Acts 21:27 - Meaning and Application

Here we see Paul brought into a captivity that would drag on for a long time. After this, he would be rushed from one hearing to another, or left forgotten, first in one prison and then in another. He could neither get a trial nor be released on bail. When trouble begins, we often cannot tell how long it will last or how it will end.

Paul is seized and held in the temple, where he had gone to complete the days of purification and take part in the sacred services of those days (Acts 21:27). Long ago, he was well known there, but he had been away traveling for so long that he had become a stranger. So it was not until the seven days were nearly over that those with hatred toward him noticed him. He was attacked in the very place where he should have been safe, as in a sanctuary. The same temple that should have welcomed him, as one of its greatest honors since the Lord of the temple had left it, became the place where they tried to spill his blood with his sacrifices. In this way, people can corrupt even what they claim to honor.

The men who turned the crowd against him were Jews from Asia, not from Jerusalem. These were Jews from the wider dispersion, who knew Paul best and were most angry with him. Though they rarely came up to worship in Jerusalem and lived far away while seeking their own gain, they now acted as if they were deeply zealous for the temple. Often those who neglect God’s house the most make the loudest show of concern for it.

Their strategy was to stir up the crowd and inflame them against Paul. They did not bring the matter to the high priest or the city leaders, likely because they expected no support from them. Instead, they roused the people, who were already ready for anything wild, rebellious, or violent. Those least ruled by reason and most ruled by passion are often the easiest to use against Christ and Christianity. That is why Paul could describe Jewish persecutors as not only evil, but unreasonable.

Their accusations were loud, popular, and completely unfair. They cried out, “Men of Israel, help.” In other words, if you are truly Israelites, true Jews who care about your people and your nation, now is your chance to prove it by helping seize an enemy of both. They shouted after him as if after a thief or a mad dog. Since they could never prove Christianity was evil, its enemies have often tried to give it a bad name and crush it through noise and outrage.

They accused Paul of both wrong teaching and wrong behavior, and they said both were against the Law of Moses and the temple system. First, they charged him with false teaching. They claimed he did not merely hold bad ideas himself, but spread them everywhere he went. Because he traveled from place to place, they acted as if he were everywhere at once. They said he was spreading dangerous and false ideas against the Jewish people, against the law, and against the temple.

Against the Jewish people, they objected to his teaching that Jews and Gentiles stand on the same level before God, and that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters. They also took his teaching against unbelieving Jews, whom he said were rejected, and twisted it into an attack on the whole nation. As if no doubt remained that the nation alone was God’s people, and wisdom must die with them. Yet God had not cast off all his people, even though he had set some aside (Romans 11:1). They were a people who claimed status they did not truly possess, while those who belong only in name often seem the most protective of the church’s honor.

They also accused him of speaking against the law. Paul taught people to believe the gospel as the goal and fulfillment of the law, but they treated that as if he were opposing it. In truth, his teaching did not destroy the law at all. It upheld it and gave it its true place (Romans 3:31).

They further said he was speaking against the temple itself. Because he taught people to pray everywhere, they treated him as an enemy of the temple. They may also have had in mind his repeated mention of the coming destruction of Jerusalem, the temple, and the Jewish nation, which his Master had foretold. Paul himself had once joined in persecuting Stephen and helping put him to death for speaking against this holy place. Now the same charge was laid against him. He who had once been used as the instrument was now made the target of Jewish rage and hatred.

They also accused him of a bad deed. To support their claim that he taught against the temple, they said he had polluted it himself by a public act of contempt. They claimed he had brought Gentiles into the temple, that is, into the inner court where uncircumcised people were never allowed to enter. There was even an inscription on the wall around that court, in Greek and Latin, warning that it was a capital crime for foreigners to go in. Paul was a Jew and had every right to enter the Jews’ court. But they saw some men with him there who had joined him in worship, and they assumed that Trophimus, an Ephesian and a Gentile, was one of them. They did not see him in the temple at all. They had only seen him with Paul in the city, which was no crime, and from that they falsely claimed Paul had taken him into the inner court.

This shows that innocence is no shield against lies and false charges. It is nothing new for honest and orderly people to have things blamed on them that they never did or even thought of. Evil people keep digging for trouble, and they stretch far to find support for their false claims. Here, because they saw a Gentile with Paul in the city, they jumped to the conclusion that he must have been with him in the temple. It was a forced and unfair guess, but wicked men have often used such groundless claims to excuse the cruel attacks they made on God’s people.

