At Tyre, cargo unloaded, Christians out of the city, and prayers on the sandy beach.

Acts 21:1-6

“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.” Acts 21:1-3

The places mentioned in the verses above are seen circled in red on the map below. Miletus is the top red circle in the middle of the image; that is where Paul and his companions departed to begin the journey to Jerusalem. Cos [Kos] is southwest of Miletus; Rhodes is south and a little east of Cos; and Patara is east of Rhodes. They caught a ship from Patara that was heading to Phoenix, and when they finally saw Cyprus [east and a little south of Patara], they sailed past it and went on to Syria to a place called Tyre [southeast of Cyprus].

The ship Paul and his companions were sailing on from Patara had to unload its cargo in Tyre, which was an economic hub that fed the prosperity of the surrounding cities and provinces.

 “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.” Acts 21:4-6

In the previous verse [Acts 21:3], the ship that Paul and his companions were sailing on unloaded cargo at the economic hub of Tyre. Paul and his companions left the ship and chose to look for those following the way of Christ who were in Tyre. They stayed with them for seven days. As followers of Jesus Christ, we choose the family of Jesus Christ over the economic prosperity and material wealth of today’s culture, which is global, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14 We choose that narrow and difficult way seven days a week, with our brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.

Through the Spirit, the followers of Jesus Christ urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. They loved Paul with the love of God found in Jesus Christ and wanted him to stay with them. However, Paul and his companions had to be on their way and the persuasion of human sentiments could not persuade them otherwise. They were following the will of God, even though they might not have known for certainty what God had in store for them in the days to come. God planned for Paul to be a witness in Rome, as a prisoner, to preach the Gospel of Christ. As followers of Jesus Christ, we may not know the details of what God has in store for us, but we know the will that human beings have for us is not the same as God’s will for us. Paul learned from the Lord that he would be delivered to Rome after his trial before the two-party congress of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, “But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.” Acts 23:11

In today’s world, the beast with power over physiology is able to give us feelings and thoughts to motivate what we do, or what we feel we have to do [Like departing from one place to go to another]. That beast is atheistic and has no intention of motivating our behavior in the name of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. The god of this world is not the God of Jesus Christ.

When it was time for Paul and his companions to leave, all of the brothers and sisters in Christ, along with their children, followed them out of the city. As part of the family of Jesus Christ, we are led out of the city of today’s culture, which is global. We willingly follow the flock away from the atheism of mainstream society,  “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.” Revelations 18:4

“Out of the city…on the beach” represents a place with no social integration into today’s culture. That is a place of worldly insecurity, belittling of self-worth, and the inability to achieve any level of success within the atheistic community. What we do have is the Spirit living in us, our prayers in the Spirit, and Jesus as the intercessor of our prayers, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” Romans 8:26-27 “He always lives to make intercession for [us].” Hebrews 7:25

 “After saying goodbye to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.” Acts 21:4-6 According to the will of God, we each have a direction in life we must follow in the name of Jesus Christ in the presence of the Holy Spirit. For Paul, it would be imprisonment for spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ and eventually execution. For the Christians in Tyre, it would be to return home. Paul was an influencer that caused the way of Jesus Christ to grow, and his punishment was very severe. The Romans and Jewish culture would cut off the leaders from the flock to leave them without a shepherd to guide them. That is also happening in today’s culture, which is global.

Paul and his companions would move on to Ptolemais, which is just south of Tyre and north of Caesarea and Jerusalem.

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11