Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 20:22
And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:
22. And now Jerusalem ] The Apostle refers to his own spirit, the constraint which in his own mind was laid upon him. Some therefore to make this plain would render “in my spirit.” The verb implies that he felt there was no freeing himself from the impulse to go, but it has no such sense as that he already regards himself as a prisoner, that he will be seized and deprived of his liberty when he arrives at Jerusalem.
not knowing there ] This shews that the Holy Ghost had not given to the Apostle more than a general sense that in all places he would be called on to suffer for Christ.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Bound in the spirit – Strongly urged or constrained by the influences of the Holy Spirit on my mind. Not by any desire to see the place where my fathers worshipped, and not urged merely by reason, but by the convictions and mighty promptings of the Holy Spirit to do my duty in this case. The expression bound in the spirit dedemenos to pneumati is one of great strength and emphasis. The word deo, to bind, is usually applied to confinement by cords, fetters, or bands Mat 13:30; Mat 14:3; Mat 21:2; and then it denotes any strong obligation Rom 7:2, or anything that strongly urges or impels, Mat 21:2. When we are strongly urged by the convictions of duty, by the influences of the Holy Spirit, we should not shrink from danger or from death. Duty is to be done at all hazards. It is ours to follow the directions of God; results we may safely and confidently leave with him.
Not knowing the things that shall befall me there – He knew that calamities and trials of some kind awaited him Act 20:23, but he did not know:
- Of what particular kind they would be; nor,
- Their issue, whether it would be life or death.
We should commit our way unto God, not knowing what trials may be before us in life; but knowing that, if we are found faithful at the post of duty, we have nothing to fear in the result.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Act 20:22-24
And now, behold I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem.
The future
(New Years sermon):–The text presents the future as something–
I. We are Bound to face. Paul was under the pressure of no bodily compulsion, yet he had to go.
1. All men are under this necessity.
(1) Many would like to stand still–like children who would have their holidays last forever.
(2) Others would like to go back–to repair mistakes. Embrace lost opportunities, etc.
(3) But this is now impossible. The law of progress is written on our lives.
2. But impotent as is the will to decide the direction of life it can in a measure shape that direction. The future is fixed by God: its character and issues are to be determined by ourselves.
(1) We may let ourselves drift.
(2) We may resolve to live for self.
(3) We may subordinate our will to Gods as Paul did. He was going to Jerusalem to serve Gods Church and to bear testimony to Gods gospel.
II. To be encountered with fortitude.
1. Paul was not perplexed by the uncertainties of the future. He practised what he taught, Be careful for nothing, etc.
2. He was not appalled by the certainties of the future. Prophetic intimations from city to city told him that bonds and imprisonments awaited him (chap. 21). Analogous presentiments are not unknown now. But apart from these old experiences doth attain to somewhat of prophetic strain. Past difficulties and sorrows, growing infirmities, and gray hairs here and there, are but shadows of coming events.
3. But Paul was neither perplexed by the one nor appalled by the other, because he knew he was being led by the will of God.
(1) Guided by Gods counsel, he knew that the way he was going was the right and best way.
(2) Sustained by Gods arm, he knew that Gods grace would be sufficient.
(3) And thus, to his great joy, he knew that the will of the Lord would be done. When he reviewed the circumstances it was without regret (Php 1:20).
III. To be welcomed with joy (Act 20:24).
1. Life is a course which is desirable to finish–not simply to close. Life may be prolonged and yet not be complete. There is nothing sadder than physical development unaccompanied by intellectual and moral growth. The racer may run long and yet break down, or his laggard steps may leave him in the rear: so we may run in vain. Long life is not so much to be wished for as a complete one.
2. In order to finish the course it is necessary to compass the ministry of life–to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
3. This double consummation will be crowned with joy.
(1) The sense of completeness will bring joy. So will–
(2) The benediction of a blest humanity.
(3) The approval of a satisfied conscience.
(4) The Masters Well done.
4. To achieve this joy we must be willing to surrender what men usually most value. I hold my life of no account. (J. W. Burn.)
The Christians onward course
I. In meeting and passing by things that hinder.
1. At Miletus the farewell to the elders. The purpose of a great love to be no hindrance in Christs work. Separations incidental to service.
2. At Tyre certain disciples who told him by the Spirit that he should not go up to Jerusalem. Contradictory voices and perplexities. The ultimate decision is thrown on a mans own responsibility.
3. At Caesarea Agabus took Pauls girdle, etc. A Divine prophecy of danger is to be of less force than a Divine inspiration of duty. The bondage of the Spirit in the cause of right mightier than the bonds of men.
4. Intense emotion to be no restraint in the activities of service–What mean ye to weep and break mine heart? Conscience is to be supreme over feeling. Paul a magnificent example to us in the journey of life. A man going straight on under the overmastering impulse of the right.
II. In uncertainty of the future. Not knowing, etc. The next step is in shadow. Tomorrow is behind the veil.
III. In knowledge of the future. These are not contradictory; we know not and yet we know. He who takes service with Christ may see in the light cast on life by His prophetic words, outlines of the narrow way. Like mountains rising through the mist, he can see from afar the heights he has to climb. Bonds and afflictions abide with me. Whatever there is not, there will be a fellowship of suffering with the Master; and the closer the companionship, the more severe the suffering may be.
IV. Under the guidance of a controlling principle.
1. Following the spiritual lead the Christian is able to deal with unexpected events. New circumstances come with the new hours; they master the ordinary man, as the drift and the gale have their way with the rudderless ship. The man under spiritual subjection has sovereignty over the varying events of life, and uses them as helps to the right course.
2. In this experience faith must follow where reason can but dimly see. The Spirit of God is an all-sufficient guide to the spiritual man.
3. In this experience the Right will become clearer in the progressive Light. Nor will the right be determined by the removal of difficulties; bonds and afflictions may come, but in them and with them the inner peace.
4. The consistency of Pauls course. This is the outcome of the initial act (Act 9:6).
5. The bondage of the Spirit the truest liberty. Contrast with this Divine power the forces under which men put themselves in subjection–the money power, the world power, the self power. These promise liberty. Service on the one side leads to lordship; on the other, imaginary freedom conducts to bonds and affliction unto death.
V. As characterised by a grand stability. None of these things move me. It is the strong motive power that leads right on through waves and storms. Then the glorious end–that I may finish my course with joy. Every mans course will finish, but will he finish it? Under subjection to death or triumphing over it? (W. K. Lea.)
