According to history, the James of Acts 21 was martyred at the hands of the opposing Jews. The leaders of the Sanhedrin thought that James was very favorable toward Judaism. They called together a congregation and asked James to speak to them, thinking that he would speak positively about Judaism. James, however, was faithful to preach Christ in a strong way. The leaders of the Sanhedrin were offended, and they put James to death. They had received a mistaken impression of James because so many Jewish believers in Jerusalem were zealous for the law. This may have caused the leaders of the Sanhedrin to think that James was for Judaism.
From the record in Acts 21 we see that James even went so far as to push Paul into the “trap” of an extremely difficult situation. As we have pointed out, the Lord did not tolerate that compromising situation in Jerusalem.
It is difficult to believe that Peter and John were silent about the situation in Jerusalem. They should have borne the burden to clear up the matter. It should not have been necessary for Paul to do this. But Peter and James did not do their duty in Jerusalem. Rather, the church there was allowed to remain in a declining condition, and Paul should have been very unhappy about that situation. Although he was heavily burdened to carry out God’s New Testament economy in the Gentile world, he realized that the source in Jerusalem had been contaminated and that the flow of the poison was spreading into the Gentile world. As Paul’s Epistles indicate, he had to face the Judaizers everywhere. According to the book of Galatians, the churches in Galatia were troubled by the Judaizers. Therefore, Paul knew that he could not continue his work in the Gentile world until the situation in Jerusalem had been dealt with. Knowing that the main thing that was damaging the church life in the Gentile world was Judaism, Paul was burdened to go back to Jerusalem. This was the reason he purposed in his spirit to go to Jerusalem (19:21). He was burdened to deal with the source of the contamination.
In reading chapters eighteen through twenty-one of Acts, it is difficult for us to decide whether or not Paul was right in going to Jerusalem the last time. Acts 19:21 says, “And when these things were fulfilled, Paul purposed in his spirit, having passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” In 20:22 and 23 Paul said, “And now, behold, I am going bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what I will meet with there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in city after city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me.” The Holy Spirit’s testimony was a prophecy, a foretelling, not a charge. When Paul was in Tyre, the disciples “told Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem” (21:4). Here, having made known to Paul that bonds and afflictions awaited him in Jerusalem, the Spirit took a further step to tell him through some members of the Body not to go to Jerusalem. Furthermore, the prophet Agabus “took Paul’s girdle; and having bound his own feet and hands, he said, Thus says the Holy Spirit, In this way shall the Jews in Jerusalem bind the man whose girdle this is and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles” (21:11). Luke goes on to say, “And when we heard these things, both we and those in that place entreated him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. And when he would not be persuaded, we were silent, having said, The will of the Lord be done” (vv.12-14). The more we consider all these verses, the more we realize how difficult it is to decide whether Paul was right or wrong in going up to Jerusalem the last time. On the one hand, the Spirit indicated to Paul that bonds and afflictions awaited him in Jerusalem. On the other hand, through members of the Body, the Spirit told Paul not to go to Jerusalem. The Lord was very clear about the situation there.