Beaten and falsely accused

Rev. Andrew Hunt, III

Walking through the Book of Acts • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

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Beaten and falsely accused

Beaten and falsely accused!

, When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.

Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him to bound with two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done. Some in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another. And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks. And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, for the mob of the people followed, crying out, “Away with him!”

Here in the passage we see a conflict erupt for Paul when Jews from Asia see him at the temple and accuse him of ‘teaching everyone everywhere against their people and the law and this place’ (vv. 27–28). This charge is a larger version of the one mentioned in v. 21which said, ‘and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs.’

Also here Paul is specifically accused of defiling the temple by taking Gentiles into the prohibited area, which is a total distortion of the truth as has not factual basis. This current disruption is comparable but much more caustic that what happen in Ephesus Acts19:23–31, when a major disturbance arose concerning the selling of idols, which Paul challenge, here Paul’s opponents are also successful in creating a riot that place his life at serious risk (vv. 30–31). The mention of ‘the whole city’ being aroused and in uproar against him suggests ‘rejection of Paul by Israel itself’. It is only the providence of God through the intervention of the commander of the Roman troops in Jerusalem that saves him from death (vv. 31–32).

Why did these Jews reaction so violently, unlike those from last week’s passage?

Like most major religions, Judaism is comprised of several different sects. However, the branches of Judaism active today are not the same as those seen in the Bible, so the ancient and modern eras have to be understood separately. When looking at different sects of Judaism, one should also note that the term Jewish can refer to a religious identity, an ethnic identity, or a racial identity. Historically, these have been intertwined to the point of being nearly identical. However, from a religious standpoint, different sects are separated purely on the basis of their theological views. In the Bible, sects of Judaism were divided mostly by their view of a literal afterlife and bodily resurrection, or by whether or not they felt called to take an active or passive role in end-times events. Josephus, an early Jewish historian of Judea, defined four major sects of Judaism: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots.

From a literal standpoint, Christianity began as a “sect” of Judaism, as well. It started with those who were Judaic, accepting of Jesus as Messiah—today they are know as Messianic Judaism. The four mentioned by Josephus, however, comprise the major divisions. Though the term Pharisee is often used in a derogatory sense today, the Pharisees in New Testament times were deeply committed to moral behavior and a scholarly approach to the Scriptures. Their stance on morality included a rigid adherence to behavioral aspects of Mosaic Law. However, since some of those biblical laws were vague, the Pharisees developed an “Oral Torah”: a set of traditions that created a buffer zone around the Law of Moses, ensuring piety. Pharisees believed in a literal afterlife and the bodily resurrection of the dead. Of the four major sects of Judaism, the Pharisees held the strongest belief in determinism. Jesus criticized the Pharisees for their hollow legalism , ‘Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.”

Also Jesus condemned them for distorting the commandments of God by way of their traditions , You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! The Sadducees differed significantly from Pharisees in their theology. Sadducees did not believe in a literal afterlife or a bodily resurrection. In fact, the Sadducees’ primary interest was in politics, which made them useful conduits for Roman authority. They saw the Old Testament law in a less rigid light than the Pharisees, though they were committed, in their own way, to its core concepts. Of the four major sects of Judaism, the Sadducees were by far the most cooperative with the Roman Empire. They tended to be aristocrats and were in control of the high priesthood. Anna’s and Caiaphas, who are mentioned in the New Testament were Sadducees. The Essenes were a monastic group. Unlike the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Zealots, the Essenes felt called to separate from society in preparation for the end of the world. In broad strokes, the Essenes could be considered a doomsday sect. They felt the end times were imminent, and it was their duty to patiently, passively await the apocalypse. The Essenes produced written materials found millennia later, known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. These critically important documents show how carefully and accurately the Old Testament Scriptures had been preserved over the centuries. On the other side of the apocalyptic coin were the Zealots, by far the smallest of the four groups. Like the Essenes, the Zealots were something of a doomsday sect of Judaism. However, the Zealots believed their actions would directly influence when and how this apocalypse occurred. Specifically, they believed they were called to commit acts of violence against the Roman occupiers and to incite others to revolution. Theologically, Zealots were all but identical to the Pharisees, except for their fanatical, anti-Roman militancy. This view not only brought them into conflict with the Roman-friendly Sadducees, but it accelerated Roman aggression against Jews, culminating in the destruction of the temple. The destruction of the temple by Rome in AD 70 began an era of division between the sects of Judaism. Ever since that event, there have been no temple, no priests, and no sacrifices on behalf of the nation of Israel. In a very real sense, modern Judaism is not—and cannot be—the same as biblical Judaism.