People who mean harm often use against good and wise people the very things they once seemed to do for them. Paul had hoped that going into the temple would help him win their respect, but instead they slandered him more. This is the nature of evil hearts. As the psalm says, “In return for my love they are my adversaries” (Psalm 109:4; Psalm 69:10).

Paul was now in danger of being torn apart by the mob. They did not want to take him before the high priest or the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council. That would have taken time and would have followed a proper legal process. Since they could not prove their charge, they did not dare put him on fair trial. Their hatred was so strong that they wanted his blood at once, and so they planned to kill him without law or justice.

All the city was thrown into uproar (Acts 21:30). The people had little holiness of their own, yet they had great respect for the temple. When they heard the cry from the temple, they rushed in at once, ready to defend it with their lives and property. They were stirred as if the old complaint had returned, “O God, the nations have come into your inheritance, they have defiled your holy temple” (Psalm 79:1). Their zeal for God’s temple looked much like the Ephesians’ zeal for Diana’s temple when Paul was accused there (Acts 19:29). But God is not honored by people whose supposed zeal drives them into wild and brutal acts.

They dragged Paul out of the temple and shut the doors between the courts. In their rough treatment of him, they showed real hatred, as if he did not deserve to be in the temple or even counted among the Jews. At the same time, they pretended to respect the holy place, just as Jehoiada would not let Athaliah be killed in the house of the Lord (2 Kings 11:15). How foolish they were, condemning Paul for drawing people away from the temple, while they dragged him out of it when he was worshiping there so devoutly.

The temple officers shut the doors, either so Paul could not get back and grab hold of the altar for safety, or more likely so the crowd would not push back into the temple and cause further outrage there. These men had no conscience about murdering a good man for doing good, yet they wanted to avoid doing it in a holy place or on a holy day. In their minds it was, “Not in the temple,” just as earlier it had been, “Not on the feast day.”

They were trying to kill him (Acts 21:31). They began beating him (Acts 21:32), intending to beat him to death with repeated blows. This kind of punishment was allowed by some Jewish teachers in certain cases, though it brought no honor to the nation. Paul was like a lamb thrown into a den of lions, an easy prey for them. No doubt he still held the same mind he had shown before: he was ready not only to be bound, but to die at Jerusalem.

Paul was rescued from his Jewish enemies by a Roman enemy. News of the riot reached the chief captain of the band, the commander of the Roman forces stationed in Jerusalem. Someone who cared about public order, not about Paul personally, gave him the report. The chief captain had long watched these restless Jews closely, and now he was the one used to save Paul’s life, when none of Paul’s friends was able to help him.

The chief captain quickly gathered soldiers and centurions, officers over small groups of soldiers, and ran down to stop the mob. Since it was the feast, the guards were already on duty and the troops were nearby. He had to move fast, because delays in such times are dangerous. A revolt must be stopped at once, before it grows stronger.

The sight of the Roman officer frightened the crowd and kept them from beating Paul further. They knew they were doing what they could not defend, and they were afraid of being held responsible for the riot. The Romans restrained them, though they themselves had no love for Paul. God often uses the earth to help the woman in Revelation 12, that is, to protect his people through those who do not care for them personally. They may only feel pity for the suffering and concern for public peace, yet God still uses them. A shepherd may even use his dogs to defend the sheep.

The mob scattered at the chief captain’s look, for “the king who sits on the throne of judgment scatters away all evil with his eyes.” The governor took Paul into custody, not because he believed Paul was guilty, but because he thought Paul should not be put to death without a trial. He also knew that if such violence were not stopped quickly, the Roman government could face serious trouble. So he took Paul out of the mob’s hands and into the hands of the law (Acts 21:33). He ordered him to be bound with two chains, so the crowd would see that he was not being released at once, but would be examined. Then he asked those who were so eager against him who he was and what he had done.

This rescue by the chief captain was later blamed on him as if it were a crime (Acts 24:7). They said, “The chief captain Lysias came and took him by force out of our hands,” which clearly refers to this event, as seen by comparing (Acts 23:27, Acts 23:28), where the chief captain explains the matter to Felix, the Roman governor. Now the chief captain had to make arrangements, with much effort, to let Paul speak for himself.