The spirit of duty is
I. A binding spirit. I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem. Urged by the force of his convictions of obligation to Christ, not merely to renew old associations. The binding does not imply reluctance. To be bound by the spirit of duty is to be self-bound, is to be free. The necessities of souls, the claims of Christ, demand my presence in Jerusalem; just as Peter and John said, We cannot but speak, etc., and himself, Necessity is laid upon me. The Divine spirit of duty will listen to no excuses based upon inconveniences, or apparent inexpediences. It makes me feel I must be faithful, honest, spiritual; I must teach and do good.
II. A heroic spirit. He was not afraid of–
1. Threatened persecutions. He looked at them with a fearless heart: None of these things move me.
2. Death itself: Neither count I my life dear. Life is a precious thing, yet duty is far more precious to a Christ-inspired soul. Like Christ, the truly good have ever been ready to sacrifice life for duty. This conduces in every way to our well-being. But the sacrifice of duty for the preservation of life conduces to our degradation and ruin.
III. An abiding spirit. So that I might finish, etc. These words give us a view–
1. Of the life of man. Paul regarded life–
(1) As a course. The allusion is to the Grecian race (2Ti 4:7 : 1Co 9:24). It is in truth a race, measured, so long and no longer–withal very short.
(2) As a course which would have an end–finished.
(3) As a course that should be finished with joy–not with terror, amazement and anguish, but joy. It is Heavens wish that we should all meet with a happy end.
2. Of the life of a minister. The life of a minister is that of–
(1) A most responsible trustee. The gospel is committed to his charge.
(2) A solemn witness to testify the gospel. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
Advancing by faith into the future
In the dungeons of ancient castles there was often a dark winding stair called the oubliette which terminated suddenly in a treacherous opening through which the unwary captive was precipitated into a deep abyss, and dashed in pieces on the rocks beneath. The future is, to some of us, in imagination such an oubliette. We tremble to take another step lest we should leap into sudden calamity, or into the jaws of death. But if we could only look at the matter aright, from the standpoint of faith, the tremors of apprehension would give place to the complacency of hope and trust. I have met somewhere with the anecdote of a father who, desiring to illustrate to his little daughter the nature of faith, concealed himself in a dark chamber in the basement of the house, and called upon the child to jump down into the darkness, assuring her that he would catch her in his arms. For a moment or two she hesitated, but the tones of the familiar and well-loved voice reassured her, and making one bold leap, she found herself the next instant clasped and caressed in her fathers embrace. A kiss was all the harm she got by her venture. The heart of the darkness was her fathers bosom. So will it be with us who have grace to trust God for the future. Let us advance, not tremblingly, but confidingly. That advance, if a leap in the dark, is not a leap into the dark. We shall find ourselves safe in a Fathers arm, and feel a Fathers heart beating next our own. (J. Halsey.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 22. I go bound in the spirit] – Either meaning the strong influence of the Divine Spirit upon his mind, or the strong propensity in his own will, wish, and desire, to visit Jerusalem; and in this sense , to bind, is sometimes used. But it appears more consistent with the mind of the apostle, and with that influence under which we find that he constantly acted, to refer it to the influence of the Holy Ghost; , being under the power of that Spirit; as if he had said: “I have now no choice – God has not left me either to the advices of friends, or to my own prudence: the Spirit of God obliges me to go to Jerusalem, and yet does not intimate to me what peculiar trials shall befall me there: I have only the general intimation that, in every city where I proclaim the Gospel, bonds and afflictions await me.” This sense of the word Kypke has largely defended in his note here.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Bound in the spirit; as powerfully persuaded by a Divine instinct, to undertake this journey, as if I were led or drawn to it by forcible means; being bound to obey God in all things, whom I take to be my God and Guide, my Sun and Shield: and I do not desire so much to act, as to be acted by him. This St. Paul says, not as if he was drawn unto this journey against his will, but lest any should attempt to dissuade him from it, or that he should seem to have slighted the predictions of the prophets, mentioned in Act 21:11,12. Nay, he might say this, as being as certain of his bonds as if he felt them already. Such things as are foretold to such as know the veracity of God, they are as present. Howsoever, he was content to be bound, to suffer, nay, to die for Christ. And as he is poor in spirit who crucifies the world, and is willing to want, if God sees good; so he is bound in spirit, who is thus willing to be bound for the name of Christ. Howsoever, these words speak his firm resolution to take this journey upon him.
Not knowing the things that shall befall me there; what the event shall be, in what measure he should be bound, and how long; he left it unto Gods good will and pleasure.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
22, 23. And now, behold, I“I”is emphatic here.
bound in the spiritcompareAc 19:21. This internalpressure, unattended with any knowledge of “what was to befallhim there,” was the result of that higher guidance which shapedall his movements.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And now behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem,…. Not in his own spirit, though the Ethiopic version reads, “in my spirit”; as if he was pressed and straitened, and troubled within himself, at what afflictions and bonds he was to endure at Jerusalem; for this is not consistent with what he says in Ac 20:24 nor is the sense, that he was bound in conscience and duty to go to Jerusalem, to carry the collections of the churches made for the poor saints there, which the Gentile churches importuned him to take upon him, and which he undertook, and promised to perform, and so was under obligation to do it; but rather that he was resolved and determined in his own mind, within himself, or he purposed in his spirit, as in Ac 19:21 to go to Jerusalem: but it is best to understand it of the Spirit of God; as that either the apostle, by the revelation of the Spirit of God, knew that when he came to Jerusalem he should be laid in bonds, and under a deep impression of that upon his mind, he went thither, as though he was bound already; or rather that he was under such a strong impulse of the Spirit of God, by which he was moved to such a vehement desire to go thither, that the bonds and afflictions he saw waited for him there, could not deter him, and all the entreaties of his friends could not dissuade him from it:
not knowing the things that shall befall me there; that is, the particular things he should suffer there, nor how they would issue with respect to life or death; and if the latter, whether he should suffer death, there or elsewhere; these things were not as yet revealed to him; he only in general knew, that bonds and afflictions would be his lot and portion, and which therefore he excepts in the next verse: after this it was revealed to him by Agabus a prophet, in the name, and under the influence of the Holy Ghost, that he should be apprehended at Jerusalem, and should be bound and delivered to the Gentiles; which was signified by the prophet’s taking his girdle and binding his hands and feet with it, but still he knew not whether he should die there or not, though he was ready for it, Ac 21:10 afterwards when he was come to Jerusalem, and had been bound, and was in prison, the Lord himself appeared to him, and told him that he must bear witness at Rome, as he had testified of him at Jerusalem, Ac 23:11 so that he was not to suffer death there, only bonds and imprisonment.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Bound in the spirit ( ). Perfect passive participle of , to bind, with the locative case. “Bound in my spirit” he means, as in 19:21, from a high sense of duty. The mention of “the Holy Spirit” specifically in verse 23 seems to be in contrast to his own spirit here. His own spirit was under the control of the Holy Spirit (Ro 8:16) and the sense does not differ greatly.
