21And so, with the tearful good-byes behind us, we were on our way. We made a straight run to Cos, the next day reached Rhodes, and then Patara.G1161G1096G5613G2248G645G575G846G321G2064G2113G1519G2972G1161G1836G1519G4499G2547G1519G39592There we found a ship going direct to Phoenicia, got on board, and set sail.G2532G2147G4143G1276G1519G5403G1910G3213Cyprus came into view on our left, but was soon out of sight as we kept on course for Syria, and eventually docked in the port of Tyre. While the cargo was being unloaded,G1161G398G2954G2532G2641G846G2176G4126G1519G4947G2532G2609G1519G5184G1063G1566G4143G2258G670G11174we looked up the local disciples and stayed with them seven days. Their message to Paul, from insight given by the Spirit, was "Don't go to Jerusalem."G2532G429G3101G1961G847G2033G2250G3748G3004G3972G1223G4151G305G3361G305G1519G24195When our time was up, they escorted us out of the city to the docks. Everyone came along—men, women, children. They made a farewell party of the occasion! We all kneeled together on the beach and prayed.G1161G3753G2248G1096G1822G2250G1831G4198G3956G4311G2248G4311G4862G1135G2532G5043G2193G1854G4172G2532G5087G1119G1909G123G43366Then, after another round of saying good-bye, we climbed on board the ship while they drifted back to their homes.G2532G782G240G1910G1519G4143G1161G1565G5290G1519G2398G52907A short run from Tyre to Ptolemais completed the voyage. We greeted our Christian friends there and stayed with them a day.G1161G2249G1274G4144G575G5184G2658G1519G4424G2532G782G80G3306G3844G846G3391G22508In the morning we went on to Caesarea and stayed with Philip the Evangelist, one of "the Seven."G1161G1887G4012G3972G4012G1831G2064G2064G1519G2542G2532G1525G1519G3624G5376G2099G5607G1537G2033G3306G3844G8469Philip had four virgin daughters who prophesied.G1161G5129G2258G5064G2364G3933G439510After several days of visiting, a prophet from Judea by the name of Agabus came down to see us.G1161G2257G1961G4119G2250G2718G575G2449G5100G4396G3686G1311He went right up to Paul, took Paul's belt, and, in a dramatic gesture, tied himself up, hands and feet. He said, "This is what the Holy Spirit says: The Jews in Jerusalem are going to tie up the man who owns this belt just like this and hand him over to godless unbelievers."G2532G2064G4314G2248G2532G142G3972G2223G5037G1210G846G5495G2532G4228G2036G3592G3004G40G4151G3779G1210G2453G1722G2419G1210G435G3739G2076G3778G2223G2532G3860G1519G5495G148412When we heard that, we and everyone there that day begged Paul not to be stubborn and persist in going to Jerusalem.G1161G5613G191G5023G5037G2249G2532G1786G3870G846G3361G305G1519G241913But Paul wouldn't budge: "Why all this hysteria? Why do you insist on making a scene and making it even harder for me? You're looking at this backwards. The issue in Jerusalem is not what they do to me, whether arrest or murder, but what the Master Jesus does through my obedience. Can't you see that?"G1161G3972G611G5101G4160G2799G2532G4919G3450G2588G1063G1473G2192G2093G3756G1210G3440G2532G235G599G1519G2419G5228G3686G2962G242414We saw that we weren't making even a dent in his resolve, and gave up. "It's in God's hands now," we said. "Master, you handle it."G1161G846G3982G3361G3982G2270G2036G2307G2962G109615It wasn't long before we had our luggage together and were on our way to Jerusalem.G1161G3326G5025G2250G643G305G1519G241916Some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and took us to the home of Mnason, who received us warmly as his guests. A native of Cyprus, he had been among the earliest disciples.G1161G4905G4862G2254G2532G3101G575G2542G71G3844G5100G3416G2953G744G3101G3739G357917In Jerusalem, our friends, glad to see us, received us with open arms.G1161G2257G1096G1519G2414G80G1209G2248G78018The first thing next morning, we took Paul to see James. All the church leaders were there.G1161G1966G3972G1524G4862G2254G4314G2385G5037G3956G4245G385419After a time of greeting and small talk, Paul told the story, detail by detail, of what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.G2532G782G846G1834G2596G1520G1538G3739G2316G4160G1722G1484G1223G846G124820They listened with delight and gave God the glory. They had a story to tell, too: "And just look at what's been happening here—thousands upon thousands of God-fearing Jews have become believers in Jesus! But there's also a problem because they are more zealous than ever in observing the laws of Moses.G1161G191G1392G2962G5037G2036G846G2334G80G4214G3461G2453G1526G3588G4100G2532G5225G3956G2207G355121They've been told that you advise believing Jews who live surrounded by Gentiles to go light on Moses, telling them that they don't need to circumcise their children or keep up the old traditions. This isn't sitting at all well with them.G1161G2727G4012G4675G3754G1321G3956G2453G2596G1484G575G646G3475G3004G846G4059G3361G4059G5043G3366G4043G148522"We're worried about what will happen