Acts - Week 67

Week 67 Acts 20, 21 

Day 1 

READ 

Acts 20:36-38 

36 When he had finished speaking, he knelt and prayed with them. 37 They all cried as they embraced and kissed him good-bye. 38 They were sad most of all because he had said that they would never see him again. Then they escorted him down to the ship. 

What a sad time this was of saying goodbye to those he never expected to see again after having spent three years with them. It was capped by Paul kneeling and praying with them. Their affection for him was shown as they embraced and kissed him goodbye. Then they escorted him to the ship so he could continue his journey.  

REFLECT 

Can you identify with Paul and the Ephesian elders? Likely, he had led many of them to Jesus and discipled them for the three years he was there. Have you been sad to say goodbye to those who have meant so much to your spiritually?  

RESPOND 

Talk with your disciple about the bonds you have with those who have meant so much to you spiritually. Yet, warn that those people were not perfect so always have your eyes on Jesus. Read together 2 Timothy 2:11-13 to see that even if we are unfaithful, He remains faithful. 

Day 2 

READ 

Acts 21:1-3 

1 After saying farewell to the Ephesian elders, we sailed straight to the island of Cos. The next day we reached Rhodes and then went to Patara. 2 There we boarded a ship sailing for Phoenicia. 3 We sighted the island of Cyprus, passed it on our left, and landed at the harbor of Tyre, in Syria, where the ship was to unload its cargo. 

Luke, the human author of Acts, continues to detail the places along the trip. Cyprus was one of the first stops on the first missionary journey that Paul and Barnabas had. That is where Barnabas was from. Tyre in Syria was on the eastern seaboard of the Mediterranean. They would be there for some time as the ship unloaded its cargo. This would give Paul and his companions time to look around. 

REFLECT 

What do you do when you have extra time on your hands? We will see what Paul and his companions did.  

RESPOND 

Talk about what you would do if you were traveling and then had extra time to do something. What would you do? What do you think Paul and his companions did? 

Day 3 

READ 

Acts 21:4-6 

4 We went ashore, found the local believers, and stayed with them a week. These believers prophesied through the Holy Spirit that Paul should not go on to Jerusalem. 5 When we returned to the ship at the end of the week, the entire congregation, including women and children, left the city and came down to the shore with us. There we knelt, prayed, 6 and said our farewells. Then we went aboard, and they returned home. 

Here we see what Paul and his companions did when they had extra time available. They went looking for other believers. Luke records that some believers “prophesied through the Holy Spirit” that Paul should not go to Jerusalem. There is no indication whether Paul was sure their prophesying was from the Holy Spirit because he did not change his plans. At the end of the week there was another sad goodbye as they knelt and prayed and said their goodbyes.  

REFLECT 

Thinking of this passage, do you sometimes go looking for other believers when you are in a different place? If so, you have found a spiritual bond with those who know Jesus. 

RESPOND 

Talk with your disciple about the way the Lord can use you by encouraging other believers. Sometimes, just the presence of another Christ-follower can be encouraging to them.  

Day 4 

READ 

Acts 21:7-9 

7 The next stop after leaving Tyre was Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed for one day. 8 The next day we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven men who had been chosen to distribute food. 9 He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy. 

On reaching Ptolemais they stayed one day and greeted fellow believers. Going on to Caesarea they stayed with Philip the Evangelist who was one of those chosen to distribute food, as recorded in Acts 6. Luke refers to Philip’s four daughters who had the gift of prophecy, but does not record anything they may have said to Paul.  

REFLECT 

Do you notice again that at every opportunity Paul and his companions found believers whom they could greet and encourage? Can that be a ministry you can have? 

RESPOND 

To read the background about Philip the Evangelist, read Acts 6:1-6 and 8:4-8, 26-39. He was greatly used of God in spreading the gospel. You may not reach as many but you can reach the ones next to you.  

Day 5 

READ 

Acts 21:10-12 

10 Several days later a man named Agabus, who also had the gift of prophecy, arrived from Judea. 11 He came over, took Paul’s belt, and bound his own feet and hands with it. Then he said, “The Holy Spirit declares, ‘So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and turned over to the Gentiles.’” 12 When we heard this, we and the local believers all begged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 

It seems Paul kept meeting people trying to dissuade him from going to Jerusalem. Agabus gave him a message by serving as a human object lesson. He predicted that Paul would be bound in Jerusalem and turned over to the Gentiles. Now even Paul’s companions along with the local believers begged Paul not to go to Jerusalem. Paul had been warned of this before so it was not new to him.  

REFLECT 

Have you gone ahead with what you thought the Lord wanted you to do even though friends discouraged you? 

RESPOND 

Paul was determined to suffer anything he had to in serving the Lord. Read 2 Timothy 1:7-9 for Paul’s call for others to be willing to suffer for the gospel.