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your Bibles to Acts chapter 21. 
Acts chapter 21, we come to the end of the third missionary journey 
this morning. We're going to look at verses 
1 to 16, but I'll read the whole chapter, get it before us, and 
then we'll focus our attention on the journey to Jerusalem. 
So beginning in Acts 21 at verse 1. Now it came to pass that when 
we had departed from them and set sail, running a straight 
course, we came to Kos. The following day to Rhodes, 
and from there to Patera. And finding a ship sailing over 
to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. When we had sighted 
Cyprus, we passed it on the left, sailed to Syria, and landed at 
Tyre. For there the ship was to unload 
her cargo. And finding disciples, we stayed 
there seven days. They told Paul, through the Spirit, 
not to go up to Jerusalem. When we had come to the end of 
those days, we departed and went on our way. And they all accompanied 
us, with wives and children, till we were out of the city. 
And we knelt down on the shore and prayed. When we had taken 
our leave of one another, we boarded the ship and they returned 
home. And when we had finished our 
voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemaes, greeted the brethren, 
and stayed with them one day. On the next day, we who were 
Paul's companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered 
the house of Philip the Evangelist, who was one of the seven, and 
stayed with him. Now this man had four virgin daughters who 
prophesied. And as we stayed there, or stayed 
many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. When he had come to us, he took 
Paul's belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, thus says 
the Holy Spirit, so shall all the Jews at Jerusalem bind the 
man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. 
Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place 
pleaded with Him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, 
What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready, 
not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name 
of the Lord Jesus. So when he would not be persuaded, 
we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done. And after those 
days we packed and went up to Jerusalem. Also some of the disciples 
from Caesarea went with us and brought with them a certain Manassin 
of Cyprus, an early disciple with whom we were to lodge. And 
when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. 
On the following day, Paul went in with us to James, and all 
the elders were present. When he had greeted them, he 
told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles 
through his ministry. And when they heard it, they 
glorified the Lord. And they said to him, You see, 
brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, 
and they are all zealous for the law. But they have been informed 
about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles 
to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise 
their children, nor to walk according to the customs. What then? The 
assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have 
come. Therefore, do what we tell you. We have four men who have 
taken a vow. Take them and be purified with 
them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their 
heads, and that all may know that those things of which they 
were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself 
also walk orderly and keep the law. But concerning the Gentiles 
who believe, we have written and decided that they should 
observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves 
from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, 
and from sexual immorality. Then Paul took the men, and the 
next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple 
to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at 
which time an offering should be made for each one of them. 
Now when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, 
seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands 
on him, crying out, Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches 
all men everywhere against the people, the law in this place. And furthermore, he also brought 
Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place. For 
they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the 
city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple. 
And all the city was disturbed, and the people ran together, 
seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple. And immediately 
the doors were shut. Now as they were seeking to kill 
him, news came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem 
was in an uproar. He immediately took soldiers 
and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the commander 
and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. Then the commander 
came near and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains. 
And he asked who he was and what he had done. And some among the 
multitude cried one thing and some another. So when he could 
not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, he commanded him 
to be taken into the barracks. When he reached the stairs, he 
had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the 
mob. For the multitude of the people followed after him, crying 
out, away with him." We'll stop the reading there. We'll pray 
and then, as I said, we'll look at verses 1 to 16. Father, thank 
you for your word. Thank you for this historical, 
theological work of Luke, the beloved physician, this book 
of Acts that gives us the early history of the church, how we 
praise you for the impact made by a handful of men preaching 
the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. Certainly they saw a demonstration 
of the Spirit and power when they went into Jewish synagogues, 
when they went among the Gentiles. And our Father, we pray that 
such would happen in our own day and age. You are the God 
of sovereign grace, and You are the God of absolute power and 
authority, and You are the God who has told us that in the heaven 
to come there will be a great multitude that no man can number. 
So bless the Word as it goes forth all over the earth today. 
May the Spirit attend, may Christ be exalted, and may you be glorified 
in the saving of sinners and in the sanctifying of the saints. 
And fill us now with your Spirit and guide our thoughts and mind 
as we consider this passage again, forgiving us, cleansing us from 
all sin and all unrighteousness. And we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Well, as I said, this concludes 
the third missionary journey. The book of Acts will end with 
the Apostle Paul in prison. He does get released from that 
imprisonment and does what some have called a fourth missionary 
journey. In other words, he continues to preach, he continues to visit, 
he continues to go everywhere. But in terms of the book of Acts, 
there are these three missionary journeys, and this one ends with 
his arrival in Jerusalem. And then we see that the prophet 
Agabus, what he says concerning Paul as he enters into Jerusalem, 
comes to pass. He is immediately bound. He is 
handed over to civil magistrates. So the rest of the book of Acts 
takes up Paul's defenses. His defenses before the Jews 
and his defenses before the civil government. Defending himself 
in terms of his role as a preacher of the gospel. He's not a man 
out there trying to upset the civil authority. He's not out 
there trying to engage in revolution. He's not out there trying to 
foment rebellion. Rather, he is a man called by 
God's grace into a particular task of apostleship, and he goes 
preaching from place to place the glorious gospel of Jesus 
Christ our Lord. So the rest of the book of Acts 
is taken up with that very thing. He's arrested, he's delivered 
up into the hands of the Gentiles, and he stands trial before several 
of these particular persons. And as I said, he ends up in 
prison by the end of the book. So I want to look at this journey 
to Jerusalem under two considerations this morning. First, the journey 
from Miletus to Tyre in verses 1 to 6. And then secondly, the 
journey from Tyre to Jerusalem. And if you have maps in the back 
of your Bible, it's always good to refresh yourself of this. 
It's a straight shot close to the shore. They go from Tyre, 
or from Miletus, rather, right down to Jerusalem. Or they land in Syria, and from 
there probably took beasts of burden the 65 miles from Caesarea 
all the way to Jerusalem. So it's a straight shot, makes 
absolute sense. It's not some sort of a, a mystery, 
they didn't float, rather they used the means that God had afforded, 
boat traveled, and then traveled by beast. Well, let's look first 
at this journey from Miletus to Tyre, and in verses 1 to 3, 
you see that particular route. But in the first place, notice 
what it says in verse 1. Now, it came to pass that when 
we had departed, Pretty general statement, when we had departed. 
But the verb is a lot more particular. The verb is a lot more specific, 
and the verb simply means to tear oneself away. So when he 
had left the Ephesian elders in the city of Miletus, it was 
a difficult parting. He knew, suspected that he would 
not see their face anymore, and that they neither would see him 
anymore. So it wasn't just, I hope everything works out for you, 
but he physically had to tear himself away. It was a painful 
thing. And one of the things I want 
to emphasize as we move through this passage is Paul's love for 
the brethren. Paul's love for the people of 
God, Paul's connection to relationship. He wasn't just a theology machine 
going from place to place, preaching the gospel, and writing wonderful 
theological treatises. He was that. He was certainly 
a man capable and competent, and a man very skillful and intelligent, 
but he was a man of the people. He loved people, and the people 
loved him, such that when he left, it was a tough departure 
for him, because he knew that he would see these Ephesian elders 
no more. And then the particular route 
is highlighted there in verses 2 and 3. They go to this place 
called Kos. It was an island where Hippocrates 
was born. You've heard of the Hippocratic 
Oath, that Doctor of Doctors. There was a medical school there, 
and it was the birthplace and the place of Hippocrates. And then he also went to Rhodes 
and then Patera, and then they changed ships and set out for 
Phoenicia, passed by Cyprus, and then they landed Tyre in 
Syria. Now, the particular region is 
called Phoenicia. The name of the province in the 
Roman Empire was Syria. And if you look at the map again, 
you will see all these places. They are all there. This isn't 
fairy tale. This isn't some sort of a universe 
developed by J.R. Tolkien. This is concrete history. I think I've shared with you 
before when the Santiago's first went to China. or early on in 
their ministry there, it was at Christmas time, and Shirley 
was meeting with a bunch of ladies and talking to them about the 
birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and naming the various places 
and the locales, and they were shocked to see that this was 
on the map, not that Bethlehem was on the map, but shocked to 
see that this was rooted in history. This isn't just an idea. It's 
not just a thought. It's not just a fable. It's not 
just a fairy tale. It's not a bunch of people that 
sat around and concocted this story of salvation by Jesus Christ. No, the gospel is rooted in history. It concerns the life and the 
death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. He lived. He 
was born in Bethlehem. He grew up in Galilee. He ministers 
in Judea. All of these places are on the 
map. All of this is, in fact, concrete. It's not abstract. It's not a 
fairy tale. It's not the stuff of myth. Now, 
notice this stay and tire in verses four to six. Verse four, 
and finding disciples, we stayed there seven days. Brethren, this 
is what brethren do. They find other brethren. We 
were never meant to walk alone. And I think ultimately that means 
God is there with us, God sustains us, God blesses us, and God is 
our companion upon the way. But with reference to Christianity, 
we were not meant to function as individuals. We were not meant 
to function as mavericks. David said, I was glad when they 
said unto me, let us go to the house of the Lord. That section 
of the Psalter are called songs of ascent. And the ascent is 
simply the pilgrims ascending to the temple mount, going to 
praise and serve the living and the true God. The Lord loves 
the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. 
Christianity isn't esoteric. It isn't individualistic. It 
isn't me alone with my God. There's certainly some of that 
in terms of private devotions and reading and that and whatnot, 
but it's a corporate activity. The disciples, the companions, 
and Paul himself find other brethren. They find other Christians. They 
want to be with the people of God. Again, this may seem odd, 
that they actually liked each other, but they actually liked 
each other. They loved one another, they 
enjoyed praying together, they sang together, they ate the supper 
together, they treasured one another, and I think that's symptomatic 
or typical of the blood-bought child of God. He cannot do it 
alone. He cannot go it on his own. He 
is not an individual island unto himself. He needs the brethren. He needs the people of God. He 
needs the prayers of the people of God. That sustains, that encourages, 
and that blesses the soul. Now notice what the brethren 
suggest to the apostle in 4b. These are brethren in Tyre that 
had information from the Spirit. Notice in the middle of verse 
four, they told Paul through the spirit not to go up to Jerusalem. Some would suggest that we don't 
capitalize this and that it's their own spirit. No, I think 
they understood properly what lay in store for the apostle, 
but they made an improper inference. In other words, they knew that 
when Paul went, he was going to suffer. So based on that, 
they then say, no, we don't want you to go. Agabus is going to 
tell him the same thing, but Agabus isn't going to try to 
dissuade him. The Spirit's already told Paul, 
according to Acts chapter 20, 22 to 24. Paul knows what lay 
ahead for him in the city of Jerusalem. So these brethren 
understood that as well. They, through the Spirit, told 
him not to go. The Spirit had told them that 
he was going to suffer, that he was going to be persecuted. 
And as I said, then they infer that Paul shouldn't go. I think 
Alexander describes this well. This was not a divine command 
to Paul, but an inference of the disciples from the fact which 
was revealed to them that Paul would there be in great danger. 
