And when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the people.
The verse belongs to the seizure of Paul in the temple courts, where a furious crowd dragged him away. The crowd had beaten him and intended to kill him, and only the soldiers' intervention kept them from carrying out their plan. Claudius Lysias, commander of the Roman garrison, rushed down with soldiers and centurions, with officers and armed men, to stop the uproar.
At first he supposed Paul to be the Egyptian rebel. He had Paul seized and bound with two chains between two soldiers and ordered him removed to the castle for safety amid confused accusations. On reaching the stairs leading from the temple to the castle, Paul was lifted and carried in the arms of the soldiers because the violence of the mob made it impossible for him to proceed safely on his own.
The multitude surged and pressed closely after him to seize their prey, demanding his death with a deafening shout of Away with him. Priests and people were actuated by the same satanic spirit that thirty years before had moved the mob to clamor for the blood of the Son of God. In the midst of the tumult Paul was calm and self-possessed, with his mind stayed upon God and the knowledge that angels of heaven were about him. He was unwilling to be taken away without making an effort to set the truth before his countrymen.
The verse belongs to the seizure of Paul in the temple courts, where a furious crowd dragged him away. The crowd had beaten him and intended to kill him, and only the soldiers' intervention kept them from carrying out their plan. Claudius Lysias, commander of the Roman garrison, rushed down with soldiers and centurions, with officers and armed men, to stop the uproar.
At first he supposed Paul to be the Egyptian rebel. He had Paul seized and bound with two chains between two soldiers and ordered him removed to the castle for safety amid confused accusations. On reaching the stairs leading from the temple to the castle, Paul was lifted and carried in the arms of the soldiers because the violence of the mob made it impossible for him to proceed safely on his own.
The multitude surged and pressed closely after him to seize their prey, demanding his death with a deafening shout of Away with him. Priests and people were actuated by the same satanic spirit that thirty years before had moved the mob to clamor for the blood of the Son of God. In the midst of the tumult Paul was calm and self-possessed, with his mind stayed upon God and the knowledge that angels of heaven were about him. He was unwilling to be taken away without making an effort to set the truth before his countrymen.