Lechem Panim #222 “Paul Is Seized” (Acts 21:27-30) Pastor Cameron Ury

Greetings! It’s good to have you with us today. If you were with us last week, you will remember that Acts 21 marks a major transition in the life and ministry of the apostle Paul. Ever since he had been converted all the way back in Acts chapter 9, he has been free to evangelize all over the Mediterranean world. He had been imprisoned in Philippi (Acts 16:23ff), but only for a very short period of time, as God sent an earthquake that tore the jail apart and set Paul and Silas free. However, in today’s passage we are entering into a whole new stage of Paul’s ministry, as he is arrested here in Jerusalem and will this time remains a prisoner. From here on out he would be an “ambassador in chains”, as he calls himself in Ephesians 6:20.

Finishing The Vows— Now you will remember that Paul has just arrived in Jerusalem along with a group of men from the gentile churches he helped start. And he is delivering the offering collected by those churches to help the needy in Jerusalem. So he does that and tells the elders of all that God had done through them. And there is great joy. However, the elders of the church want to help Paul discredit the false claims of the Judaizers, who claim that he is teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. (21:21). And so they ask Paul to take four men under his wing who are just finishing up a Jewish Nazirite vow and to be purified with them (made ceremonially clean) and to sponsor their ceremony and sacrifices. And he agrees to do that in order to prove that he wasn’t suddenly anti-Law.. It says in…

Acts 21:26 (NKJV)— 26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them.

Paul Spotted— And so Paul was coming to the end of everything that he had to do as regards these Nazirite vows. But as he was in the temple, he is spotted by some of his Jewish opponents. It says in…

Acts 21:27-29 (NKJV)— 27 Now when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, 28 crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” 29 (For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

Asia?— And so we see that Paul is spotted by these Jews from Asia. Now that word Asia doesn’t mean China or anywhere like that. It means Asia Minor, where Paul had been ministering. These Jews were most likely from Ephesus, because that is where Trophimus had come from; and they recognize him! And so they stir up the the crowd against Paul and have him seized.

Paul Doesn’t Lash Back— But you know, that is something that Paul faced all of his ministry; and not just from people who misunderstood, but from men who willfully and deliberately twisted his words or just simply made up stories about him in order to malign and discredit him. But Paul doesn’t lash back; he doesn’t return hate for hate; anger for anger. He doesn’t malign them or even get defensive. He refutes the accusations, but does so in a spirit of love, with gentleness and respect. That is one of the things we can learn from Paul. When we feel hurt or misunderstood at work, at home, or even at Church, it can be so easy to react in a spirit of defensiveness and anger. But when we respond like Jesus did (with that spirit of love and forgiveness) we can often diffuse those situations and (even if still persecuted) be a testimony to the eyes of others who may be watching.

A Capital Offense— Now the thing they accuse Paul of is bringing Trophimus (a Gentile) into the Temple. They had seen Trophimus with him at one or more other times and just assumed (because of the false label of law-breaker that they had already put on him) that Paul must have done this thing. Now, if true, that would be a very serious crime, because no Gentile (non-Jew) was allowed within the temple under penalty of death. Now there was an outer court they could go into, but that was as far as they could go. Then further into the Temple complex was the court of women where Jewish women could go, then the inner court for the men. Only priests could go into the Temple itself and only the High Priest could go into the Holy of Holies. So Gentiles were on the farthest rung out. In fact, for them to go any further meant certain death. In fact, [In the temple, separating the court of the Gentiles from the other courts, stood a wall beyond which no Gentile was allowed to go (note Eph. 2:14). On the wall was this solemn inscription {(in both Latin and Greek)}: “No foreigner may enter within the barricade which surrounds the sanctuary and enclosure. Anyone who is caught so doing will have himself to blame for his ensuing death.” {And they meant it. And whereas normally the Jews were not permitted to execute anyone without Roman consent,} The Romans had granted the Jewish religious leaders authority to deal with anybody who broke this law, and this included the right of execution.] And some of these warning signs have now been uncovered by archaeologists.

The Perfect Accusation— Now this was the perfect accusation, because whereas before these Jews could not touch Paul in Ephesus because of the Gentiles, here they have Paul surrounded by Jews. Some estimates run as high as 2 million because of the celebration going on there at that time, which was what, by the way? Pentecost, [the Old Testament Feast of Harvest {also} sometimes called the Feast of Weeks, and sometimes called the Day of First Fruits.] Many of these 2 million Jews had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish feast of Pentecost. And what did Pentecost celebrate? The giving of the Law by God to Moses {(they believed)} fifty days after the Exodus from Egypt. And so there is a spirit of devotion and love for the Law; a spirit of celebrating the Temple and its sacredness. And so what could be better than accusing Paul of bringing a Gentile into the Temple!!!???; something that would be sure to churn the stomachs of every one of the Jews there!