So that's good. It's not ungodly to want to protect 
your brethren, but it's wrong-headed when your brethren are about 
the work of the Lord. When we drop down after that 
prophecy of Agabus, the companions of Paul and the others try to 
converge upon him in the same way. Again, my brothers and sisters, 
it's good to live for Jesus. It's good to take risks for Jesus. It's good to die in the service 
and in the cause of Jesus. Safety is good. Protection is 
helpful. All of that is a blessing. But 
there are times when the men of God, the people of God, need 
to step up. And whatever may face them, they 
nevertheless face it. It's like David, as we'll see 
tonight, going into the Valley of Elah to do battle with Goliath. I'm sure there would be a whole 
host of people today saying, David, you're going to get creamed. 
You're going to get wiped out. He's twice as tall as you. He 
is completely loaded down with armor. And all you have is a 
slingshot and five smooth stones. Don't do it, David. David says, 
who is this uncircumcised man who taunts the armies of the 
living God? David doesn't even entertain 
the possibility that he's going to lose. It never comes into 
his head that he's going to go into the Valley of Elah and actually 
lose to Goliath. The same sort of thing is here. 
Paul is going to say, I don't resist or I'm not hesitant about 
being bound. I'm also ready to die for the 
cause of Jesus. Now, if somebody is doing foolish 
things, if somebody is doing sinful things, if somebody is 
jeopardizing themselves needlessly, then obviously we try to persuade 
them not to. Don't shove that fork in your 
eye is always a good command. But a man who wants to serve 
his Lord, even inclusive of death itself, is the kind of man that 
God uses to build churches. If we don't have such men, we 
wouldn't be in the 21st century of Christ exercising his power 
and his glory and his majesty in keeping this work together. 
Certainly the power is the Lord's, he will build his church and 
the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it, but he raises 
up Paul's, he raises up Peter's, he raises up James's, he raises 
up these kinds of men that will stand fast, that are not afraid 
to be bound, and not afraid to die, should it mean the glory 
of God Most High. So the brethren tried to prevail 
upon Paul, and Paul obviously does not take that. And so we 
notice there in verse 5, when we had come to the end of those 
days, we departed and went on our way. And they all accompanied 
us with wives and children till we were out of the city. Again, 
a beautiful picture, isn't it? It's not just Paul and the guys. 
It's not just Paul and the students of theology. It's not just Paul 
and the guys that have proven themselves capable in the church 
of Christ. It's the brethren, it's their wives, and it's the 
children. They want to see the Apostle 
Paul depart. Now, as far as we know, he had 
never met these people before. So, in the space of seven days, 
they had formed this kind of a bond, where they get on their 
knees before God together, and they pray to the Lord. Again, 
this is Christian fellowship. This is natural. This is the 
reflex when the people of God are brought together. You've 
had that experience. You've met people before that 
are blood-bought, and it doesn't take long for you to connect. It doesn't take long for you 
to find that you enjoy one another's company. In fact, some find more 
familiarity and more connection with their spiritual family at 
times, than with their physical family. You may have physical 
family that doesn't believe the gospel. They don't know Jesus 
Christ. And then you have family within 
the context of the church, where there's just that union, and 
that companionship, and that fellowship, and that is on display 
here. It may seem obscure, and it may 
seem to be a sideline observation, but again, the point is, Paul 
didn't sit in an ivory tower and just churn out theology. 
He was with people, he was with wives, he was with children, 
and they loved him, and they had that affection for him, and 
they prayed for him when he was departed. We saw it in the book, 
in the very previous section. He tore himself away from those 
Ephesian elders. Why? Because they hated each 
other? No, because they loved each other, and they had a tight 
bond in terms of Christian fellowship. So the obvious connection between 
these disciples in Tyre and the Apostle Paul is on display. And then verse 6, when we had 
taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship and they 
returned home. So that's from Miletus to Tyre. Now notice from Tyre to Jerusalem. Again, the travel route is highlighted 
in verses 7 to 9. We have this time in Ptolemaes. It's the older ancient name was 
Akko. It's indicated in Judges chapter 
1, verse 31. Notice one day there, but look 
at what they do in this one day. greeted the brethren and stayed 
with them one day. They didn't say, you know, we're 
just passing through, y'all just stay there. No, they greeted 
the brethren and stuck with those brethren at that particular time. Paul liked companionship. Paul 
liked friendship. Paul liked to see the people 
of God growing in their understanding of the grace of God and actually 
engaging in the sorts of fellowship that had been listed or indicated 
by him in his letters to the churches. Now notice they come 
to Caesarea in verses 8 and 9. In verses 8 and 9, we have two 
things we should consider here, the house of Philip and the daughters 
of Philip. Notice in verse 8, we learn on 
the next day, we who are, this is a we section, Luke is with 
that, okay? Luke wrote Acts, Luke obviously 
wrote Luke. Bill didn't write Luke. Luke 
wrote Luke. Makes sense, right? But Luke also wrote Acts. And 
initially, early on in the church, they often were distributed, 
or they often came to the churches as a two-volume set. You had 
Luke and Acts. So these we sections in the book 
of Acts indicates when Luke is with Paul, and Luke is one of 
the companions of Paul. So notice in verse 8, on the 
next day we who were Paul's companions departed and came to Caesarea 
and entered the house of Philip the evangelist who was one of 
the seven and stayed with him. Now in the first place he's identified 
as an evangelist. That differentiates him from 
Philip the apostle. There was a Philip the apostle 
according to Matthew chapter 10 verse 3. Also, it is indicated 
that he's one of the seven. That reminds us of Acts chapter 
6. Remember when there was that dispute concerning the Hellenistic 
widows and the Jewish widows? The apostles said, we want you 
to appoint seven good men, full of the Holy Spirit, good reputation, 
that can oversee this particular work so that the apostles could 
continue to devote themselves to prayer and ministry of the 
word. So Philip was one of them. But as well, Philip was an evangelist. 
