Acts 21:16

There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(16) One Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge.—Better, perhaps, an early disciple. The word for “old” refers less to personal age than to his having been a disciple from the beginning of the Church’s history. He may accordingly have been among those “men of Cyprus” who came to Antioch, and were among the first to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. (See Note on Acts 11:20.) We may fairly infer that he was one of those who had been “from the beginning” among the eye-witnesses and ministers of the word to whom St. Luke refers as his informants (Luke 1:2). If so, it is interesting, as showing that our Lord’s disciples were not limited to the natives of Galilee and Judæa. It lies on the surface of the narrative that Mnason had a house at Jerusalem in which he could receive St. Paul and his companions. The arrangement seems to have been made as the best course that could be taken to minimise the inevitable danger to which the Apostle was exposing himself. In that house at least he might be sure of personal safety, and the men from Cæsarea would form a kind of escort as he went to and fro in the city.

MacLaren's Expositions

Acts

AN OLD DISCIPLE

Acts 21:16.

There is something that stimulates the imagination in these mere shadows of men that we meet in the New Testament story. What a strange fate that is to be made immortal by a line in this book- immortal and yet so unknown! We do not hear another word about this host of Paul’s, but his name will be familiar to men’s ears till the world’s end. This figure is drawn in the slightest possible outline, with a couple of hasty strokes of the pencil. But if we take even these few bare words and look at them, feeling that there is a man like ourselves sketched in them, I think we can get a real picture out of them, and that even this dim form crowded into the background of the Apostolic story may have a word or two to say to us.

His name and his birthplace show that he belonged to the same class as Paul, that is, he was a Hellenist, or a Jew by descent, but born on Gentile soil, and speaking Greek. He came from Cyprus, the native island of Barnabas, who may have been a friend of his. He was an ‘old disciple,’ which does not mean simply that he was advanced in life, but that he was ‘a disciple from the beginning,’ one of the original group of believers. If we interpret the word strictly, we must suppose him to have been one of the rapidly diminishing nucleus, who thirty years or more ago had seen Christ in the flesh, and been drawn to Him by His own words. Evidently the mention of the early date of his conversion suggests that the number of his contemporaries was becoming few, and that there were a certain honour and distinction conceded by the second generation of the Church to the survivors of the primitive band. Then, of course, as one of the earliest believers, he must, by this time, have been advanced in life. A Cypriote by birth, he had emigrated to, and resided in a village on the road to Jerusalem; and must have had means and heart to exercise a liberal hospitality there. Though a Hellenist like Paul he does not seem to have known the Apostle before, for the most probable rendering of the context is that the disciples from Caesarea, who were travelling with the Apostle from that place to Jerusalem, ‘brought us to Mnason,’ implying that this was their first introduction to each other. But though probably unacquainted with the great teacher of the Gentiles-whose ways were looked on with much doubt by many of the Palestinian Christians-the old man, relic of the original disciples as he was, had full sympathy with Paul, and opened his house and his heart to receive him. His adhesion to the Apostle would no doubt carry weight with ‘the many thousands of Jews which believed, and were all zealous of the law,’ and was as honourable to him as it was helpful to Paul.

Now if we put all this together, does not the shadowy figure begin to become more substantial? and does it not preach to us some lessons that we may well take to heart?

I. The first thing which this old disciple says to us out of the misty distance is: Hold fast to your early faith, and to the Christ whom you have known.

Many a year had passed since the days when perhaps the beauty of the Master’s own character and the sweetness of His own words had drawn this man to Him. How much had come and gone since then-Calvary and the Resurrection, Olivet and the Pentecost! His own life and mind had changed from buoyant youth to sober old age. His whole feelings and outlook on the world were different. His old friends had mostly gone. James indeed was still there, and Peter and John remained until this present, but most had fallen on sleep. A new generation was rising round about him, and new thoughts and ways were at work. But one thing remained for him what it had been in the old days, and that was Christ. ‘One generation cometh and another goeth, but the “Christ” abideth for ever.’

