Bound for Rome.

The Bible Project video - Acts 21-28




Acts 21:10-12
“After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, ‘The Holy Spirit says, “In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.”’ When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.”

Acts 21:13-16
“Then Paul answered, ‘Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.’ When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, ‘The Lord’s will be done.’ After this, we started on our way up to Jerusalem. Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us and brought us to the home of Mnason, where we were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus and one of the early disciples.”


Acts 22:22
“The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, ‘Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!’”

Acts 22:23-25
“As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, ‘Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?’”

Acts 22:26-29
“When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. ‘What are you going to do?’ he asked. ‘This man is a Roman citizen.’ The commander went to Paul and asked, ‘Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?’ ‘Yes, I am,’ he answered. Then the commander said, ‘I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.’ ‘But I was born a citizen,’ Paul replied. Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.”


Bound for Jerusalem:
1. Led by the Spirit into danger and challenge.

“It is interesting that Paul describes himself as motivated by the Spirit’s prompting to go to Jerusalem, but then he resists these prophetic warnings, which is said to be spoken by the Holy Spirit! How to explain this situation? A helpful approach might be to read this alongside the testing/temptation narratives in the Gospels. Jesus is driven by the Spirit into the wilderness in order to experience this testing. The Spirit’s prompting is ultimately good, but that doesn’t mean Jesus won’t face genuine difficulty and testing. And crucially, the nature of that testing revolves around whether Jesus will adopt a self-serving posture toward his identity and vocation as Messiah or continue faithfully in his posture of trust and dependence on God. Similarly, I would argue that there is nothing false or problematic about what Agabus says - it is precisely what will ultimately take place! The Spirit both prompts Paul to move toward Jerusalem and inspires this prophetic word of warning. But the point of this whole narrative is that Paul’s fundamental orientation revolves not around any kind of self-interest or even self- preservation, but rather revolves around (1) obedience to the Spirit, (2) imitation of Jesus, and (3) practical, self-emptying care for his brothers and sisters in Christ.” - Dr. Jon Bentall


Where is the way of Jesus being actively engaged in a costly manner?

Bound for Jerusalem:
1. Led by the Spirit into danger and challenge.
2. Led by the Spirit into courage.

How is our following of Jesus engaging courageous choices?





NOTES: