Act 21:27-31 | KingComments | STEP | Paul spent the seven days of purification in the temple. When that period is almost over and he almost wants to sacrifice, things still go wrong. Jews from Asia, where Paul worked for so long, especially in Ephesus, through which many know him and have worked against him, recognize him. They are also present in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost. When they see him, they stir up all the crowd. They seize their chance and also Paul. While Paul, by his actions, has just wanted to show that he is one of them, in order to gain access to the gospel, they turn against him en masse. The uproar that takes place here is reminiscent of the uproar in Ephesus ( ). There it is about a pagan temple, here it is about God’s temple. There it is caused by idolaters, here it is caused by God’s old people. In both cases it happens with impure means. While they hold him, they cry out for the help of the men of Israel. They have caught the man who teaches and also practices the most terrible things. In the eyes of these unbelieving Jews, Paul is an apostate Jew. He does not preach the exclusivity of Judaism and does not demand submission to the statutes of the law. He opens the door to God for the Gentiles by preaching the gospel to them, without obliging them to enter Israel and impose the law of Israel. They accuse him that no man, “all”, and no place, “anywhere”, is safe from his evil teachings. His evil teachings concern “our people and the Law and this place”. His teachings against “our people” are evidenced by ignoring the exclusivity of Judaism, by offering salvation outside Judaism. His teachings against ‘the Law’ are evidenced by not imposing it on the Gentiles but, on the contrary, by saying that the believers of the Gentiles are free from the Law. His teachings against ‘this place’, that is the temple, are evident from his teaching about the church which he also compares to a temple ( ; ). They make accusations that Paul, according to James and the elders, by submitting to the law, should just negate. His enemies, however, add to this by suggesting that he also led a pagan into the temple, not only in the court of the pagans, but in the part where only Jews are allowed to come. By doing so he desecrated the temple. They do not limit themselves to one Greek in whose company they have seen Paul, but speak of Greeks he is said to have brought into the temple. They base their assumption or conclusion on the fact that they saw Paul in the city together with his originally pagan friend Trophimus. It is a foolish assumption, but it is nevertheless expressed. That accusation inflames the situation. A lot of people are present because of the feast, and because of their shouting, a popular uproar arises. Feelings become more and more heated. Paul is taken hold of and dragged out of the temple. Immediately behind him the doors of the temple are shut. Outward holiness is everything. The temple is defiled in their eyes and must be cleansed before it can be used again. They may also do this to prevent Paul from loosening himself and fleeing into the temple to grasp the horns of the altar and escape his punishment ( ; ).

‏ Acts 21:27-31

Paul Seized the Temple

Paul spent the seven days of purification in the temple. When that period is almost over and he almost wants to sacrifice, things still go wrong. Jews from Asia, where Paul worked for so long, especially in Ephesus, through which many know him and have worked against him, recognize him. They are also present in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost. When they see him, they stir up all the crowd. They seize their chance and also Paul. While Paul, by his actions, has just wanted to show that he is one of them, in order to gain access to the gospel, they turn against him en masse.

The uproar that takes place here is reminiscent of the uproar in Ephesus (Acts 19:23-41). There it is about a pagan temple, here it is about God’s temple. There it is caused by idolaters, here it is caused by God’s old people. In both cases it happens with impure means.

While they hold him, they cry out for the help of the men of Israel. They have caught the man who teaches and also practices the most terrible things. In the eyes of these unbelieving Jews, Paul is an apostate Jew. He does not preach the exclusivity of Judaism and does not demand submission to the statutes of the law. He opens the door to God for the Gentiles by preaching the gospel to them, without obliging them to enter Israel and impose the law of Israel.

They accuse him that no man, “all”, and no place, “anywhere”, is safe from his evil teachings. His evil teachings concern “our people and the Law and this place”. His teachings against “our people” are evidenced by ignoring the exclusivity of Judaism, by offering salvation outside Judaism. His teachings against ‘the Law’ are evidenced by not imposing it on the Gentiles but, on the contrary, by saying that the believers of the Gentiles are free from the Law. His teachings against ‘this place’, that is the temple, are evident from his teaching about the church which he also compares to a temple (1Cor 3:16; Eph 2:21-22).

They make accusations that Paul, according to James and the elders, by submitting to the law, should just negate. His enemies, however, add to this by suggesting that he also led a pagan into the temple, not only in the court of the pagans, but in the part where only Jews are allowed to come. By doing so he desecrated the temple.

They do not limit themselves to one Greek in whose company they have seen Paul, but speak of Greeks he is said to have brought into the temple. They base their assumption or conclusion on the fact that they saw Paul in the city together with his originally pagan friend Trophimus. It is a foolish assumption, but it is nevertheless expressed. That accusation inflames the situation. A lot of people are present because of the feast, and because of their shouting, a popular uproar arises.

Feelings become more and more heated. Paul is taken hold of and dragged out of the temple. Immediately behind him the doors of the temple are shut. Outward holiness is everything. The temple is defiled in their eyes and must be cleansed before it can be used again. They may also do this to prevent Paul from loosening himself and fleeing into the temple to grasp the horns of the altar and escape his punishment (Exo 21:13-14; 1Kgs 2:28-29).

Paul Freed by the Romans

It seems that Paul’s time is up, that’s probably how he experienced it. The Jews, his people, are against him. We hear nothing more from his Jewish-Christian fellow-brothers. Then the Lord arranges for the commander of the Roman cohort to hear about it. He acts resolutely. He knows the highly inflammable Jews and certainly because of the hustle and bustle of the feast he will have put his soldiers in the highest state of readiness to intervene as soon as there would be an uproar. In the Antonia Fortress there was always a garrison of soldiers ready to act. From the fortress they had a good view over the temple square.

The commander takes a department of soldiers with him and goes to the place where the lynching is in full swing. When those who attack Paul see the commander and the soldiers, they stop beating Paul. Surely he must have had a lot of fists and kicks by then. The commander frees Paul, but not to release him. He gives the order to handcuff Paul with two chains. Someone who incurs the folk anger in this way must have had a lot on his conscience, he must have thought. He immediately saw that it was not an ordinary quarrel. He asks the crowd about the person of Paul and about the crime he must have committed. As so often, the crowd is not unanimous because many have become involved in this uproar without knowing what it is all about.

The commander does not learn anything from the crowd and orders that Paul be brought into the barracks of the Antonia Fortress in order to interrogate him there. This is done via the steps leading from the courtyard of the Gentiles to the fortress. These steps become the grandstand for Paul’s speech to the people. It is symbolic that he speaks to the people gathered here in the court of the Gentiles. By the way, the court of the Gentiles was made in response to the word that the house of God would be a house of prayer for all nations (Isa 56:7).

Paul may have been freed and captured by the commander and the soldiers, but that does not mean that the bloodlust of the crowd is stilled. They see their prey escape and try to get their hands on him again. The soldiers must protect him from the violence of the crowd by taking him in their midst and carrying him. While their prey escapes their hands, they shout: “Away with him!” This cry also sounded against the Lord Jesus (Lk 23:18). In this Paul experiences the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ (Phil 3:10).