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Acts 21:26-39
Paul and his companions had arrived in Jerusalem at last. Some of the believers from Caesarea
accompanied them, bringing the group to the house of Mnason the Cypriot, who extended them hospitality.
The brethren in Jerusalem received Paul and his friends with joy, and the next day, they met with the elders
of the church. It was then that Paul would have presented the offering from the assemblies in Europe and
Asia, as he recounted what God had done among the Gentiles though his ministry (Acts 21:19).

The elders were clearly amazed by what they heard. What the Lord had accomplished through Paul, in the
last five years! To see what God could work through just one man, who was willing to submit himself to
God. And the elders glorified the Lord, for this remarkable ministry among the Gentiles.

But meanwhile, the elders had been contending with challenges among the primarily Jewish population in
Jerusalem. Beside the ever-present enmity against the church from the unbelieving Jews and their rulers,
the Jewish believers in Jerusalem had heard some rumors concerning Paul.

These rumors undoubtedly had been perpetuated by Paul=s enemies abroad - the unbelieving Jews in
foreign lands. They stated that Paul had been teaching the Jews there to forsake the Law; to leave their
newborn sons uncircumcised; and to abandon the customs of their fathers.

Now, were any of these rumors true? Not at all; Paul had never instructed the Jews that they must stop
practicing the Law, or give up their traditions. What Paul taught is that the Jews were free - free to keep
the Law and their customs, or free not to keep them. And the Gentiles were free - free to never keep the
Law, which was never given to them.

We can know these were Paul=s thoughts on the matter because the evidence is in Paul=s letters to the
assemblies in Europe and Asia. We=re going to look at the evidence this morning, to understand a little
better what Paul taught about this - and what he did not teach.

First, let=s look at what Paul taught concerning circumcision. Turn to Galatians chapter 3. Remember that
Paul wrote this letter to the predominantly Gentile assemblies in Galatia.

By this time, these assemblies had been infiltrated by the Judaizers. These were Jews who professed to
believe in Christ, who associated themselves with the assemblies, but who taught that it was necessary to
keep the Law and be circumcised as well as believe in Jesus, in order to be saved.

Paul=s letter is a strong admonishment to the Galatian assemblies, that they have been saved by the grace of
God, through simple faith alone. In chapter 3, Paul is sharply correcting the members of the assembly who
have been deceived into thinking that they must work for their salvation.

[Galatians 3:1-5]

v.1 Who had portrayed Jesus to them that way - as crucified - as the One who died in their stead, and took
their death penalty for their sin? Paul had - clearly. He had taught them that Jesus did everything
necessary to put away their sin - so that, all that was required of them was to believe in Him for what He
had done.
Who had bewitched them? The Judaizers, with their pretense that they needed to work for their salvation.
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v. 2 Those who truly believed had received the Holy Spirit. As these believers reflected back on their
receiving the Spirit, they would remember that they had received Him when they had placed their faith in
Jesus, upon hearing the gospel preached to them by Paul - and that they had not done anything else to
receive Him.

v. 3-4 When they had placed their faith in Jesus, they were born again; born of the Spirit, through whom
they had received new Life. Having been born of the Spirit, would they then live as they did before -
according to the flesh? The flesh could never make them perfect before, so how could it now? No, being
born of the Spirit, God intended that they should live by the Spirit. But were they? No - they were trying
to attain righteousness through the works of the Law - as the Judaizers were teaching them.

Paul then urged them to think of the One who supplies the Spirit to them.

v. 5 Jesus was the One who supplies the Spirit to these believers. The power of His Spirit was manifest in
them through miraculous works, which Jesus works through the members of His Body.

Would Jesus even be able to work though one who was busy trying to work out his own salvation, through
keeping the Law? No - Jesus can only work through one who has trusted Him to do the work of salvation
for him, and who is currently trusting in Jesus to work through him. Why? Because Jesus will not override
a man=s will. As long as a man has a will to do for himself, Jesus cannot do for him.

