Church Unleashed: Is Not Finished – Acts 21:8-15 – Rev Andrew Fitzgerald

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“When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, ‘Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.’” (Acts 21:12-13)

We find the closing chapters of Acts to focus on Paul and his journey to Jerusalem before finally settling in Rome. In Acts 21 words are exchanged between Paul and some disciples in Caesarea, with two particularly striking narratives in the scene. The first, is the church’s love for Paul. As the people pleaded with him not to go to Jerusalem and following a prophetic warning through Agabus. But second, is Paul’s determination to serve God despite the warnings. He says in verse 13, “I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” Wow, what an example. Are we prepared to do the same? But the book closes with a surprising and inconclusive ending as Paul witnesses in his rented house, proclaiming the kingdom of God and about the Lord Jesus Christ. For Gavin and Anne Calver, as well as other Bible commentators, this serves as a challenge to past, present and future believers to follow Paul and play our part in the mission of God. We are invited to write the next chapter and so may we respond with the words of Isaiah, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8).