‘We all are changed by still degrees;

All but the basis of the soul,’

and the ‘basis of the soul,’ in the truest sense, is that one God-laid foundation on which whosoever buildeth shall never be confounded, nor ever need to change with changing time. Are we building there? and do we find that life, as it advances, but tightens our hold on Jesus Christ, who is our hope?

There is no fairer nor happier experience than that of the old man who has around him the old loves, the old confidences, and some measure of the old joys. But who can secure that blessed unity in his life if he depend on the love and help of even the dearest, or on the light of any creature for his sunshine? There is but one way of making all our days one, because one love, one hope, one joy, one aim binds them all together, and that is by taking the abiding Christ for ours, and abiding in Him all our days. Holding fast by the early convictions does not mean stiffening in them. There is plenty of room for advancement in Christ. No doubt Mnason, when he was first a disciple, knew but very little of the meaning and worth of his Master and His work, compared with what he had learned in all these years. And our true progress consists, not in growing away from Jesus but in growing up into Him, not in passing through and leaving behind our first convictions of Him as Saviour, but in having these verified by the experience of years, deepened and cleared, unfolded and ordered into a larger, though still incomplete, whole. We may make our whole lives helpful to that advancement and blessed shall we be if the early faith is the faith that brightens till the end, and brightens the end. How beautiful it is to see a man, below whose feet time is crumbling away, holding firmly by the Lord whom he has loved and served all his days, and finding that the pillar of cloud, which guided him while he lived, begins to glow in its heart of fire as the shadows fall, and is a pillar of light to guide him when he comes to die! Dear friends, whether you be near the starting or near the prize of your Christian course, ‘cast not away your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.’ See to it that the ‘knowledge of the Father,’ which is the ‘little children’s’ possession, passes through the strength of youth, and the ‘victory over the world’ into the calm knowledge of Him ‘that is from the beginning,’ wherein the fathers find their earliest convictions deepened and perfected, ‘Grow in grace and in the knowledge’ of Him, whom to know ever so imperfectly is eternal life, whom to know a little better is the true progress for men, whom to know more and more fully is the growth and gladness and glory of the heavens. Look at this shadowy figure that looks out on us here, and listen to his far-off voice ‘exhorting us all that with purpose of heart we should cleave unto the Lord.’

II. But there is another and, as some might think, opposite lesson to be gathered from this outline sketch, namely, The welcome which we should be ready to give to new thoughts and ways.

It is evidently meant that we should note Mnason’s position in the Church as significant in regard to his hospitable reception of the Apostle. We can fancy how the little knot of ‘original disciples’ would be apt to value themselves on their position, especially as time went on, and their ranks were thinned. They would be tempted to suppose that they must needs understand the Master’s meaning a great deal better than those who had never known Christ after the flesh; and no doubt they would be inclined to share in the suspicion with which the thorough-going Jewish party in the Church regarded this Paul, who had never seen the Lord. It would have been very natural for this good old man to have said, ‘I do not like these new-fangled ways. There was nothing of this sort in my younger days. Is it not likely that we, who were at the beginning of the Gospel, should understand the Gospel and the Church’s work without this new man coming to set us right? I am too old to go in with these changes.’ All the more honourable is it that he should have been ready with an open house to shelter the great champion of the Gentile Churches; and, as we may reasonably believe, with an open heart to welcome his teaching. Depend on it, it was not every ‘old disciple’ that would have done as much.

