使徒行傳 21:1-26 前進耶路撒冷
- 馬克牧師
- Jun 15, 2024
- 10 min read
Updated: Jul 1, 2024
保羅上耶路撒冷
1我們離別了眾人，就開船一直行到哥士。第二天到了羅底，從那裏到帕大喇， 2遇見一隻船要往腓尼基去，就上船起行。 3望見塞浦路斯，就從南邊行過，往敘利亞去，我們就在泰爾上岸，因為船要在那裏卸貨。 4找着了門徒，就在那裏住了七天。他們被聖靈感動，對保羅說：「不要上耶路撒冷去。」 5過了這幾天，我們就起身前行。他們眾人同妻子兒女，送我們到城外，我們都跪在岸上禱告，彼此辭別。 6我們上了船，他們就回家去了。
7我們從泰爾行盡了水路，來到多利買，就問那裏的弟兄安，和他們同住了一天。 8第二天，我們離開那裏，來到凱撒利亞，就進了傳福音的腓利家裏，和他同住。他是那七個執事裏的一個。 9他有四個女兒，都是處女，是說預言的。 10我們在那裏多住了幾天，有一個先知，名叫亞迦布，從猶太下來， 11到了我們這裏，就拿保羅的腰帶捆上自己的手腳，說：「聖靈說：猶太人在耶路撒冷，要如此捆綁這腰帶的主人，把他交在外邦人手裏。」 12我們和那本地的人聽見這話，都苦勸保羅不要上耶路撒冷去。 13保羅說：「你們為甚麼這樣痛哭，使我心碎呢？我為主耶穌的名，不但被人捆綁，就是死在耶路撒冷也是願意的。」 14保羅既不聽勸，我們便住了口，只說：「願主的旨意成就」，便了。
15過了幾日，我們收拾行李上耶路撒冷去。 16有凱撒利亞的幾個門徒和我們同去，帶我們到一個久為門徒的家裏，叫我們與他同住；他名叫拿孫，是塞浦路斯人。
保羅訪問雅各
17到了耶路撒冷，弟兄們歡歡喜喜地接待我們。 18第二天，保羅同我們去見雅各；長老們也都在那裏。 19保羅問了他們安，便將神用他傳教，在外邦人中間所行之事，一一地述說了。 20他們聽見，就歸榮耀與神，對保羅說：「兄台，你看猶太人中信主的有多少萬，並且都為律法熱心。 21他們聽見人說，你教訓一切在外邦的猶太人離棄摩西，對他們說，不要給孩子行割禮，也不要遵行條規。 22眾人必聽見你來了，這可怎麼辦呢？ 23你就照着我們的話行吧！ 我們這裏有四個人，都有願在身。 24你帶他們去，與他們一同行潔淨的禮，替他們拿出規費，叫他們得以剃頭。這樣，眾人就可知道，先前所聽見你的事都是虛的；並可知道，你自己為人，循規蹈矩，遵行律法。 25至於信主的外邦人，我們已經寫信擬定，叫他們謹忌那祭偶像之物，和血，並勒死的牲畜，與姦淫。」 26於是保羅帶着那四個人，第二天與他們一同行了潔淨的禮，進了殿，報明潔淨的日期滿足，只等祭司為他們各人獻祭。
保羅搭乘的船從希臘一路來到耶路撒冷，經過推羅這個地方。在這裡，他碰到一些門徒，門徒被聖靈感動，告訴他不要上耶路撒冷去。接著，他在凱撒利亞又遇到另一個先知，名叫雅加布，雅加布拿了保羅的腰帶，告訴他說：“這個腰帶的主人要被捆綁，交在外邦人的手裡。”所以，聖靈一再提醒保羅，前往耶路撒冷會有苦難和危險。但保羅去意甚堅，已經把性命都不當一回事，堅持要去，眾人看他這樣，也只能禱告願主的意思成就。
在這裡，我們看到一件很有趣的事情。聖靈感動了許多人，不僅是一個人，而是好幾個人，告訴保羅不要往耶路撒冷去。但保羅卻有非常堅定的意志，非去不可。保羅相信他也是受到聖靈的感動。那麼，聖靈怎麼會同時感動一群人，卻走不同的路呢？
我們所看到的是，聖靈其實有祂的旨意。在眾人勸保羅的時候，更顯明了保羅的心志。最後，我們也知道，保羅即將前往耶路撒冷，並且要做更多的見證。當眾人都放下自己的意見，同心禱告願主的旨意成就時，這其實是一個過程，讓所有人都學習在上帝面前放下自己，共同領受上帝的旨意。
當保羅終於來到耶路撒冷時，耶路撒冷教會非常歡迎他的到來。他們熱情地接待了保羅，並且保羅也詳細地向他們訴說了他在外邦教會所做的一切事情，使他們能夠共同為上帝在外邦人中所成就的事工感到喜樂。他們都將榮耀歸給神。
