Acts 21:4 And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem.
Hospitality: For Times Like These
There seems to be such a hungry mob these days. They pounce on those who dare to be different, those who dare to speak the truth, and those who dare to walk by conviction. It is not new, however; Paul was a man who knew what it was to swim against the tide. Many times, he would go to a new place of ministry only to be followed by rabble-rousers who would try to stir up people against him. They did not like his gospel message.
Paul was determined to take the message of Christ to Jerusalem. He had been warned several times that calamity could befall him there, yet he was going into the very jaws of the lion, as it were. There is a contrast between the mob that hounded Paul, and the believers who showed him hospitality all along his journey.
For instance, there were those friends who reluctantly sent him away with tears in Acts 20. Acts 21 picks up that part of the story and talks about others who gave him hospitality. Verse 4 says, “And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit that he should not go up to Jerusalem.” Whether or not they had met before, Paul and the local disciples found each other. In the midst of a hostile world, these friends showed Paul hospitality!
They gave him warning, but the point is that they gave him hospitality. Paul found these disciples. It seemed as if they had not been previously acquainted, but Paul’s group had a rapport with these followers of Jesus. The Bible tells us that when Paul and the others were about to leave that place, the disciples there, men, women, and children, all walked down to the shore and prayed with them.
Verse 7 says, “And when we had finished our course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, and saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day.” Again, there was hospitality. Verse 8 says, “And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.” Verse 17 says, “And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.”
What Paul and his group found along their way was respite from the tumultuous world around them. Jesus’ disciples along the way included both Jew and Gentile, rich and poor. These people pulled together because they loved the Lord and so loved each other.
First Peter 4:9 says, “Use hospitality one to another without grudging.” Before that it says, “Have fervent charity among yourselves.” Peter was writing to believers who were in an increasingly hostile world.
Hospitality is a God-given ministry for times like these. It may be a rough world out there, but it shouldn’t be a rough world when you and I gather together with other believers. We should win those who are lost with the good news of Jesus Christ, and we should fellowship around that good news with hospitality and fellowship every day.