Not knowing ( ). Second perfect active participle of with .
That shall befall me ( ). Articular future active participle of , to meet with (Ac 10:25), to befall (with associative instrumental case) and compare with (befell) in verse 19. One of the rare instances of the future participle in the N.T.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And now behold,” (kai nun idou) “And now and hereafter, behold or observe;” The (Gk. nun “now”) means for now and in continuity, without ceasing, hereafter forever. Paul simply said, “This is it,” so far as my life and ministry with you all is concerned. The same phrase is used again Act 20:25 regarding the finality of his fellowship with them It is also found 1Co 6:2.
2) “I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem,” (dedemenos ego to pneumati poreuomai eis lerousalem) “Having been bound by the Spirit I am going of my own volition into Jerusalem,” meaning constrained of, or led by, the Spirit, as God’s Spirit constrained or witnessed to His spirit, Act 20:23. In the Spirit “as good as bound,” arrested and shackled already I go to Jerusalem, was Paul’s disclosure of himself and his future, that he had wholly resigned to the Lord, 2Co 5:14.
3) “Not knowing the things that shall befall me there.” (ta en aute sunantesonta emoi me eidos) “Not knowing the things in it that are going to meet me,” to be around me there, overtake me, or confront me, as he knew not (the specifics) of what tomorrow held for him, though the spirit led him on, Jas 4:14-15; Rom 8:28; Heb 13:5.
“I know not where His islands lift
their fronded palms in air,
I only know I cannot drift,
beyond His love and care.”
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
−
22. And, behold. He declareth now more fully to what end he intreated of his upright dealing; to wit, because they should never see him any more. And it was very expedient that the pattern which was set before them by God of them to be followed should be always before their eyes, and that they should remember him when he was dead. For we know how readily men degenerate from pure institution. But though he deny that he doth know what shall befall him at Jerusalem, yet because he was taught by many prophecies that bonds were prepared for him there, as if he were now ready to die, he cutteth off shortly after the hope of his return. And yet for all this he is not contrary to himself. He speaketh doubtfully at the first of set purpose, that he may soften that which was about to be more (hard and) bitter; and yet he doth truly affirm, that he knew not as yet the ends and events of things, because he had no certain and special revelation touching the whole process. −
Bound in the spirit. Some expound this that he was bound to the churches, who had committed to him this function to carry alms. Notwithstanding, I do rather think that hereby is meant the inward force and motion of the Spirit, not as though he were so inspired, − (426) that he was out of his wit, but because being certified of the will of God, he did meekly − (427) follow the direction and instinct of the Spirit, even of his own accord. Therefore, this speech importeth as much as if he should have said, I cannot otherwise do, unless I would be stubborn and rebellious against God, who doth as it were draw me thither, being bound by his Spirit. For to the end he may excuse himself of rashness, he saith that the Spirit is the author and guide of his journey. But would to God those brain-sick men, who boast that the Spirit doth incite to them those things which proceed from their own fantasy, did know the Spirit as familiarly as did Paul, who doth, notwithstanding, not say that all his motions and instigations − (428) are of the Spirit, but declareth that that fell out in one thing as a singular thing. For men do oftentimes foolishly and unadvisedly take in hand those things which they put in practice afterward stoutly, because they be ashamed of lightness and instability. And he doth not only mean that he took in hand his journey for a good cause, which the Spirit of God showeth him, but that it is altogether necessary for him, because it is wickedness to resist. Furthermore, let us learn, by the example of the holy man, not to kick against the Spirit of the Lord, but obediently to give over ourselves by him to be governed, that he may rule us at his pleasure after we be as it were bound to him. − (429) For if the reprobate, who are the bond-slaves of Satan, be carried not only willingly, but also greedily, through his motion, − (430) how much more ought this voluntary bondage or service to be in the children of God? −
(426) −
“
Non quod ενθουσιασμω correptus fuerit,” not that he was so enraptured.
(427) −
“
Spoute vel plaeide,” calmly or spontaneously.
(428) −
“
Impulsus,” impulses.
(429) −
“
Nec tamen violenter trahamur,” and yet be not violently dragged, omitted.
(430) −
“
Ad ejus impulsum,” as he impels them.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(22) And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit.The question meets us as before (see Note on Act. 19:21), whether the words refer to the direct action of the Holy Spirit or to the higher element of St. Pauls own nature, as in 1Co. 5:3; 2Co. 2:13. On the whole, the latter seems the more probable, subject, as before, to the reservation that the word is used because it points to that part of his being which was most in communion with the Divine Spirit. (Comp. Rom. 8:16.) He was going to Jerusalem regardless of results, under a constraint which virtually limited the freedom of his human will. As in 1Co. 9:16, a necessity was laid upon him.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
22. Bound in spirit As if the very cords of a stern necessity were bound around his spirit, must he go.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
He Describes What Has Caused Him To Want To Speak To Them And The Fate That Awaits Him (22-24).
“And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will befall me there, save that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me.”
He declares that he is not sure what is to befall him but does know that bonds and affliction await him, and that he must necessarily go forward. He cannot escape, for he is already bound by the bonds of the Spirit Who holds him captive, taking him inexorably forward in the fulfilment of His will.
He knows that this is so because in every place that he visits prophets warn him of the bonds and affliction that lie ahead. Luke has avoided mentioning this previously lest it became too repetitive. He will shortly give specific examples. So like Jesus before him, Paul goes steadfastly towards Jerusalem in order to suffer for Christ’s sake, because he knows that only through that suffering can God’s purposes be fulfilled. He will not shrink from anything that will enable him to fully accomplish God’s will, even the ‘much tribulation’ through which we must enter under the Kingly Rule of God (Act 14:22).
“But I do not hold my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may accomplish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify the good news of the grace of God.”
