John Calvin Commentary Acts 21:10

"And as we tarried there some days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus." — Acts 21:10 (ASV)

A certain prophet. Though Luke does not plainly state it, I conjecture that this Agabus was the same one who is mentioned in the eleventh chapter (Acts 11:28), who foretold that there would be a famine under the reign of Claudius Caesar. And when Luke calls him a prophet, as he recently called the four daughters of Philip, he signifies that it was not a common but a special gift.

Now, we must see for what purpose the persecution that was at hand was now again shown by Agabus. As for Paul, he had already been sufficiently told. Therefore, I do not doubt that this confirmation was added for the sake of others, because the Lord intended everywhere to make known the bonds of his servant, partly so that they might know that he entered the combat willingly, and partly so that they might perceive that he was appointed by God to be a champion to fight for the gospel.

It was surely a profitable example of invincible constancy, since he offered himself willingly and knowingly to the violence of his adversaries. And it is no less profitable for us today that his apostleship should be confirmed by this voluntary and no less constant surrender of his life.

The man who owneth this girdle. It was a usual thing among the prophets to represent what they spoke by signs. Nor did they confirm their prophecies by using signs of their own accord, but at the command of the Spirit, as when Isaiah is commanded to go barefoot (Isaiah 20:2), Jeremiah to put a yoke upon his neck, to sell the possession and to buy it (Jeremiah 27:2 and Jeremiah 32:7), and Ezekiel to dig through the wall of his house secretly, and in the same night to carry out burdens (Ezekiel 12:5).

These and similar things might seem to ordinary people to be trifles; but the same Spirit, who applied signs to his words, inwardly touched the hearts of the godly, as if they had been brought to the reality itself. So this spectacle, mentioned by Luke, moved Paul’s companions no less than if they had actually seen him bound.

The false prophets afterward attempted to deceive the simple by this tactic, as Satan is, in a way, God’s ape, and his ministers envy the servants of God. Zedekiah made himself horns, with which he promised Syria would be pushed. Ananias, by breaking Jeremiah’s yoke, gave the people a vain hope of deliverance. God has allowed the reprobate to be deceived by such delusions, so that he might punish their unbelief.

But, since there was in them no power of the Spirit, their futility did not in any way hurt the faithful. It is also worth noting that Agabus does not set before their eyes a silent spectacle, but he couples the word with it, by which he may show to the faithful the use and purpose of the ceremony.