But this morning we are dealing with those who believed and practiced biblical Judaism from one of these four aspects. These people visciosly beat and falsely accused Paul of teaching against Judaism and because of their intentional misrepresentations incited and initialed an angry mob to riot. But in the providence and provision of God Paul was spared from death.

Let us pray…

Beaten and falsely accused of teaching the people to reject Judaism.

When the seven days were nearly over (this was the period prescribed for vow Paul had taken for defilement; cf. v. 23 note; ), We see that some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. And without any outward provocation they decide in their hearts to attack him. But what is really interesting to me is that this is not an attack on Paul instigated by the strict Jewish Christians from Jerusalem we met last week. But this attack comes from the Jews from the province of Asia. These are people who had deliberately followed Paul to Jerusalem in order to counteract his influence; but this was not the first time those who opposed Paul when the extra mile to stand against him. These Asian Jews were as determined as the Jewish opponents mentioned in , (take a look) ‘But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.’

, ‘But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds.’ You must always remember that an unresolved offense has not boundaries nor any time limit.

It is likely that these people were among the antagonists Paul met in Ephesus. But again Paul served the church through trials and tears, despite the many plots of the Jews to deter him. Paul understood as we must understand that ministry will always ebb and flow. Just last week he was being celebrated for bringing many thousands of devout Jews to Christ. But just moments after that accolade he was attack for teaching Jews to forsake their culture. There is always a tension in true ministry that centers you between the celebration of your faithfulness and the condemnation for your faithfulness.

Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey to the cheers of the crowd, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, but days later another crowd yelled “Crucify Him!”

Luke further describes these people as those who had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple. This false assumption was the key and tipping point to the whole incident. Presumably they knew Trophimus from Ephesus and thought they could finally had proof of Paul’s treachery. 27b, ‘seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd…’ They wanted to use this sighting as a way of accusing Paul of defiling the temple by bringing in a Gentile. The uproar in Jerusalem is thus directly linked to Paul’s recent success in advancing the gospel in Asia. They stirred up the whole crowd 27c, and laid hand on him, crying out, “Men of Israel, help!” Their accusation was unfounded, but not ineffective, 28b, ‘ This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere again the people and the law and this place.” The expression everyone everywhere goes beyond the charge of v. 21, now it is implying that Paul was misleading both Jews and Gentiles. The claim that he had been teaching against our people and our law and this place, which is the temple, this was a broader than the previous one, suggesting that, like Stephen before him Paul accused for following in his footsteps.

, And they set up false witnesses who said, “ This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.”

Beaten and falsely accused of bring a Gentile into the temple

Paul was advocating the fundamentals of Christianity and some saw that as attacking the fundamentals of Judaism.