Indeed he does not consider himself at all when making his decisions. He will not cling to his life or count it as of more value than being faithful to God’s service, for he knows that his life is of little value except as it is spent in fulfilling the pathway and ministry that the Lord Jesus has set before him to follow and do. And all this is so that he may testify to the good news of the unmerited favour and compassionate mercy and activity of God (‘the grace of God’). This is his ministry and lifework and nothing else matters.
Paul is not here seeking to arouse great admiration for himself. He is telling them of his own dedication, in order that it might be a call to their hearts to go and be the same. He is hoping for a like response. He is not only saying ‘Pray for me.’ He is also saying, ‘You also must face life with the same constancy’.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Paul warned of coming affliction:
v. 22. And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there;
v. 23. save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.
v. 24. But none. of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel of the grace of God.
v. 25. And now, behold, I know that ye all among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.
v. 26. Wherefore I take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men.
v. 27. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. There is a strain of ineffable sadness in the entire address of Paul, and the reason for the sorrowful note is here given. Although Paul himself had not received an express revelation, others had prophesied concerning the outcome of the present journey. He felt urged, compelled in the Spirit, who directed his steps on more than one occasion; it would have been an act of direct disobedience for him not to travel up to Jerusalem. He had no definite information as to the things that would happen to him in that city, that would come upon him to harm him, only that the Holy Spirit, in every city through which he had recently passed, had plainly testified that fetters, chains, and therefore also affliction, awaited him. The nearer he came to Jerusalem, the more explicit became the prophecies, chap. 21:11. From step to step on his journey, Paul was warned and guided, and incidentally his spirit was filled with consolation and courage from above. He did not esteem his life worthy of mention, as a life that was precious to himself. As he had always subordinated his life, his abilities, his talents, his ambitions under the will of the Lord, so here also he had but one thought, namely, to finish his course, the service which he had received from the Lord Jesus, to be untiring in his testimony, to witness to the Gospel of the grace of God. This service, this ministry, had been entrusted to Paul by Jesus Himself, chap. 9:6-15; Gal 1:1; Tit 1:3. Grace presupposes guilt, and therefore Paul had not weakened the proclamation of the Law, but his greatest joy had ever been to attest the Gospel of the grace of God in Christ Jesus, to lead poor sinners to the mercy of their Savior. The same spirit of joyful and willing service must be the driving power in every true servant of the Lord, whether engaged in the work of the formal ministry or not. All this Paul had emphasized once more, because it was his personal conviction, based upon the prophecies which he had heard recently, that they all who were now assembled before him, through whose midst he had journeyed with the proclamation of the kingdom of God, would see his face no more. All indications pointed in that direction and caused him to be very anxious and apprehensive. And this being the case, Paul called upon those present as witnesses before God on that day and in that solemn hour, that he was pure from their blood, that not a single one of them could demand his soul at the hand of the apostle from want of pastoral care; for he had not held back, he had not shrunk from proclaiming to them the entire counsel of God, the counsel of redemption and grace. “No epistle excels that to the Ephesians in the richness of its thoughts, and in its conception of a divine purpose running through the ages; no epistle dwells more fully upon the conception of the Church as the body of Christ, or exhorts more touchingly to diligence in keeping the unity of the spirit, or insists more practically upon the sanctifying power of the one Spirit and the sense of a divine membership in every sphere of human life. The rich and full teaching of the epistle is addressed to men who are able to understand the apostle’s knowledge of the mystery of Christ; in other words, to those to whom he had announced more fully than to others the counsel of God.”
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Act 20:22. I go bound in the Spirit “Under the strong impulse of the Spirit of God upon my mind; intimating my duty to me in such a manner, that I can neither omit nor delay it, but am firmly resolved to proceed to Jerusalem.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Act 20:22 . ] Singular , although addressed to several; see on Mat 10:16 .
] apostolic sense of personal significance in the consciousness of his important and momentous destiny.
] cannot denote the shutting off of any inward glimpse into the future , which is first expressed afterwards and in plain terms (Hahn, Theol. d. N.T . I. p. 412). Since, moreover, the Holy Spirit first comes in at Act 20:23 , and. since the being fettered was first to befall the apostle in Jerusalem , Act 20:23 , those views are to be rejected, which explain of the Holy Spirit and of the being fettered . Accordingly, the words are neither to be taken as: bound to the Holy Spirit (Rom 7:2 ; 1Co 7:27 ), i.e. dependent on Him (my first edition); nor: constrained by the Holy Spirit (Beza, Calvin, Calovius, Kypke, and others); nor: fettered, i.e . already as good as fettered, I go at the instigation of the Holy Spirit (Oecumenius, Theophylact, who put the comma after .); nor yet: fettered ( i.e. vincula praesentiens ) in my spirit (Erasmus, Grotius, Wolf, Bengel, Morus); but Paul expresses his consciousness of internal binding : bound, i.e. compelled and urged in my spirit (dative of more precise limitation). He knows, that as regards his journey to Jerusalem, he follows a necessity present to his higher self-consciousness and binding its freedom, an irresistible internal drawing of his higher personal life. Comp. Heinrichs, Kuinoel, de Wette, Lange, Ewald, Hackett. On , comp. Plat. Rep . viii. p. 567 C, , . . .
] The relation to Act 20:23 is as follows: Paul knew not specially what was to befall him at Jerusalem , but only in general it was testified to him by the Holy Spirit in every city, that bonds and afflictions were awaiting him there.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
22 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:
Ver. 22. I go bound in the spirit ] Paul’s spirit did not hang loose, but it was girt up in a resolution to go through with the work, whatsoever came of it. The Spirit hems us about, comprehends and keeps us, when a man’s own strength would fall loose. It is not so with every ungirt gospeller, that hath a loose, discinct, and diffluent mind, and no supernatural strength to support him.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
22. ] bound in my spirit . This interpretation is most probable, both from the construction, and from the usage of the expression repeatedly by and of Paul in the sense of his own spirit . See ch. reff., where the principal instances are given. The dative, as here, is found Rom 12:11 , . , 1Co 5:3 , . ( 1Co 14:15-16 ?), 2Co 2:13 , . , and al., see also ch. Act 19:21 . How he was bound in the spirit is manifest, by comparing other passages, where the Holy Spirit of God is related to have shaped his apostolic course. He was bound, by the Spirit of God leading captive, constraining, his own spirit.
