The events that transpired in Jerusalem when Paul visited the city on this occasion proved crucial in spreading the gospel to Rome. Luke wrote these events to reveal God's methods to his readers.
21:17-19 As he had done before, Paul related to a group of elders what God had done on his missionary journeys among the Gentiles (14:27; cf. 18:23). This undoubtedly helped the Jerusalem church accept the gift that Paul had brought from their Gentile brethren. James, the Lord's half-brother, was still the recognized leader of the Jerusalem church (cf. 12:17; 15:13), but this church also had elder leadership (cf. 11:30). Luke mentioned nothing about Paul's delivery of the monetary gift, Paul's main reason for going to Jerusalem (cf. Rom. 15:25-27; 1 Cor. 16:1-4). His purpose was primarily to emphasize the spread of the gospel. The Gentiles had remembered the poor as Paul had urged them to do (Gal. 2:10).
Even though the third "we"section ends with verse 18, Luke may have remained with Paul in Jerusalem. He could have stopped including himself in the narrative to stress Paul's leadership. Alternatively he may have departed for some other destination.
21:20-21 Having rejoiced over Paul's account of the Gentiles' conversion, the elders also added that thousands of Jews had become believers, many of them in Jerusalem. They explained that these Jewish Christians had some misgivings about Paul's ministry about which they had heard. The word on the streets was that Paul was going beyond his actual practice of not requiring Gentile converts to undergo circumcision or to obey the Mosaic Law. They had heard he was telling Jewish converts not to practice circumcision or to observe the customs of Judaism. This was a false report. Paul did not teach that these customs were evil, just unnecessary for justification and sanctification.
21:22-24 The elders' plan aimed to prove to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, and to all the Jews there, that Paul had not abandoned the customs of the Jews. He had, of course, ceased to believe and teach that salvation came by obeying the Mosaic Law. He was no longer a Jew in religion, but he was still a racial Jew and as such observed Jewish cultural practices (e.g., the Nazarite vow, 18:18).
The four men in question had taken a temporary Nazarite vow of separation to God, as Paul had done earlier (18:18). At the end of the vow each of them had to bring an offering to the temple. This consisted of two lambs, one ram, a basket of unleavened cakes and wafers, a grain offering, and a drink offering (Num. 6:13-15). After presenting these to the priest, they would cut off their hair and burn it on the altar (Num. 6:18). The elders suggested that Paul go with them to the temple, purify himself with them for temple worship, and show his support of the Nazarite custom by paying for their offerings. Paul could do this, and did so, without compromising his convictions since the Jews did not regard taking a Nazarite vow as essential for acceptance by God. It was strictly voluntary. They regarded circumcision, on the other hand, as essential. However, Paul did not even object to circumcision as a custom (16:3), though he did object to it as a rite essential for God's acceptance (Gal. 2).
21:25 James and the elders repeated their former conviction regarding the instruction of Gentile converts. This was simply a point of clarification designed to emphasize that the decision of the Jerusalem Council still stood (cf. 15:20, 29). Their counsel to Paul on this occasion did not contradict their strong commitment to salvation by grace.
21:26 A Nazarite would announce the completion of his vow to the priest and then seven days later present his offerings. The Law did not prescribe this week's wait, but it was customary. Paul accompanied the four men into the temple and underwent the rites of purification with them because he was paying the expenses of their vow.846The Jews considered paying the charges for Nazirites' offerings an act of piety and a symbolic identification with the Jews. Herod Agrippa I had previously done this.847
21:27-28 The Jews from Asia, possibly from Ephesus, were obviously unbelievers. They charged Paul with the same kind of crimes the unbelieving Jews had accused Stephen of committing (6:11, 13-14). The Jews permitted Gentiles in the outer court of the temple, the court of the Gentiles. They could not go beyond the sacred enclosure into the women's court, or into the court of Israel, much less into the court of the priests.
Jewish men like Paul who were not priests or Levites could go no farther than the court of Israel. The priests had posted notices prohibiting Gentiles from entering the sacred enclosure, the area that included the courts of the women, Israel, and the priests. These were in Latin and Greek and were on the barrier, the Soreg, at the foot of the steps leading to this area of the temple. Archaeologists have discovered two of these notices.848One reads as follows.
