1. Paul meets with The Church Leaders and The Church Extended
Acts 21:17-22:16

2. you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good,
Genesis 50:20
"But as for you,
you meant evil against me;
but God meant it for good,
in order to bring it about
as it is this day,
to save many people alive.”
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3. “These were the delegates who had the great collection Paul had been taking up for the last year and more in all his Gentile congregations for famine sufferers in the churches of Judea. That explains their number. Luke omitted mention of the collection from his record.”
R. C. H. Lenski
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4. the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem welcomed us warmly.
Acts 21:17-19 
“When we arrived,
the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem
welcomed us warmly.
The next day Paul went with us to meet with James,
and all the elders of the Jerusalem church were present.”
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5. “After greeting them,
Paul gave a detailed account of the things God had accomplished among the Gentiles
through his ministry.”
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6. “But none of these things move me; nor do I count
Acts 20:24
“But none of these things move me; nor do I count
my life dear to myself,
so that I may finish
my race with joy,
and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus,
to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”
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7. Acts 21:20 “After hearing this, they praised God. And then they said,
‘You know, dear brother,
how many thousands of Jews have also believed, and they all follow the law of Moses
very seriously.
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8. Acts 21:21
“But the Jewish believers here in Jerusalem have been told that you are teaching all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn their backs on the laws of Moses.
They’ve heard that you teach them not to circumcise their children or follow other Jewish customs.”
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9. “Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master
“Based on Romans 14:4-6
“Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master
he stands or falls.
Indeed, he will be made to stand,
for God is able to make him stand.
One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.
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10. observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day,
He who observes the day,
observes it to the Lord; and
he who does not observe the day,
to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord,
for he gives God thanks;
and he who does not eat,
to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.”
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11. Paul seemed fine with this,
“…it seems that Paul didn’t have a problem with Jewish Christians who wanted to continue to observe old customs and laws. It seems that he himself did so sometimes, such as when he took and fulfilled a vow of consecration in Acts 18:18-21.
Paul seemed fine with this, 
as long as they didn’t think it made them more right before God.” David Guzik
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12. They will certainly hear that you have come.
Acts 21:22-24
“What should we do?
They will certainly hear that
you have come.
‘Here’s what we want you to do.
We have four men here who have completed their vow.
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13. Go with them to the Temple and join them in the purification ceremony, paying for them to have their heads ritually shaved.
Then everyone will know that the rumors are all false and that you yourself observe the Jewish laws.”
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14. “As for the Gentile believers,
Acts 21:25
“As for the Gentile believers,
they should do what we already told them in a letter:
They should abstain from eating food offered to idols,
from consuming blood or
the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.”
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15. “So Paul went to the Temple the next day with the other men.
Acts 21:26-27
“So Paul went to the Temple the next day with the other men.
They had already started the purification ritual,
so he publicly announced the date when their vows would end and sacrifices would be offered
for each of them.”
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16. They grabbed him, yelling,
The seven days were almost ended when some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the Temple and roused a mob against him.
They grabbed him, yelling,
“Men of Israel, help us!”
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17. to disobey the Jewish laws.
Acts 21:28-36
“This is the man who preaches against our people everywhere and tells everybody
to disobey the Jewish laws.
He speaks against the Temple—and even defiles this holy place by bringing in Gentiles.”
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18. (For earlier that day they had seen him in the city with Trophimus,
a Gentile from Ephesus,
and they assumed Paul had taken him into the Temple.)
The whole city was rocked by these accusations, and a great riot followed.”
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19. As they were trying to kill him, word reached the commander
Acts 21:30-33
“Paul was grabbed and dragged out of the Temple, and immediately the gates were closed behind him.
 As they were trying to kill him, word reached the commander
of the Roman regiment that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.
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20. When the mob saw the commander and the troops coming,
He immediately called out his soldiers and officers and ran down among the crowd.
When the mob saw the commander and the troops coming,
they stopped beating Paul.
Then the commander arrested him and ordered him bound
with two chains.”