As he went up to Jerusalem , so he left Juda again , a prisoner according to the flesh .
He had no detailed knowledge of futurity nothing but what the Holy Spirit, in general forewarning, repeated at every point of his journey ( ; see ch. Act 21:4 ; Act 21:11 , for two such instances), announced, viz., imprisonment and tribulations. That here no inner voice of the Spirit is meant, is evident from the words . (Two of the three other places where this phrase occurs are from the mouth or pen of Paul.)
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 20:22 . : the exact phrase occurs again in Act 20:25 , and only once elsewhere in words ascribed to Paul, Act 13:11 ( , twice in Paul only, 2Co 6:2 ). : “bound in the spirit,” compulsus animo , Blass; so in classical Greek, Xen., Cyr. , viii., 1, 12; Plato, Rep. , viii., p. 567 e, cf. Act 19:21 , Act 18:25 , 1Co 5:3 . The fact that the Holy Spirit is specifically so called in Act 20:23 seems to decide for the above rendering in this verse; but see Weiss on Act 20:23 ; Ramsay also renders “constrained by the Spirit”. Possibly is named as that part of the man in closest union with the Spirit of God, cf. Rom 8:16 , so that the sense is not affected. If we compare with Act 19:21 the expression presents an advance in the Apostle’s thought his purpose becomes plainer, and the obligation more definite, as the Spirit witnesses with his spirit. The expression may mean that the Apostle regarded himself as already bound in the spirit, i.e. , although not outwardly bound, he yet knows and feels himself as one bound. For St. Paul’s frequent use of cf. Rom 1:9 ; Rom 8:16 ; Rom 12:11 , 1Co 2:11 ; 1Co 5:3-4 ; 1Co 14:14 , etc. Oecumenius and Theophylact take with , i.e. , bound, as good as bound, I go by the leading of the Spirit to Jerusalem; but this seems forced. Paley, Hor Paulin , ii., 5, remarks on the undesigned coincidence with Rom 15:30 . : the verb is found only in Luke in N.T. (except Heb 7:10 as a quotation, Gen 14:17 ), and only here in this sense, cf. Ecc 2:14 ; Ecc 9:11 , also Plut., Sulla , 2; Polyb., xx., 7, 14; middle, . On the rarity of the future participle in Greek, and its use in this passage “an exception which proves the rule,” see Simcox, Language of the N. T. , p. 126.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Acts
THE FIGHT WITH WILD BEASTS AT EPHESUS
PARTING COUNSELS
Act 20:22 – Act 20:35
This parting address to the Ephesian elders is perfect in simplicity, pathos, and dignity. Love without weakness and fervent yet restrained self-devotion throb in every line. It is personal without egotism, and soars without effort. It is ‘Pauline’ through and through, and if Luke or some unknown second-century Christian made it, the world has lost the name of a great genius. In reading it, we have to remember the Apostle’s long stay in Ephesus, and his firm conviction that he was parting for ever from those over whom he had so long watched, and so long loved, as well as guided. Parting words should be tender and solemn, and these are both in the highest degree.
The prominence given to personal references is very marked and equally natural. The whole address down to Act 20:22 is of that nature, and the same theme recurs in Act 20:31 , is caught up again in Act 20:33 , and continues thence to the end. That abundance of allusions to himself is characteristic of the Apostle, even in his letters; much more is it to be looked for in such an outpouring of his heart to trusted friends, seen for the last time. Few religious teachers have ever talked so much of themselves as Paul did, and yet been as free as he is from taint of display or self-absorption.
The personal references in Act 20:22 – Act 20:27 turn on two points-his heroic attitude in prospect of trials and possible martyrdom, and his solemn washing his hands of all responsibility for ‘the blood’ of those to whom he had declared all the counsel of God. He looks back, and his conscience witnesses that he has discharged his ministry; he looks forward, and is ready for all that may confront him in still discharging it, even to the bloody end.
Nothing tries a man’s mettle more than impending evil which is equally certain and undefined. Add that the moment of the sword’s falling is unknown, and you have a combination which might shake the firmest nerves. Such a combination fronted Paul now. He told the elders, what we do not otherwise know, that at every halting-place since setting his face towards Jerusalem he had been met by the same prophetic warnings of ‘bonds and afflictions’ waiting for him. The warnings were vague, and so the more impressive. Fear has a vivid imagination, and anticipates the worst.
Paul was not afraid, but he would not have been human if he had not recognised the short distance for him between a prison and a scaffold. But the prospect did not turn him a hairsbreadth from his course. True, he was ‘bound in the spirit,’ which may suggest that he was not so much going joyfully as impelled by a constraint felt to be irresistible. But whatever his feelings, his will was iron, and he went calmly forward on the road, though he knew that behind some turn of it lay in wait, like beasts of prey, dangers of unknown kinds.
And what nerved him thus to front death itself without a quiver? The supreme determination to do what Jesus had given him to do. He knew that his Lord had set him a task, and the one thing needful was to accomplish that. We have no such obstacles in our course as Paul had in his, but the same spirit must mark us if we are to do our work. Consciousness of a mission, fixed determination to carry it out, and consequent contempt of hindrances, belong to all noble lives, and especially to true Christian ones. Perils and hardships and possible evils should have no more power to divert us from the path which Christ marks for us than storms or tossing of the ship have to deflect the needle from pointing north.
It is easy to talk heroically when no foes are in sight; but Paul was looking dangers in the eyes, and felt their breath on his cheeks when he spoke. His longing was to ‘fulfil his course.’ ‘With joy’ is a weakening addition. It was not ‘joy,’ but the discharge of duty, which seemed to him infinitely desirable. What was aspiration at Miletus became fact when, in his last Epistle, he wrote, ‘I have finished my course.’
In Act 20:25 – Act 20:27 the Apostle looks back as well as forward. His anticipation that he was parting for ever from the Ephesian elders was probably mistaken, but it naturally leads him to think of the long ministry among them which was now, as he believed, closed. And his retrospect was very different from what most of us, who are teachers, feel that ours must be. It is a solemn thought that if we let either cowardice or love of ease and the good opinion of men hold us back from speaking out all that we know of God’s truth, our hands are reddened with the blood of souls.