Now does not this flexibility of mind and openness of nature to welcome new ways of work, when united with the persistent constancy in his old creed, make an admirable combination? It is one rare enough at any age, but especially in elderly men. We are always disposed to rend apart what ought never to be separated, the inflexible adherence to a fixed centre of belief, and the freest ranging around the whole changing circumference. The man of strong convictions is apt to grip every trifle of practice and every unimportant bit of his creed with the same tenacity with which he holds its vital heart, and to take obstinacy for firmness, and dogged self-will for faithfulness to truth. The man who welcomes new light, and reaches forward to greet new ways, is apt to delight in having much fluid that ought to be fixed, and to value himself on a ‘liberality’ which simply means that he has no central truth and no rooted convictions. And as men grow older they stiffen more and more, and have to leave the new work for new hands, and the new thoughts for new brains. That is all in the order of nature, but so much the finer is it when we do see old Christian men who join to their firm grip of the old Gospel the power of welcoming, and at least bidding God-speed to, new thoughts and new workers and new ways of work.

The union of these two characteristics should be consciously aimed at by us all. Hold unchanging, with a grasp that nothing can relax, by Christ our life and our all; but with that tenacity of mind, try to cultivate flexibility too. Love the old, but be ready to welcome the new. Do not invest your own or other people’s habits of thought or forms of work with the same sanctity which belongs to the central truths of our salvation; do not let the willingness to entertain new light lead you to tolerate any changes there. It is hard to blend the two virtues together, but they are meant to be complements, not opposites, to each other. The fluttering leaves and bending branches need a firm stem and deep roots. The firm stem looks noblest in its unmoved strength when it is contrasted with a cloud of light foliage dancing in the wind. Try to imitate the persistency and the open mind of that ‘old disciple’ who was so ready to welcome and entertain the Apostle of the Gentile Churches.

III. But there is still another lesson which, I think, this portrait may suggest, and that is, the beauty that may dwell in an obscure life.

There is nothing to be said about this old man but that he was a disciple. He had done no great thing for his Lord. No teacher or preacher was he. No eloquence or genius was in him. No great heroic deed or piece of saintly endurance is to be recorded of him, but only this, that he had loved and followed Christ all his days. And is not that record enough? It is his blessed fate to live for ever in the world’s memory, with only that one word attached to his name-a disciple.

The world may remember very little about us a year after we are gone. No thought, no deed may be connected with our names but in some narrow circle of loving hearts. There may be no place for us in any record written with a man’s pen. But what does that matter, if our names, dear friends, are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, with this for sole epitaph, ‘a disciple’? That single phrase is the noblest summary of a life. A thinker? a hero? a great man? a millionaire? No, a ‘disciple.’ That says all. May it be your epitaph and mine!

What Mnason could do he did. It was not his vocation to go into the ‘regions beyond,’ like Paul; to guide the Church, like James; to put his remembrances of his Master in a book, like Matthew; to die for Jesus, like Stephen. But he could open his house for Paul and his company, and so take his share in their work. ‘He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward.’ He that with understanding and sympathy welcomes and sustains the prophet, shows thereby that he stands on the same spiritual level, and has the makings of a prophet in him, though he want the intellectual force and may never open his lips to speak the burden of the Lord. Therefore he shall be one in reward as he is in spirit. The old law in Israel is the law for the warfare of Christ’s soldiers. ‘As his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that abideth by the stuff: they shall part alike.’ The men in the rear who guard the camp and keep the communications open, may deserve honours, and crosses, and prize-money as much as their comrades who led the charge that cut through the enemy’s line and scattered their ranks. It does not matter, so far as the real spiritual worth of the act is concerned, what we do, but only why we do it. All deeds are the same which are done from the same motive and with the same devotion; and He who judges, not by our outward actions but by the springs from which they come, will at last bracket together as equals many who were widely separated here in the form of their service and the apparent magnitude of their work.

‘She hath done what she could.’ Her power determined the measure and the manner of her work. One precious thing she had, and only one, and she broke her one rich possession that she might pour the fragrant oil over His feet. Therefore her useless deed of utter love and uncalculating self-sacrifice was crowned by praise from His lips whose praise is our highest honour, and the world is still ‘filled with the odour of the ointment.’