What Paul was bringing out to these Galatian believers is not that they should not practice any part of the
Law. Paul was instead saying that their salvation did not depend upon them keeping the Law; and that the
Life that they now lived in Christ also did not depend upon them keeping the Law. So what was the
purpose of the Law, then? Paul made that clear later. Skip down to verse 23

[Galatians 3:23-25]

v. 23 Paul was speaking specifically of the Jews here. Before faith came - that is, the object of faith, Jesus
- God used the Law to keep the Jews separate from all the other nations, so that He would have His
woman, Israel, who would bring forth the Seed, Christ (Gen 3:15). Also, within the ceremonial Law, God
implanted picture upon picture of the One who was coming to put away sin. Through the words of the
Law, that picture was kept intact, preserved, although in the practice of the Law, Judaism had corrupted it.

v. 24 The word Atutor@ here in the Greek originally referred to a slave who conducted the children from
home to the school. Later it came to mean a teacher, or educator. God used the pictures in the ceremonial
Law to lead Israel to Christ; the Law taught them what Christ would be like, so that when He was revealed,
Israel would recognize Him as their Messiah.

But as a nation, Israel did not recognize Him, for they had corrupted the pictures by their religious
practices. Nonetheless, that was the purpose of the Law - to keep Israel as a nation until Christ came, and
then to lead them to Christ. And the Law served its purpose, for some like Paul.

v. 25 Paul is saying here that now that Jesus has come, and the Law has served its purpose, to bring those
Jews who were willing to Him , it was no longer necessary for Israel to be kept under the Law - they were
free. Again, Paul was not saying that they had to abandon the Law, just that they were not restricted by it.
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So Paul taught that the Jews no longer had to keep the Law, although they were free to keep it if they so
desired.

And what about circumcision? Was Paul teaching the Jews abroad that they should not have their sons
circumcised? No - but he did write about circumcision to several assemblies. Turn to Galatians chapter 5.
Paul was encouraging these assemblies to keep the precious freedom that Christ had won for them.

[Galatians 5:1-6]

v. 1 The Law was referred to as a yoke; but any principle is the same. When you live by them, you are not
living by the Spirit; you are reasoning from a set of rules, and you decide what to do; instead of submitting
yourself to the Lord, and asking Him what to do. That=s bondage.

v. 2-4 Paul was writing this to the Gentile members of the assembly, to whom the Judaizers had preached
circumcision as a path to righteousness. The only way to be righteous on that path would be to keep every
jot and tittle of the Law - which no man has ever done, except Jesus.

Paul made it very clear: if they were to become circumcised, they would be declaring that what Jesus did
was insufficient for their salvation; then it was apparent that they did not truly believe in Him. In going
down that path, trying to be justified by the Law, they had fallen away from the path of grace, by which
God justified them through their faith in Jesus.

v. 5-6 A man is made righteous by faith in Jesus alone. Here is the key to what Paul thought: it doesn=t
matter whether you=re circumcised, or uncircumcised - whether you=re a Jew, or a Gentile. Your works do
not matter. What matters is your faith - that you believe in Jesus - and then God can work through you; He
can work His love through you. That=s what matters.

So Paul=s opinion on circumcision? It won=t save you; so just stay as you are. What would he say about
Jews circumcising their sons? They were free to do it, if they desired; so long as they understood that it
had nothing to do with salvation.

At the end of this letter, Paul writes, AFor in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails
anything, but a new creation@ (Gal 6:15). The only thing that avails anything - that has power and value -
is that new creation - in Christ Jesus. Why? Because of the value and power of Christ in it.

Paul writes similarly to the assembly in Corinth, also. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 7.

[1 Corinthians 7:17-20] Paul was again showing that these things were not the issue. The issue is
righteousness; receiving the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, and then living righteously
- keeping the commandments of God - by faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul had also been accused of abandoning the customs of the fathers. His letter to the assembly at Rome
speaks to this. Turn to Romans chapter 14. Paul was addressing the issue of cultural customs, and how a
believer was to conduct himself in light of them. This was a big issue between the Jewish believers and the
Gentile believers in this assembly - and many others.

