Scripture in Focus:   Acts 21:4-14 

The twenty-first chapter of the Book of Acts presents what at first is a somewhat confusing picture of the warnings Paul received, apparently from God, regarding not going to Jerusalem  – where he was arrested and eventually taken to Rome and executed.

On first arriving back in Palestine, we are told that “… through the Spirit [the disciples] were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem” (Acts 21:4).  Further, “…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” (Acts 21:10-12).

So it is clear that through the Spirit of God, Paul was warned repeatedly that going to Jerusalem would result in his arrest, and that the disciples, also being led by the Spirit, told him not to proceed.  But to understand this situation we need to go back to Acts 20 where Paul says specifically: 

“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.  I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace” (Acts 20:22-24).

This fact, that Paul was apparently warned before going to many cities that he would be endangered (as Acts clearly shows he was),  helps us to understand the situation in Acts 21.   It is as though God warned Paul before each dangerous situation he entered. This was a First Century “Your mission, if you choose to accept it …”. Paul was given clear warning before each danger but chose to accept the mission he was given.  Notice that in Acts 19:21 and Acts 20:22 Paul specifically states that “through the Spirit” and “compelled by the Spirit,”  he was going to Jerusalem.

With this in mind we can better understand Paul’s reply to the disciples urging him not to go to Jerusalem  in Acts 21:  “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’” (Acts 21:13).

So while the disciples may have understood the warning as a prohibition, Paul understood that he had, in fact, been led to go to Jerusalem.   He was certainly not disobeying the influence of the Spirit of God, rather, with great faith and courage, he was accepting the Spirit’s mission, despite the warning of impending danger that came with the mission.

* For explanation of other difficult scriptures, see other posts in this series.

Scripture in Focus:    John 6:30-31 


The sixth chapter of the Gospel of John tells of the miraculous feeding of the great crowd of 5,000 people who were following Jesus in the area of Galilee.  Within a day or so of this miraculous event, we find the same crowd (John mentions it was the same people) asking Jesus what seems like a very strange question.  When Jesus said “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:29), notice what the people answered:

“What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?  Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat’ “ (John 6:30-31).

This response of the people is often said to be strange to the point of being unbelievable.  Not only had these people just witnessed a great sign, but specifically one in which they were miraculously fed, so why would they ask for a sign – especially one involving being fed? Some Bible commentaries even suggest that perhaps John’s account reflects a patchwork of original sources not agreeing with each other.

A far simpler answer is found in the fact that the verbs used in the people’s reply to Jesus are actually in the present tense in the Greek of John’s account.  The Greek word poieis literally means “are doing” and ergaze means “you are working.” In other words, the people’s reply was not “What sign will you give us” (emphasis added in this and the following instances), as we read in the NIV and KJV, but,  more literally:  “what sign are you doing … What work are you working”  or “what sign do you do …What work do you perform?” (as they are translated in the ESV).  This literal translation makes a great deal of difference, because the people were evidently not asking for another, future, sign, but for explanation of the sign  Jesus had just given them – and which they realized was of the same nature and importance as the manna given from heaven to their ancestors in the wilderness.

We must look at the context of these verses. John tells us that after the feeding of the 5,000:

“After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, ‘Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.’  Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself” (vss. 14-15). 

The people were fully aware of the sign they had been given and were asking Jesus for confirmation of its meaning – they were saying in effect: “what is this sign” or “what does this sign mean” – and rightly guessing that it suggested this was the prophet like Moses (who had fed the people manna) who would come (Deuteronomy 18:15-19): the promised Messiah. This is why they wanted to make Jesus their king.

This week, on both our websites, we will begin a new series of interspersed blog postings, aimed at increasing Biblical understanding. 

On our sister site, LivingWithFaith.org, the new series will be called “Scripture in Question” and will look at what are sometimes claimed to be “contradictions” in the Bible.

The new series on this site will be “Scripture in Focus” and will examine scriptures that are puzzling in some way, or difficult to understand, perhaps because of historical, cultural or translation issues.  Usually you can find clarification for such scriptures with extensive study in Bible commentaries and other resources, but that can be time intensive and sometimes confusing when different answers are found.  We save you time and trouble with this new series – each explanation is carefully researched and if there are varying opinions on a topic, we will compare them for you.

We think you will find both the “Scripture in Focus” and “Scripture in Question” series of posts interesting and also helpful. Look for them here and on our other site starting in a day or two.