AGABUS
(Acts 11:28, 21:10)
(C4048, 44 AD)
The name Agabus, comes from the Greek A´gabos, but it is of Hebrew origin, probably Hagab, the name of a distinguished priest who is the hero of the Book of Ezra and co-worker with Nehemiah (Ezra 2:46).
Agabus was a prophet of the church of God that assembled in Jerusalem, and is only twice mentioned in the book of Acts.
There was a scattering of many members of this pioneering church following the stoning of the deacon Stephen by the Sanhedrin of the Jews, and some went far away taking the Gospel to the Jews dispersed over there. Thus, some came to Antioch, the capital of Syria, and of the Roman province of Asia. This was the most important city of the Roman Empire, after Rome and Alexandria.
They were joined by some Jewish converts coming from Cyprus and Cyrene who spoke Greek and the Gentiles could then hear the Gospel through them. God blessed them and a great number believed and turned to the Lord Jesus. It is remarkable that the names of these pioneers of evangelisation among the Gentiles are not given.
The new church needed good teachers, so the church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas there, a "good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith": a great recommendation for a missionary. He rejoiced to see the grace of God revealed among the Gentiles, and encouraged everyone to remain faithful to the Lord, with all their hearts.
Barnabas knew that Saul had been chosen by the Lord Jesus to be His apostle among the Gentiles (Acts 9:15, Romans 1:1, Galatians 1:1)), and also knew his ability to teach, so he strove to find him in his home town of Tarsus, where he had returned, and to bring him to Antioch. The two of them were in this town for a year (estimated 44 AD), teaching many.
Some prophets also came from Jerusalem to Antioch. They were men endowed by the Holy Spirit with the gift of prophecy, through which they could convey the Word of God in order to teach, encourage and strengthen the churches before the books found in the New Testament had been written and their copies circulated. In this way they helped the apostles as also did Judas (Barsabas) and Silas (Acts 15:22, 27, 32).
Agabus was one of these prophets, and conveyed a message from God revealing an event to happen shortly: a great famine would ravage “throughout all the world ". The term "all the world" is in a colloquial sense, as it still can be used today, meaning a large expanse of territory. The narrator, Luke, tells us that the famine happened in the time of Claudius Caesar (Roman Emperor from 41 to 44 AD).
Because of this, the brethren of the church of Antioch, here called "disciples", made a collection among themselves, each giving according to his ability from his own possessions, and they sent a contribution by the hands of Barnabas and Saul to the brethren dwelling in Judea (see also HERE ).
About fifteen years later, when coming home to Jerusalem from his third missionary journey, Paul dropped off in Caesarea and stayed there for a few days. Upon hearing this, Agabus came down from Jerusalem to find him.
Agabus took Paul's belt and tied his feet and hands with it. It was a symbolic dramatic action, as many prophets had done before him, to represent and emphasize his message. Once the Lord Jesus had said that others would gird the hands of Peter, and carry him where he did not wish, meaning by what death he would glorify God (John 21:18). Agabus prophesied now, by the Holy Spirit, that in Jerusalem the Jews were going to arrest Paul and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles (Acts 21:10 -11).
This was not news to Paul. In Miletus he had declared to the elders of the Church in Ephesus: "and see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me." (Acts 20:22,23).
The companions of Paul, including Luke, daunted by this prospect, asked Paul with tears to give up his journey to Jerusalem, but he answered them: “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 21:13).
As Paul didn’t allow himself to be persuaded, his comrades finally resigned themselves, saying that “the will of the Lord be done” and stopped insisting. Were they being used by Satan to try Paul? Or was Paul resisting the Holy Spirit?
It is to be noted that in none of the times in which the Holy Spirit warned Paul of the danger in going to Jerusalem, there was any instruction from Him not to continue on the journey there. On the contrary, Paul felt compelled by his spirit (subordinate to the Holy Spirit) to go, maybe even against his own common sense. Paul did not reveal the fight he was waging within himself over this, but the insistence of his brethren hurt him a lot.
No doubt his team mates loved him and wanted Paul to stay away from danger that had been predicted. But Paul showed them that he had a duty to fulfil, and that he was ready to risk his own life, if it were needed, that the Lord Jesus might be served and honoured. The events that followed proved that this was the path that God had planned so that Paul might testify of the Lord Jesus, not only in Jerusalem but also in Rome (chapter 23:11).