Acts 21:31
And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.
Acts 21:31 captures the moment when Paul stood on the very point of being killed as the Jerusalem crowd went about to kill him. Only reverence for the temple kept the mob from tearing him in pieces on the spot. Instead, with violent blows and shouts of vindictive triumph, the crowd dragged him from the sacred enclosure into the court of the Gentiles, determined not to lose their prey but to stone him to death as Stephen had been years before. The Levites closed the gates behind them so the holy place would not be polluted with blood.
Meanwhile news that all Jerusalem was in an uproar reached the Roman chief captain. The captain came with soldiers under arms to intervene, and the beating and murderous attack was interrupted. The fury of the people was so great that the soldiers had to carry Paul through the crowd to protect him and remove him. After this violent uproar in Jerusalem, Paul was given the opportunity to address the crowd, and they fell silent when he began speaking in Hebrew.