[Romans 14:1-23]
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v. 1 One who is weak in the faith has not yet recognized the freedom that he has in Christ Jesus; he still
feels bound by his personal background, or his heritage, or his culture - by what he came out of. Paul was
saying not to contest with the weak brother because of doubtful things - that is, things that are a matter of
opinion. This does not speak to things which God has ordained for all believers, but on things such as
cultural customs.

v. 2-3 Paul was saying not to judge someone whom God had received - that is, who is a believer - just
because on matters of opinion, he differs from you.

v. 4 Each believer is responsible only to God, and God can strengthen the weak brother - just as he had
you.

v. 5 They both think they=re right.

v. 6-9 The believer has taken Christ as his Master. Whether he lives or dies, he is the Lord=s. What he
does, he does unto the Lord. So we can leave such issues as cultural customs between the Lord and His
servant - the Lord is in control, and will show what is of faith, and what is not.

v. 10-12 Every believer will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and give an account of himself. The
Lord will burn away all the dross - all the works that were not of Him - for only that which is an eternal
work - the Lord=s work - can go on into eternity with the believer (1 Cor 3:11-15). The Lord is the judge -
so we have no need to judge each other, in these matters. We need, instead, to judge ourselves.

v. 13 Paul shows here that Love goes further than not judging; Love seeks to not cause his brother to
stumble.

v. 14 This clearly shows the freedom which Paul had in Christ, the Lord Himself having shown Paul:
there is nothing unclean in itself. In terms of food, it meant that Paul was free to eat everything - for he was
free of the Law.

v. 15 What is Paul saying? He is saying that you=re free, but if there is a weak brother, who is not free,
don=t let your freedom cause him to stumble. That is, be willing, for Love=s sake, to restrict yourself - in
this case, with regard to food - so that the weak brother is not offended by what you eat; so that food is not
the issue. What is the issue? The love of Christ.

v. 16-17 The kingdom of God - the rule of God over the heart - does not get caught up in cultural issues,
but in eternal matters: obedience to God; peace with one another; joy, as we worship Him together in Spirit
and in truth.

v. 18 He is approved by God and man.

v. 19-21 Believers should build each other up, not tear each other down. They must not judge each other
for their customs; but further, they must be willing to sacrifice their freedom, if exercising their freedom
would result in their brother stumbling.

v. 22-23 Paul was cautioning them to be sure of what they were free to do; that what they approved, God
approved. If they were doubtful of their liberty, they should not take it; they should only do those things in
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which they had confidence of the Lord=s leading.

So we can see from this passage that Paul recognized for himself that he was totally free - to eat anything,
or not, to observe a special day, such as a feast of the Lord, or not. At the same time, Paul saw that he was
not to exercise his freedom if it would cause a brother in the Lord to stumble. And of course, this freedom
was not just for Paul - Paul taught that all those who are the Lord=s had the same freedom - to observe, or
not to observe customs.

Paul willingly restricted his freedom for weaker brothers, tailoring his conduct according to the people that
he was ministering to. He laid this out beautifully in a letter to the Corinthian believers. Turn to 1
Corinthians chapter 9. This is how Paul regarded his freedom.

[1 Corinthians 9:19-22] And this was Paul=s thinking when he came up to Jerusalem; Christ=s thinking.
That=s why it was very clear to Paul how to proceed, when the elders asked him to conform to a ceremony,
to show that he upheld the Law. Not to do so would cause the Jewish brethren in Jerusalem to stumble, and
be a poor witness to the unbelieving Jews as well.

So Paul became all things to all men, that he might by all means save some. He chose to go through the
ceremony - even though he must have suspected that it might result in his own personal sacrifice. And
that=s where we=ll pick up our account in Acts today.

[Return to Acts 21]

You remember that the elders had requested that Paul pay the expenses of four believing Jews who were
taking a vow. This was most likely the Nazirite vow, which a Jew took of his own volition, as an act of
consecration to the LORD (Num 6:13-21). Paul, in fact, had himself taken such a vow after his tenure in
Corinth, likely to express his thanksgiving to God for his deliverance from the unbelieving Jews there (Acts
18:18).

In this case, Paul would not take the vow - the four men were already in the midst of it, and it was their
personal vow, not Paul=s - but he would enter into the vow by performing an act of charity in paying for
the animals that must be sacrificed to complete the vow.

