Ch. 21:17 - 23:11 Paul in Jerusalem (WH)

Our guest columnist today is Wini Hoffner, who composed this fine exposition of Acts 21:17-23:11. The editor has taken the liberty of adding links to some Scripture citations and outside web sources for some of her comments.

Introduction

In the previous posting we followed Paul on his way to Jerusalem. The previous Hattatar posting pointed out that Paul had two reasons for going to Jerusalem.

1. The first, to bring a gift from the Gentile churches to “the poor among the saints in Jerusalem” (as Paul put it in Romans 15:26), a gift he had been collecting for a long time. This gift would not only help feed the poor, Paul hoped that it would also help cement a good relationship between the Jewish churches of Palestine and the Gentile ones of Syria, Asia Minor and Greece.
2. Secondly, Paul wanted to be in Jerusalem for one of the great feasts in order to demonstrate by worshiping in Jerusalem in all the traditional Jewish ways that his fight to keep Gentile converts from being required to become Jews in oder to be saved did not mean that he was discouraging Jewish converts from continuing to follow Old Testament forms of worship, including sacrifice. In other words, he hoped that this visit would bring unity to the young church.

In writing to the Romans about this trip and the gift he was taking he expressed some fears and asked them to pray for him saying:

Rom. 15:30-31 I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there,

In Acts 21:17 ff we see how this prayer was answered.

This is quite a meeting as it consists of leaders from both segments of the young church. There is James, the recognized leader of the Jerusalem church along with all the elders. As there were now “many thousands of Jews who have believed” (v.20) there would have been a considerable number of elders appointed to oversee this growing community. And then there is Paul, the leader and in fact founder of the Gentile church, along with delegates from each area where Paul had ministered.

Paul and his companions are warmly greeted and the gift they bring may partly account for this warm reception. For some reason Luke does not mention the gift here but refers to it later in 24:17. We know however from Paul's prayer request of the Romans that this gift was extremely important to him.

James has told Paul about the thousands of new Jewish converts and has described them as being staunch upholders of the law. Rumor had it that Paul had been teaching Jewish converts that they should not continue to observe Jewish cultural practices. Undoubtedly then, the presence of Paul was going to raise big concerns among these Jewish believers who were “zealous for the law”. What to do?

James offers a suggestion: Paul should accompany four men who had taken a Nazirite vow and and pay their expenses for the sacrifices required to conclude their vow. He also suggests that Paul purify himself. The purification rite as prescribed by law required seven days, at the end of which sacrifices were offered in the temple. In v. 26 Paul goes to the temple to announce the date when they will be ready to make their sacrifices. Perhaps Paul decided to undergo this purification rite because his long sojourn among the Gentiles had rendered him “unclean” in the eyes of the “zealous”. So he not only pays for the four men's sacrifice (a considerable expense) but he undergoes the rite himself. Paying the expenses of the offerings of people who were too poor to pay them themselves was also considered an act of great religious piety. James hoped that by such participation, everyone would know there is no truth in these reports (v. 24) about Paul.

Just as Paul had nearly completed this sincere gesture, some Jews outside the Christian community from the province of Asia caused trouble.

21:27-36 The city was full of pilgrims from all over the Diaspora, in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost. Some Jews from the province of Asia, probably from Ephesus, who may even have been part of the riot at Ephesus began to stir up the crowd of worshipers. They brought two false accusations against him:

1. That he “teaches men everywhere against our people, our law, and this place” (meaning the temple).
2. That he has brought a Gentile into the temple area. They saw Paul at the temple where he is ironically going through the very Jewish rite of purification so that he would not defile the temple, but they accuse him of defiling the temple by bringing a Gentile into it. They had seen him in the city with an Ephesian named Trophimus and assumed he had brought him beyond the partition into the inner courts of the temple.

Josephus describes the wall of partition that divides the outer court of the Gentiles from the inner Court of Israel as being

“a stone balustrade, four and a half feet high and of exquisite workmanship; in this at regular intervals stood slabs giving warning, some in Greek, and others in Latin,...”
(as quoted in The Sacred Bridge, p. 378

that foreigners were prohibited from entering on pain of death. Two remnants from this warning, have been found — one in 1871 and one in 1935. This was the only “crime” for which the Romans allowed the Jews to carry out execution. So you see that Paul was truly in danger of being killed in the riot that follows.