That office is indicated in Ephesians 4.11. Christ ascended on high, 
he led captivity captive, and he gave gifts to men. He gave 
some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, 
and some to be pastors and teachers. Paul tells Timothy to do the 
work of an evangelist in 2 Timothy chapter 4. And so there was this 
office of evangelist that's a bit more ambiguous than the other 
offices that are indicated in 1 Timothy 3. But we'll note, 
or we see, that in Acts 6, once Philip becomes a deacon, he is 
in the church there in Jerusalem. There is persecution that happens 
as a result of Stephen. And then there's this big meeting, 
and then this persecution is turned up. Stephen is executed, 
not for any real crime, but because the Jewish leadership despised 
him. And so there was this persecution, and so brethren in Jerusalem 
were scattered. And wherever they went, they 
went preaching the word. So when we go back to Acts chapter 
8, we see that Philip, this man Philip, went to Samaria. And 
in Samaria, he preached the gospel there. Probably the most famous 
instance is his dealing with the Ethiopian unit. Well, in 
840, it tells us that Philip went to Caesarea. Obviously, 
he settled there because this is the selfsame Philip that is 
present now in Caesarea. So Paul and his companions go 
and they stay with him. Now that brings us to consider 
his four virgin daughters. In the first place, the reference 
to them being virgins does not underscore the Roman Catholic 
doctrine of nunnery. These are not the first nuns 
in the church of Christ. Their virginity is probably mentioned, 
not in connection with their ability to prophesy, but in connection 
with them living at home. That's probably why they're identified 
as virgins, is because they're women, probably of marriable 
age or marriageable age, and yet they're living at home. It's 
not that they had this and therefore prophecy came. No, it's simply 
the way it was they were living there. But they are identified 
for us as prophetesses. Notice in verse 9. Now this man 
had four virgin daughters who prophesied. Now this gives cause 
to some to say, well there it is, women should be in the ministry. 
Not so fast. Let's just think through this 
and let's reflect upon this. In the first place, the prophet 
Joel in Joel chapter 2 says that the days are coming when the 
Spirit of God will come powerfully upon the church. your sons and 
your daughters shall prophesy." So we have biblical warrant to 
see them as being prophetesses. In Acts 2, that is applied by 
Peter to the phenomena associated with the Day of Pentecost. When 
the Spirit comes, what do people do? They prophesy. They spoke 
in tongues and they prophesied. So the fact is, is that God had 
said there would be prophetesses. But even so, that shouldn't surprise 
us because in the Old Testament, Exodus 15, 20, Miriam is referred 
to as a prophetess. Deborah in the book of Judges, 
I know many want to call her a judge. She wasn't. Barak was 
the judge. She was a prophetess. As well, 
the wife of the prophet Isaiah is referred to as a prophetess 
in Isaiah 8.3. You also have a Huldah who's 
a prophetess in 2 Kings 22.14. You have a Noadiah in Nehemiah 
6.14. And in Luke 2, Anna, that woman 
is identified as well as a prophetess. Now when we come to this particular 
passage, I would suggest the nature of their prophecy is probably 
similar to what we find in verse 4, and then what we find with 
reference to Agabus. They probably prophesied to Paul 
as well, that if you go to Jerusalem, there's going to be big problems. 
If you go to Jerusalem, you're going to be bound, and you're 
going to be arrested, and you're going to have to face the music. 
So that was probably the nature of their prophesying. But one 
of the things that we've observed as we've moved our way through 
this book of Acts is that some things describe events, and then 
there are other passages in the Bible that prescribe how things 
ought to be done. So the argument for no women 
in the ministry isn't because I'm a male chauvinist pig. I 
know that some might suggest that. Perhaps my wife in an off 
moment might say, no, I don't think she would. Maybe some other 
things, but not male chauvinist pig. This is not a male chauvinist 
pig argument. It is a prescriptive argument 
mounted and launched by the Apostle Paul. It is absolutely positively 
clear. 1 Corinthians 11, verses 2 and 
following. The passage there is not arguing 
for wearing hats in the corporate worship of God. The passage is 
arguing that women do not pray and prophesy in the public pulpit 
among the people of God. 1 Corinthians 14, the Apostle 
Paul tells them that the women are to say in silence, they're 
to ask their husbands questions at home. 1 Timothy chapter 2, 
Paul says, I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority. That's prescription. That's what 
we know we're supposed to do when it comes to the church. 
Because there were prophetesses doesn't mean that prophetesses 
as an office is even binding upon us today. I would argue 
the very office is no more. The prophets in the early church 
were necessary when God is revealing his word to the people. Now that 
we have the New Testament, we don't need those revelatory gifts. 
We don't need prophets and we don't need prophetesses. So that 
is rendered moot. But then in terms of a woman 
serving in public ministry, this is in public ministry. This is 
in Philip's house. This is in dialogue with the 
Apostle Paul and his companions. This is not a text that proves 
the validity for women to be preachers in pulpits today. Again, 
it's not male chauvinism. I send you to 1 Timothy chapter 
2, which is the clearest expression of this. In fact, let's turn 
there, because I think many churches are messed up at this particular 
point. That's not to suggest we're not 
messed up at other particular points. Sometimes I feel that 
inference is made. Well, Butler said they're messed 
up. We're messed up too! We got a lot of messed-upness. 
Every church has their messed-upness. I don't think there's a church 
that could ever not have messed-upness on this side of having to come. 