"No man of another nation to enter within the fence and enclosure round the temple. And whoever is caught will have himself to blame that his death ensues."849
The Romans allowed the Jews to execute any Gentile, even a Roman citizen, for proceeding beyond this low, stone barrier.850
21:29 Trophimus the Ephesian was Paul's travelling companion from Asia (20:4) The Asian Jews had previously seen them together in the city and had assumed that Paul had brought this Gentile into the sacred enclosure of the Temple.
"The possibility that Trophimus might have wandered of his own freewill into the forbidden area is about as likely as that somebody should wander into private rooms in the Kremlin for the purpose of sightseeing."851
21:30 The rumor of Paul's alleged capital offense travelled quickly throughout Jerusalem and brought a mob of zealous Jews into the Temple courtyard.
". . . the Temple was a fetish for all Jews, but for none more so than fanatically devout pilgrims from the Diaspora, who had travelled far to celebrate the festival of Pentecost in the holy city."852
Evidently the priests dragged Paul out of one of the inner courts and into the court of the Gentiles. The doors that Luke referred to separated the court of the Gentiles from the inner courts that were accessible only to Jews. The priests now closed these doors to prevent the defiling of the inner courts by the tumult and bloodshed.853
21:31-32 The Jews proceeded to beat Paul in the court of the Gentiles. News of this commotion reached the Roman commander of the Fortress of Antonia that connected with the temple area on the northwest. Herod the Great had built this fortress to house the soldiers of the Tenth Legion. The commander's name was Claudius Lysias (23:26). He was responsible for the 1,000 soldiers stationed there. When he saw the riot, he summoned soldiers and centurions (commanders of 100 soldiers each) and ran down the steps of the fortress and into the court of the Gentiles. Levites constituted the Temple police (cf. 4:1), but these Roman troops were responsible to keep peace in the whole city.854The Jews stopped beating Paul when they saw the commander and the other soldiers.
"One thing Rome insisted on--civil order. A riot was an unforgivable sin both for the populace who staged it and the commander who allowed it."855
This is the sixth time in Acts that Paul's ministry had precipitated a public disturbance (cf. 14:19; 16:19-22; 17:5-8, 13; 19:25-34).
21:33-34 The commander arrested Paul assuming that he was a criminal. The two chains the Roman guards placed on Paul probably bound him to two soldiers (cf. 12:6). When the commander tried to learn who Paul was and what he had done from some members of the crowd, he received conflicting information. So he ordered Paul brought into the "barracks,"the Fortress of Antonia.
21:35-36 Stairs led up to the fortress from the city on its west side and from the temple courtyard on its south side.856Probably the stairs in verse 35 were one of the two south stairways leading from the temple courtyard into the fortress.
The anger of the Jews was evident in their desire to tear Paul apart immediately. Their cry recalls their words about Jesus some 27 years earlier (Luke 23:18; John 19:15; cf. Acts 22:22). Probably the Antonia Fortress was where the soldiers took Jesus for trial before Pilate. It was also the prison from which the angel had freed Peter (12:5).
"In this first of Paul's five defenses, Luke's apologetic interests come to the fore in highlighting the nonpolitical character of Christianity (contrary to other messianic movements of the day, cf. 21:38) and in presenting Paul's mandate to the Gentiles as being the major reason for Jewish opposition to the gospel (cf. 22:10-22)."857
22:23-24 Claudius Lysias could not understand why the Jews reacted as they did. If he did not understand Aramaic, his confusion would have been even greater. He could not tolerate a riot, so he decided to get the truth from Paul by threatening him and, if necessary, torturing him. This type of beating, with strips of leather embedded with scraps of bone or metal fastened to a stout wooden handle, usually resulted in death or permanent crippling. This is the weapon the Roman soldiers used to beat Jesus after Pilate had declared Him innocent (Matt. 27:26: John 18:38-19:1). This would have been the worst beating Paul ever experienced (cf. 16:22-23; 2 Cor. 11:24-25).
"In being called as witness to this Jesus, Paul was also called to suffering (9:16), suffering that increasingly looks like Jesus' suffering (cf. 21:11-14; 22:22) and includes an extensive series of trials and threats to Paul's life. The trials, even though extended over much more time and depicted in fuller scenes, resemble Jesus' trials. Both Jesus and Paul must appear before the Jewish council, the Roman governor, and a Jewish king. Both are repeatedly declared innocent yet not released."864
22:25 Roman law protected Roman citizens from the scourge (Lat. flagellum) before they went on trial and even if they were guilty.865The fact that Paul raised a question in his defense rather than demanding his release reflects his self-control in this dangerous situation. He was under the Spirit's control.
