(30) “And all the city was moved, and the people ran together; and they laid hold on Paul, and dragged him out of the temple: and straightway the doors were shut. (31) And as they were seeking to kill him, tidings came up to the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in confusion. (32) And forthwith he took soldiers and centurions, and ran down upon them: and they, when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, left off beating Paul. (33) Then the chief captain came near, and laid hold on him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and inquired who he was, and what he had done. (34) And some shouted one thing, some another, among the crowd: and when he could not know the certainty for the uproar, he commanded him to be brought into the castle. (35) And when he came upon the stairs, so it was that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the crowd; (36) for the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, Away with him.”
(37) “And as Paul was about to be brought into the castle, he saith unto the chief captain, May I say something unto thee? And he said, Dost thou know Greek? (38) Art thou not then the Egyptian, who before these days stirred up to sedition and led out into the wilderness the four thousand men of the Assassins? (39) But Paul said, I am a Jew, of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and I beseech thee, give me leave to speak unto the people.”
NOTE.—Probably the best way of taking up this lesson is to present it as a series of scenes, leading up to the climax. The motive runs through all, and each scene leads toward Paul's destination, Rome, and toward the completion of his life work. There is in this a striking example of the outworking of God's purposes, turning persecutions into providences. The outline would be something as follows: Paul's reception at Jerusalem; slanders against Paul; the plan of his friends to refute those slanders; the assault upon Paul in the temple court; the rescue; Paul's defense from the castle steps; making use of his Roman citizenship. Nero was emperor of Rome, and Felix was governor of Judea. The lesson extends from Acts 21:17 to 22:30.
Golden Text.—“If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed.”1 Peter 4:16.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) When the Jews found Paul in the temple, how did they feel? What did the mob do to Paul? What did the door-keepers of the temple do? Verse 30. Note 1. (2) What did they try to do with Paul? Who learned of the trouble? Verse 31. Note 2. (3) What did he immediately do? What did the mob do when they saw the soldiers? Verse 32. (4) What did the captain do to Paul? What did he ask of Paul? Verse 33. Note 3. (5) What prevented the captain hearing any explanation from Paul? What command did he therefore give concerning Paul? Verse 34. Note 4. (6) To what place was he borne by the soldiers? How did the crowd conduct themselves while Paul was still in the custody of the soldiers? Verse 35. (7) What was the size of the crowd that followed Paul? What cry did they raise against him? Verse 36. Note 5. (8) What request did Paul make of the captain before entering the castle? In what language did he evidently ask the question? What question did the captain ask of him in reply? Verse 37. (9) Who did the captain think Paul was? What had this Egyptian done? Verse 38. Note 6. (10) What did Paul say of himself? What of the city in which he was born? What urgent request did he then make of the captain? Verse 39. Note 7.
NOTES.
1. “All the city was moved.”—Paul's friends, in order to forestall his persecution by the Jews while in Jerusalem, urged him to take part with four Nazarites who had a vow to perform in the temple, thinking thus to show to the Jews that Paul still had respect for Jewish ceremonies; but the Jews spread a report that Paul had taken a Gentile from Ephesus into that portion of the temple which it was forbidden on pain of death for a Gentile to enter. Thus the plans of Paul's friends brought about the very thing they were seeking to avoid. The lesson is that nothing is gained by conformity to a ceremony in which we have no belief of efficacy, even tho no principle may have been violated in doing it. The Jews would have found some other way to bring about their purpose; but the Christians gained nothing by the act which they did. The temple doors were shut lest blood might be shed within the sacred inclosure, and the temple be profaned.
2. “The chief captain of the band.”—This band was quartered in the castle of Antonia, at the northwest corner of the temple area, so built as to overlook the temple and its courts. It communicated with the temple by two flights of steps. The sentry in the tower had doubtless seen the confusion and reported to the officer.
3. “Bound with two chains.”—Evidently each of his hands was bound to the hand of a Roman soldier. The prophecy of Agabus was here fulfilled (Acts 21:11), as brought out in last week's lesson. Josephus states that every Roman soldier carried with him a chain and a thong.
4. “Some shouted one thing, and some another.”—This is a universal characteristic of the mob wherever it is seen, whether among heathen, Jews, or those professing Christianity. The mob spirit is the spirit of Satan let loose in the human being. It is a spirit that runs quickly through a throng and stirs them to deeds of violence, even when the persons themselves do not know what the purpose of the demonstration is. It was so in the mob at Ephesus, as recorded in Acts 19:32. Perhaps the majority of this Jewish mob did not know what Paul had done, or even what it was charged he had done.
5. “Away with him,”—the very same cry that, more than twenty years before, had resounded through the streets of Jerusalem when Jesus stood before the mob that demanded His death, and followed Him as He bore His cross toward Calvary. Satan had stirred up both these mobs, and was instigating the cries which they uttered. He would have accomplished Paul's death there, only that Paul's work was not finished. Christ's ministry was finished before the powers of darkness could touch him.
6. “Art thou not then the Egyptian?”—The Egyptian to whom he referred is mentioned by Josephus. Not long before this, he had gathered a company of discontented Jews on Mt. Olivet, whom he deluded into the belief that he was the Messiah. Felix marched out against these insurgents and dispersed them, but the Egyptian escaped. Josephus says that this Egyptian had led out 30,000 followers. In this was probably included the “four thousand men that were murderers.”
7. Paul's request granted.—He spoke to the people in the Hebrew tongue and thus commanded their attention at once. At the close of his speech, their fury broke forth again, and Paul was carried into the castle to be examined by torture. This led to his declaration of Roman citizenship, and thus later to his appeal to Caesar, and his journey to Rome. We see how God's providence was working through it all to carry out His purpose.
