Paul Seized in Jerusalem
TRANSLATION
(20) Then the church leaders said to Paul, “You can see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law. (21) And they have been informed that you teach all the Jews among the Gentiles to turn away from (the Law of) Moses, encouraging them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to our customs. (22) What should we do? They will certainly hear that you have come here, (23) so follow our advice. There are four men with us who are under a vow. (24) Take these men, join in their purification rites, and pay their expenses so that they can have their heads shaved. Then all will know that there is no basis for what they have been told about you, but that you still live in obedience to the Law. (25) Regarding the Gentiles that are believers, we sent a letter to them with our decision that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, from (eating) blood and the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.” (26) Then Paul took the men and purified himself along with them the next day. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would be complete and the offering would be made for each of them.
(27) When the seven days had almost been completed, Jews from Asia, seeing Paul in the temple, stirred up the crowd and seized him, (28) shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against our nation, our Law, and this place. More than that, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” (29) Earlier they had seen Paul in the city with Trophimus, the Ephesian, whom they assumed Paul had brought into the temple. (30) The whole city was aroused, and people came running from all directions. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple. Immediately, the gates were shut. (31) While they were trying to kill him, word reached the commander of the Roman troops that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. (32) He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to where they were. When the rioters saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. (33) Then the commander came up, arrested Paul, and ordered him to be bound with two chains. When he asked who he was and what he had done, (34) some in the crowd shouted one thing, some another. When he couldn’t learn the truth because of the uproar, he commanded Paul to be brought into the barracks. (35) When they reached the steps, Paul had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd. (36) The mob that followed after them kept on shouting, “Kill him, kill him!”
(37) As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I speak to you?” He asked, “Do you know Greek? (38) Are you not the Egyptian who recently stirred up a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the wilderness?” (39) Paul answered, “I am a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the crowd.” (40) And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, motioned with his hand to the mob. When they had quieted down, he addressed them in Aramaic.
OBSERVATIONS
Today’s narrative marked a major turning point in Paul’s life and ministry, the moment when he finally lost his freedom to carry on with his church planting ministry and became a Roman prisoner. Numerous repetitions help us trace what happened: “the Jews” (vss. 20, 21, & 27) along with “Jew” (vs. 39), “Law” (vss. 20, 21, 24, & 28), “the Gentiles” (vss. 21 & 25), “men” (vss. 23, 24, & 26), “purify/purified/purification” (vss. 24 & 26), “the temple” (vss. 26, 27, 28, 29, & 30), “crowd” (vss. 27, 34, 35, & 39) along with “mob” (vss. 36 & 40), “commander” (vss. 31, 32, 33, & 37), “soldiers” (vss. 32 & 35), and “the barracks” (vss. 34 & 37).
OUTLINE
I. Following the advice of the Jerusalem leadership, Paul took four other worshipers with him into the temple to offer sacrifices as observant Jews. (20-26)
II. When Jews from Asia recognized Paul, they incited a riot forcing the Romans to step in and rescue him from the mob. (27-36)
III. After petitioning the Roman commander, Paul was given permission to address the crowd. (37-40)
IDEA STATEMENT
While worshiping at the temple in Jerusalem, Paul was recognized by Asian Jews who started a riot that resulted in his being arrested by the Roman commander who then allowed him to address the crowd.
APPLICATION
Why would this Roman commander allow Paul to address the mob that was trying to kill him? Several reasons can be found in Luke’s account. First, Paul in a private exchange with the soldier calmly explained that he was a Jew who had every right to be worshiping in the temple. He denied that he was the Egyptian who had recently stirred up a revolt as the tribune had assumed but was rather “a citizen” of the highly respected city of Tarsus which, along with Athens and Alexandria, was one of the chief centers of learning in the ancient world apart from Rome. Paul by showing respect for the commander’s authority and by identifying himself as an educated citizen of Cilicia gained his permission. Also this Roman soldier likely hoped that by giving Paul a chance to speak he might learn why the crowd had reacted so violently to him.
The rest of Acts, fully a quarter of the book, is concerned with what happened to Paul during his imprisonment and how he would finally arrive in Rome after several years of confinement. While many might have considered such restraints to have been utterly frustrating to Paul and contrary to the will of God, the apostle maintained a positive attitude throughout his time in Roman hands, using every opportunity to bear witness to his love for Christ. As he would later write to the believers in Philippi, “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel…” (Phil. 1:12).