To do so, Paul first had to be ceremonially purified, to rid himself of the ritual pollution he had
inadvertently acquired by being in Gentile lands - so the Jews thinking went. For both the ceremonial
purification and the payment of the expenses, Paul would be required to go into the temple.

v. 26 The day after meeting with the elders, Paul and the four men ceremonially purified themselves,
likely on the temple grounds, then proceeded into the temple. There Paul gave notice to the priests of the
date when the vow of these men would be complete, and their purification would be fulfilled, at which time
Paul, having purified himself with them, would pay for the offerings that would be made for each man.

v. 27-29 Just as Paul would surely have surmised, his participation in the vow put him in a particularly
vulnerable position with the unbelieving Jews, both in terms of the high visibility of being in the temple, as
well as in participating in a Jewish ceremony. The setting and the circumstances resulted in an exponential
escalation of the fiery wrath of religious piety.
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The seven days of the vow were about to be accomplished. Judging by the timing of later events, it was
early on the seventh day when Paul was discovered in the temple by some unbelieving Jews from the
Roman province of Asia - no doubt from Ephesus, for they had recognized Trophimus, who was from that
city. These Jews must have come up to Jerusalem to keep the feast of Pentecost - as Paul had done.

The Asian Jews had already seen Paul, who was known to them, in the city on some previous day or days.
At that time, Paul was accompanied by Trophimus, who had come up to Jerusalem with him to bring the
offering from the assembly at Ephesus.

Now the Asian Jews spotted Paul again - and this time, he was in their holy temple, participating in a
sacred ceremony, along with four other men. Having seen Paul in the company of Trophimus, a Gentile
whom they knew, these Asian Jews assumed that the four men who were in the company of Paul here in the
temple were also Gentiles - one being Trophimus. Having rejected Paul and his teaching, these Jews
viewed him as an apostate Jew - and presumed that he would have no qualms about bringing Gentiles into
the temple.

But such an act was unthinkable, in any case. For Paul to have brought a Gentile into the sanctuary was a
crime punishable by death. And just in case anyone was unaware of it, there was a four-foot high barrier
between the outer court of the temple, which was open to the Gentiles, and the first court of the temple
proper - the Court of the Women.

On this barrier were posted signs at intervals in both Greek and Latin: AAny foreigner who passes this point
will be responsible for his own death@. It was the one offense for which the Jewish authorities could
execute capital punishment - even on Roman citizens - without consulting with Rome. Paul would never
have brought Gentiles into the temple - for it would be the death of them.

But the Asian Jews weren=t inclined to think things through. Remember that in Ephesus, the Jews who did
not believe the gospel hardened their hearts to it, and they spoke evil of those who believed it, before the
multitude (Acts 19:9). They became Paul=s adversaries, as he continued to preach the gospel there (1 Cor
16:9).

Since in Corinth, Gallio had established the legal precedent that Rome would extend the same freedom to
believers in Jesus that they did to the Jews, those in Ephesus had no legal recourse with the Romans (Acts
18:12-17) to take action against Paul; and the ability to enforce their own Law was greatly restricted in
foreign lands.

But this was Jerusalem - a place where the Jews had more freedom, and more power. If there was anyplace
where action could be taken against Paul, it was in Jerusalem. So these Asian Jews sounded the alarm,
rallying the Jews who had come to worship in their temple to action. AThis is the man@, they cried,
seizing Paul - this is the man about whom the rumors had been circulating in Jerusalem.

The Asian Jews then made three claims. The first two were the subject of the rumors stated by the elders
(Acts 21:21): that Paul taught against the people, speaking of the Jews and their traditions; and that he
taught against the Law. The last claim was that Paul taught against Athis place@, speaking of the Jew=s
revered temple; this was a new charge, but to bear it out, the Asian Jews indicated that Paul had brought
Greeks into the temple, defiling it - this was their assumption as to the four men accompanying Paul.
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It is difficult for us to appreciate just how incendiary this last statement would have been. Partly, it was so
due to the particular time in history. Just under the previous Roman governor, there had been a riot in the
temple because of the lewd actions of a Roman soldier. Another soldier had to be executed by the governor
for burning a Jewish Law scroll.

Also, nationalism was on the rise in Jerusalem, with Jews becoming increasing hostile - even violent -
against the Romans, and those who collaborated with them. It is only about a decade before war would
erupt, culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem, and the temple.

