Acts 21:1-16
The most intriguing item to me today is the detail that Luke reports, especially in the first few verses where he lists sailing activities – day by day, port by port, finally landing at Tyre and staying a week, then another boat trip to Ptolemais, then on to Caesarea and Jerusalem.
On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. (v. 8) You may remember Philip from Acts 8, the story of the Ethiopian eunuch. That incident ends with verses Acts 8:39,40: And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. So Philip ends up in Caesarea and we don’t hear of him again until today’s reading. Presumably he has made a home in Caesarea these 20 to 30 years and has become known as “Philip the evangelist”. Nice title…!
Mnason – a footnote in history…: And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge. (v. 16) This verse contains the only mention of Mnason that we have in the New Testament. Who was he? He was an early disciple – how early we don’t know, maybe even Pentecost or maybe even before Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. He was from Cyprus. Who else was from Cyprus? Barnabas! Paul’s first missionary companion! I looked online and saw that Mnason has been a topic of research discussion through the ages, both the questions I have asked and even more concerns about where his house was. As you read various translations, you can infer that he was from Caesarea or Jerusalem or somewhere in between. It was a two-day journey from Caesarea to Jerusalem, so some writers have suggested that he lived in a village along the way. Whatever! We learn (1) that he was faithful – an early disciple and (2) that he was generous – housing the entire group of Paul’s traveling companions. One name, one mention, but a forever wonder…! Fun!!
Slava Bohu!