22:26-28 During the reign of Emperor Claudius (41-54 A.D.) it was possible to obtain Roman citizenship for a high price.866This had not always been possible in the empire. Earlier the government conferred citizenship for rendering valuable service to a Roman general or high official.867This is probably how Paul's father or grandfather received his citizenship. As the son of a Roman citizen, Paul inherited this status. Born citizens enjoyed greater respect than Romans who had bought their citizenship.
Roman citizens kept the documents proving their status in secure places, and nothing external identified them as citizens. People normally accepted a verbal claim to being a Roman citizen at face value since to claim citizenship falsely was a capital offense.868Claudius Lysias took the course of action that was safest for him and accepted Paul's claim.
22:29 The soldiers should not have bound Paul until someone had formally charged him with a crime.
"The narrative of an action-packed day ends after this indication that Paul is fully a member of the two worlds to which he has been sent. He is both a devout Jew (22:3) and a Roman citizen."869
"The irregular structure of Luke's account of Paul's defense before the Sanhedrin evidently reflects the tumultuous character of the session itself. Three matters pertaining to Luke's apologetic purpose come to the fore: (1) Christianity is rooted in the Jewish doctrine of the resurrection of the dead (cf. 23:6); (2) the debate Paul was engaged in regarding Christianity's claims must be viewed as first of all a Jewish intramural affair (cf. 23:7-10); and (3) the ongoing proclamation of the gospel in the Gentile world stems from a divine mandate (cf. 23:11)."870
22:30 The commander released Paul from his chains but kept him in custody. He decided the Sanhedrin could discover why the Jews were accusing Paul since he could not figure this out. He ordered this body to meet to examine Paul because he was responsible for keeping peace in Jerusalem. If Paul's offenses proved inconsequential, Claudius Lysias would release him. If the Jews charged him with some religious crime, the Sanhedrin could try him. If they charged him with a civil crime, the Roman provincial governor would try him.871
This was at least the sixth time that the Sanhedrin had to evaluate the claims of Christ. The first occasion was when it met to consider reports about Jesus (John 11:47-53), and the second was Jesus' trial (Matt. 26:57-68; 27:1-2; Mark 14:53-65; 15:1; Luke 22:66-71). The third meeting was the trial of Peter and John (4:5-22), the fourth was the trial of the Twelve (5:21-40), and the fifth was Stephen's trial (6:12-7:60).
23:1 Evidently Paul intended to give his testimony again to the Sanhedrin. He addressed this body using the formal address common among Jews (lit. "Men brothers,"Gr. Andres adelphoi). He identified himself as a Jew since his loyalty to Judaism was in question.
Paul frequently claimed to have lived with a clear conscience before God (cf. 20:18-21, 26-27; 24:16; Rom 15:19, 23; Phil 3:6; 2 Tim. 4:7). Here this claim meant that he believed that nothing he had done, which he was about to relate, was contrary to the will of God contained in the Hebrew Scriptures. Specifically his Christian beliefs and conduct did not compromise his Jewish heritage.
"He was not, of course, claiming sinlessness, nor was he referring to the inner spiritual conflicts of Rom. 7. The reference was to the externals of his life, and the blamelessness of his conduct as measured by the demands of the Law (cf. Phil. 3:4-6)."872
23:2 Paul's claim to uprightness so incensed Ananias that he ordered a soldier to strike Paul on the mouth. Probably Ananias, who was a Sadducee, had already made up his mind that Paul, who had been a Pharisee, was guilty. An officer of the high priest had also struck Jesus as he testified before the Sanhedrin (cf. John 18:20-23).
Ananias became high priest in 47 A.D. The Jewish high priesthood was a political appointment during Rome's occupation of Palestine. Josephus painted Ananias as a despicable person. He seized for his own use tithes that should have gone to the ordinary priests and gave large bribes to Romans and Jews. The emperor summoned him to Rome on charges of being involved in a bloody battle between Jews and Samaritans, but he escaped punishment. He was very wealthy and resorted to violence and even assassination to accomplish his ends. He was also very pro-Roman, and the Jews finally killed him in their uprising against Rome in 66 A.D.873
23:3 Jewish law considered a person innocent until proved guilty, but Ananias had punished Paul before he had been charged much less tried and found guilty. Paul reacted indignantly and uttered a prophecy of Ananias' judgment that God fulfilled later. A white-washed wall is one that was frequently inferior on the inside but looked good outwardly (cf. Ezek. 13:10-16; Matt. 23:27). Paul's reaction was extreme, but as he proceeded to explain, it resulted from misunderstanding.