That the time was the feast of Pentecost would only have inflamed the Jews more. Though the feast of
Pentecost was originally a celebration of the firstfruits of the harvest, by this time, it had also become a
celebration of Moses receiving the Law on Mt. Sinai (a corruption of the meaning of the feast).

This meant that the Jews were particularly zealous for the Law during this feast; and what did they hear
from the Asian Jews? That Paul taught against the Law. That would have raised their pious hackles.

And there was no charge more terrible to the ears of a Jew that the defilement of their temple. Remember
that this charge helped to bring about the death of Stephen (Acts 6:13).

So of course, the multitude in the temple turned into an ugly mob.

v. 30 Paul must have been in the Court of Israel, which was the men=s court (see temple map). This was
the area inside the sanctuary into which Jewish men who were not priests or Levites were admitted. Paul
would have gone in there to participate in the completion of the vow of the four men. This was where the
Asian Jews spotted him, and seized him - and where the male Jews, who had gone there to worship, turned
into an angry mob, based on assumption and misinformation - the things that usually fuel mobs.

The mob seized Paul and dragged him out of the Court of Israel, through the Court of the Women, and out
of the doors of the sanctuary. The Levitical temple guards would have been the ones to close the doors
after them.

Why did they drag Paul outside, and why were the doors shut? Because the Jews didn=t want to defile their
temple - with the violent actions they had conceived in their hearts against Paul. Note that they only seem
to have taken Paul; the four men with him were apparently left behind in the sanctuary - even though they
were presumed to be defiling Gentiles!

In shutting the doors, the temple guard did their part to preserve the sanctity of the temple. It would seem
they had less concern for the sanctity of human life, and for the travesty of justice at the hands of the mob.

There is particular significance to the doors of the temple being shut. Israel, having put to death their own
Messiah, having beaten and even slain His witnesses, now closed their ceremonial doors to Jesus, in an
attempt to preserve their religious system of works.

But judgment had already been pronounced on the nation (Acts 7:51-53); all that remained was the
execution of that judgment, in one scant decade. It would be the Romans who would force open those
doors, and usher in a total obliteration of that system which the Jews held so dear.
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So the Jews had dragged Paul out of the temple, by this time joined by others from the city; and they began
to beat Paul, with the intent of killing him. And I=m sure they would have killed him - but for a Divine
intervention.

v. 31-32 The commander of the garrison was a Roman tribune, whose name we will learn later is Claudius
Lysias (Acts 23:26). He was the highest ranking Roman official in Jerusalem at this time, for the governor
regularly resided in his palace in Caesarea. A tribune is a military officer who commands a thousand men;
in reality it was six hundred soldiers, which were known as a Roman cohort.

The commander and his troops were permanently stationed in the Fortress Antonia, which occupied the
northwest corner of the temple grounds, and towered above it (see temple map). From that vantage point,
sentries were routinely kept on duty to observe the activity at the temple. This day, the sentries spotted the
riot, and immediately proceeded to inform their commander.

The commander dispatched centurions and soldiers to respond to the riot; in that Acenturions@ is in the
plural, and each commands 100 men, there must have been at least 200 soldiers. The Fortress Antonia was
connected to the temple grounds by two flights of steps leading right into the Court of the Gentiles. In this
way, the soldiers could be on the scene at the temple at a moment=s notice - an intentional design, which
worked on Paul=s behalf that day. It would seem that Rome had become Paul=s deliverer.

v. 33-34 Now it would seem the deliverer has become the incarcerator, as Lysias took Paul into his
custody; but if he had not, the Jews certainly would have killed Paul. By handcuffing Paul to two soldiers,
Lysias was showing the Jews his own determination that justice would be done in this case - but not by the
hands of an angry mob.

Lysias presumed Paul was guilty of something, as asked the crowd for his identity, and his crime. As he
could get no straight answer, Lysias prepared to remove Paul from the Court of the Gentiles back to the
Fortress Antonia for interrogation.

v. 35-36 The mob was not interested in Rome=s justice; they were intent on meting out their own version
of justice to Paul themselves. So the soldiers had to carry Paul in order to get him away from the mob - and
remember, he=s handcuffed to two of the soldiers. The cry of the people, Aaway with him!@ actually
means, in the Greek Akill him@. It was the same cry that echoed from Pilate=s judgment hall some
twenty-five years ago, when the crowd clamored for the death of Jesus.

v. 37 Picture this in your minds. There=s Paul - he=s just been badly beaten by the mob; he=s been
arrested by the Roman commander, and handcuffed to two soldiers. He had to be carried to the stairs that
led back to the Fortress Antonia, because the Jews were trying to ply him out of the grip of the Romans, so
they could kill him.