We are all apt to get into grooves of favourite thoughts, and to teach but part of the whole Gospel. If we do not seek to widen our minds to take in, and our utterances to give forth, all the will of God as seen by us, our limitations and repetitions will repel some from the truth, who might have been won by a completer presentation of it, and their blood will be required at our hands. None of us can reach to the apprehension, in its full extent and due proportion of its parts, of that great gospel; but we may at least seek to come nearer the ideal completeness of a teacher, and try to remember that we are ‘pure from the blood of all men,’ only when we have not ‘shrunk from declaring all God’s counsel.’ We are not required to know it completely, but we are required not to shrink from declaring it as far as we know it.
Paul’s purpose in this retrospect was not only to vindicate himself, but to suggest to the elders their duty. Therefore he passes immediately to exhortation to them, and a forecast of the future of the Ephesian Church. ‘Take heed to yourselves.’ The care of one’s own soul comes first. He will be of little use to the Church whose own personal religion is not kept warm and deep. All preachers and teachers and men who influence their fellows need to lay to heart this exhortation, especially in these days when calls to outward service are so multiplied. The neglect of it undermines all real usefulness, and is a worm gnawing at the roots of the vines.
We note also the condensed weightiness of the following exhortation, in which solemn reasons are suggested for obeying it. The divine appointment to office, the inclusion of the ‘bishops’ in the flock, the divine ownership of the flock, and the cost of its purchase, are all focussed on the one point, ‘Take heed to all the flock.’ Of course a comparison with Act 20:17 shows that elder and bishop were two designations for one officer; but the question of the primitive organisation of church offices, important as it is, is less important than the great thoughts as to the relation of the Church to God, and as to the dear price at which men have been won to be truly His.
We note the reading in the Act 20:28 margin, ‘the flock of the Lord,’ but do not discuss it. The chief thought of the verse is that the Church is God’s flock, and that the death of Jesus has bought it for His, and that negligent under-shepherds are therefore guilty of grievous sin.
The Apostle had premonitions of the future for the Church as well as for himself, and the horizons were dark in both outlooks. He foresaw evils from two quarters, for ‘wolves’ would come from without, and perverse teachers would arise within, drawing the disciples after them and away from the Lord. The simile of wolves may be an echo of Christ’s warning in Mat 7:15 . How sadly Paul’s anticipations were fulfilled the Epistle to the Church in Ephesus Rev 2:1 – Rev 2:29 shows too clearly. Unslumbering alertness, as of a sentry in front of the enemy, is needed if the slinking onset of the wolf is to be beaten back. Paul points to his own example, and that in no vainglorious spirit, but to stimulate and also to show how watchfulness is to be carried out. It must be unceasing, patient, tenderly solicitous, and grieving over the falls of others as over personal calamities. If there were more such ‘shepherds,’ there would be fewer stray sheep.
Anxious forebodings and earnest exhortations naturally end in turning to God and invoking His protecting care. The Apostle’s heart runs over in his last words Act 20:32 – Act 20:35. He falls back for himself, in the prospect of having to cease his care of the Church, on the thought that a better Guide will not leave it, and he would comfort the elders as well as himself by the remembrance of God’s power to keep them. So Jacob, dying, said, ‘I die, but God shall be with you.’ So Moses, dying, said, ‘The Lord hath said unto me, thou shalt not go over this Jordan. The Lord thy God, He will go before thee.’ Not even Paul is indispensable. The under-shepherds die, the Shepherd lives, and watches against wolves and dangers. Paul had laid the foundation, and the edifice would not stand unfinished, like some half-reared palace begun by a now dead king. The growth of the Church and of its individual members is sure. It is wrought by God.
His instrument is ‘the word of His grace.’ Therefore if we would grow, we must use that word. Christian progress is no more possible, if the word of God is not our food, than is an infant’s growth if it refuses milk. That building up or growth or advance for all three metaphors are used, and mean the same thing has but one natural end, the entrance of each redeemed soul into its own allotment in the true land of promise, the inheritance of those who are sanctified. If we faithfully use that word which tells of and brings God’s grace, that we may grow thereby, He will bring us at last to dwell among those who here have growingly been made saints. He is able to do these things. It is for us to yield to His power, and to observe the conditions on which it will work on us.
Even at the close Paul cannot refrain from personal references. He points to his example of absolute disinterestedness, and with a dramatic gesture holds out ‘these hands’ to show how they are hardened by work. Such a warning against doing God’s work for money would not have been his last word, at a time when all hearts were strung up to the highest pitch, unless the danger had been very real. And it is very real to-day. If once the suspicion of being influenced by greed of gain attaches to a Christian worker, his power ebbs away, and his words lose weight and impetus.
It is that danger which Paul is thinking of when he tells the elders that by ‘labouring’ they ‘ought to support the weak’; for by weak he means not the poor, but those imperfect disciples who might be repelled or made to stumble by the sight of greed in an elder. Shepherds who obviously cared more for wool than for the sheep have done as much harm as ‘grievous wolves.’
Paul quotes an else unrecorded saying of Christ’s which, like a sovereign’s seal, confirms the subject’s words. It gathers into a sentence the very essence of Christian morality. It reveals the inmost secret of the blessedness of the giving God. It is foolishness and paradox to the self-centred life of nature. It is blessedly true in the experience of all who, having received the ‘unspeakable gift,’ have thereby been enfranchised into the loftier life in which self is dead, and to which it is delight, kindred with God’s own blessedness, to impart.
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
behold. Greek. idou. App-133. “And now, behold”, repeated Act 20:25. Figure of speech Epibole. App-6.
bound in the spirit = firmly resolved. Figure of speech Idioma. App-6.
spirit. App-101.
knowing. Greek. eidon. App-133.
befall = meet. Greek. sunantao. See note on Act 10:25. Not the same word as in Act 20:19.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
22. ] bound in my spirit. This interpretation is most probable, both from the construction, and from the usage of the expression repeatedly by and of Paul in the sense of his own spirit. See ch. reff., where the principal instances are given. The dative, as here, is found Rom 12:11, . ,-1Co 5:3, . (1Co 14:15-16?),-2Co 2:13, . , and al., see also ch. Act 19:21. How he was bound in the spirit is manifest, by comparing other passages, where the Holy Spirit of God is related to have shaped his apostolic course. He was bound, by the Spirit of God leading captive, constraining, his own spirit.
As he went up to Jerusalem , so he left Juda again ,-a prisoner according to the flesh.
He had no detailed knowledge of futurity-nothing but what the Holy Spirit, in general forewarning, repeated at every point of his journey ( ; see ch. Act 21:4; Act 21:11, for two such instances), announced, viz., imprisonment and tribulations. That here no inner voice of the Spirit is meant, is evident from the words . (Two of the three other places where this phrase occurs are from the mouth or pen of Paul.)
