Act 18:21-23 | Clarke | STEP | Verse 21 I must - keep this feast - Most likely the passover, at which he wished to attend for the purpose of seeing many of his friends, and having the most favorable opportunity to preach the Gospel to thousands who would attend at Jerusalem on that occasion. The whole of this clause, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem, is wanting in ABE, six others; with the Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, and Vulgate. Griesbach leaves it in the text, with the mark of doubtfulness; and Professor White, in his Crisews, says, probabiliter delenda. Without this clause the verse will read thus: But he bade them farewell, saying, I will return again unto you, if God will. And this he did before the expiration of that same year, , and spent three years with them, , extending and establishing the Church at that place.

‏ Acts 18:21-23

Verse 21

I must - keep this feast - Most likely the passover, at which he wished to attend for the purpose of seeing many of his friends, and having the most favorable opportunity to preach the Gospel to thousands who would attend at Jerusalem on that occasion. The whole of this clause, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem, is wanting in ABE, six others; with the Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, and Vulgate. Griesbach leaves it in the text, with the mark of doubtfulness; and Professor White, in his Crisews, says, probabiliter delenda. Without this clause the verse will read thus: But he bade them farewell, saying, I will return again unto you, if God will. And this he did before the expiration of that same year, Act 19:1, and spent three years with them, Act 20:31, extending and establishing the Church at that place. Verse 22

Landed at Caesarea - This must have been Caesarea in Palestine.

Gone up - To Jerusalem, though the name is not mentioned: but this is a common form of speech in the evangelists, Jerusalem being always meant when this expression was used; for the word αναβαινω, to go up, is often used absolutely, to signify, to go to Jerusalem: e.g. Go ye Up unto this feast; I Go not Up yet, Joh 7:8. But when his brethren were Gone Up, then Went he also Up unto the feast, Joh 7:10. There were certain Greeks - that Came Up to worship, Joh 12:20. St. Paul himself uses a similar form of expression. There are yet but twelve days since I Went Up to Jerusalem, for to worship, Act 24:11. So all parts of England are spoken of as being below London: so we talk of going up to London; and people in London talk of going down to the country.

Saluted the Church - That is, the Church at Jerusalem, called emphatically The Church, because it was the First Church - the Mother, or Apostolic Church; and from it all other Christian Churches proceeded: those in Galatia, Philippi, Thessalonica, Corinth, Ephesus, Rome, etc. Therefore, even this last was only a daughter Church, when in its purest state.

Went down to Antioch - That is, Antioch in Syria, as the word is generally to be understood when without addition, so Caesarea is always to be understood Caesarea in Palestine, when without the addition of Philippi. Verse 23

Went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia - Both were provinces of Asia Minor: see on Act 2:10 (note).

In order - Καθεξης, A word peculiar to St. Luke; see his Gospel, Luk 1:3; Luk 8:1; and his history of the Acts, Act 3:24; Act 11:4, and the place above; the only places where this word occurs in the New Testament. It properly signifies, in order, distinctly, particularly; from κατα, according to, and ἑξη, order, as opposed to confusion, indistinctness, etc. If St. Paul went up to Jerusalem at this time, which we are left to infer, for Luke has not expressed it, (Act 18:22), it was his fourth journey thither; and this is generally supposed to have been the twenty-first year after his conversion. His first journey is mentioned Act 9:26; his second, Act 11:30; his third, Act 15:4; and his fourth, Act 18:22, the place above.