Acts 21:27-36--Paul Arrested in the Temple

Acts 21:27-36
English Standard Version
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Paul Arrested in the Temple
27 When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, 28 crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” 29 For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. 30 Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. 31 And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. 32 He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another. And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks. 35 And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, 36 for the mob of the people followed, crying out, “Away with him!”

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As we stated last time, the plan that James and the church in Jerusalem made to have Paul accompany some brothers to the Temple who were making a vow and to pay the costs associated with that backfired when the crowd assumed that Paul took a Gentile into the Temple with him because they had seen Paul socializing with Trophimus the Ephesian in the city.  There was no evidence that Paul did this thing they accused him of (for he had not).  On a side note, this is as good of evidence as any that Luke was a Jew for Luke was with Paul all the time and they did not make mention of Luke being a Gentile that might have gone into the Temple with Paul.

Now the Jews started to riot as they dragged Paul out of the Temple and the gates to the Temple were closed to protect it.  There was so much commotion that the tribune of the cohort of Roman soldiers stationed in Jerusalem heard of it and sent Roman soldiers and centurions to restore peace.  When the soldiers and centurions showed up, the Jews stopped beating Paul, and Paul was arrested by the Romans (just as was prophesied).

The tribune assuming that Paul must be a really bad person to cause such a riot ordered that Paul be bound with two chains (likely how we bind someone's hands and feet that we think is dangerous or a flight risk).  Then the tribune starts to question Paul as to who he is and what he has done.  The tribune was close enough to the crowd of Jews that had followed that he could make out that they were all shouting out different charges against Paul.  It seemed no one could agree on what he was guilty of--they just knew they wanted to kill him.  Because of the noise and the volatile nature of the crowd, the tribune ordered Paul to be brought into the barracks so he could be questioned and interrogated there.

The mob got so violent that the soldiers had to carry Paul for his own safety because otherwise the people would have attacked him while he was bound with two chains, however they knew not to risk accidently striking one of the Roman soldiers, and, so it was that the Roman soldiers protected Paul within their barracks as the crowd cried out "Away with him" (probably meaning that they wanted to Romans to kill Paul in much the same way that the Jews wanted the Romans to kill Jesus).  The tribune gave Paul and opportunity to speak to the crowd (which we'll see next time), but that wouldn't work--in fact, they will just get riled up all over again.