Famine

Paul's collection for the Jerusalem church occupies significant portions of his letters (1 Cor 16:1–4; 2 Cor 8:1–9:15; Rom 15:14–32). It is so important to Paul he is willing to face hostility (Romans 15:30-31) and is indeed arrested in Jerusalem in part because of it (Acts 24:17). What compelled Paul to raise funds among his gentile converts for the poor in Jerusalem?

Why did he feel this money would be better spent on the poor in Jerusalem rather than on the poor gentiles surrounding the communities where he collected it? What did he hope this offering would accomplish?

In our last study we left Paul and his companions in Caesarea at the house of Philip. They are on their way to Jerusalem. Paul had set his heart on arriving in the city before the Feast of Pentecost, bringing with him the money that had been collected from the Greek churches for the famine relief effort in the city.

He hoped that this collection would serve to help unite the Jewish and Gentile factions in the early church. As he headed toward Jerusalem from Asia Minor, however, he was given several warnings from the Holy Spirit through the mouths of fellow-believers that he would face imprisonment.

Agabus, a prophet mentioned in the Bible, is known for predicting a severe famine. According to the Book of Acts (specifically Acts 11:27–28), Agabus was part of a group of prophets who traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch. He had received the gift of prophecy and foretold that a great famine would occur during the reign of Emperor Claudius.

All that we know about the prophet Agabus comes from two short passages in the Bible. In Acts 11:27–30 Agabus is described as one of several prophets who came from Jerusalem to Syrian Antioch, where Paul was ministering. A prophet was one who received direct messages from God and communicated them to the people.

In Acts 11, Agabus predicted (by the Holy Spirit) that a great famine “would spread over the entire Roman world” (verse 28). The text further reports that Agabus was accurate (as we would expect) and that this famine happened during the reign of Emperor Claudius.

As a result of Agabus’s prophecy, the believers in Antioch began to gather money to send to the Christians living in Judea, and they sent the money by the hands of Barnabas and Saul (Paul). This monetary gift was a fitting response because in the ancient Roman Empire there was usually still food available for purchase during a famine, but at dramatically elevated prices.

With adequate funds, the Christians in Judea would still have been able to purchase food. Furthermore, the Christians in Judea may well have been cut off from their families and from their normal means of support. The love gift from Antioch was all the more important as a sign of the unity of Jewish (in Judea) and Gentile (in Antioch) believers—a unity for which Paul was continually laboring.

In Acts 21:10–12 we see Agabus once again, this time in Caesarea. Although Luke does not explicitly state that this is the same Agabus as in Acts 11, there is no reason to assume he is a different person. Once again, Agabus is functioning as a prophet, and he comes from Judea (verse 10). He meets Paul as the apostle is on his way to Jerusalem.

Agabus takes Paul’s belt and ties up his own hands and feet with it and says, “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’” (verse 11). When the people in Paul’s party hear the prophecy of Agabus, they do whatever they can to dissuade Paul from going to Jerusalem, but he is resolute.

In this case, it seems the purpose of the prophecy was to mentally prepare Paul for what would befall him rather than to warn him not to go.

In both of these instances, Agabus faithfully delivered the message that God had given him and left it up to the hearers to make an appropriate response. Agabus said no more and no less than what God had told him—and that is the one requirement of a faithful prophet.

After Acts 21, we are told no more about Agabus, but since apostles and prophets are the foundation of the church (Jesus being the cornerstone—Ephesians 2:20), it would be safe to assume that Agabus continued to minister in other situations that are not recorded in Scripture.

This famine, which began in the fourth year of Claudius Caesar (around A.D. 44), primarily affected Judea. Agabus played a significant role in conveying this prophecy to the people,

Emphasizing the severity of the impending food shortage. His prediction serves as an example of how prophets in biblical times communicated divine messages to guide and prepare their communities.

After these days we got ready and started on our way up to Jerusalem. (Acts 21:15 NASB).

Paul and his Gentile companions leave Caesarea, and the hospitality of Philip, and head up to Jerusalem. Notice they went "up," even though they are heading south. Everything is up to Jerusalem.

Some of the disciples from Caesarea also came with us, taking us to Mnason of Cyprus, a disciple of long standing with whom we were to lodge. (Acts 21:16 NASB).

Paul and his companions are escorted to Mnason's home. He was a Hellenistic Jewish Christian; he was from Cyprus, like Barnabas. He was raised in a Greek country and had a Greek name. As such, he would have been more open to entertaining a mixed group of Jewish and Gentile Christians than many Hebrew Jewish Christians in Palestine would have been.

The Greek word that is used here for "long standing" is archaios, which is the word from which we get archaic. It has the idea of "a disciple from the beginning." I assume that what is meant by this is that this man has been a disciple from the beginning of the church in Jerusalem, maybe from Pentecost. It's possible he even had known the Lord in the flesh.

After we arrived in Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. (Acts 21:17 NASB).

Paul and his delegation from the Gentile churches arrived at Jerusalem, bearing the gift for the poor that had been collected from the Gentile churches. This is the apostle's fifth visit, and his first in five years with James and the elders in Jerusalem. Paul and the others received a warm welcome:

And the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. (Acts 21:18 NASB).

On the next day the Gentile representatives arranged to meet James, along with all the elders. Paul also went with them. The fact that all the Jerusalem church elders were here meant that it was an official meeting. The non-mention of the apostles suggests that they were elsewhere, carrying out the great commission.

This James was the Lord's half-brother, author of the Epistle of James, who was obviously a leader of the Jerusalem church.

I think we see the evolution of the Church here. In the beginning of Acts the apostles were running things. Then we see in Acts 15:

And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue. (Acts 15:2 NASB).

First it's just apostles, then apostles and elders, and now it's just elders. Verse 18 ends this "we" passage, which means Luke is no longer an eye witness of what happens.