when they discover you're in town. There's bound to be trouble. So here is what we want you to do:G5101G2076G3767G4128G1163G3843G4905G1063G191G3754G206423There are four men from our company who have taken a vow involving ritual purification, but have no money to pay the expenses.G4160G3767G5124G3739G3004G4671G2254G1526G5064G435G2171G2192G1909G143824Join these men in their vows and pay their expenses. Then it will become obvious to everyone that there is nothing to the rumors going around about you and that you are in fact scrupulous in your reverence for the laws of Moses.G5128G3880G48G4862G846G2532G1159G1909G846G2443G3587G2776G2532G3956G1097G3754G3739G2727G4012G4675G2076G3762G235G846G2532G4748G5442G355125"In asking you to do this, we're not going back on our agreement regarding Gentiles who have become believers. We continue to hold fast to what we wrote in that letter, namely, to be careful not to get involved in activities connected with idols; to avoid serving food offensive to Jewish Christians; to guard the morality of sex and marriage."G1161G4012G1484G4100G2249G1989G2919G846G5083G3367G5108G1508G5442G846G5037G1494G2532G129G2532G4156G2532G420226So Paul did it—took the men, joined them in their vows, and paid their way. The next day he went to the Temple to make it official and stay there until the proper sacrifices had been offered and completed for each of them.G5119G3972G3880G435G2192G2250G48G4862G846G1524G1519G2411G1229G1604G2250G49G2193G3739G4376G4374G5228G1538G1520G84627When the seven days of their purification were nearly up, some Jews from around Ephesus spotted him in the Temple. At once they turned the place upside-down. They grabbed PaulG1161G5613G2033G2250G3195G4931G2453G575G773G2300G846G1722G2411G4797G3956G3793G2532G1911G5495G1909G84628and started yelling at the top of their lungs, "Help! You Israelites, help! This is the man who is going all over the world telling lies against us and our religion and this place. He's even brought Greeks in here and defiled this holy place."G2896G435G2475G997G3778G2076G444G1321G3956G3837G2596G2992G2532G3551G2532G5126G5117G5037G2089G1521G1672G2532G1519G2411G2532G2840G5127G40G511729(What had happened was that they had seen Paul and Trophimus, the Ephesian Greek, walking together in the city and had just assumed that he had also taken him to the Temple and shown him around.)G1063G2258G4308G4862G846G1722G4172G5161G2180G3739G3543G3754G3972G1521G1519G241130Soon the whole city was in an uproar, people running from everywhere to the Temple to get in on the action. They grabbed Paul, dragged him outside, and locked the Temple gates so he couldn't get back in and gain sanctuary.G5037G3650G4172G2795G2532G2992G1096G4890G2532G1949G3972G1670G846G1854G2411G2532G2112G2374G280831As they were trying to kill him, word came to the captain of the guard, "A riot! The whole city's boiling over!"G1161G2212G615G846G5334G305G5506G4686G3754G3650G2419G479732He acted swiftly. His soldiers and centurions ran to the scene at once. As soon as the mob saw the captain and his soldiers, they quit beating Paul.G3739G1824G3880G4757G2532G1543G2701G1909G846G1161G1492G5506G2532G4757G3973G5180G397233The captain came up and put Paul under arrest. He first ordered him handcuffed, and then asked who he was and what he had done.G5119G5506G1448G1949G846G2532G2753G1210G1417G254G2532G4441G5101G302G1498G2532G5101G2076G416034All he got from the crowd were shouts, one yelling this, another that. It was impossible to tell one word from another in the mob hysteria, so the captain ordered Paul taken to the military barracks.G1161G243G994G5100G243G1722G3793G1161G1410G3361G1097G804G1223G2351G2753G846G71G1519G392535But when they got to the Temple steps, the mob became so violent that the soldiers had to carry Paul.G1161G3753G1096G1909G304G4819G941G5259G4757G1223G970G379336As they carried him away, the crowd followed, shouting, "Kill him! Kill him!"G1063G4128G2992G190G2896G142G84637When they got to the barracks and were about to go in, Paul said to the captain, "Can I say something to you?" He answered, "Oh, I didn't know you spoke Greek.G5037G3972G3195G1521G1519G3925G3004G5506G1487G1832G3427G2036G5100G4314G4571G1161G3588G5346G1097G167638I thought you were the Egyptian who not long ago started a riot here, and then hid out in the desert with his four thousand thugs."G1488G3756G4771G686G124G4253G5130G2250G387G2532G1806G1519G2048G5070G435G460739Paul said, "No, I'm a Jew, born in Tarsus. And I'm a citizen still of that influential city. I have a simple request: Let me speak to the crowd."G1161G3972G2036G1473G1510G3303G444G2453G5018G2791G4177G3756G767G4172G1161G1189G4675G2010G3427G2980G4314G299240Standing on the barracks steps, Paul turned and held his arms up. A hush fell over the crowd as Paul began to speak. He spoke in Hebrew.G1161G2010G846G2010G3972G2476G1909G304G2678G5495G2992G1161G1096G4183G4602G4377G1446G1258G3004
Dublin, OH