, For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesians with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.’ But the allegation that ‘he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place’ was even more serious and, if proven, would have been worthy of a death sentence. The layout of the temple was as follows: The outer court, the Court of the Gentiles was a smaller enclosure surrounded by a balustrade which is a railing three cubits high. In this enclosure was there were posted recurring signs and notices in Greek and Latin that any Gentile who entered the inner court area was subject to death. After passing through one of several openings in the balustrade, there were 14 steps that led up to the inner court. The inner court of Herod’s Temple contained three courts. The easternmost court was the Court of Women; it contained the Temple treasury where people donated their money. Three gates led into this court one on the north, one on the south and the third on the east. A fourth, larger, more massive and ornate gate led from the Court of Women west into the Court of Israel (for male Jews), which was elevated 15 steps above the Court of Women. Inside the Court of Israel was the innermost court, the Court of the Priests. During the Feast of Tabernacles, men could enter the Priest’s Court to walk around the altar. The Court of the Priests immediately surrounds the Temple building itself ( The Holy Place and the Holy of Holies) and the altar of burnt offering. The Holy Place contained the table of showbread, the seven-branched lampstand, and the altar of incense. The Holy Place was divided from the Holy of Holies by a curtain that stretched from the floor to the ceiling it contained no furniture. The Holy of Holies was constructed as a perfect cube. It contained only the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of Israel’s special relationship with God. The Holy of Holies was accessible only to the Israelite high priest. Once a year, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the high priest was permitted to enter the small, windowless enclosure to burn incense and sprinkle the blood of a sacrificial animal on the mercy seat of the Ark. By doing so, the high priest atoned for his own sins and those of the people. As mentioned before the Holy of Holies was separated from the rest of the tabernacle/temple by the veil, a huge, heavy drape made of fine linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn and embroidered with gold cherubim. God said that He would appear in the Holy of Holies (); hence, the need for the veil. There had to exists a barrier between man and God. The holiness of God could not be accessed by anyone but the high priest, and then only once a year. God’s “eyes are too pure to look on evil” (), and He can tolerate no sin. The veil and the elaborate rituals undertaken by the priest were a reminder that man could not carelessly or irreverently enter God’s awesome presence. Before the high priest entered the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, he had to wash himself, put on special clothing, bring burning incense to let the smoke cover his eyes from a direct view of God, and bring sacrificial blood with him to make atonement for sins (; ). The significance of the Holy of Holies to Christians is found in the events surrounding the crucifixion of Christ. When Jesus died, an amazing thing happened: “When Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (). The veil was not torn in half by any man. It was a supernatural event done by the power of God to make a very specific point: because of the death of Christ on the cross, man was no longer separated from God. The Old Testament temple system was made obsolete as the New Covenant was ratified. No longer would we have to depend on priests to perform once-a-year sacrifices on our behalf. Christ’s body was “torn” on the cross, just as the veil was torn in the temple, and now we have access to God through Jesus: “we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body” (). The Holy of Holies, the very presence of God, is now open to all who come to Christ in faith. Where, before, there was an imposing barrier guarded by cherubim, God has opened a way by the shed blood of His Son.

Gentiles were allowed into the outer court of the temple but not into the inner courts where Paul had gone. Paul would hardly have put his own life and that of Trophimus at risk by taking him beyond the wall at the foot of the stairs leading up to the inner courts, with its warning in Greek and Latin about foreigners going no further. Moreover, it is ironical and tragic that he should have been charged with this offense when he was engaged in an act of purification ‘so that he would not defile the temple’! Teaching against our people doubtless relates to the growth of the Gentile churches and Paul’s failure to insist that Gentile converts should become proselytes of Judaism, thus threatening the distinctive position of the Jewish people.

If you really think about charge if the Asian Jews had really seen Trophimus in there, they would have seized him and executed him on the spot and they would have been justified according to Jewish law.

Beaten and falsely accused but Paul’s life is spared.

Although Luke has not previously alerted us to these concerns about Paul, he shows by means of vv. 21 and 28 that there was a long-standing problem, which had finally been brought to full and open expression.

In effect, ‘when Paul reaches Jerusalem, he becomes the lightning rod through which the pent-up energy surrounding this issue is discharged’. Paul’s attitude towards Judaism dominates the next chapters as he seeks to persuade various people that he is a loyal Jew and that his mission is not anti-Jewish but pro Christ. But as we know false accusations spread like a wildfire. Soon the entire city was aroused.