We see a parallel throughout these chapters between the sufferings of Christ and this ordeal of his apostle, Paul. We saw in the last chapter the parallels between Jesus' and Paul's journeys up to Jerusalem. Now we see the similarities in their trials. “Both were rejected by their people, arrested without cause, ... unjustly accused, and willfully misrepresented by false witnesses.” They were both brought before a Roman official who doesn't know what to make of them or what to do with them. They both “were slapped in the face in court ... [and both] “heard the terrifying noise of a frenzied mob shouting 'Away with him!'” (Stott, p. 336).

In Paul's case before us, these two false accusations against Paul (that he teaches against our people, our law, and the temple and that he has defiled the temple) are enough to bring people running from all directions to seize Paul and try to kill him. The Romans then arrive to put down the mob violence and take Paul into custody.

The Roman garrison was housed in the Fortress of Antonia up a flight of stairs in the northwest corner of the temple area. The garrison's purpose was to keep order in the city and they would have been on close watch during the time of an important feast when thousands of pilgrims were in the city. The commander of the garrison (who is identified later in Acts as one Claudius Lysias) comes with a contingent of soldiers to break up the riot. He arrests Paul as the apparent cause of all the trouble even though he can't get at the real truth because of the uproar.

The arrest of Paul protects him from the crowd, and Paul asks to speak to Claudius Lysias personally.

(vv. 37-40) Lysias is confused about who Paul is, thinking him to be an Egyptian Jew who had been active in terrorist activities. Paul corrects him, giving his true identity, and then asks for permission to speak to the crowd.

21:40-22:21

Paul is using this defense to convince this Jewish mob that he is not anti -Jewish.

Question: What are the many ways in which Paul demonstrates his Jewish credentials to this crowd?

1. (v.3) Paul grew up in Jerusalem,
2. Was thoroughly trained in the law having studied under the renowned Pharisaic leader and rabbinic teacher, Gamaliel,
3. Was just as zealous for God as any of them,
4. (v.4) had persecuted the followers of the Way. The Jewish council (the Sanhedrin) was well aware of this as they had given him the extradition order he carried with him to Damascus to seize Jews who had converted and bring them back to Jerusalem to be punished.
5. After Paul's vision on the road to Damascus, his God-appointed mentor, Ananias, was himself a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living in Damascus.(vv.12-14) It was he who restored Paul's sight, told him that the God of our Fathers had chosen him to hear his voice, to see his Righteous One, and to be his witness.
6. (vv.17-21) After returning to Jerusalem he has a vision from the Lord which took place in the very temple which he is supposed to have now defiled.

In this speech Paul has shown: (1) that he has always been and still is a loyal Jew and (2) that His conversion and mission to the Gentiles are not the result of some some misguided thinking on his part but came to him by divine revelation from heaven, through the guidance of his loyal Jewish mentor, Ananias, and finally in the temple itself.

At mention of the Gentiles (v.21), however, the crowd comes to life again, goes into a frenzy and demands his death.

Acts 22:22-23 [They say] “Rid the earth of him! He's not fit to live!” ... they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air,

vv. 23-24 Claudius Lysias again rescues him from the crowd, but wanting to find out why the people were shouting at him like this he directs that Paul be flogged and questioned. Flogging with a Roman lash was a brutal beating. Some people died from it, but the purpose was not to kill, but to extract the truth from the man whipped.

Acts 22:25 As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn't even been found guilty?”

And we read in v. 29 that “The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.”

22:30 The next day, still trying to discover the basis of the accusations against Paul, the commander brings him before the Sanhedrin...just as Jesus before him, was brought to a hearing before the Sanhedrin.

Paul addresses the court saying: (23:1) “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.”

For some reason this infuriates Ananias, the high priest, and he orders that Paul be struck on the mouth. Paul angrily responds to the slap saying:

Acts 23:3 “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!”

Some who were standing near Paul rebuked him for speaking with such disrespect to the high priest. Paul's response is filled with irony.

Acts 23:5 “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: 'Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.' (quoting Ex. 22:28)

Ananias is depicted by Josephus as being very corrupt, even to the point of stealing the tithes belonging to the poorer priests. And often the Jews themselves plead with the Romans to get rid of him. Paul's reply is a stinging reproach of the high priest. The way he uses Ex. 22:28 is a reflection of his rabbinic upbringing. Paul has in mind the way the rabbinic scholars of his day interpreted Ex. 22:28 to mean “don't speak evil of your rulers when those rulers behave in a manner that befits your people.” In other words, don't speak evil of your rulers when they are worthy of your respect.” Ananias' behavior certainly did not make him a leader worthy of respect. He never behaved in a manner that befitted his people. Paul's rabbinic-styled use of Scripture helps the Pahrisees to identify him as one of their own and sets up the exchange that follows.

