21:12-14
Luke seems to have joined in with the wish of the believers for Paul not to go up to Jerusalem and thus expose himself to danger. Paul, of course, refused these pleas. The difference here was not in interpreting the prophecy, but in understanding it. The believers reacted to the prophecy of danger as a reason for avoiding Jerusalem, Paul knew that it was all part of God’s plan. Indeed, it was part of God’s overall purpose for his life, it was part of the deal! So Paul did not fear death. There is an important lesson here. If you go about your life wanting to by guided by prophecies or “words” you will get nowhere. A lot of time you will be hunting for words where none was given (at least, not by the Holy Spirit), and if you do receive a genuine word from God you won’t understand it or apply it properly! We need to have a relationship with God, an understanding of His written word. This does not then mean (as cessationists claim) that God will never give a word of prophecy, rather it means that if He does we will be far more likely to understand it and apply it aright. We should also note that Paul here was not looking for a “word”, the Holy Spirit decided to give one. After Paul had said this the rest of the believers accepted the situation.
21:15,16
Paul and his companions then went on their way to Jerusalem. Some disciples from Caesarea accompanied them, probably to make the journey safer. They stopped at the home of one of the earliest believers, someone called Mnason, who was from Cyprus. Cyprus had a significant Jewish population.
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