Acts 21:17

And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present. And when he had saluted them, he rehearsed one by one the things which God had wrought among the Gentiles through his ministry.

Received us gladly ... This could have been expected, normally, due to the money which Paul brought and presumably delivered at this time to James and the elders; but the situation was far from normal, there being many powerful enemies of Paul in Jerusalem who had sowed the city with false and bitter reports concerning him. In his letter to the Romans, Paul had solicited their prayers that the brethren in Jerusalem would even receive the bounty raised for them among the Gentile churches (Romans 15:31). This first joyful reception was therefore an answer to Paul's prayers.

James ... and all the elders ... It is affirmed, of course, that what emerges here is the picture of a metropolitan bishop ruling over the church in Jerusalem, the elders being secondary; but this is not to be accepted. James, as a natural half-brother of our Lord, and an inspired author (of the Book of James), was an "apostle of secondary rank," though not one of the Twelve; and it was quite natural that the church in Jerusalem should have given him the honor which he seems to enjoy in this and other passages.

"This was the fifth time that Paul had visited Jerusalem, since he set out against the brethren at Damascus."[26] This initial joyful reception seemed to promise that it would be the happiest; but such was not to be.

"It can scarcely be supposed that any of the apostles were at that time in Jerusalem."[27] Otherwise, they would have been mentioned. It could be only a matter of conjecture as to where each of them had gone; but it is natural to conclude that they were obedient to the Lord's command to "Go ... into all the world."

[26] Alexander Campbell, Acts of Apostles (Austin, Texas: Firm Foundation Publishing House), p. 142.

[27] John Peter Lange, Commentary on Acts (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House), p. 389.