What was going on inside of Paul, during this time? Was he distraught, because the plan of the elders
seemingly ended in disaster? Was he in despair, because his own people just tried to kill him - and still
wanted to? Was he fearful, because he was being arrested, and didn=t know what would happen to him?
No.
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Paul was continuing to live moment by moment, yielded to his Lord; and right then, the Lord showed Paul
an opportunity. There was Paul on the stairs; and there was an audience of Jews, below him; Paul could
share his testimony, to give these unbelieving Jews the reason for the hope that was in him (1 Pet 3:15).
And Paul was ready - and willing - to obey His Master, for he had the mind of Christ - a love for the
loveless, a heart for the lost.

Paul addressed the commander in a language he knew that they had in common - Greek. Now, the Greek
that Paul would have learned, with his background, would be without accent, and he would have spoken it
fluently - immediately marking him as an educated man. This startled Lysias, who assumed that Paul was a
common criminal; he would have assumed that Paul could only speak Aramaic, maybe a little Greek, at
best.

So Lysias voiced his amazement - AAre you able to speak Greek?@, and then proceeded to tell Paul who
he had imagined him to be.

v. 38 There is a note of comic irony here, to think of Paul being mistaken for an Egyptian. Josephus wrote
of what must have been this same Egyptian. He may actually have been a foreign-born Jew.
About three years previous to this time, this Egyptian came to Jerusalem saying he was a prophet, and
managed to get a multitude of the common people to follow him (Luke writes 4000, a much more likely
number that Josephus= 30,000).

The Egyptian led these Jews out through the wilderness and then back to the Mount of Olives, from where
he claimed that the walls of Jerusalem would now fall down, and when they did, the people were to take
control of the city from the Romans. But the Roman governor at that time caught wind of the plot,
marched soldiers out against the rebels, and slew 400 of them, taking another 200 captive.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian managed to evade capture. It may just have been wishful thinking on the part of
Lysias, that he had captured such a notorious insurrectionist; or perhaps he was noting the strong reaction
of the Jews to Paul, and thinking that they would do just such a thing to the Egyptian, who had caused them
so much trouble.

Paul quickly dispelled the Roman commander=s notion.

v. 39 Paul identified himself to the Roman commander. He was a Jew from the city of Tarsus in Cilicia.
Tarsus was a center of Greek learning in that day, with a university that rivaled those in Athens and
Alexandria. This notable city would be an impressive credential to the commander.

And Paul said, he was a citizen of that city. Citizenship in a Greek city gave one higher status than the
many who were merely Aresidents@ of that city, who, in turn, were considered above transients and rural
people. One became a citizen only by birth into a citizen family or as a grant from the city authorities.

Now, citizens of Tarsus were not automatically Roman citizens, as Tarsus was not a Roman colony. Of
course, we know that Paul was also a Roman citizen. But for some reason, Paul did not yet disclose this bit
of information; perhaps he sensed it wise to hold on to it until he needed it.

Having dispelled the commander=s notion that he was a common criminal, or an insurrectionist, and having
now established his credentials in the commander=s eyes, Paul now ventured to ask permission to speak -
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to the very people who were trying to kill him.

An interesting request. The commander would have surmised that it was safe to allow Paul to do this; after
all, they=re high up on the steps to the fortress with 200 soldiers surrounding them. But it was not
necessary for the commander to allow it - why did he grant permission?

Perhaps he was a little impressed with Paul at this point, after having so badly mistaken his identity.
Perhaps it was Paul=s authority, which was really his Master=s, shining through him. Perhaps Lysias was
just a little curious - and hoped to learn something more about Paul. Or perhaps the Lord was moving His
hand once again, divinely ordering circumstances to bring about His will - which, in this case, would be a
last overture to His people in Jerusalem.

Nexr week: Read chapter 22