টীকা বর্তমানে শুধুমাত্র ইংরেজিতে উপলব্ধ। বাংলা অনুবাদ চলছে।
Acts 21 — The Will of the Lord Be Done
Paul sails for Tyre, then Caesarea, where Agabus binds his own hands with Paul's girdle — so shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle. The brethren plead with him not to go; Paul will not turn. The will of the Lord be done. At Jerusalem James suggests he show his Jewish identity by joining four men in a vow. In the temple Jews from Asia incite a mob — this is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place. He is beaten; the chief captain rescues him from the riot; from the stairs Paul asks leave to speak.
“And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.”
— Acts 21:14
- v.1-14 Agabus's prophecy; *the will of the Lord be done*
- v.15-26 At Jerusalem — the vow
- v.27-36 Riot in the temple; arrested
- v.37-40 Paul asks leave to speak
A prayer of relinquishment. The brethren had wept and warned; Paul could not be moved; they yielded the matter to God. The will of the Lord be done. Five words to release a beloved friend into danger.
A model for the people around a faithful servant. Pray; warn; respect the calling; trust God. When a loved one walks into trouble at God's call, sometimes the only right response is the words Christ Himself spoke at Gethsemane.
False charges, presented inflammatorily. Paul had not brought Greeks into the temple (v.29 — they assumed it from seeing him with Trophimus in the city). A misperception, amplified by hostility, becomes a riot.
A study in how truth dies in mob settings. The accusation goes wide before the facts are checked. The Christian witness who is publicly mischaracterized has Paul before him; the slander did not deter him from the call.
Verse 14 is the prayer for letting go. When someone you love is walking into hardship at God's call — a missionary, a witness in a hostile workplace, a believer staying in a difficult situation — you may have warned, wept, pleaded. There comes a point to say the five words. The will of the Lord be done. The prayer does not abandon them; it commits them to a better keeper than your worry.
Paul walks toward Jerusalem in echo of his Master. Warned, wept over, undeterred, finally arrested in the temple — Christ's journey is being repeated in His apostle. The phrase the will of the Lord be done is the prayer of Gethsemane on Paul's friends' lips, surrendering him as Christ had surrendered Himself. The chapter sets up the long courtroom journey that will take Paul through Felix, Festus, Agrippa, and finally to Rome — the way the Lord has chosen for him.
A tender resolve. Paul does not despise the tears of those who love him; they break his heart. But love that would pull him from God's call is not love he can accept.
For the name of the Lord Jesus. The motive he keeps repeating. He is not seeking martyrdom for its own sake; he is going where Jesus has sent him, ready for whatever comes. The Name justifies the cost.