So this old disciple’s hospitality is strangely immortal, and the record of it reminds us that the smallest service done for Jesus is remembered and treasured by Him. Men have spent their lives to win a line in the world’s chronicles which are written on sand, and have broken their hearts because they failed; and this passing act of one obscure Christian, in sheltering a little company of travel-stained wayfarers, has made his name a possession for ever. ‘Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not’; but let us fill our little corners, doing our unnoticed work for love of our Lord, careless about man’s remembrance or praise, because sure of Christ’s, whose praise is the only fame, whose remembrance is the highest reward. ‘God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love.’

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

21:8-18 Paul had express warning of his troubles, that when they came, they might be no surprise or terror to him. The general notice given us, that through much tribulation we must enter into the kingdom of God, should be of the same use to us. Their weeping began to weaken and slacken his resolution Has not our Master told us to take up our cross? It was a trouble to him, that they should so earnestly press him to do that in which he could not gratify them without wronging his conscience. When we see trouble coming, it becomes us to say, not only, The will of the Lord must be done, and there is no remedy; but, Let the will of the Lord be done; for his will is his wisdom, and he doeth all according to the counsel of it. When a trouble is come, this must allay our griefs, that the will of the Lord is done; when we see it coming, this must silence our fears, that the will of the Lord shall be done; and we ought to say, Amen, let it be done. It is honourable to be an old disciple of Jesus Christ, to have been enabled by the grace of God to continue long in a course of duty, stedfast in the faith, growing more and more experienced, to a good old age. And with these old disciples one would choose to lodge; for the multitude of their years shall teach wisdom. Many brethren at Jerusalem received Paul gladly. We think, perhaps, that if we had him among us, we should gladly receive him; but we should not, if, having his doctrine, we do not gladly receive that.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

One Mnason of Cyprus - The original in this place would be better translated, "And brought us to Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple," etc. It is evident that, though Mnason was originally of Cyprus, yet he was now an inhabitant of Jerusalem, and was well known to the disciples at Caesarea. It is possible that he might have been at Caesarea, and accompanied Paul to Jerusalem; but the more correct interpretation of the passage is, that Paul and his fellow-travelers were conducted to his house in Jerusalem, and that he was not with them in the journey.

Of Cyprus - See the notes on Acts 4:36.

An old disciple - An early convert to Christianity - perhaps one who was converted before the crucifixion of the Saviour.

With whom we should lodge - In whose house we were to take up our abode. The rites of hospitality were shown in a distinguished manner by the early Christians.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

16. went with us … and brought with them—rather, "brought us to."

One Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, &c.—not an "aged" disciple, but probably "a disciple of old standing," perhaps one of the three thousand converted on the day of Pentecost, or, more likely still, drawn to the Saviour Himself during His lifetime. He had come, probably, with the other Cyprians (Ac 11:20), to Antioch, "preaching the Lord Jesus unto the Grecians," and now he appears settled at Jerusalem.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Either this Mnason was in their company, or rather they were brought by the disciples of Caesarea to the house of this Mnason, who was one of them that was converted when Paul and Barnabas were at Cyprus, Acts 13:4; and lodgings being scarce at Jerusalem, (when all the males were to appear there in those three annual solemnities), it was no small kindness to be provided for by him.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea,.... Members of the church at Caesarea; of the church here; see Gill on Acts 10:48. To which may be added the account of the pastors or bishops of this church, as given by Reland (o); Theophilus, who was in the council held at Caesarea, in the year 198; Agricola, who subscribed in the council at Ancyra, in the year 314; though some, he says, do not acknowledge this Agricola, but give the order of them after Theophilus thus; Theoctistus, Domnus, Theotecnus, Agapius, Eusebius; which last was in the council at Palestine, in the year 318, and in the council at Nice, in the year 325. Acacius succeeded him, and was in a little council at Seleucia, in the year 359, and in another at Antioch, in the year 363. Thalassius subscribed in the council at Constantinople, in the year 381. Eulogius, or perhaps Euzoius, was in the council at Diospolis, in the year 415. Glyco, bishop of this church, subscribed by Zozimus in the Chalcedon council, held in the year 451. Mention is made of Irenaeus, who presided over it in the acts of the same council; and Elias, another bishop of it, subscribed in the council at Jerusalem, in the year 536; and there is an account of John bishop of this church, in the acts of the council at Constantinople, in the year 553.

And brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus; the name of Mnason is Greek; there was one of this name among the disciples of Aristotle, who was of Phocea, or Phocis, a place in Greece (p); and another called Mnaseas, which seems to be the same whom Ammonius (q) makes mention of; and we frequently read of Mnaseas, the name of an author in Greek writers, and Menestheus, in:

"Now when Apollonius the son of Menestheus was sent into Egypt for the coronation of king Ptolemeus Philometor, Antiochus, understanding him not to be well affected to his affairs, provided for his own safety: whereupon he came to Joppa, and from thence to Jerusalem:'' (2 Maccabees 4:21)

all which are so called from remembrance, and signify one that has a memory, is mindful of, and remembers things; so Zachariah with the Jews, is a name that is taken from remembrance, as this: some copies read Jasson, for Mnason. This Mnason was an

old disciple; not of Aristotle, or of his sect of philosophers, or any other, but of Jesus Christ; probably he might have seen Christ in the flesh, and he is by some thought to be one of the seventy disciples; or at least he might be one of those who became disciples and followers of Christ; through the ministry of Paul and Barnabas in that island, Acts 13:4 though that seems scarcely long enough ago, being but fifteen years before this time, to denominate him an old disciple:

with whom we should lodge; when come to Jerusalem; for though he was of the island of Cyprus, as Barnabas was, Acts 4:36, yet he dwelt at Jerusalem; and if he was one of the seventy disciples, it should seem that he had not sold his house at Jerusalem, when others did; nor did all that had houses and land, nor were they obliged to do it; or he might have bought or hired one since; however, he had one at Jerusalem, and here the apostle and his company were fixed to lodge, during their stay there; and there was the more reason to provide for a lodging at this time, because of the feast of Pentecost, when the city was full of people: unless this is to be understood of any place by the way, where they should lodge; since Beza's ancient copy adds, "and coming to a certain village, we were with one Mnason".

(o) Palestina Illustrata, l. 3. p. 676, &c. (p) Aelian. Var. Hist. l. 3. c. 19. (q) in voce Nereides.

Geneva Study Bible

There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Expositor's Greek Testament

Acts 21:16. ἄγοντες παρʼ ᾧ ξενισ.: A. and R.V. render “bringing with them Mnason with whom we should lodge,” but Meyer—Wendt, so Page and Rendall, render “bringing us to the house of Mnason,” etc., cf. also Spitta, Apostelgeschichte, p. 234. This is more in accordance with Codex [356], on which see critical note = ἄγ. πρὸς Μνάσ. ἵνα ξενισθῶμεν παρʼ αὐτῷ κ.τ.λ., see Blass, Gram., pp. 171, 213, and Winer-Schmiedel, p. 229. Vulgate (so Erasmus, Calvin) renders “adducentes secum apud quem hospitaremur Mnasonem,” but harsh, and presupposes that Mnason was at Cæsarea.—Μνάσωνι, Att. Μνήσων, in late MS., Νάσων and Ἰάσων, a name common among the Greeks, and Mnason was probably a Hellenist.—ἀρχαίῳ, cf. Acts 15:7, may mean that he was an early disciple, R.V., or even from the beginning, the great Pentecost, Acts 11:15 (Humphrey), see also Ramsay, St. Paul, p. 303; he may have been converted by his fellow-countryman Barnabas. If Blass is right in [357], Acts 11:2, he may have been a convert instructed by St. Peter (and in this sense ἀρχαῖος).

[356] Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.