But when there's something that is this obvious, it would be 
a good thing for them to stop it. Notice what Paul says in 
1 Timothy 2, verse 8. I desire, therefore, that the 
men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and 
doubting." And that isn't spiritual hands, brethren. If during prayer 
or singing there's the lifting up of the hands, again, those 
passages in the Psalter, those passages in the New Testament, 
they're not lift up your spiritual hands. What are spiritual hands? They're physical hands, they're 
real hands. And Paul said that the men were 
to lift them up when they pray. Now those are instructions or 
that's instruction for men. Now notice in verse nine, in 
like manner also that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel 
with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold 
or pearls or costly clothing, but which is proper for women 
professing godliness with good works. Let a woman learn in silence 
with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to 
teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. 
Again, the declaration is plain. The declaration is clear. But 
you see, there are those that will say, well, that was for 
Ephesus, because there were some obnoxious women in Ephesus. There 
were some bad teaching women in Ephesus. Paul certainly doesn't 
mean to exclude all women everywhere from every chance to speak from 
a pulpit. But that's not how Paul argues. 
Paul doesn't say, I know there's some problematic women there 
in Ephesus, so I don't want the problematic women there in Ephesus 
to preach in the pulpits there in Ephesus. But if there aren't 
problematic women in Colossae, then they're free to go ahead 
and preach. That's not how he reasons, and that's not how he 
argues. Look at the rationale for his 
declaration. Verse 12, again, I do not permit 
a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. Now the word for, in verse 13, 
indicates that this is a reason, this is the rationale, this is 
the justification or the confirmation for why he gives the instruction 
that he does. Verse 13, for Adam was formed 
first, then Eve. Notice he says nothing about 
emphasis. He says nothing about the culture that was facing Timothy 
in that particular time. He goes to the garden. He goes 
to creation. Just like he does when he's arguing 
for male headship in the context of marriage and family. He doesn't 
say, it just works better. It's just a better convention. 
He goes to the garden. The garden is a paradigmatic 
or a pattern for the way ethics should proceed. So Paul appeals 
to the fact that Adam was formed first, but he doesn't stop there. 
He moves from creation in the garden to the fall from the garden. Verse 14, and Adam was not deceived, 
but the woman being deceived fell into transgression. Now 
this doesn't mean every single woman will always fall into transgression 
and deception. This means that, you know, no 
man will... No, it doesn't mean that at all. But he is appealing 
to God's created order. And in God's created order, he 
wants men to lead in the family, and he wants men to lead in the 
church. And for whatever reason, that statement now has sent people 
into an absolute tizzy. That is just, you can't believe 
it. You must be a male chauvinist. You must be a pig. You must be 
antiquated. You must be barbaric. You must 
be a caveman that wants to go out and bat ladies over the head 
and drag them back into your cave and tell them, you know, 
cook my food. No, it is God's Word, God's world, 
God's order, and God prescribes how His creatures are supposed 
to function. So men are to lead in the church, 
men are to lead in the family. That is bottom line biblical 
teaching, and for us to rail against it is simply unwise, 
and it is simply incorrect. And then 1 Timothy 3, if a man 
is these things. Titus chapter 1, if a man, Paul 
says, or Paul sees that it's men that will function as elders 
and deacons in the context of the church. So going back to 
Acts 21, the fact that they are prophetesses do not hurt church 
polity that says women aren't supposed to teach or exercise 
authority over a man. Okay, they were prophetesses, 
they prophesied. So was Huldah, so was Deborah, 
so was Miriam. What's the point? We look at 
clear teaching of Scripture to see what we are supposed to do. I think you all understand that. 
There are things that have been done, and then there are things 
that we're supposed to do. It's kind of like science. Science 
tells us what is, but science doesn't tell us what ought to 
be. There are things that are in the book of Acts that aren't 
necessarily duplicated by the church today. The phenomena associated 
with Acts chapter 2, the outpouring of the Spirit, the speaking in 
the tongues, the prophesying, and all that sort of thing. Well, 
we have a sure word from God Most High in 1 Corinthians 13 
that those things will come to a cessation. We have the emphasis 
in the pastoral epistles on the preaching of sound doctrine, 
not on tongue speaking and not on prophesying. So the fact that 
there was tongue speaking doesn't mean that therefore there must 
be tongue speaking in every church subsequent to that time. That 
is an incorrect way to read Scripture, and we as God's people need, 
as ones having the mind of Christ, read the Scripture the way that 
we're supposed to read the Scripture. So they're there with Philip. 
Go back to Acts 21, and then notice that this fellow Agabus 
comes. I mean, you got to see that urgency too. Not only is 
Paul intimate and familiar with all of the people of God, but 
the people of God are concerned about Paul. They love him. They 
really love him. They esteem him highly. They 
don't want their good friend. They don't want this man who 
has produced such good doctrine. They don't want this man who 
has founded churches all over the empire to go to Jerusalem 
and to be treated like a common criminal. That's a good thing 
on their part. They're not saying, yeah, go, 
Paul, get killed, get victimized. We're right there, right behind 
you. So there is this good part where they're hesitant for him 
to make this journey. But again, when Paul the apostle 
asserts what he asserts, we ought to respect that because it's 
a good thing. Now notice, verse 10, and as 
we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down 
from Judea. We've already met Agabus in Acts 
chapter 11, around verses 27 and 28. Agabus predicted a famine 
in Judea. That famine came to pass. That 
famine actually obtained. That was a reality. So we know 
that Agabus is a true prophet of the living and true God. Now 
notice what Agabus does. He takes Paul's belt. Commentators 
say it was probably like a money belt. You say, well, was he loaded? 
