Paul’s Journey to Jerusalem

Discussing important decisions. Acting on God’s will wasn’t merely a private matter for Paul. Others weighed in on his decision to go to Jerusalem. Following God’s guidance involves allowing others to give you counsel. It doesn’t mean their counsel is always right. In this case the Christians had really good intentions. They urged him not to go to Jerusalem. Paul, however, had to make the difficult decision to reject their counsel because he sensed God was leading him—like Jesus—to face suffering in Jerusalem.

So then, basic Christianity involves experiencing Christian friendships that are created by Jesus and cultivated through practices like those we see in 20:36–21:16.

Acts 20:36–21:16

Paul is confident that God is leading him to Jerusalem. At the same time, other Christians are equally as confident that God has not called Paul to go to Jerusalem. So what do we do when we hear conflicting voices concerning the will of God? Let’s consider the perspectives on Paul’s decision and draw some practical guidance for following Jesus.

Let’s consider four views on Paul’s resolution to go to Jerusalem.

The Perspective of Paul (21:1-3). Paul is in a hurry. Luke uses phrases like “the next day,” “another boat,” and “we boarded another ship” to tell us about this stage of the journey. The apostle is moving quickly because he wants to be in Jerusalem by Pentecost (20:16), even though he knows it will involve suffering (20:22-24). He is determined to give a love offering from the Gentile churches to the Jerusalem churches and to testify there about the gospel of the grace of God (20:24). Paul doesn’t care about the danger; he cares about obeying God’s will, regardless of the cost.

The Perspective of the Christians in Tyre (21:4-6). “They told Paul not to go to Jerusalem” (v. 4). However, Paul didn’t heed their counsel (vv. 5-6). How do we reconcile this text with the previous texts about the Spirit leading Paul to Jerusalem (19:21; 20:22-23)? Let’s read on before handling this matter.

The Perspective of the Christians in Caesarea (21:7-13). As Paul stays with Philip, he meets the prophet Agabus (v. 10; cf. 11:28-30), who gives Paul an object lesson in the tradition of Old Testament prophets (e.g., 1 Kgs 11:29-32;Isa 20:2-6; Jer 13:1-11). Agabus took Paul’s long belt, normally wrapped several times around the waist, and tied up his hands and feet with it. Then the prophet predicted that the Jews would tie Paul up and deliver him over to the Gentiles (v. 11). Though Agabus didn’t forbid him from going to Jerusalem, he did warn Paul of the events to come. Following this dire prediction, the concerned saints in Caesarea (like the saints in Tyre) urged Paul not to go to the city (v. 12). But their counsel also proved fruitless (v. 13). Paul wouldn’t be deterred.

The Perspective of Luke (21:12,14). Luke even included himself in the dissenting number. His presence is denoted by the “we” references at work throughout this passage. Apparently Luke also pleaded with Paul to change his plans. But after Paul rejected these pleas, too, the disciples surrendered (v. 14). The Christians respected their beloved leader’s firm conviction.

Commentators have pointed out how the apostle’s submission to God’s will sounds a lot like Jesus’s prayer in Gethsemane. Jesus didn’t look forward to the suffering on the cross, but he submitted to the Father’s plan for it by saying, “Not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). Paul’s deep anguish expressed in verse 13 has caused some to say that this moment was “Paul’s Gethsemane” (Polhill, Acts, 436).

What should we make of these various perspectives? Some have tried to argue that Paul was being disobedient in going to Jerusalem.

Luke, however, believed Paul was right in going to Jerusalem, as indicated by the references to the Spirit in 19:21 and 20:22. The Spirit led Paul to make the decision to go to Jerusalem, and he also provided the compulsion to go (Stott, Message of Acts, 333). Further, Luke clearly sees Paul as following in his Lord’s footsteps (ibid.).

