Acts 21:7-9 7When we had completed the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and greeting the brothers, we stayed one day with them. 8On the next day, after departing, we came to Caesarea, and after entering the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him. 9And this man had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied.
The Christian movement had spread throughout Israel’s coast. The group caught a likely smaller coastal boat and went to the Phoenecian port city of Ptolemais, which was about twenty-five miles south of Tyre. This city was named Acco in ancient Israel (Judges 1:31). A notable point in verse 7 is that they found believers even in this town. Like in other places, the local believers extended hospitality to the travelers. Possibly catching the same boat, the group continued south for another day to Caesarea. There, they met Philip, the famous evangelist who had settled there after his tour described in 8:40. The ministry of an evangelist (euangelistou) is not described in detail in the New Testament, though it is mentioned in Ephesians 4:11 and 2 Timothy 4:5. The word means a proclaimer of the good news. It could refer to someone who goes to unbelieving outsiders and proclaims the message of the “good news.”
As the story of Acts continues, many of the heroes of the early church will meet, such as in this episode and once Paul gets to Jerusalem. The time in Philip’s house must have been a significant opportunity to share stories of God’s grace, with Philip recounting his early experiences and Paul and his companions describing their work in the West. How many days they were there is uncertain, but Luke mentions many.
Luke adds the side note that Philip had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. Nothing more is said about them. It may have been unusual to have four daughters, and all of them unmarried. Even more significant was how they all prophesied. This was further evidence of the fulfillment of Peter’s Pentecost sermon when he quoted Joel 2:28 in Acts 2:17. Philip’s devotion to God and the cause of the kingdom had passed on to his daughters. To prophesy meant they were filled with the Holy Spirit and walking with God in faith and obedience. Paul’s time with Philip was a time of joy and deep fellowship before the storm that would arrive in Jerusalem. God was preparing Paul for what would come next. We relive experiences like this every week in our Christian fellowships, encouraging and building one another up for the trials and troubles we may face in the coming days.