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look back on those overrulings, and so must Philip the evangelist and Paul the apostle have humbly yet
victoriously praised God for `sovereign grace o'er sin abounding'.
Philip had four unmarried daughters, and these believing women possessed the gift of prophecy. We are not told
that they uttered any specific prophecy during Paul's stay at the house, but we do read of the coming of another
prophet, and what he said:
`And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judæa a certain prophet, named Agabus. And when
he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy
Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands
of the Gentiles. And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to
Jerusalem' (Acts 21:10-12).
We meet with this prophet Agabus earlier in the narrative of the Acts, for in Acts 11:28 he is found foretelling a
famine in the Roman world, which came to pass in the days of Claudius. Agabus adopted the manner of some Old
Testament prophets; and enforced his spoken prophecy with dumb show. Zedekiah made horns of iron to visualize
his prophecy (1 Kings 22:11), and Isaiah walked `naked and barefoot' as a sign to the people (Isa. 20:2).
Until now, Paul knew that bonds and afflictions awaited him, and this had been the testimony of the Holy Ghost
in every city (Acts 20:23), but now at Cæsarea, for the first time, definite particulars are given. `Jews at Jerusalem'
would bring about the binding of the apostle, and he would be delivered `into the hands of the Gentiles'. Upon
hearing this, both the writer of the Acts - the other companion of Paul, and the believers assembled at Cæsarea,
besought him `not to go up to Jerusalem'. In Acts 21:4, no particulars are given, but they are in verses 11 and 12,
and in the latter case we are sure that the urgent request `not to go up to Jerusalem' immediately followed the
hearing of the prophecy.
In many particulars the apostle Paul followed the footsteps of His Lord, Who when the time came set His face as
a flint to go up to Jerusalem, Matthew 20:17,18; Mark 10:32; and Luke 19:28. We know, too, how Peter rebuked
the Lord, when he first heard of His prospective death at Jerusalem (Matt. 16:21,22), to whom the Lord had to say:
`Get thee behind Me, Satan: thou art an offence unto Me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but
those that be of men' (Matt. 16:23).
This word `savourest' might be considered by a literalist too free a translation of phroneo, yet with the marginal
note of Isaiah 11:3 in mind the translation of Matthew 16:23 is seen to be almost an inspiration:
`And shall make Him of quick understanding' (margin, scent, or, smell).
Paul, too, was given a keen scent with regard to things of God, for while fellow-believers might judge after the
sight of their eyes, or argue from expediency, he had but one purpose to accomplish, and that was to go to
Jerusalem, leaving the rest with His Lord. That Paul was right is made evident by the sequel:
`Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but
also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. And when he would not he persuaded, we ceased,
saying, The will of the Lord be done' (Acts 21:13,14).
What a light these few words throw upon the character of the apostle and the strength of the temptation that beset
him: `Mean ye to break my heart?' Not `cross my will' or `thwart my desire'. What else could his companions say
than: `The will of the Lord be done'? This incident having passed, the little party proceeded to Jerusalem. The
introduction of so prosaic a fact as `we took up our carriages' (verse 15) - or in modern English: `we packed our
bags', is of importance, for it shows that Paul acted with deliberate calmness, showing no symptoms of fanatical
enthusiasm.
The city of Jerusalem was always crowded at the time of the feast, and so, like the Saviour, Paul was not
entertained by any of the high officials of the Church at Jerusalem, but Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, gave him
a lodging. Mnason, with one or two other believers from Cæsarea, appears to have accompanied the apostle, and as
he was aware of the adverse prophecy, it was all the more praiseworthy that he gave such a dangerous guest