Paul Wouldn’t Have Done This— Now Paul of course didn’t do that. And that’s because he wouldn’t undo in one day everything he had done in seven days to show that he still loved and respected the Law of God. Plus, he would never have done that to Trophimus; putting him in a position where he would most certainly be killed. But even if that were true, it wouldn’t have been Paul’s head, it would have (according to the Law) been Trophimus’ because he was the Gentile, not Paul. Paul had ever right to go into the temple and ultimately Trophimus was responsible for his own actions. But of course Trophimus is not the target of the unbelieving Jews; it’s Paul who is the target.

Three Accusations— Now notice that they level against him this accusation, but also three others. They say in verse 28 that Paul is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place. So they accuse Paul first of being against his own people; in other words, he’s anti-Jew. That is a pretty hard claim to make, seeing that Paul was Jewish. But that is what they say. And by the way, this is the same attitude that exists today in the hearts of many Jews in and throughout the world. They see Christianity as absolutely antithetical to what it means to be a Jew; so much so that they will often disown any Jew amongst them who becomes a Christian. And that is because they perceive any Jew who accepts Christ as one who is trying to break with Judaism and their heritage, not realizing that Jesus is the fulfillment of all their Jewish hopes; He’s the Messiah!
    Now next, the Jews accuse Paul of being against the Law and against the Temple. It is pretty hard to see how they can possibly make this claim because (when you think about it) [all the evidence was against them. Paul had Timothy circumcised before taking him along on that second missionary journey (Acts 16:1–3). Paul had taken a Jewish {Nazirite} vow while in Corinth (Acts 18:18), and it was his custom not to offend the Jews in any way by deliberately violating their customs or the law of Moses (1 Cor. 9:19–23).] Furthermore we see in this very passage that he is willing to come alongside these four men who have undertaken a Nazirite vow, sponsor their practice of the Jewish ceremony involved in the completion of that vow, and himself undergo the necessary rituals in order to make himself ceremonially clean and fit to do so, in keeping with Jewish law. And furthermore, the whole reason he was in Jerusalem to begin with was to observe the Jewish feast of Pentecost, which was a celebration of the giving of the Law to Moses. So their accusations really have no anchor in reality.

Became A Mob— Nevertheless, these unbelieving Jews stirred up the whole crowd (v.27). And that word translated stirred up actually means “to confuse”. The crowds were driven into confusion by these unbelieving Jews. And so they become a mob, which (as you know) is a body of people without a head. It is driven by pure emotion, rage, and group-think. It says…

Acts 21:30 (NKJV)— 30 And all the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut.

Hate By Association— And next week we will find out what happens to him. Now I want to make one observation with you before we close today. And that is this: ultimately it was not Paul on trial, it was Jesus. All these events happened right near where Jesus himself had been tried and then crucified. In fact, in verse 36 they cry out against Paul “Away with him!”, the exact same thing the crowds in that place (27 years earlier) had cried out against Jesus. You see, the two are connected. Paul was ultimately hated because of his association with Jesus. The Jews who opposed him were not doing so because they were offended by Paul. Paul was a very likable guy. He loved everyone tremendously, he gave generously, and he spoke the truth in love (which we will see later even in this very chapter, even after he is beaten nearly to death). No, the people weren’t offended by him, but by the NAME he was proclaiming; the name of Jesus.

Associated With Christ— And let me tell you, when you get serious about Jesus, you are going to be (in the eyes of the world) guilty by association. People are going to hate you for no good reason. They are going to accuse you of things that have no basis in reality. And that’s because of the truth of what Jesus says in…

John 15:19-20 (NKJV)— 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

Emboldened— So ultimately Paul is on trial because his proclamation of the name of Jesus is (as Jesus Himself said it would be) an offense to the world. Now did that stop Paul? No it didn’t. If anything, it emboldened him. And that is because of what he said back in…

Romans 8:16-17 (NKJV)— 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

Willing To Suffer— And so let us be willing to suffer for Jesus, sharing with Him in his sufferings so that we also may share in His glory. Let’s do so. Amen.