Yeah, he was. Remember, one of the emphases 
or emphases as to why he wants to go to Jerusalem is to take 
the money collected from the Gentile churches to present it 
to the suffering saints in Jerusalem. You see this in more detail in 
Romans 15 toward the end. He basically says to the Gentiles, 
if you have benefited from the spiritual realities of the Jews, 
then let them benefit from the temporal realities of you Gentiles 
who are a bit better off. So Paul is anxious to get to 
Jerusalem, because we might ask the question, why doesn't he 
just stop? He's bound. He's determined. We see it all 
the way back in 19, and then we see it in chapter 20 at verse 
16. He wants to go to Jerusalem, and he wants to be there at a 
specific time. We might say, just back it down, Paul. No, 
Paul's determined because he wants to bring this money, and 
he wants to bring his companions, so that when James sees Paul 
and these companions, James is going to understand something 
of the Gentile mission. So Paul has this anxiousness 
to get there. So Agabus takes this belt and 
binds his own hands. The New King James cleans it 
up a little bit. Some suggest that he bound Paul's hands. I 
don't think that's what happened. I think Agabus binds his own 
hands, and this is something called an acted parable. It's 
something that you see in the prophets in the Old Testament. 
There was the prophet Ahijah in 1 Kings chapter 11, who tore 
his brand new garment into 12 pieces to signify that God was 
going to bring that division upon the kingdom. You see it 
with the prophet Isaiah. He was told to take his shoes 
off and to walk naked and to prophesy concerning the Assyrians 
and Ethiopia and Egypt and how it would affect Israel. Ezekiel 
the prophet in chapters 4 and 5. There are acted parables, 
there are things done. Jeremiah's linen sash, Jeremiah's 
broken flask, all of these things are acted parables. But these 
things are obvious as we see from the passage. Notice verse 
11, when he had come to us, he took Paul's belt, bound his own 
hands and feet, and said, even if he hadn't said anything, Paul, 
having already received this message, would have probably 
been savvy enough to figure out the acted parable. but the acted 
parable is always accompanied by the revelatory word. You see 
that with Isaiah, you see that with Ahijah, you see that with 
Ezekiel, you see that with the Old Testament prophets. And the same thing obtains here. 
Notice what he says. Thus says the Holy Spirit, so 
shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt and 
deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. That is precisely 
what is going to happen. That is precisely the outline 
for the remainder of the book. They're going to bind him. I 
read through that section, so you would see that Agabus wasn't 
just making things up. Agabus wasn't just trying to, 
you know, participate in what everybody else already knew. 
But this actually happens. And Paul will have to stand trial 
before Felix, and Festus, and Agrippa. He appeals to Caesar, 
but the book ends before him ever having stood before Caesar. 
So that's exactly precise with reference to the prophecy. Now 
notice, the prophet Agabus predicts Paul's future, but does not try 
and prevent him the way the men and women entire did according 
to verse 4. So again, verse four, great. 
They had the same prophecy, but they wrongly inferred that Paul 
shouldn't go. Now let's see Paul's response 
in verse 12. Well, first his companions, notice. Now when we heard these things, 
both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up 
to Jerusalem. We don't fault them for that. 
It's kind of like when Peter says to Jesus, no, Lord, I don't 
want you to go to Jerusalem. I don't want you to be bound. 
I don't want you to be cast into the hands of the Gentiles. But 
what does Jesus say? Get behind me, Satan. Sometimes, 
and I know this is a shock to us in this Western world of hyper-individualism 
and hyper-snowflake-ism, where we think we're the most delicate 
and unique person on the face of the earth, and that the greatest 
good is our achievement and our sufficiency and our safety and 
our status. No, it's God's kingdom. It's 
God's glory. It's the mission that he has 
entrusted to the church. So while these men are obviously 
in love with the apostle, in esteem and respect, and they 
don't want him to go, let's listen to the apostle's statement in 
verse 13. Then Paul answered, What do you 
mean by weeping and breaking my heart? He's not cold and callous. He's not, you know, this righteous, 
self-righteous, above-the-rest fray. You guys are hurting me 
here, too. This is affecting me. This is 
breaking my heart. I don't want to see my brethren 
crying. I don't want to see you agonizing. 
I get this, that we have a close bond, and you don't want it to 
be the case that I go get bound. But that can't be what dictates 
our conduct. It cannot be that emotion trumps 
doctrine. It cannot be the fact that whatever 
we feel, or whatever we desire, or whatever people say we should 
feel or desire, we can't make that the overarching concern. 
It's the Word of God. It's the mission of God. It's 
the glory of Jesus Christ. And in that, we have a wonderful 
example in the Apostle Paul. So he's affected by their tears. 
He's affected by their weeping. He's affected to the point where 
he says, why are you breaking my heart? What do you mean by 
weeping and breaking my heart? Now notice resolve. He says, 
I am ready, not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem 
for the name of the Lord Jesus. One of the things that I've often 
thought about in exegesis or interpretation of the Bible is 
that we don't get tone. We don't get tone, right? When 
Pilate says to Jesus, what is truth? How does he say that? Is it frustration? Is it exasperation? Probably, what is true? Or is 
there a sense where Pilate might have said, what is truth? I'm 
in this mixed up political mess, I have no clue. We don't know 
how things are said. And I think at least my disposition 
or my predilection or my tendency is to hear this as this declaration 
of triumph on the part of the apostle. For I am ready, not 
only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name 
of the Lord Jesus. He's got his chest puffed out 
and he's, you know, eight foot tall and bulletproof. Maybe it 
wasn't that way. Maybe it was, brethren, I'm okay 
with this. Christ has never failed me. You 
ever read the testimony or the scene of, was it Chrysostom, 
right? They wanted him to renounce the 
Lord. He's what, 83, 86? He says, 80 and six years, the 
Lord Jesus has been there. 80 and six years, the Lord has 
been my constant and ready companion. And deny him now? That's just 
not gonna happen. Did he say it with Thundering 
Chester or Martin Luther? Here I stand, I can do nothing. We get that concept, like they've 
got capes and they're wearing masks and they're superheroes. 
