Acts 21:20
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When they heard this, they glorified 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.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
they glorified the Lord, &c.--constrained to justify his course, notwithstanding the Jewish complexion of the Christianity of Jerusalem.
Open source ↗We have, with a great deal of pleasure, attended the apostle in his travels throughout the Gentile nations to preach the gospel, and have seen a great harvest of souls gathered in to Christ; there we have seen likewise what persecutions he endured; yet still out of them all the Lord presently delivered him, Ti2 3:11. But now we are to attend him to Jerusalem, and there into lasting bonds; the days of his service now seem to be over, and nothing to remain but days of suffering, days of darkness, for they are many. It is a thousand pities that such a workman should be laid aside; yet so it is, and we must not only acquiesce, as his friends then did, saying, "The will of the Lord be done;" but we must believe, and shall find reason to do so, that Paul in the prison, and at the bar, is as truly glorifying God, and serving Christ's interest, as Paul in the pulpit was. In this chapter we have, I. A journal of Paul's voyage from Ephesus to Caesarea, the next sea-port to Jerusalem, some places he touched at, and his landing there (Act 21:1-7). II. The struggles he had with his friends at Caesarea, who mightily opposed his going up to Jerusalem, but could not prevail (Act 21:8-14). III. Paul's journey from Caesarea to Jerusalem, and the kind entertainment which the Christians there gave him (Act 21:15-17). IV. His compliance with the persuasions of the brethren there, who advised him so far to compliment the Jews as to go and purify that it might appear he was no such enemy to the Mosaic rites and ceremonies as he was reported to be (Act 21:18-26). V. The turning of this very thing against him by the Jews, and the apprehending of him in the temple as a criminal thereupon (Act 21:27-30). VI. The narrow escape he had of being pulled to pieces by the rabble, and the taking of him i…
Open source ↗21:20-25 The Jerusalem church leaders urged Paul to strengthen his credibility by demonstrating that he was not teaching Jews to turn their backs on the laws of Moses. At the same time, no attempt was made to force Jewish rules on Gentile converts—those terms had been set previously (15:22-29) and were simply to be honored.
Open source ↗Cross-references
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For I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge.
I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I am just as zealous for God as any of you here today.
When they heard this, their objections were put to rest, and they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”
Then some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and declared, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”
You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All descendants of Jacob, honor Him! All offspring of Israel, revere Him!
on the day He comes to be glorified in His saints and regarded with wonder by all who have believed, including you who have believed our testimony.
But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.