Acts 21:8

King James Version (KJV)

And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

We that were of Paul's company - Οἱ περι τον Παυλον· This clause is wanting in ABCE, and many others; the Syriac, Coptic, Vulgate, Armenian, etc.

Came unto Caesarea - This was Caesarea of Palestine, already sufficiently described, See on Acts 8:40; (note).

Philip the evangelist - One of the seven deacons, who seems to have settled here after he had baptized the eunuch. See on Acts 8:40; (note).

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Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

We that were of Paul‘s company - From this it would appear that they had been attended thus far by some persons who were going only to Ptolemais. This clause, however, is missing in many mss., and has been omitted by Bengel, Griesbach, Knapp, and others as spurious. It is also missing in the Syriac and the Vulgate.

Unto Cesarea - See the notes on Acts 8:40.

Into the house of Philip - One of the seven deacons, Acts 6:5. After his conversation with the eunuch of Ethiopia, he went to Caesarea, and probably there abode.

The evangelist - This word properly means one who announces good news. In the New Testament it is applied to a preacher of the gospel, or one who declares the glad tidings of salvation. It occurs only in two other places, Ephesians 4:1; 2 Timothy 4:5. What was the precise rank of those who bore this title in the early Christian church cannot perhaps be determined. It is evident, however, that it is used to denote the office of preaching the gospel; and as this title is applied to Philip, and not to any other of the seven deacons, it would seem probable that he had been entrusted with a special commission to preach, and that preaching did not pertain to him as a deacon, and does not properly belong to that office. The business of a deacon was to take care of the poor members of the church, Acts 6:1-6. The office of preaching was distinct from this, though, as in this case, it might be conferred on the same individual.

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Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary

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.

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SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7

8. Paul’s company. Textual evidence attests (cf. p. 10) the reading, “and leaving the next day, we came to Caesarea.”

Unto Caesarea. See on ch. 10:1. The inference is that the journey was by land (see on v. 7). There was then an excellent highway between Ptolemais and Caesarea. For Paul’s seeming preference for land travel cf. ch. 20:13.

Philip the evangelist. Philip was one of the original “servers of tables,” or deacons, and in the list of deacons his name follows Stephen’s (ch. 6:5). For Philip this work had merged or perhaps disappeared in that of the “evangelist” (see ch. 8:5-13, 26-40). The designation is not to be thought of as a title, but as a description of his current work, the result of his reception from the Holy Spirit of that particular gift (see Eph. 4:11; see on Acts 13:1). The importance of this gift is indicated by Paul’s exhortation to Timothy to “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim. 4:5) and to “stir up the gift of God, which is in thee” (2 Tim. 1:6).

Philip’s labors as an evangelist doubtless took him far beyond the limits of Caesarea, where he was last seen (Acts 8:40). He may have preached up and down the coasts of Palestine and Phoenicia, along with others who were scattered abroad during the persecution following Stephen’s death (see ch. 11:19). This is probably the first time Philip and Luke had met, and likewise also the first time Philip and Paul had crossed paths.

One of the seven. The Seven of ch. 6 are still looked upon as a distinct group. Whether Luke meant this in the organizational sense, or commemoratively, the fact is that the church has maintained the order of deacons ever since then.

Abode with him. Philip’s residence was evidently at Caesarea. Luke, the historian of the early church, doubtless made the most of this opportunity to gather valuable information concerning the state of the church from Philip and his family.

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Ellen G. White
The Acts of the Apostles, 396-8

“And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship.” AA 396.1

From Miletus the travelers sailed in “a straight course unto Coos, and the day following unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara,” on the southwest shore of Asia Minor, where, “finding a ship sailing over unto Phoenicia,” they “went aboard, and set forth.” At Tyre, where the ship was unloaded, they found a few disciples, with whom they were permitted to tarry seven days. Through the Holy Spirit these disciples were warned of the perils awaiting Paul at Jerusalem, and they urged him “that he should not go up to Jerusalem.” But the apostle allowed not the fear of affliction and imprisonment to turn him from his purpose. AA 396.2

At the close of the week spent in Tyre, all the brethren, with their wives and children, went with Paul to the ship, and before he stepped on board, they knelt upon the shore and prayed, he for them, and they for him. AA 396.3

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