Maybe it was as simple as, I'm ready to do what God calls me 
to. I'm ready not only to be bound, but if called to die for 
Jesus, I'm ready to do that as well. Brethren, that's the kind 
of men that we're looking for relative to gospel ministry, 
men and women who make up the church, Acts 16, quit ye like 
men, the old King James Version has. The New American Standard, 
I think, captures it the best. It says, act like men. It says that not only to men, 
but to women. Now, that doesn't mean women 
grow beards and, you know, scratch yourselves and all that sort 
of thing. It means to have courage. It means to stand up. It means 
to stand fast. So if he's got chest out puffed 
and he's the mighty apostle and he says what he says, it fits. 
But conversely, if he says, brethren, I appreciate your love for me. 
I appreciate the affection that you're showing to me, but I'm 
ready. I'm ready to go. I'm ready to be bound and I'm 
ready to die if necessary. That's what we're looking for. 
That's what Christianity is about. The realization that there's 
something bigger and better than our own individual existence. 
It's the glory of God that's at stake. It's the person and 
the work of the Lord Jesus. It's the doctrine of justification 
by faith alone. Why does Luther do that? Was 
Luther brought up as a superhero? Did he have a cape? Did he wear 
a mask? No. He saw that the Church of Rome 
compromised on the issue of authority. He saw that the Church of Rome 
compromised on the issue of justification. That's why he says, here I stand, 
I can do no other. We have the Apostle Paul who's 
moving and milling about an entire empire that's given over to heathenism 
and paganism and gross idolatry. He's going to these Jewish synagogues 
and he's preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to a people who 
should have seen it, who should have understood it. They had 
Micah 5.2, they had the prophets, they had Isaiah 53, and yet they 
reject Jesus. He sees that and it affects him. 
He agonizes as an apostle. And so when it comes time to 
serve as his Christ, it's not his safety that's first and foremost 
for him. It is Jesus. It is the work of 
gospel ministry that is everything for him. Calvin says it was surely 
a profitable example of invincible constancy, seeing that he offered 
himself willingly and wittingly to the violence of the adversaries. 
and no less profitable is it for us this day that his apostleship 
should be confirmed with his voluntary and no less constant 
giving over of his life. There is this resolution on the 
part of the apostle that come what may, I'm going to do what 
he's called me to do. So let's not try to dissuade people from 
doing that. Again, there are wrong-headed 
people out there with strange and odd duck motives living in 
light of bad interpretation that we should certainly rise up and 
say, you're nuts and you shouldn't go do that. But when it's a man 
like Paul, who is committed to the truth of the gospel, when 
it's a man like Paul who's been given this confirmation by the 
Spirit and he is resolute about it, we ought to say, we'll pray 
for you, brother. Go in the fear of God and in 
the comfort of the Holy Spirit and do what the Lord has called 
you to. Now, I don't want to go too far, but there seems to 
be a Paul-Jesus sort of parallel here. Remember Jesus? Luke chapter 
9, He set His face like a flint to go to Jerusalem. He's not 
going to be taken aback. He is not going to be sidetracked. 
He is not going to shrink back from doing that which the Father 
had given Him. And it seems to me that the companions of Paul 
understood this. Whether they saw the parallel 
between Paul and his master, notice what they surmised at 
the end. Verse 14, So when he would not 
be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The language indicates that they 
tried. They tried to prevail upon him. 
But notice, the will of the Lord be done. They understand that 
God's will is foremost, God's will is primary, God's will is 
uppermost, and Paul is following it, and in that, we will gladly 
give him leave. The Lord taught this in Matthew 
6.10, and the Lord exemplifies this in the garden in Matthew 
26. Not my will, but thine be done. 
Paul's committed, now the companions are on board, and then they move 
on in their journey. And that brings us to the arrival 
in Jerusalem, verses 15 to 16, the party pact. In verse 15, 
again, to resume their journey, most commentators suggest they 
use beasts of burden at this time. It's about a 65 mile trek 
between Caesarea and Jerusalem. And then they lodge with this 
fellow Manasseh. He was a Cypriot. That means he was from Cyprus. 
And when it says that he was an early disciple, You go back 
to Acts chapter 11, it seemed like Cyprus had already been 
evangelized. Acts chapter 13, it's formally 
evangelized by Paul and Barnabas on that first missionary journey. 
So this Manasseh, it wasn't that he was an old man, but he was 
an early disciple. He had been conquered by God's 
grace early on. And so this man gave them lodging, 
this man gave them care, this man gave them the things that 
they needed. Well, in conclusion, I want to draw out just a few 
quick lessons. First, the conclusion of the 
three missionary journeys. It really is an amazing thing, 
what happens in the passages that we have surveyed. The first 
place, the time frame, about AD 47 to 57, so about a span 
of 10 years. The first missionary journey 
was 47 to 48, the second 49 to 52, the third was 53 to 57. The miles covered, about 20,000 
kilometers, which, as I understand from my quick Google search, 
was about 12,400 and something miles. That's a lot of distance. And those weren't frequent flyer 
miles. There was a lot covered by a 
boat. There were beasts of birdhead, but those shoes got a lot of 
wear on them as well. So they covered quite a bit of 
distance. But then consider what the impact was with reference 
to these three missionary journeys. In sort of a classic book on 
the missionary enterprises, an Anglican author named Roland 
Allett. It's called Missionary Methods, 
and then the subtitle is, Saint Paul's or Ours? And make sure 
you know he's an Anglican, that's why he uses the saint there. 
