These small group Bible studies of Acts 21 contain commentary, discussion questions, and practical application. Visit our library of inductive Bible studies for more in depth inductive studies on this and other books of the Bible you can use in your small group.
Acts 21 Bible Study Guide – Paul Returns to Jerusalem
Outline
I. Paul on the way to Jerusalem (1-16)
II. Paul visits the leaders in Jerusalem (17-26)
I. Paul on the way to Jerusalem (1-16)
Discussion Questions
• Who did Paul depart from?
• Where was Paul going?
• What did he do on the way?
• What does it mean that the disciples, “through the Spirit were telling Paul not to go to Jerusalem?” Was the Spirit giving differing instructions to the disciples and Paul?
• Why was it helpful for Paul to know about the suffering awaiting him? How about for the disciples to know that? How about for us?
• Why was Paul dead set on going to Jerusalem?
• With the benefit of hindsight, what are some of the reasons you think God sent Paul back to Jerusalem?
• How does God use trials and persecution in the lives of believers to grow us and the church?
• Why do we resist trials and persecution?
• What can we learn from Paul’s statement, “I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die… for the name of the Lord Jesus?”
• Could you truthfully say the same thing?
• How can you die for the Lord on a daily basis?
• Is there an area of your life that is difficult to say, “Let the will of the Lord be done?”
Cross-References
Malachi 3:6 – For I the Lord do not change.
John 16:13 – When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
Amos 3:7 – For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.
Genesis 18:17 – The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. Paul visits disciples on the way to Jerusalem –
The original Bible did not have chapter breaks. Chapter 21 continues the same theme as Chapter 20. Paul is on his way back to Jerusalem. As he traveled back, he visited disciples in various cities along his route. Luke records his visit with the believers of Tyre. Tyre was an ancient port city. It was Phoenician in origin and had a long and storied past. Some Biblical prophets prophesied against this pagan city (Isaiah 23). Alexander the Great conquered it.
There is no other record in Acts of Paul visiting Tyre. But it is clear that a church had been established there. This is a reminder that many other believers were spreading the gospel and starting churches besides Paul. God’s work was not limited to one man. Paul happily visited and encouraged believers all over the place, even if he had not known and ministered to them personally. His camaraderie with the believers in Tyre is also a reminder that in Christ we are one family. We can have fellowship with believers across the world from all different cultures because of our unity in Christ.
Application – How much do you think of, show care for, and pray for believers outside of your social circle? Begin praying for believers around the world (the Open Door app is a great place to start). If possible, go on a mission trip to visit, encourage, and serve believers in another country.
2. The believers warned Paul about what awaited him –
Acts 21:4 – And through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.
Paul was led by the Spirit to go back to Jerusalem (Acts 19:21, Acts 20:22-23, Acts 23:11). At first glance, it may appear that there is a contradiction. However, one must always interpret through the full lens of Scripture. God never disagrees with Himself. He did not give different messages to Paul and the disciples. So what is happening here?
A. God led Paul through the Spirit to return to Jerusalem.
B. The Holy Spirit forewarned Paul many times through many different believers of what was awaiting him there. This warning helped Paul be prepared spiritually for the coming suffering.
C. The disciples knew “in the Spirit” what awaited Paul. His friends, who cared about him, pleaded with him not to go back. In their wisdom, they felt it would be better for him to continue ministering rather than to go be locked up. It was not a command from God not to go back, but a personal plea. Likely, they understood the warning as a prohibition or a command, while Paul understood it as God preparing him for what was coming.
Application – Be careful not to give counsel based on your personal perspective and opinion. If you do give counsel, make sure it is from the Lord.
Perhaps God was even giving Paul an out, but Paul willingly chose to face suffering for the sake of the Lord. From this, we see Paul’s zeal and courage for the Lord.
Much like Jesus before him, Paul set his face to Jerusalem and would not be deterred.
Luke 9:51 – When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
Application – Are you willing to face persecution for Jesus? How can you grow in courage? Think of one situation you face as a believer that makes you nervous or uncomfortable. What is God calling you to do and how can you depend on Christ in that situation?
3. Paul prays with the believers before leaving –
Acts 21:5-6 – And kneeling down on the beach, we prayed and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.
It is a sweet scene. Prayer should be an integral part of all that we do. Fostering a culture of prayer is something every believer should aim for.
Application – When you get together with other believers, ask them for prayer requests. If at their house, pray a prayer of blessing on them before you leave. If at your house, you can also pray for them before they go. Practice the lifestyle of saying, “Can I pray for you?”
I learned this from other believers and I also make an effort to do this. The words, “Can I pray for you?” are powerful. It is a way to pursue God and live in light of His presence in our daily interactions with other believers.
4. Philip the evangelist –
Philip is not just a good evangelist, but he is also a dedicated family man. He raised children who faithfully followed the Lord. Four of his daughters still lived with him and ministered for God through the gift of prophecy.
Application – Serving God through evangelism or missions and ministering to your family are not mutually exclusive. We should serve God by caring for our families. It is a sad thing when pastors or missionaries are so busy focusing on ministering to the masses that their own families are rejected and their children embittered. Consider how you can integrate your family into the ministry God is calling you to.