We must remember that was and there is a difference between contextualism, syncretism, and exactulism. Exstractualism is the idea that your religious beliefs are in conflict with your cultural identity. This is constantly a conversation between those who are reformed from different cultural or racial background. It goes like this, if you do not worship in the way that I worship then you are not really reformed. But my Bible tells me that God seeks to be worshipped in Spirit and in Truth and if my worship does not violate Scripture boundaries then your artificial boundaries are just preferences and not principles to be adhered. I do not have to be exactly like you to be a good Christian. Syncretism is when you believed that your cultural beliefs are in perfect harmony with your religious beliefs. But there are some major contradictions with this position. We live in a very secular with a secular worldview; one that came not exists harmonious with a Christian worldview. Exstractualism and syncretism are the extremes position. But contextualism rooted and grounded in a Biblical context speaks to the fact that were are able to take that which is in harmonious in our culture and that does not deny the faith and use it to amplify our true faith as people in Christ made in His image and in the culture that he cloaked us in to His glory.

The church here was in the midst of understanding how to fully practice contextualism to the glory of God.

, ‘Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut.’

The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. The disturbance created in Jerusalem is reminiscent of the uproar in Ephesus created by Paul’s Gentile opponents in

, ‘So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's companions in travel. But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater. Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” Here the people are seizing Paul ‘and dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. These would possibly be the gates between the inner and outer courts, which were probably shut by the captain of the temple to prevent any further desecration.

, ‘And as they were seeking to kill him…’ I want to really look at this statement. Normally a person charged with such an offense would have been handed over to the temple authorities for trial and, if found guilty, then for execution. But the killing of someone caught in the act of defiling the temple was apparently condoned (they were trying to kill him). But yet, that had not caught Paul in the act or Trophimus in the inner temple. This ruckus was all just over zealous people caught up in a lie and a murderous frenzy.

This is what can happen when we are led by our emotions and instead of being guided by the eternal effectual and earnest Spirit of God.

, ‘… word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. He as once took soldiers and centurions and ran down them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. These military tribunes were originally infantry soldiers under the command of the captain of the temple to enforce order and protect the temple. News soon reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. ‘The military tribune officer in charge of the cohort’ was actually named as Claudius Lysias we will see him introduced later in . He plays an important role in the unfolding drama of the next few chapters. The seriousness of the disturbance is indicated by the fact that the commander himself at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. Roman troops were stationed in the Antonia Fortress, which adjoined the western part of the north wall of the temple area. Two flights of stairs led down into the outer court. The garrison was doubtless well prepared for such events, since riots often took place at festival times, while the city was full of pilgrims. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. Think about that for a moment, the soldiers did have to say a word, this people knew what they were doing was wrong. Yet even in their outrage, the imaged force of the troops made them think of their own preservation. The number of troops was sufficient to warn them that the riot could not continue in this way.

, ‘Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains…’ stops here for just a moment, do you hear the voice of Agabus? Remember what was said in ?

, While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, “Let the will of the Lord be done.”

Now Paul endures the prophecy given to him earlier and he does it without complaint.

, He inquired who he was and what he had done. Some in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another. And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks. Because Claudius concluded that Paul evidently was the cause of the disturbance and must have done something wrong to incite the Jews to such fury. He arrested him, though during time Paul never said a word, I have no idea what he was thinking but just maybe he relied on his understanding from Romans.

, Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning’s too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

, And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, for the mob of the people followed, crying our, “Away with him!”

The text tells us that the soldiers escorting Paul because of the great violence had to lift him up into the air because the people we still trying to kill him. These people in their mindless, faceless, fury had lost all sense of fear of the Roman soldiers and pushed and shoved to get a hold of Paul. They were crying out, “Away with him” For they wanted to kill him. When religious zeal is on target, it can be extremely effective for the kingdom of God; when it is not on target it can lead to tragedy. The early Christians were zealous Christians. They were more than committed to the cause of Christ--they were zealously committed to the Lord and His kingdom. Many of them even sacrificed their lives in order to share and to spread the word of the Lord. No wonder there was the phenomenal growth of Christianity in the first few centuries after Christ.

When religious zeal is off target, however, it can be extremely destructive in its effects on the kingdom of God and the cause of Christ.

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