So listen to what he says concerning the missionary journeys. He says, 
in little more than 10 years, Saint Paul established the church 
in four provinces of the empire. We're not talking about the lower 
mainland, brethren. The Roman Empire was comprehensive. 
It was huge. It was massive. Again, 12,000 
plus miles were traveled. Paul established the church in 
four provinces of the empire. Galatia, Macedonia, Achaia, and 
Asia. Before AD 47, there were no churches 
in these provinces. There were no churches. There 
may have been individuals, there may have been persons that had 
been to Jerusalem, they heard the gospel, that sort of thing. 
But in terms of churches, no. In AD 57, St. Paul could speak 
as if his work there was done. Why? Because when Paul went, 
And when Paul planted churches, he emphasized the need for elders, 
because Paul wasn't always going to be around. That's why he tells 
Timothy in 2 Timothy 4, verse 2, preach the word, be ready 
in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort 
with all long-suffering and teaching. Why? Because they're not going 
to endure sound doctrine. And why? Because I'm going to 
lead. My departure is at hand. I have 
fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have 
kept the faith. The apostle Paul knew that the 
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ was crucial, so churches were 
established with elders. So he goes on to say, St. Paul 
could speak as if his work there was done, and could plan extensive 
tours in the far west without anxiety, lest the churches which 
he had founded might perish in his absence for want of his guidance 
and support. In other words, he did what church 
planters should always do, strive to make it such that they're 
self-functioning, they're self-governing. They don't need Paul to come 
around every few months to make sure everything's okay. No, Paul's 
whole ministry was aimed at not only getting people saved, but 
keeping people instructed by an educated ministry that would 
handle the word and doctrine and make sure that the churches 
were doing what the churches should have done. These three 
missionary journeys are absolutely glorious in terms of God's blessing 
upon the Apostle Paul and his myriad of companions. Secondly, 
we ought to appreciate the commitment of the Apostle Paul. Again, we 
don't worship Paul. We're not of Paul in the sense 
that he's our guru. But boy, do we respect the fact 
that God used him. Do we respect the fact that when 
it came time to have a man to do what Paul was called to do, 
Paul was that man. I mean, everything about Paul 
is the kind of guy you want to be with. Everything about Paul 
is attractive in the sense of Christianity. Paul embodies the 
ethics, Paul embodies the practice, and Paul emphasizes the truth 
every step of the way. So just in this brief section, 
we see first his commitment to relationship. Again, verses 1, 
4, 7, and 8. Wherever he went, he found brethren. 
Secondly, the apostle Paul was well loved by other believers. 
It's a good thing. Remember in the instance where 
Jesus in his ministry needs to teach the disciples something 
about humility, and he has this little child come to him, and 
he uses this little child, not as a prop, But he uses this little 
child, not uses, that's probably not even the best language, but 
he illustrates, he uses, it's an illustration of what it is 
to be, you know, humble in the sight of God. Notice that the 
child didn't kick and scream and say, I want nothing to do 
with you. Notice that the child didn't say, I don't want to be 
around that man. I mean, we've seen certain images of certain 
political figures where kids are pulling themselves away. 
That's not true with Jesus. That's not true with Paul. It's 
not only the guys in the church, but their wives and their children. 
They get down on their knees and they pray together. So not 
only does he love, but he's loved. Thirdly, the Apostle Paul was 
affected by the pain of his brethren. Again, not a theology machine. 
Why are you weeping? You're breaking my heart. This 
affects me. Then ultimately, the Apostle 
Paul was committed to his blessed Lord. May God, in his infinite 
grace and mercy, and may God, in his loving kindness, give 
us this resolve. I am ready not only to be bound, 
but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. 
And the reason for this is his continual emphasis in his life. 
He already stated that in chapter 20, verse 21, testifying to both 
Jews and Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord 
Jesus Christ. In other words, why does he do 
what he does? Because men, women, boys, and 
girls are under God's wrath and curse for their having sinned 
against Him. They will suffer everlasting 
perdition away from the presence of God and the glory of the Lamb. 
Paul knows that. He speaks of that in 2 Corinthians 
5. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. 
He understood God's holiness, he understood man's depravity, 
and he saw that blessed remedy in the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
That's what activated him, that's what motivated him, that's what 
moved him to be the man that we find here in Acts 21 on his 
way to Jerusalem. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank You for Your Word, and we thank You for that Gospel, 
that testifying to both Jews and Greeks' repentance toward 
God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Our hearts desire 
and earnest plea is that more and more people would understand 
this, More and more people would believe on Christ. More and more 
people would come out of darkness into marvelous light and see 
that Jesus Christ alone is the one in whom there is salvation. 
We are jealous for that in our own meeting place. We are hopeful, 
Lord God, that you would do that work which is impossible with 
men, but is possible with you. That you'd open hearts and convict 
of sin and set forth the glory of Jesus. We pray that for our 
meeting, we pray that for other churches in Chilliwack, throughout 
this nation, and to the uttermost parts of the earth. And God, 
give us all the sort of commitment and resolve that we see here 
in the Apostle Paul, that if you call upon us to suffer, that 
if you call upon us even to die for the cause of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, we would do so. Not in some sick or twisted way, 
but in obedience to our blessed God and Father. And we thank 
you that the gospel is so glorious, that it is worth being bound 
for, it is worth dying for. And so God, help us to understand 
it's worth living for as well, and cause us to be faithful witnesses 
in this world. And we ask this through Jesus 
Christ, our Lord. Amen.