John Calvin Commentary Acts 20:22

"And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:" — Acts 20:22 (ASV)

And, behold. He now declares more fully for what purpose he spoke of his upright dealing: namely, because they would never see him again. And it was very fitting that the pattern set before them by God, which they were to follow, should always be before their eyes, and that they should remember him after he was dead.

For we know how readily people degenerate from pure teaching. But though he denies that he knows what will happen to him at Jerusalem, yet because he was taught by many prophecies that bonds were prepared for him there, as if he were now ready to die, he shortly after cuts off the hope of his return.

And yet for all this, he is not contradicting himself. He speaks doubtfully at first deliberately, so that he might soften what was about to be harder and more bitter. And yet he truly affirms that he did not yet know the outcomes and events of things, because he had no certain and special revelation concerning the whole process.

Bound in the spirit. Some interpret this to mean he was bound to the churches, which had entrusted him with the task of carrying alms. Nevertheless, I am more inclined to think that this means the inner force and movement of the Spirit. This was not as if he were so inspired that he was out of his mind, but because, being assured of God’s will, he meekly followed the direction and instinct of the Spirit, even voluntarily.

Therefore, this statement means as much as if he had said, “I cannot do otherwise, unless I were to be stubborn and rebellious against God, who, as it were, draws me there, being bound by His Spirit.” For so that he might excuse himself from the charge of rashness, he says that the Spirit is the author and guide of his journey.

But if only those deluded men, who boast that the Spirit incites them to things that proceed from their own fantasy, knew the Spirit as intimately as Paul did. Paul, nevertheless, does not say that all his impulses and promptings are from the Spirit, but declares that this happened in one instance as a unique occurrence.

For people often foolishly and ill-advisedly undertake things which they then carry out resolutely, because they are ashamed of fickleness and instability. And he does not only mean that he undertook his journey for a good reason, which the Spirit of God shows him, but also that it is altogether necessary for him, because it is wickedness to resist.

Furthermore, let us learn from the example of this holy man not to kick against the Spirit of the Lord, but obediently to surrender ourselves to be governed by Him, so that He may rule us according to His will after we are, as it were, bound to Him. For if the reprobate, who are the bond-slaves of Satan, are carried not only willingly but also eagerly by his prompting, how much more should this voluntary bondage or service be found in the children of God?