Acts 23:6-8 Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead.” When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.)

Why does Paul raise this conflict between the Pharisees and Sadducees? Was it merely a ploy to get them fighting each other instead of him?

No. It is part of his defense against the charges brought against him.

We know that the actual charges brought against him were that he was encouraging Jews not to continue to follow the law and that he had defiled the temple. But Paul understood that his real offense to these people was that he believed in Jesus. And while the Pharisees claimed to believe in the hope of the resurrection, Paul knows that that hope has been fulfilled in Jesus, whom they reject. Jesus is the hope of Israel. So in fact, Paul is more of a Pharisee than these Pharisees before whom he stands. Paul believes in the resurrection and stands as witness to that resurrection which is the one and only authentic hope of Israel.

23:9 At this point a great uproar breaks out between the Sadducees and Pharisees, and:

Acts 23:10 The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.

Once again Lysias gets Paul out of there and brings him for protection to the barracks.

Acts 23:11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

Paul knew that trouble lay ahead for him in Jerusalem. And what a violent two days he has experienced! It must have been a great comfort for him the following night to have the Lord come and stand by his side and say “Take courage.” Nighttime is the loneliest time. It's the time when all our fears are magnified. Paul had been fearless, courageous, and bold during the day, but don't you imagine that after those two violent days when night fell Paul must have been discouraged, spent, ready to doubt? He had been convinced that he should go to Rome. Now it looked as if he would never get there. But throughout his ordeal Paul had honored the Lord whom he served in speech and behavior. And now the Lord comes to him definitely, personally, and says, “Take courage.”

The Lord lets him know too, that he will leave Jerusalem safely (albeit not for two years) and that there is still work to be done...he will go to Rome. As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

Application: Paul had asked the believers in Rome to pray “that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea” and God answered that prayer. Even though Paul suffered, God did rescue him. And through the events of those violent two days God used Paul and God was pleased with Paul. As you have testified about me in Jerusalem,

Is God putting you through something that you had hoped to be delivered from, maybe are still praying to be delivered from?

God did not abandon Paul. He hasn't abandoned you either. He wants to use you for his purposes through your crisis. It may be hard. It may be frightening. But if you ask God to make his purposes your purposes, he will give you insight, courage, a testimony, and your suffering will not be wasted. It will count for him.




21:17 Keener’s comment “This gracious reception would necessarily include hospitality for the whole delegation—including offering lodging in Jewish Christian homes to uncircumcised Gentile Christians (although Paul himself might have stayed with his nephew’s family- Acts 23:16). This line thus has more significance than would normally strike the modern reader” may assume too much, since Luke already tells us that the delegation stayed in Mnason’s house, and he was already sympathetic to uncircumcised Gentile converts. But certainly Luke wants us to see that the visit started well.





23:1-5 Ananias strikes Paul for claiming to have lived in good conscience as a Jew. His reason for rebuking the High Priest, seemingly a breach of the law (Ex 22:28 [MT LXX 27]), is based upon an early (perhaps Pharisaic?) interpretation of Ex 22:28 (cf. Rainey/Notley, Sacred Bridge 378).

“Why does Scripture specify ‘among your people’ [ÔKV;mAoVb = LXX touv laouv sou]? [Isn't this phrase superfluous? We should understand this addition to imply, only] when they [the rulers] behave in a manner that befits ‘your people’." Mek. on Ex 22:28 Mishpatim 19 [ed. H. Saul Horwitz and Israel Abraham Rabin, Mechilta D'Rabbi Ishmael. Jerusalem 1970. p. 318); cf. S. Safrai and Z. Safrai, Haggadah of the Sages 1998:34-37.

“Paul's excuse [Acts 23:1-5] was not that he did not know the high priest, but that Ananias had not behaved in a manner that ‘befits your people’." The Apostle's rabbinic-styled use of Scripture anticipates his self-identification with the Pharisees [v. 6], who were included in the Sanhedrin” (Sacred Bridge 378).