但當保羅來到耶路撒冷時，他不得不面對一個明顯的現實：這裡是猶太人的大本營，也是所有遵守舊約律法的猶太人聚集的地方。他們早就知道保羅在外地所傳的訊息，即告訴外邦信徒不需要再遵守舊約律法，放棄律法的束縛。
抵擋保羅的人造謠誣蔑他，說他在勸所有人都背離上帝，不再聽信舊約，想要把保羅塑造成為一個背叛猶太人律法的叛徒形象。其實，保羅並沒有這樣說。保羅所說的是外邦人不需要再遵守舊約的律法，但他並沒有勸自己的猶太同胞停止這樣的傳統。他只是告訴所有人，傳統不是得救的重點。
對於耶路撒冷教會來說，他們也面臨了一個難題：如何能夠讓猶太人知道保羅的到來並能相安無事呢？他們想了一個折衷的辦法。當時有幾個人在上帝面前許願並還願的猶太人，需要獻上一些祭物，而這些祭品和代價通常是昂貴的，有錢的人可以代替這些人付上金錢，這樣的舉動也被認為是敬虔的。他們的建議是，如果保羅能夠為這四個許願的人付上這筆錢的代價，就能證明他自己並不是離經叛道的人。這樣，也可以讓那些原本造謠誣蔑他的人閉口無言。
對於這個建議，保羅沒有表達反對意見。雖然他知道這些行為已經不再重要，但為了他的同胞，他還是選擇聽從這樣的建議。重點在於，他並不是害怕猶太人，而是為了能夠讓更多的猶太人接受他，接受他所傳的福音。他不想在這個時候造成更多的衝突，因此選擇順從這些人的建議。
這反映了保羅在後期更為成熟的思想。他可以為了福音不顧性命，也可以為了讓更多人聽到福音而調整自己的方式和語氣，就如他在哥林多前書9:16所說的，為要多得人。向眾人，他成了眾人所是的。向外邦人，他就作外邦人；向猶太人，他就作猶太人；向律法之下的人，他就作律法之下的人；向律法之外的人，他就作律法之外的人。
這樣，保羅就用猶太人所熟悉的方式來表達他並不是要背叛猶太人的傳統，而是要宣揚福音，希望能夠讓更多的人理解福音。因此，他在這裡選擇了妥協，暫時在猶太同胞中遵循猶太人所熟悉的傳統。
保羅這樣用心良苦地為他的同胞著想，他們的同胞會接受嗎？會被感動到嗎？我們明天繼續看《使徒行傳》第21章下半段的故事。感謝各位的聆聽。
On to Jerusalem
1After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara. 2We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went on board and set sail. 3After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed on to Syria. We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo. 4We sought out the disciples there and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 5When it was time to leave, we left and continued on our way. All of them, including wives and children, accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray. 6After saying goodbye to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.
7We continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed with them for a day. 8Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. 9He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.