23:4-5 Paul may not have known that the person who commanded the soldier to strike him was the high priest for any number of reasons. Paul had not been in Jerusalem for an extended visit for over 20 years and may not have been able to recognize the current high priest by sight. Perhaps Ananias was not wearing his high priestly robes since this was not a regular meeting of the Sanhedrin.874Perhaps Paul was looking in another direction when Ananias gave the order to strike him. Perhaps Paul had poor eyesight,875though this seems less likely in view of verse 1.876Another possibility is that Paul was speaking in irony: "I did not think that a man who would give such an order could be the high priest.'"877Some interpreters believe that Paul simply lost his temper.878Others believe he was apologizing.879Paul voiced similar passionate utterances on other occasions (cf. Gal. 2:11; 5:12; Phil. 3:2).
The high priest was a ruler of the Jews in a higher sense than was true of the rest of the Sanhedrin members. Paul's quotation from Exodus 22:28 showed that he was in subjection to God's revealed will that he was on trial for repudiating. Being subject to governmental authorities is a requirement under the New Covenant as it was under the Old (cf. Rom. 13:1-7; et al.). Paul quoted the Old Covenant here for the benefit of the Jews who lived under it.
23:6 Paul recognized that he could not get a fair trial in a court that did not even observe the law it purported to defend, so he changed his tactics. He decided to divide the jury and began his defense again ("Men brethren"). This time he took the offensive.
The issue of the resurrection of the dead was fundamental in Paul's case (cf. 17:32). Israel's national hope of deliverance by her Messiah rested on the resurrection of that Messiah as predicted in the Hebrew Scriptures. By raising the old controversy of whether resurrection is possible, Paul divided his accusers.
"Paul keeps coming back to the theme of hope and resurrection even when it no longer provokes disruption (cf. 24:15, 21; 28:20), and it will be a central theme in Paul's climactic defense speech before King Agrippa (26:6-8, 23). Paul is doing more than injecting a controversial subject into the Sanhedrin hearing. He is trying to change the entire issue of his trial, and he will persist in this effort in subsequent scenes. Therefore, the significance of Paul's statement that he is on trial concerning hope and resurrection of the dead' can be understood only by considering the development of this theme in later scenes."880
23:7-8 Paul's belief in the resurrection divided the Sanhedrin. The Sadducees denied the resurrection as well as the existence of (good) angels and (evil) spirits, but the Pharisees believed in these things.881
23:9-10 The Pharisees sided with Paul, and the Sadducees opposed him. Their emotional dispute excluded any possibility of a serious examination of Paul's conduct or even a clarification of the charges against him. The Pharisees likewise defended Paul's claim to having received a vision on the Damascus road (22:6-11) or in the temple (22:17-21), but the Sadducees repudiated it. The Roman commander must have thrown up his hands in dismay. For a second time he could not discover what Paul had done and why so many Jews hated him. Pilate had a similar problem with Jesus (John 18:28-19:15). Claudius Lysias decided to take Paul into protective custody in the Fortress.
Paul was undoubtedly wondering how he would ever get out of the mess in which he found himself. At this critical moment, during the night of the next day (Gr. te epiouse nykti), the Lord appeared to him again (cf. 9:4-6; 16:9; 18:9-10; 22:17-21; 27:23-24; Gen. 15:1). The Lord's appearances to Paul all occurred at great crises in his life. He assured the apostle that he would bear witness in Rome as he had already done in Jerusalem (1:8). This revelation is essential to Luke's purpose in writing Acts, and it certainly must have given Paul confidence as the events that followed unfolded.
"When Jesus' witnesses were previously imprisoned, prison doors were wondrously opened for them (5:17-21; 12:1-11; 16:23-26). That is no longer the case. The Lord's reassurance must take the place of miraculously opening doors. The divine power that rescues from prison has become a powerful presence that enables the witness to endure an imprisonment that lasts for years."882
"This assurance meant much to Paul during the delays and anxieties of the next two years, and goes far to account for the calm and dignified bearing which seemed to mark him out as a master of events rather than their victim."883
23:12-15 Paul's adversaries (cf. 21:27-29) evidently agreed together not to taste food or drink again until Paul was dead. Their plan was to have the chief priests and elders of Israel ask the Roman commander to return Paul to the Sanhedrin for further questioning. Assassins planned to kill him somewhere on the streets between the Fortress of Antonia and the hall of the Sanhedrin. These buildings were not far apart. They surely realized that Paul's Roman guards might kill some of their number in the process.