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Act 20:22. , and now behold I) These words are weightily repeated by Anaphora, in Act 20:25 [See Append. on Anaphora, the frequent repetition of words to mark beginnings].- , bound in spirit) Paul knew that he was about to be bound: and now already he was so affected in mind as one who is bound, nor could he induce his mind to think anything else but that he would be bound.- , not knowing) We ought not to suppose that the apostles were omniscient. They depended by faith on the Divine guidance. Paul knew concerning others, Act 20:25; Act 20:29; concerning himself he was obliged to exercise implicit faith.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
spirit
Cf. Act 21:4. In Act 20:22 Paul’s own spirit (See Scofield “1Th 5:23”) is meant; in Act 21:4 the Holy Spirit. Paul’s motive in going to Jerusalem seems to have been his great affection for the Jews Rom 9:1-5 and his hope that gifts of the Gentile churches, sent by him to the poor saints at Jerusalem Rom 15:25-28 would open the hearts of the law-bound Jewish believers to the “gospel of the grace of God” Act 20:24.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
I go: Act 19:21, Act 21:11-14, Luk 9:51, Luk 12:50, 2Co 5:14
not: Luk 18:31-33, Joh 13:1, Joh 18:4, Jam 4:14, 2Pe 1:14
Reciprocal: Mar 10:33 – we go Joh 11:7 – Let Act 8:29 – General Act 9:16 – I will Act 21:4 – said Act 21:12 – besought Act 23:11 – for Rom 15:25 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE CHRISTIAN COURSE
And now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy.
Act 20:22-24
St. Paul is here under the influence of a resistless power. As we look into the narrative we see gathering round this conviction of necessity, elements of uncertainty, of conflict, of difficulty, of peril, of possible death.
I. Things that hinder.
(a) At Miletus the farewell to the Ephesian elders. The sorrow of a great love to be no hindrance in Christs work.
(b) At Tyre certain disciples who told him by the Spirit that he should not go up to Jerusalem. Contradictory voices and perplexities. The ultimate decision is thrown on a mans own responsibility.
(c) At Csarea a certain prophet named Agabus took Pauls girdle. A Divine prophecy of danger is to be of less force than a Divine inspiration to duty.
(d) Intense emotion to be no restraint in the activities of service. What, mean ye to weep and break my heart?
II. Uncertainty of the future.Not knowing, etc. The next step is in shadow. To-morrow is behind the veil.
III. Knowledge of the future.We know not and yet we know. He who takes service with Christ may see in the light cast on life by His prophetic words, outlines of the narrow way. Whatever there is not, there will be a fellowship of suffering with the Master; and the closer the companionship, the more severe the suffering may be.
IV. A controlling principle.
(a) Following the spiritual lead the Christian is able to deal with unexpected events. The man under spiritual subjection has sovereignty over the varying events of life, and uses them as helps to the right course.
(b) In this experience faith must follow where reason can but dimly see. The Spirit of God is an all-sufficient guide to the spiritual man.
(c) In this experience the Right will become clearer in the progressive Light. Nor will the right be determined by the removal of difficulties; bonds and afflictions may come, but in them and with them the inner peace.
(d) The consistency of St. Pauls course. This is the outcome of the initial act consecrating the new lifeLord, what wilt Thou have me to do? (Act 9:6.)
(e) The bondage of the Spirit is the truest liberty.
V. The glorious end.That I may finish my course with joy. Every mans course will finish, but will he finish it having power then or helplessness? Under subjection to death or triumphing over it? Spiritual dominion results from the completeness of spiritual service.
(SECOND OUTLINE)
THE FUTURE
Let us think of the future as something to be faced under the binding power of an inexorable necessity. Behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem. There was no physical pressure, yet St. Paul had to go.
I. All men are under this necessity.No man can stand still or retrace his steps; whether he will or no, the law of progression is written on his life, and by virtue of that he is bound in the Spirit to go on.
(a) Many would like to be stationary, to fix in permanence momentary enjoyment, and, like children, wish their holidays last for ever.
(b) Many would like to go back and live life over again. What would not some men give to recall the past, to enjoy its happy hours, to correct its mistakes, to embrace its lost opportunities, and to avoid its sins!
II. This necessity is qualified by the freedom of the will.It is not left to us to decide whether or not we shall have a future; but it is left to us largely to determine what that future is to be. We cannot resist the current of time, but we can choose our position in it and our destination. How are we going to shape our conduct in the near future? Two courses are open to us.
(a) To let the will have its own way. Some men mark out their future with sole reference to self. We may be what we will to be. What is to be the governing principle for the coming year? Power, pleasure, wealth? If so, what shall it profit a man?
(b) To subordinate the will to Gods will. St. Paul does not say, I go bound by the Spirit of God, but, looking at all the circumstances in connection with the principles on which his whole life was based, we are led to the conclusion that he means that. For some time past Divine indications had pointed to Rome, and the road to Rome (providentially) lay through Jerusalem. His business (being bearer of Gentile contributions) took him to Jerusalem; his religious duties would take him to Rome. Happy the man who yields to the constraint of the Spirit in both business and religion! Let that be your future course.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
2
Act 20:22. The original word for bound is defined “To put under obligation” by Thayer. Paul was always guided in his teaching and conduct of his office as an apostle, by the Holy Spirit that was sent to “guide him into all truth” (Joh 16:13).
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 20:22. And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things which shall befall me there. Some commentators have understood these words as though Paul was constrained by the Holy Spirit to journey to Jerusalem, in other words, was going to Jerusalem on the impulse of the Holy Spirit. It is better, however, to refer the words in the Spirit to Pauls own spirit; for in the following verse we have the word , spirit, apparently distinguished from spirit in this verse by the epithet , the holy, in the English Version rendered Holy Ghost. The meaning here without doubt is, Urged by an intense sense of duty, Paul was going up to the Holy City. He was so persuaded that this was right, that no prospect of danger deterred him, no urgent affectionate entreaties moved him from his purpose.
He was ignorant what the dangers were which too surely would meet him. He only knew that some terrible trial certainly awaited him in that city. The Holy Ghost in some mysterious way had forewarned him of this.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Here the apostle proceeds not to boast of himself, but to clear himself of any charge or surmise of ministerial miscarriage, and also to propound himself as a pattern of ministerial faithfulness to the elders of the church at Ephesus.
