Acts 21:31 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.

NIV: While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar.

NASB: While they were intent on killing him, a report came up to the commander of the Roman cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.

CSB: As they were trying to kill him, word went up to the commander of the regiment that all Jerusalem was in chaos.

NLT: As they were trying to kill him, word reached the commander of the Roman regiment that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

KJV: And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

NKJV: Now as they were seeking to kill him, news came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

As Paul spent the last few months traveling around Greece, Macedonia, and modern-day Turkey, the Holy Spirit continually warned him he would be arrested and suffer in Jerusalem (Acts 20:22–23). This wasn't so Paul would avoid Jerusalem; it was to prepare him for what was coming. It is God's will that Paul be arrested. That experience will place Paul exactly where he needs to be to promote the gospel.

That time has come. In the process of attempting to prove he is still a Jew, Paul is falsely accused of bringing a Gentile into the temple. This is against both the Mosaic and Roman laws and is punishable by death—in fact, in 1871, a stone in a Muslim school in Jerusalem was found engraved with such a warning. The crowd of Jews grab Paul, drag him out of the temple, and shut the doors lest they spill human blood in the holy site (Acts 21:27–30).

On the northwest corner of the temple mount stands the Antonia Fortress: the Roman Empire's military garrison in Jerusalem. The base sits level with the city, but the tower rises above the temple courtyard so the guards can watch for trouble. "Tribune" can identify different positions, including those in charge of administration and logistics who are also on-call to lead units into battle. Among other things, they are to protect the poor and the non-citizens from the aristocrats. Since the governor's headquarters is in Caesarea Maritima, sixty miles away, he is also responsible for keeping the peace.

The tribune arrests Paul thinking he is the Egyptian who attempted to lead Jewish assassins in revolt against the Roman occupiers in Jerusalem (Acts 21:37–40). Seeking to find out what is going on, he, perhaps foolishly, allows Paul to explain himself to the crowd, which leads to further unrest (Acts 22:1–22). After realizing Paul is a Roman citizen (Acts 22:22–29) and the Jewish council is both clueless and corrupt (Acts 23:7–10, 12–22), he wisely decides the situation is above his paygrade and sends Paul to the governor (Acts 23:23–35).

Acts 21:27–36 explains why Paul's public ministry takes a five-year hiatus. He has arrived in Jerusalem only to hear a rumor that he abandoned the Mosaic law. Seeking to prove otherwise, he is then slandered with a rumor that he brought a Gentile into the temple. Before the mob can kill him, the Roman tribune takes him into custody. He will face two years house arrest in Caesarea Maritima and two in Rome, broken up by a dangerous sea voyage that ends in a shipwreck. But he will also be able to share Jesus' story with audiences he never dreamed of. These include a king and Caesar's own household.

In Acts 21, Paul returns to Judea from his third missionary journey and promptly gets arrested. He begins by visiting Philip in Caesarea Maritima. Church elders in Jerusalem ask Paul to help men fulfill a Nazirite vow, to dispel rumors he has apostatized his Jewishness. While doing so, Ephesian Jews accuse Paul of bringing one of his Gentile Ephesian companions into the temple. The Roman military tribune keeps the enraged crowd from tearing Paul limb from limb by arresting him.

Acts 21 fulfills the fears of many of Paul's friends. Throughout the last part of his third missionary journey the Holy Spirit has been telling him he will be arrested in Jerusalem (Acts 20:23–25). When Paul reacts to dire personal prophecy, the Jesus-followers in Caesarea Maritima try to stop him from going on (Acts 21:8–14). Through a complicated trail of rumors, lies, and wrong assumptions, things go according to the Holy Spirit's foreknowledge and Roman soldiers arrest Paul. He will face the next 5 years in custody in Caesarea and Rome, but he will spread Jesus' story the entire time (Acts 22—28).

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.