“After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara. We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went on board and set sail. After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed on to Syria. We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo. We sought out the disciples there and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. When it was time to leave, we left and continued on our way. All of them, including wives and children, accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray. After saying goodbye to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.
We continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed with them for a day. Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.”
Acts 21:1-9
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MAY 23, 2025
Something changed in our passage this week. Did you notice it?
I’ll give you a hint. Take a look at the last verse of chapter 20 and the first verse of chapter 21:
Then they accompanied him to the ship. (20:38)
After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos. (21:1)
The narrator of Acts suddenly shifts from using third person pronouns (he, she, they) to first person pronouns (I, we, us). Instead of talking about “Paul” and “them,” from this point on and until the end of the book the writer references “we” and “us.”
What happened? Maybe it was editorial: the editor just lost track of what style he was using. Or maybe it was historical: perhaps Luke was among the elders from Ephesus who met up with Paul and for the rest of the book they travelled together (wouldn’t that be something!). If this is the case, perhaps Luke wrote the first 20 chapters based on research and interviews, and the last several from firsthand notes as an eye-witness.
Or maybe it was literary: Luke making a decision to bring us, the reader, closer to the action. There’s no doubt that a story reads more intimately and urgently in first person, when we imagine the narrator bringing us right there in the middle of the action, laying it all out before our eyes.
For after all, as we have seen this week, what happened to Paul and what was going on in the early church is for all of us. God’s Spirit has been poured out. God’s redemption is here. Young and old alike can see what God is doing. Men and women alike are prophesying and proclaiming God’s good news. And as Jesus warned, this comes with a stiff cost: those in power try to silence this alternate kingdom, this goodness that stands in the way oppression and greed.
So in a sense, we are part of this story now, too.
Questions for reflection and discussion:
- Did you notice the shift in the narrative?
- What do you think this means for Luke, the writer?
- What does this mean for you, the reader and Jesus follower of today?
Church Reading Plan:
- Today, May 23: Numbers 32; Psalm 77
- Saturday, May 24: Numbers 33; Psalm 78:1-39
- Sunday, May 25: Numbers 34; Psalm 78:40-72