With that said, what should we do with verses 4 and 11—these references to the Spirit? I like Stott’s explanation: “[We should] draw a distinction between a prediction and a prohibition” (Message of Acts; emphasis added). Agabus simply predicted what would happen. The conclusions Paul’s friends made based on that information weren’t infallible. They were human deductions. All of this, then, helps us understand 21:4. It’s probably best to take Luke’s statement as a “condensed way of saying that the warning was divine while the urging was human” (ibid.). This is consistent with the Spirit’s previous word to Paul. John Stott notes, “After all, the Spirit’s word to Paul combined the compulsion to go with a warning of the consequences (20:22-23)” (ibid.).

Paul’s decision should be admired. It was a difficult decision. But such is the cost of following Jesus. We can understand the dissenting voices. These people loved Paul. They were well intended. When they considered the inevitable suffering that awaited him, they naturally urged him to choose another path.

Indeed, it’s not difficult to see the parallels between the journeys to Jerusalem made by Paul and his Savior. In a pivotal point in Luke’s Gospel, Paul’s loyal friend says that Jesus “determined to journey to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51; cf. Isa 50:7). Luke later mentions this dire destination frequently (cf. Luke 9:53; 13:33; 18:31; 19:11). Prior to the cross, Jesus told the disciples that he would be handed over to the Gentiles:

“See, we are going up to Jerusalem. Everything that is written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For he will be handed over to the Gentiles, and he will be mocked, insulted, spit on; and after they flog him, they will kill him, and he will rise on the third day.” (Luke 18:31-33)

Because of these foretold sufferings, Peter, like the Christians in Acts 21, tried to persuade Jesus to avoid such pains (Matt 16:21-23). But the Savior marched on. Praise God that he did! Now we like Paul must follow in our Master’s footsteps, wherever he leads, in the strength he provides, keeping our eyes fixed on him (cf. Heb 12:1-2).

The Lord Jesus bids Christians to follow him, regardless of the cost, by the power of the Spirit. Let’s consider a few lessons on what it means to count the cost to follow Jesus.

Love people, but love Jesus more. Paul clearly loved people in general, and his Christian friends in particular. Yet Paul treasured Jesus more than anyone. And so must we (cf. Matt 10:37). We must resist the urge to be people pleasers, choosing instead to be Jesus pleasers. We need to be able to say, like Paul, “I am ready . . . to die. . . for the name of the Lord Jesus” (21:13). No one or no thing is more valuable than Jesus. And we are ultimately accountable to him. So treasure the Lord supremely.

Value input, but follow God’s will. Paul listened to the counsel of others. The book of Proverbs teaches the value of heeding godly counsel (e.g., Prov 15:22; 20:18). Refusing to allow other Christian friends to speak into our lives is foolish. But at the same time, there may be occasions when following Jesus will make us look foolish.

Missions history is filled with the accounts of missionaries who left people and possessions for dangerous places, even though friends and family urged them to choose different paths. These condensed stories of Jim Elliot, David Livingstone, William Carey, Adoniram Judson, C. T. Studd, and John G. Paton are just a few examples of what I mean:

Jim Elliot, who decided to give his life to serve the Auca Indians in Ecuador even though people told him he was “too gifted” to consider such a thing, said: “Consider the call from the throne above. ‘Go ye, and from round about, come over and help us.’ And even the call from damned souls below, ‘Send Lazarus to my brothers that they come not to this place.’ Impelled, then, by these voices, I dare not stay home while these Indians perish. So, what if the well-fed church in the homeland needs stirring? They have the Scriptures, Moses and the Prophets and a whole lot more. Their condemnation is written on their bankbooks and in the dust on their Bible covers. American believers have sold their lives to the service of mammon, and God has His rightful way of dealing with those who succumb to the spirit of Laodicea.” Elliot and four other heroes gave their lives for the Auca Indians.

David Livingstone, who went into the heart of Africa, wrote a letter to the London Missionary Society: “So powerfully convinced am I that it is the will of the Lord that I should go to Africa, I will go no matter who opposes me.” Later, after countless afflictions, he still wouldn’t return home, even though others, like Henry M. Stanley, tried to persuade him to do so. Livingstone told Stanley, “God has called me to Africa, and I am staying here.”

