A Mediterranean Cruise!
Acts 21:1-16
1 After saying farewell to the Ephesian elders, we sailed straight to the island of Cos. The next day we reached Rhodes and then went to Patara. 2 There we boarded a ship sailing for Phoenicia. 3 We sighted the island of Cyprus, passed it on our left, and landed at the harbor of Tyre, in Syria, where the ship was to unload its cargo.
4 We went ashore, found the local believers, and stayed with them a week. These believers prophesied through the Holy Spirit that Paul should not go on to Jerusalem. 5 When we returned to the ship at the end of the week, the entire congregation, including women and children, left the city and came down to the shore with us. There we knelt, prayed, 6 and said our farewells. Then we went aboard, and they returned home.
7 The next stop after leaving Tyre was Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed for one day. 8 The next day we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven men who had been chosen to distribute food. 9 He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy.
10 Several days later a man named Agabus, who also had the gift of prophecy, arrived from Judea. 11 He came over, took Paul’s belt, and bound his own feet and hands with it. Then he said, “The Holy Spirit declares, ‘So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and turned over to the Gentiles.’ ” 12 When we heard this, we and the local believers all begged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.
13 But he said, “Why all this weeping? You are breaking my heart! I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but even to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus.” 14 When it was clear that we couldn’t persuade him, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”
15 After this we packed our things and left for Jerusalem. 16 Some believers from Caesarea accompanied us, and they took us to the home of Mnason, a man originally from Cyprus and one of the early believers.
So, Paul and a group of “friends” had been on a Mediterranean Cruise – Cos, Rhodes, Patara, Phoenicia, past Cyprus, Tyre in Syria, Ptolemais, Caesarea, and his destination was Jerusalem.
Everywhere Paul and friends went, he ate and drank with people and families, fellowshipped with brothers and sisters, gathered for prayer, taught the saints, evangelised, they were unafraid of authorities, and united in their love and passion for Jesus. They were honoured and looked after.
The passage says: “After we (Luke included) had torn ourselves away from them, we sought out the disciples there and stayed with them for 7 days, all of them accompanied us to the beach including women and children, and there we knelt and prayed together, saying goodbye…”
What I love about this Mediterranean Cruise is that it wasn’t for the sake of travelling, sites, or ticking off countries on his world travel map!! It was all about worship, prayer, building the saints of God in the known world, and planting churches.
Paul was unafraid to return to Jerusalem – even prophetic words saying he would die, would not dissuade him.
Is there something that God has asked you to do, that you fear doing? What would people think? What if I fail?
Take courage and trust God. Let’s be like Paul knowing what God has asked us to do and focus our eyes on Jesus.
Lord Jesus, so many of these early disciples were so focussed on you that they would be willing to give their lives for the Gospel. Help us Lord to become more concerned with your leading than persuaded by others, or choose the safe road. We give you our lives afresh and ask for your leading. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Written by Ps. Sue Botta