[357] R(omana), in Blass, a first rough copy of St. Luke.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

16. There went with us also … of Cesarea] The Greek text has a conjunction to introduce the sentence, “And there went, &c.… from Cæsarea.” The Evangelist had formed a Church where he had settled, and the congregation were, like their teacher, concerned at St Paul’s danger, and so some went with him to Jerusalem. Perhaps the nucleus of the Church may be dated from the baptism of Cornelius, and Philip settling in Cæsarea carried on what had been begun by St Peter.

and brought with them] There is no special word in Greek for the last two English words. The original is a participle, meaning “leading.” Therefore the Rev. Ver. renders “bringing,” and adds “with them” in italics. But seeing that “to lead” is “to bring somebody with you,” the A. V. seems justified in printing “with them” in Roman letters as being necessary to the sense and implied in the meaning of the verb.

one Mnason of Cyprus] This man belonged to Cyprus, but had now his home in Jerusalem. Just as Barnabas and his sister Mary, the mother of John Mark, who were also Cypriotes, seem to have done.

an old disciple] Rev. Ver. “early.” He had become a Christian in the first days of the gospel preaching, in the beginning of the Church of Jerusalem.

with … lodge] At such a time this was no unnecessary precaution, for at the Feast Jerusalem was certain to be full of people, and by this arrangement made in Cæsarea, the whole party was saved the trouble of searching for a lodging when they arrived. To find a house in which the Apostle and those with him might all be received would probably have been attended with much difficulty. To be the owner of such a house Mnason must have been one of the wealthier members of the congregation. His name is Greek, and he was most likely one of the Hellenists. Or, if he were a Jew, Mnason was perhaps substituted for some Jewish name, e. g. Manasseh.

Bengel's Gnomen

Acts 21:16. Καὶ) viz. τινές.—παρʼ ᾧ) Resolve the words thus, ἄγοντες ἡμᾶς πρὸς Μνάσωνα, παρʼ ᾧ, κ.τ.λ.—ἀρχαίῳ, an ancient disciple) A beautiful eulogium.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 16. - And there went for there went, A.V.; from for of, A.V.; bringing for and brought, A.V.; early for old, A.V. Mnason of Cyprus; only mentioned here. He may very probably be one of those Cypriots mentioned in Acts 11:19, 20, and so have been a disciple before the death of Stephen, and hence properly called an old or early disciple. If he had been one of St. Paul's converts in the visit to Cyprus recorded in Acts 13, St. Paul would have needed no introduction to him. The construction of the sentence is involved, and the exact meaning consequently obscure. Kuincel, Meyer, Howson (in 'Dict. of Bible'), and many more, translate it "conducting us to Mnason," etc., which seems the better translation; not, however, so as to make ἄγειν Μνάσωνι equivalent to ἄγειν πρὸς Μνάσωνα, which Greek usage will not admit of, but explaining the dative by attraction of the relative ω΅ι, which is governed by παρὰ. If it had not been for the intervening παρ ω΅ι ξενισθῶμεν, the sentence would have run ἄγοντες πρὸς τὸν Μνάσωνα, κ.τ.λ. If Mnason, who, consistently with Acts 11:19, had a house at Jerusalem, had been at Caesarea at this time, it would be quite unmeaning that disciples from Caesarea should bring Mnason with them. The sentence would rather have run "among whom was Mnason," etc. But if he was at Jerusalem, it was quite proper that any Christians of Caesarea who knew him should conduct Paul to his house, and introduce him and his party to him. Mnason, like Philip (ver. 6, note), was evidently a man of substance, Should lodge; should be hospitably entertained (Hebrews 13:2; 1 Peter 4:9; see Acts 10:6, 18). Acts 21:16

Vincent's Word Studies

Bringing with them, etc

This would imply that Mnason was at Caesarea, and accompanied Paul and his companions to Jerusalem. It seems better to suppose that the disciples accompanied the apostle in order to introduce him to Mnason, whom they knew. Render, conducting us to Mnason, with whom we should lodge.

Old (ἀρχαίῳ)

Better, as Rev., early. The rendering old might be taken to mean aged; whereas the word means of long standing.