And here again, 1. Our apostle instances in his holy and heroic resolution and activity for God: I know that bonds and afflictions abide me: nevertheless I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, and nothing moves me. As if he had said, “I am fully resolved, by the grace of God enabling, that nothing shall divert me from my duty; neither deterring fear or deluding favour of men shall ever affect me; but I will go out and go on in the strength of Christ, running my race with patience, and finishing my course with joy.”
Hence learn, 1. That the apprehension of suffering must not shake the resolution of a Christian, much less daunt the courage of a gospel minister, ver. 24. None of these things move me. True ministerial courage delights in the air of that danger where duty dwells, and will neither be beaten off from doing an incumbent duty, nor be beaten on to a compliance to any known sin.
Learn, 2. That the ministers of Christ should endeavour not only to finish their ministry and course of Christianity with faithfulness, but with joy; and that they may do so, let them see that they give up themselves wholly to the service of Christ without restriction or reserve, and live daily by faith on the mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Here was such a masculine spirit in our apostle, as bid defiance to death and danger; and the argument that excited him was, that he might finish his course with joy.
Next, the apostle declares his impartiality in preaching the gospel, ver. 27, I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
Where observe, He doth not say he had declared the whole counsel of God, (for who but God himself can do that?) but he had not shunned to declare the whole counsel of God; that is, he had not concealed from them any truth necessary to salvation. And this freed him from the blood of souls; if any perished, it was not long of him, but their blood was upon themselves: I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.
It is happy when the ministers of God can appeal to the consciences of their people, and summon them in as witnesses to bear record for them at the bar of Christ.–
Lastly, The apostle tells them, they were never like to see his face again; a cutting, killing word. How would it fire the zeal of ministers, and inflame the affections of a people, did they remember, that in a short time they must see the faces and hear the voices of each other upon earth no more!
Lord, what fervent prayer for, what yearning of bowels towards, perishing sinners, would be found with us; what zeal for their conversion, what endeavours for their salvation, did we believe that the grave was making ready to receive us! how should we louden our cry to God, and how fulfil our trust to man, did we consider our grave and coffin are at hand our glass has but a little sand; now we are preaching, but anon it will be said of us, we are gone: And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching, shall see my face no more.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Act 20:22-24. And behold I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem Strongly impelled by the Spirit which intimates my duty to me in such a manner, that I can neither omit nor delay it. I am, therefore, fully resolved to proceed, being well assured that it is by a divine direction and influence that I am so, and not from any humour, fancy, or will of my own. Or, the expression may mean, foreseeing by the Spirit that I shall be bound, as it follows in the next verse. So Grotius and Whitby understand him. Not knowing Particularly; the things that shall befall me there What I shall suffer in that city, or what shall happen to me when I come thither; save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth Namely, by other persons; (for it was Gods good pleasure to reveal these things to him, not immediately, but by the ministry of others;) in every city Almost, through which I passed; saying By the mouths of divinely-inspired prophets; that bonds and afflictions abide Or await, me This I know in the general, though the particulars of those sufferings I know not; such as, whence they shall spring, what shall be the occasion of them, what the circumstances, and to what degree they shall rise. These things God had not thought fit to reveal to him. Reader, it is for our good to be kept ignorant of future events, that we may be always waiting on God, and waiting for him. But none of these things more me Greek, , I make no account of any of those things; neither count I my life dear , precious; to myself On such an occasion. It adds a great force to this, and all the other passages of Scripture, in which the apostles express their contempt of the world, that they were not uttered by persons like Seneca and Antoninus, who talked elegantly of despising the world in the full affluence of all its enjoyments; but by men who daily underwent the greatest calamities, and exposed their lives in proof of the truth of their assertions. So that I might finish my course Of duty and of suffering, as a Christian and an apostle; with joy Arising from the testimony of my own conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity I have had my conversation in the world; from evidences of my having pleased God, and been accounted faithful by him, and from a lively expectation of being approved of by him in the day of final accounts, and of enjoying felicity and glory with him for ever; and the ministry The infinitely-important ministry; which I have received of the Lord Jesus With which he has graciously intrusted me; to testify the gospel of the grace of God To which grace, free and abundant as it is, I am myself obliged beyond all expression, and beyond all the returns I can ever make by any labour or sufferings I may undergo in its service.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
22-27. The apostle next reveals to these brethren the cause of that deep sorrow which we have seen brooding over his spirit even before his departure from Corinth. (22) “And now, behold, I go bound in spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things which shall befall me there, (23) except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying, that bonds and afflictions await me. (24) But none of these things move me, neither do I hold my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the favor of God. (25) And now, behold, I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. (26) Wherefore, I call you to witness this day, that I am pure from the blood of all; (27) for I have kept back nothing from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.”
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
22. Paul, like the saints frequently in all ages, had a presentiment of the trouble awaiting him at Jerusalem, yet impelled on by the divine leadership. Bishop Marvin, not even a member of the General Conference, running on the Mississippi River, had a real presentiment of his election to the episcopacy. When he left Jerusalem during his round-the-world tour, he had a presentiment of his death, which occurred soon after. Gods saints, led by the Holy Ghost, and accompanied by guardian angels, anon receive profitable intimations of events still hidden behind the intervening veil, but destined soon to transpire. Good Lord, save us from that modern infidelity which takes God out of the current events of life, and help us to get back to the Acts of the Apostles, where we see God in everything.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 22
Bound in the spirit; urged or impelled by the spirit.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
20:22 {7} And now, behold, I go {e} bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:
(7) He testifies that he goes to his imprisonment by the commandment of God.
(e) He calls the guiding direction of the Holy Spirit, who forced him to take his journey to Jerusalem, the bond of the Sprit, whom he followed with all his heart.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Next Paul described his present circumstances. Probably Paul meant that he had committed himself to visiting Jerusalem since he was sure this was what God wanted him to do even though he realized that trouble lay ahead (cf. Act 20:3; Act 9:16; Act 19:21). Perhaps prophets had already revealed to him that the Jews would arrest him there (cf. Act 21:4; Act 21:11; Rom 15:30-31). Paul wanted to be faithful to the Lord more than he wanted to be physically safe or comfortable (cf. Php 1:20).
"It should be noted that the Spirit did not prohibit his going, but told him what would happen when he arrived." [Note: Kent, p. 157.]