10After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’ ”
12When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. 13Then 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.” 14When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”
15After this, we started on our way up to Jerusalem. 16Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us and brought us to the home of Mnason, where we were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus and one of the early disciples.
Paul’s Arrival at Jerusalem
17When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters received us warmly. 18The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present. 19Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
20When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. 21They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. 22What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, 23so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. 24Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. 25As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.”
26The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.
Paul's ship traveled from Greece all the way to Jerusalem, passing through Tyre. There, he encountered some disciples who, moved by the Holy Spirit, told him not to go to Jerusalem. Then, in Caesarea, he met another prophet named Agabus. Agabus took Paul's belt and told him, "The owner of this belt will be bound and handed over to the Gentiles." So, the Holy Spirit repeatedly reminded Paul that going to Jerusalem would bring suffering and danger. But Paul was determined to go, not caring about his own life, insisting on his mission. Seeing his resolve, the others could only pray for the Lord’s will to be done.
Here, we see something very interesting. The Holy Spirit moved many people, not just one, to tell Paul not to go to Jerusalem. However, Paul had a very firm resolve to go. Paul believed he was also moved by the Holy Spirit. How could the Holy Spirit move a group of people to take different paths?
What we see is that the Holy Spirit has His own purpose. While people were urging Paul, it highlighted Paul’s determination. In the end, we know that Paul was heading to Jerusalem to bear further witness. When everyone set aside their opinions and prayed together for the Lord’s will to be done, it became a process where everyone learned to lay down their own desires before God and jointly receive God’s will.
When Paul finally arrived in Jerusalem, the Jerusalem church welcomed him warmly. They received him enthusiastically, and Paul detailed to them all that he had done among the Gentile churches. This allowed everyone to rejoice together for what God had accomplished among the Gentiles. They all gave glory to God.
However, when Paul arrived in Jerusalem, he had to face a clear reality: this was the stronghold of the Jews, where all who observed the Old Testament laws gathered. They already knew about Paul's message to the Gentiles, which taught that they no longer needed to adhere to the Old Testament laws.
Those opposing Paul spread rumors and slandered him, saying he was persuading everyone to abandon God and not follow the Old Testament, trying to paint Paul as a traitor to Jewish law. In reality, Paul never said this. What Paul taught was that Gentiles did not need to observe the Old Testament laws, but he did not advise his Jewish brethren to stop their traditions. He simply stated that tradition was not the focus of salvation.
The Jerusalem church also faced a dilemma: how could they ensure Paul’s arrival without causing unrest among the Jews? They found a compromise. There were Jews who had taken vows under the Old Testament law and needed to offer sacrifices and pay certain expenses upon completing their vows. These expenses were usually quite high. The church leaders suggested that if Paul could pay these costs for four men who had taken such vows, it would demonstrate that he was not abandoning Jewish law. This act could silence those who were spreading false rumors about him.
Paul did not oppose this suggestion. Even though he knew these acts were no longer essential, he chose to follow this advice for the sake of his fellow Jews. The point was not that he feared the Jews, but that he wanted to make it easier for more Jews to accept him and the gospel he preached. He did not want to create more conflict at this time, so he chose to comply with their suggestion.
This reflects Paul’s more mature thinking in his later years. He could risk his life for the gospel, but he could also adjust his methods and tone to let more people hear the gospel, as he mentioned in 1 Corinthians 9:19-22: to win as many as possible. To the Jews, he became like a Jew; to those under the law, he became like one under the law; to those not having the law, he became like one not having the law.
Thus, Paul used methods familiar to the Jews to show that he was not betraying Jewish traditions but was preaching the gospel, hoping that more people would understand it. Therefore, he chose to temporarily adhere to Jewish customs among his Jewish brethren.
Will Paul's considerate efforts be accepted and appreciated by his fellow Jews? Will they be moved by his actions? Let’s continue with the second half of Acts chapter 21 tomorrow. Thank you all for listening.
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