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21. Since he couldn’t find out the truth in all the uproar and confusion,
“He (the Commander) asked
the crowd
‘who he was and what he had done.’
Some shouted one thing
and some another.
Since he couldn’t find out the truth in all the uproar and confusion,
he ordered that Paul be taken
to the fortress.
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22. As Paul reached the stairs,
the mob grew so violent the soldiers had to lift him to their shoulders to protect him. 
And the crowd
followed behind,
shouting,
‘Kill him, kill him!’
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23. the commander asked, surprised.
Acts 21:37-38
“As Paul was about to be taken inside, he said to the commander, ‘May I have a word with you?’
‘Do you know Greek?’
the commander asked, surprised.
‘Aren’t you the Egyptian who led a rebellion some time ago and took 4,000 members of the Assassins out into the desert?’”
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24. ‘I am a Jew and a citizen of Tarsus in Cilicia,
Acts 21:39-40 
‘No’
Paul replied,
‘I am a Jew and a citizen of
Tarsus in Cilicia,
which is an important city.
Please, let me talk to these people.’
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25. in their own language, Aramaic.”
The commander agreed,
so Paul stood on the stairs and motioned to the people to be quiet. Soon a deep silence enveloped the crowd, and he addressed them
in their own language, Aramaic.”
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26. “Brothers and esteemed fathers,” Paul said,
Acts 22:1-2 
“Brothers and esteemed fathers,” Paul said,
‘listen to me as I offer my defense.’
When they heard him speaking in their own language,
the silence was even greater.”
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27. ‘I am a Jew, born in Tarsus,
Acts 22:3 “Then Paul said,
‘I am a Jew, born in Tarsus,
a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated here
in Jerusalem under Gamaliel.
As his student, I was carefully trained in our Jewish laws and customs. I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did,
just like all of you today.”
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28. Acts 22:4-5
“And I persecuted the followers of “the Way”, hounding some to death, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prison.
The high priest and the whole council of elders can testify that this is so.
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29. in chains, to be punished.”
For I received letters from them to our Jewish brothers in Damascus, authorizing me to bring the followers of the Way from there
to Jerusalem,
in chains, to be punished.”
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30. “As I was on the road, approaching Damascus about noon,
Acts 22:6-11 
“As I was on the road, approaching Damascus about noon,
a very bright light from heaven suddenly shone down around me.
I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me,
‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
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31. “‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked. And the voice replied,
‘I am Jesus the Nazarene,
the one you are persecuting.’
‘The people with me saw the light but didn’t understand
the voice speaking to me.
I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?’
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32. “And the Lord told me,
‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything you are to do.’
‘I was blinded by the intense light and had to be led by the hand to Damascus by my companions.’”
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33. “Paul stressed that his encounter with God was an event that
God had initiated.
It was not something that Paul or others had originated.
Jesus of Nazareth
had reached out to him.
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34. Therefore Jesus is the Messiah, but He is a risen Messiah.
It was this Messiah who had changed Paul’s perspective and understanding. When Paul asked, “Who are you, Lord?”,
he was probably addressing the person speaking to him as God and personal master.”
Tom Constable
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35. “A man named Ananias lived there. He was a godly man,
Acts 22:  
“A man named Ananias lived there.
He was a godly man,
deeply devoted to the law,
and well regarded by all
the Jews of Damascus.
He came and stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul,
regain your sight.’
‘And that very moment
I could see him!’
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36. ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know His will and
“Then he told me,
‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know His will and
to see the Righteous One and
hear Him speak.
For you are to be His witness,
telling everyone
what you have seen and heard.”
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37. Are you not my work in the Lord?”
1Corinthians 9:1
“Am I not an apostle?
Am I not free?
Have I not seen
Jesus Christ our Lord?
Are you not my work in the Lord?”
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38. ‘What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized.
Acts 22:16
‘What are you waiting for?
Get up and be baptized.
Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.’
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39. “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and
Romans 10:9-10
“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and
believe in your heart that
God has raised Him from the dead,
you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and
with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”