I have been living and serving in China for over twenty years. There are places called English corners where people go to practice English. They are good places to meet and “fish” for people. Often, I would take one of my children with me. They got to spend some one-on-one time with Dad. I found that instead of being a hindrance to ministry, they were a plus. Their presence helped spark many positive conversations. In addition, going with my child made me more personal, friendly, and approachable to the people there. Making contacts and building relationships was much easier. My family was stronger and doors for the gospel were opened.
5. Agabus –
Another city, another warning of upcoming persecution in Jerusalem.
Acts 21:10-12 – While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem.
Ababus shows Paul a graphic depiction of the chains that are waiting for him. It is true. Paul was falsely accused and then imprisoned.
Another group of disciples had another round of urging Paul not to go. But Paul was determined.
Acts 21:13 – Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
What a powerful statement of courage!
Reflect – What can we learn from Paul’s statement, “I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die… for the name of the Lord Jesus?” How can you die for the Lord on a daily basis?
6. Let the will of the Lord be done –
The believers cared for Paul. They didn’t want to see him suffer. But in the end, they relented and submitted themselves to God.
We make a mess of things when we push for our own way. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus gave us a model of how to live, seeking the Father’s will instead of ours.
Luke 22:42 – Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.
God’s ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). He is on the throne. The decisions we make and the life we live should all be done in continual recognition of these truths.
When your boss wrongly fires you from a good position, can you say, “God’s will be done?”
When you lose a child to miscarriage, can you say, “God’s will be done?”
When God calls you to a difficult ministry that will bring suffering and heartache, can you say, “God’s will be done?”
We often do not understand the “why” of God’s plan, yet we are called to humbly submit to Him in faith.
Reflect – Is there currently a situation that you face that you need to consciously make the decision to “let the will of the Lord be done?” Are you willing to say those words to God right now in prayer?
II. Paul visits the leaders in Jerusalem (17-26)
Discussion Questions
• Who is the “us” in verses 17 and 18?
• Why was it important for Paul to visit the church leaders in Jerusalem?
• Based on the study of Acts so far, can you summarize the report that Paul may have given the leaders of his ministry to the Gentiles?
• What does it mean that the Jewish believers were zealots for the law?
• Were they real believers? Should they have immediately stopped caring about the law? Should we? Does this passage indicate they trusted in the law for salvation?
• Who was doing the “telling” in verse 21? Were these reports about Paul true? What may have motivated these people to spread these reports?
• What did James tell Paul to do? Why? Was this a concession to the Judaizers? What principles can we learn from this on maintaining unity in the church?
• Review the decision of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 and why this decision was made.
• Did Paul go along with James’ counsel? Why?
Cross-References
Acts 14:27 – And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.
Galatians 2:16 – Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
2 Corinthians 6:8 – Through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true.
Acts 18:18 – At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow.
Galatians 2:3 – But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek.
Romans 14:19 – So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. Arrived in Jerusalem –
After a long journey, Paul and his associates arrived. Luke was one of his companions. Many others are listed.
Acts 20:4 – Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus.
Some of the disciples from Casarea also went with them (20:16). They stayed at Mnason’s house.
Paul brought offerings from some of the Gentile churches to support the needy in Jerusalem (Romans 15:25-27, 1 Corinthians 16:1-4, Acts 24:17). This could have been one of the reasons he was greeted so joyfully.
2. Paul reported to James and the elders –
Throughout the New Testament, we see that God’s design for the leadership of the church is elders.
Paul gives a thorough accounting of his ministry and everything that had happened. He likely reported to them a very similar account to what Luke has written in the book of Acts. The leaders responded by glorifying God.
In this passage, we see a strong and unified church. Paul graciously and humbly submits himself to the leaders in Jerusalem. He reports to them, keeping them in the loop. It is healthy accountability and mutual support.
Paul and James were not regional warlords, each building up their influence and followers for their own status. They recognized that they were all on the same team, serving Christ under His headship together.
Sadly, in church history, there are too many divisions where it becomes “mine” and “me” versus “them” instead of “us,” “we,” and “our.”
A church I visited in China played a song in Chinese every service. The words translated are, “In Jesus, we are one family. In Jesus, we are one family. From now until He comes again, we are one family. In Jesus, we are one family.” The message of this song is very simple, but powerful.
Reflect – Consider your local church. Is it unified or is their division? Are there rivalries or dissension? If it is unified, thank God and diligently work to maintain that unity. If there are divisions, pray for wisdom as to how you can be a positive influence.
3. The zealots for the law –
James mentions that the thousands of Jewish believers are “zealous for the law.” Therefore, James encourages Paul to show that he had not forsaken the law in order to keep that unity with the Jerusalem church.
Let’s consider this group of people who were zealous for the law.
These are legitimate Jewish believers. The leaders specifically said that they “have believed.” Previously in Acts, Luke recorded that thousands of Jews in Jerusalem did believe (2:41, 4:4, 6:7).
In addition, they were not the same group that was spreading false reports about Paul.
Acts 21:20-21 – They are all zealous for the law, and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs.