"The oath was not so suicidal as it seems, since provision was made by the rabbis for releasing participants from the consequences of failure to carry out their purpose if external circumstances had made it impossible."884
23:16-17 We know nothing more about Paul's sister than what Luke stated here. She may have lived in Jerusalem, Tarsus, or elsewhere. Obviously her son, Paul's nephew, sided with his uncle rather than with the assassins.885Other writers used the Greek word neanian, translated "young man"(v. 17), of persons in their twenties and thirties as well as younger men (cf. 7:58; 20:9). However, verse 19 suggests that he may have been younger than a teenager. Paul could receive visitors in the barracks where he was a prisoner since he was a Roman citizen in protective custody. He could also summon a centurion to do his bidding, which he did here.
"I find today that there is a group of super-pious folk, very sincere and very well-meaning, which tells me I should not go to a doctor concerning my cancer or other illnesses but that I should trust the Lord to heal me. Well, I certainly do trust the Lord; I have turned my case over to the Great Physician, and I believe He provides doctors. It would have been a simple thing for Paul to have told his nephew, Thanks for telling me the news, but I'm trusting the Lord--so you can go back home.' But we find here that Paul used the privileges of his Roman citizenship which were available to him. Obviously the Lord provides these means and He expects us to use them. This in no way means that we are not trusting Him. Rather, we are trusting God to use the methods and the means to accomplish His purpose."886
23:18-22 The commander took the advice of Paul's nephew seriously. He probably knew Ananias well enough to know that the high priest would go along with this assassination plot.
23:23-24 The commander also realized that Paul's enemies in Jerusalem would stop at nothing to see him dead. As long as Paul was in Jerusalem there was a danger of rioting. Consequently Claudius prepared to send him to the Roman provincial capital with a heavy guard under cover of night. The number of soldiers may have been 270 or 470 depending on the meaning of dexiolaboi, "spearmen."This word may refer to foot soldiers or to led horses.887The third hour of the night was 9:00 p.m. (cf. 9:25; 17:10). Obviously Claudius Lysias did not want the assassination of a Roman citizen on his record, so he took precautions to protect Paul. Paul's guards continued to treat him with the respect due a Roman citizen. The commander even provided horses for him to ride on.
"The size of the escort is not excessive, in view of the troubled times and Jewish fanaticism."888
23:25 The commander had to send a copy of the background of Paul's case along with Paul himself. Luke wrote that what follows in the text was substantially what the letter contained.
23:26 This is the first mention of the commander's name in Acts. His Greek name was Lysias, and when he purchased his Roman citizenship (cf. 22:28) he must have also taken the Roman name of the emperor. Felix was the governor of the Roman province of Syria, which included Judea. Claudius Lysias addressed Felix politely (cf. 1:1; 24:2; 26:25).
23:27-30 The commander put himself in the best light possible in view of the facts. He mentioned his "rescue"of Paul in the temple courtyard but did not say that he almost flogged Paul. New in this letter is the mention of Paul's arrest by the Jews, evidently the Jewish temple police. Lysias wrote that he had rescued Paul because he knew that Paul was a Roman citizen, but the commander only learned of Paul's Roman citizenship after he had arrested him (21:34; 22:26-27). Of particular importance is the notice that in Lysias' judgment Paul was not guilty of any crime (cf. John 18:38), but his case only involved disputes over Jewish theology.889This was another judgment favoring not only Paul but Christianity by a Roman official that Luke carefully documented (cf. 19:40; 23:9; 25:25; 26:31-32). Undoubtedly Claudius Lysias told the Jewish leaders to go to Caesarea after Paul had left Jerusalem.
The large contingent of Roman soldiers escorted Paul through the Judean hill country and the Shephelah to the town of Antipatris about 37 miles northwest of Jerusalem. The remaining 28 miles to Caesarea lay over flatter terrain in an area that had a sparser Jewish population. Paul's party travelled this area in daylight. The foot soldiers returned to Jerusalem from Antipatris, and the 70 remaining cavalry soldiers escorted Paul the rest of the way to Caesarea.
Paul's departure from Jerusalem was the first leg of his journey to Rome. God had used Paul as His witness in Jerusalem again and had preserved him to witness to the uttermost part of the earth.
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