Assignment for 8.30 to 9.5.09; Acts 21:27-40

[Irving]

Assignment for 8.30 to 9..5.09
Acts, Chapter 21:
27-40

PREFACE: Even before the purification rites discussed in verse 26 of
our previous lesson ( Assignment for 8.23 to 8.29.09 ) had been
completed, some non-Christian Jews from Asia saw Paul at the Temple.
They found reason to arouse the entire city against Paul and nearly
caused him to be killed. Fortunately, the Roman garrison was adjacent
to the Temple. Upon receipt of news about the uproar, the commander of
the garrison intervened with troops, saving Paul’s life. As Paul was
being taken to the safety of the garrison barracks, Paul asked for
permission to speak to the commander and informed him of his Roman
citizenship. Under protection of the Roman Commander, and by his
permission, Paul addressed the crowd who had been his would-be
assassins. They listened to him as he spoke to them in Aramaic in his
own defense.

verse 27. The seven days were those required for the process of
purification. i. e., the shaving of the head at the altar, the
sacrifice of a sin offering, the sacrifice of a burnt offering. Each
of the four had to go through this process. But even before the seven
days were completed, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in
the Temple. They stirred up the crowd and seized him.

verse 28. The Charge: This is the man who teaches all men everywhere
against our people, our laws, and this place. He has brought Greeks
into the Temple and defiled this holy place.

verse 29. These Jews had previously seen Trophimus, the Ephesian, in
the city with Paul, and assumed that Paul had brought him into the
Temple as well.

verse 30. As soon as the stirred-up crowd dragged Paul from the
Temple, the gates were shut by the Temple Guard to make sure no human
blood was spilled within the Temple.

verses 31,32. The crowd was trying to kill Paul, but the news of the
uproar had reached the ears of the Roman commander of the garrison of
troops in Jerusalem At once, he ran down with officers and soldiers to
bring order. As soon as the crowd saw them coming, they stopped
beating Paul.

verses 33,34. The Commander arrested Paul and had him chained between
two soldiers. He made inquiries of the crowd about the origins of the
commotion, but could make no sense out of the chaotic shouting
responses of the crowd, so he simply ordered Paul to be taken to the
barracks.

verses 35,36 The Fortress of Antonio, where the troops were
garrisoned, was connected to the Temple at its north end by two
flights of stairs. We might suspect that there was history behind this
location of Roman troops so close to the Temple. When Paul, in chains,
reached the stairs, the surging mob was so unruly that the soldiers
had to pick him up and carry him. All the while the crowd was
shouting , repeatedly, “Away with him.”

verse 37. Just as the soldiers were about to take Paul into the
barracks, Paul asked the Commander for permission to speak to the
crowd. The Commander was surprised because he had spoken in Greek.

verse 38. “Do you speak Greek?” the Commander asked. The Commander
had thought
that Paul was the Egyptian who had started a revolt and led 4000
terrorists out into the desert, some time before.

verse 39. Paul then identified himself as a Jew from Tarsus in
Cilicia , a citizen of no mean city. Tarsus was, in fact, a notable
city. It was an important commercial center, a university town, and a
crossroads of travel. Paul then asked the Commander for permission to
speak to the people who had attacked him and abused him.

verse 40. With the Commander’s permission – and his protection – Paul
stood on the stairs and began to speak to them in Aramaic. As soon as
they heard him speak in Aramaic,they settled down and began to listen
to him.

In Chapter 22 we will learn what Paul had to say on this occasion.

Study Questions for Acts 21: 27-40

1. Paul expended time, energy and money to put four men and himself
through purification rights on the advice of Christians in Jerusalem.
Their stated purpose was that his doing this would demonstrate to the
Christian Jews that , contrary to what was gossip was being spread
about him, he still respected the Jewish laws and traditions. We are
not told what the result was among the Christian Jews, but it
certainly had no effect on the much larger population of non-Christian
Jews. Do you think Paul wasted his efforts in the purification
ritual? What can we learn, if anything, from this episode in term of
guidance for our own Christian activity as individuals or as a
congregation?

2. Again, we see how Paul’s Roman citizenship served him in good
stead. Read Romans 13: 1-7. Do you think Paul’s experiences with
benefits of a strong government had a bearing on his inspired writing
in this section of the epistle to
the Romans?

3. Do you think it extraordinary that the crowd became quiet and
attentive as Paul began to speak to them in Aramaic ? Was this also a
product of the protection shown to him by the Roman commander? Or was
it the result of his being arrested and , therefore, no longer a
threat because his ability to teach publicly was stopped thereby?