Sermon Tone Analysis

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.

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.