One might almost think it easier to fight winds and waves than a crowd like this. Yet Paul found a way to speak in the middle of the uproar. There was no way to read the people clearly, because they were all shouting different things. When the Roman chief captain asked what was going on, some said one thing and some another. In the end, he could not know their real mind, because they did not know it themselves. Anyone who listens to crowd noise will never have certainty, just as happened at Babel when their speech was confused.

There was also no calming their rage. When the chief captain ordered Paul to be taken into the fortress, the Tower of Antonia near the temple, the soldiers had great trouble getting him there safely (Acts 21:35). At the stairs leading up to the fortress, they had to carry him in their arms to keep him from the mob. Paul was a small man, with a weak body, so this was not hard for them. Since they could not reach him with their hands, they followed him with their cruel words, shouting, "Away with him" (Acts 21:36). This is how popular anger often tears down the best people and the best causes. It was the same with Christ, when the crowd cried, "Crucify him, crucify him," even though they could not name any real evil he had done.

At last Paul asked the chief captain for permission to speak to him (Acts 21:37). As he was being led into the fortress, Paul was calm and steady, and he spoke with respect to those around him. He asked, "May I speak to you? Will you allow me to give you my account, since my accusers cannot give a true one?" This was a humble request. Paul knew how to speak to important men, but he still asked leave before speaking to this officer.

The chief captain then said what he thought Paul was. He asked, "Can you speak Greek? I am surprised to hear you use a learned language. Are you not that Egyptian who caused a riot?" The Jews had started the uproar, but they wanted it to seem as if Paul had begun it. People often carry false ideas about good men and faithful ministers, and they do not bother to correct them. It seems there had recently been a rebellion led by an Egyptian who claimed to be a prophet. Josephus says this man promised to make the walls of Jerusalem fall from the Mount of Olives, so the people could enter the city through the ruins. The captain said this man led four thousand armed troublemakers into the wilderness, men of violence and murder. It shows how far the Jewish nation had fallen that so many could be drawn into such lawless plans. Josephus says Felix, the Roman governor, attacked them, killed four hundred, took two hundred prisoner, and scattered the rest. Eusebius also mentions it. This happened in the thirteenth year of Claudius, about three years earlier. The leader had escaped, and the captain assumed that a man so hated by the crowd could not be anyone less notorious than that Egyptian. Good people are often hurt by such mistaken suspicion.

Paul calmly corrected the mistake. He told the officer who he was, and what he was not. He was not some wandering troublemaker like that Egyptian, unable to give any good account of himself. Rather, he was a Jew by birth and religion, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a city known for learning, and from respected parents. He also had the standing of a citizen of no small city, whether that meant Tarsus or Rome is not certain. Paul did not answer with anger or complaint. Though he had been wrongly suspected, he kept his temper and simply told the truth.

Then he humbly asked for permission to speak to the crowd. He did not demand it as his right, though he might have done so. He asked for it as a favor: "I beg you, allow me to speak to the people." The chief captain had rescued him in order to give him a fair hearing. Paul was ready to defend himself at once, because his cause needed no tricks to make it look better. It only needed to be seen clearly. He did not depend only on the strength of his own case, but also on the help and faithfulness of his Master, who promises his servants wisdom at the right moment.

He was given leave to speak, so he did not need any defense lawyer. The Spirit of his Father was ready to guide his words (Matthew 10:20). The chief captain allowed it (Acts 21:40), and that alone gave Paul a little freedom and courage. The Jews would not hear him, but the captain would, even if only to satisfy his curiosity. Once permission was granted, the people grew quiet and listened. Paul stood on the stairs, which gave a small man like Zacchaeus some advantage, and so also some boldness, in speaking. It was a poor pulpit, but it served the purpose. It was not like Ezra’s wooden pulpit, made for that very use, but it was enough.

He then motioned with his hand to the crowd and signaled for them to be quiet and patient, because he had something to say. He succeeded so well that everyone told the next person to hush, and deep silence settled over the crowd. The Roman chief captain may also have ordered everyone to keep still, because if the people were not willing to listen, it would have been useless to let Paul speak.

When Christ’s cause and the gospel are being defended, there should be great quiet so people can pay close attention. Even that is not enough, because the message deserves our full hearing. Paul then began to speak, fully confident that he was serving Christ’s kingdom just as truly and effectively as if he were preaching in the synagogue. He spoke to them in the Hebrew tongue, meaning their own common language, which was the language of their land. By doing this, he showed not only that he still belonged to them, but also that he still respected them.