William Carey, “the father of modern missions,” rose up in Europe and said to a group of ministers, “I am going to go to India and make the gospel known there.” A minister in the audience rebuked him: “Sit down, young man. You are an enthusiast. When God pleases to convert the heathen in India, he will do it without consulting you or me.” But Carey wouldn’t be persuaded—and praise God he wouldn’t!

Adoniram Judson, a Baptist missionary who had a desire to go to Burma (present-day Myanmar), a “closed country,” against the pleas of others, took his new wife into the heart of Burma. He labored for thirty-eight years, suffering through cholera, malaria, dysentery, and unknown miseries that would claim the lives of his first wife and second wife, as well as seven of his thirteen children and numerous colleagues. As a result of his resolve, today there are close to four thousand Baptist congregations in the middle of Buddhist Burma. Over half a million believers are represented in those congregations.

C. T. Studd, a wealthy Englishman, came to faith in Christ and, soon thereafter, sensed God’s call to go to China. His family brought a Christian worker in to dissuade him. Studd said, “Let’s ask God then. I don’t want to be pig-headed and go out there of my own accord. I just want to do God’s will.” He sought God’s will and decided that he should indeed go. Then later, when he was fifty years old, he resolved that he should spend the rest of his life in Sudan, when others again urged him to do otherwise! In the next twenty years, he founded the Worldwide Evangelization Crusade through his work in Africa, which has planted gospel seeds all over Africa, Asia, and South America.

John G. Paton served for ten years as the pastor of a church in Glasgow, Scotland, but God began to burden his heart for the New Hebrides. These were Pacific Islands filled with cannibalistic peoples with no knowledge of the gospel. Twenty years earlier, two missionaries had been cannibalized there. Paton received opposition from everywhere. The church offered him more money to stay. When one older man protested, Paton famously said, “Mr. Dixon, you are advanced in years now and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave there to be eaten by worms. I confess to you if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by cannibals or by worms. And in the great day, my resurrection body will arise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen Redeemer.” Paton wouldn’t be persuaded, and soon he would be putting the Lord’s Supper elements into the hands of former cannibals that had repented and trusted in Jesus. (Paraphrased from Platt, “A Mission Only the Church Can Stop”)

The costly obedience of these missionaries, and others like them, blessed millions and set an inspiring example for a host of future missionaries. So value input but follow God’s will.

There’s something worse than dying: not living. Life is short. Don’t waste it! Pour yourself out for the good of others, and then you will actually find life (Mark 8:34-35). This may involve risk and hardship, but it’s worth it. Let us say with Paul, “I consider my life of no value to myself; my purpose is to finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24).

When you follow Jesus down the Calvary road, you’re not alone and you won’t regret it. Jesus—our unfailing friend—is with us as we make disciples of all nations (Matt 28:18-20). And even though suffering may be inevitable, following Jesus is worth it. This life is not the end. The best is yet to come (Phil 1:21-23). As John Piper commented on Acts 20:24, “Lord, keep me faithful to the job, then let me drop and go to my reward” (in Chandler, “My Heart Is Full”). When we see Christ, we will not regret having followed him.

Following Jesus is costly, but not following Jesus is more costly. I can see how an unbeliever could look at Paul’s life—and Jesus’s for that matter—and say, “What a waste!” But Scripture gives us a different view. Jesus said these words to his disciples about the disastrous result of pursuing material gain instead of him:

What does it benefit someone to gain the whole world and yet lose his life? What can anyone give in exchange for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. (Mark 8:36-38)

The only thing more costly than discipleship is the cost of “nondiscipleship.” Follow Jesus now, and you will experience unspeakable joy later. Reject him now, and you will experience eternal suffering later. He bids us to come and follow him. Let’s surrender to his lordship.