Note that two groups are mentioned. One group is the Jews, zealous for the law. The other is the ones slandering Paul. The slanderers are attempting to persuade the real believers that Paul is a bad guy.
There were Judaizers who were false teachers proclaiming a system of law-based works. These trusted in themselves for salvation. The real believers did not trust in the law or teach obedience to it as a precondition for salvation. The Jerusalem Council already decided that Gentiles did not have to obey the law (Acts 15).
Having said that, these believers had been raised Jewish. It was their culture and customs. The Old Testament law had many things that were good, right, and edifying to do. While obedience to the law was not necessary for salvation, it still contained many practices that they found profitable and held on to. Here are some examples of aspects of the Old Testament law that were (and still are) useful.
• The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20)
• Sabbath observance (Exodus 20:8-11)
• Corporate worship (Deuteronomy 12)
• Festivals and holy days (Leviticus 23)
• Scripture reading and meditation (Deuteronomy 6)
• Care for the poor (Deuteronomy 15:7-11)
• Honest weights and measures (Leviticus 19:36)
There are many more examples. I have led Bible studies through Exodus and Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 6 is one of my favorites. Exodus has many passages regarding the Passover Lamb that foreshadow Christ.
Even Gentiles can find many important and prescriptive commands that we should apply to our lives today from the Old Testament law. How much more would a first-century Messianic Jew have been reluctant to totally dismiss the law and their entire cultural heritage!
The leaders in the church attempted to help them walk a fine line between works-based salvation and being revolutionaries who threw out the law. Neither was the right approach. The first-century church was in a transition period and it was wise for the leaders to be delicate and sensitive.
Church leaders in Jerusalem recognized that if Paul came in as a revolutionary attacking the church, it would have caused much unrest, division, and perhaps even the falling away of some disciples. Therefore, they advise him to prove the slandering liars wrong and show the church in Jerusalem that he had not forsaken his Jewish heritage. A simple act from Paul could go a long way to preserve Jewish-Gentile unity.
Their request was that Paul purify himself and pay for his team’s purification expenses so that “all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law.”
4. Paul’s response –
Paul did it.
Acts 21:26 – Then Paul took the men, and the next day he purified himself along with them and went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and the offering presented for each one of them.
Reflect – Why did he agree to this?
Paul does not argue with them. He was happy to oblige as it fit with his beliefs.
1 Corinthians 9:20 – To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law.
Paul himself had taken a Nazarite vow (Acts 18:18).
Paul had Timothy circumcised, but did not force Titus –
Acts 16:3 – Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
Paul had Timothy circumcised, but steadfastly refused to allow Titus to be circumcised.
Galatians 2:3-5 – But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.
There is nothing inherently sinful about either choice. It is not a sin to be circumcised, nor is it a requirement to be. This issue was decided on a case-by-case basis.
Paul’s mission philosophy was to “make himself a servant to everyone to win as many as possible.” He adjusted and contextualized his approach for the “sake of the gospel.” (1 Corinthians 1:19-23) That did not include compromising on core issues. It did include interacting with others in a way that would not unnecessarily offend them.
Contextualizing the gospel is a Biblical concept. In his gospel written primarily for Jews, Matthew quotes many Old Testament prophecies. Mark quotes far fewer Old Testament prophecies since his was targeted to the Gentiles.
While contextualizing the gospel is beneficial, compromising it is not.
Paul had Timothy circumcised to remove an obstacle to ministry to the Jews in that area. Timothy’s mother was a Jew and his father was Greek. The Jews would clearly expect that he should be circumcised. If he weren’t, that would have been a major sticking point for them and many would not have been open to listening to Timothy. It would have become a major distraction. Paul deemed that for the sake of the gospel, it was best for Timothy to simply be circumcised.
Yet in Titus’ case, the opposite decision was made. Titus was 100% a Gentile without Jewish heritage. The Judaizers in that region were insistent that all believers must be circumcised. They were preaching a gospel of good works.
For the sake of the gospel, Paul would not budge or compromise one inch. One might question why Paul didn’t just let Titus be circumcised. After all, it is not sinful to be circumcised. The problem is that if he gave in, the false teachers would take it as proof that circumcision was always necessary. They would say, “Even Paul requires his disciples to be circumcised.” Then the true gospel would be in danger of being forever tainted by a works-based foundation.
The gospel would have been misrepresented and misunderstood if Titus had been circumcised. Bad actors would seize that to preach a salvation-by-works gospel.
Paul’s underlying standard did not change. Timothy was circumcised for the sake of the gospel and Titus was not circumcised for the sake of the gospel.
In a similar manner, Paul agreed to purify himself and these four men as well as pay their expenses. He agreed, without compromising his convictions, for the sake of the gospel and for the unity of the church.
Application – What are you willing to give up for the sake of the gospel and for unity? Are you willing to lay down your personal rights for others? Paul did not seek his own interests. Neither should we.
5. Jerusalem Council decision –
See notes on Acts 15.
Meet the Author: Jason Dexter has been serving the Lord overseas in the 10/40 Window for more than twenty years, making disciples, teaching the Bible, and equipping believers to understand and apply God’s Word. These Bible studies were written by him, not by AI.
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