Acts 21:39 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Paul replied, "I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people."

NIV: Paul answered, "I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people."

NASB: But Paul said, 'I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city; and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.'

CSB: Paul said, "I am a Jewish man from Tarsus of Cilicia, a citizen of an important city. Now I ask you, let me speak to the people."

NLT: No,' Paul replied, 'I am a Jew and a citizen of Tarsus in Cilicia, which is an important city. Please, let me talk to these people.'

KJV: But Paul said, I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people.

NKJV: But Paul said, “I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people.”

It's not clear why Paul came to the temple. He might have come to teach about Jesus, like Peter and John did (Acts 3:12–26), or to pray (Acts 3:1), or to finish last-minute preparations to help four men fulfill their Nazirite vow (Acts 21:20–27). Most certainly, he did not come to bring Trophimus, a Gentile from Ephesus, into the temple, as some insisted. Nor did he come to get dragged out of the temple, beaten to a pulp, and arrested by the Roman army (Acts 21:28–36).

Similarly, he is not an Egyptian rabble-rouser, here to lead the peasants in a revolt against the Roman occupation, as the tribune thinks. And, so, when Paul starts speaking proper Greek, the tribune is even more confused (Acts 21:37–38). To reassure the officer, Paul gives his credentials.

Paul was trained in Jerusalem by the famed Pharisee rabbi Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). However, his family is from Tarsus on the southern coast of eastern modern-day Turkey (Acts 9:11). Paul is understating Tarsus' importance and reputation. The city was known for its university, and some consider it a more important center of learning than Athens or Alexandria were.

Tarsus was also a Roman colony and a free city, like Philippi. Those born there were Roman citizens with all the rights of someone born in Rome proper. That includes the right to a trial before being chained, beaten, tortured, or executed. This is something the tribune should catch now, while Paul is standing, chained, in front of him, and not later, when he orders the soldiers to tie Paul up and flog him (Acts 22:24–29).

The tribune isn't thinking of Paul's rights, at first. He's trying to figure out why the Jews are rioting in the temple courtyard. Asking the mob led nowhere (Acts 21:34), so he hopes if Paul explains to the Jews, he'll understand, also. Whether because he doesn't understand why Paul's speech is so inflammatory (Acts 22:3–21) or because he doesn't speak Aramaic (Acts 22:2), the tribune remains as confused as before. He falls back on the standard Roman way of getting information: beating prisoners until they comply.

Acts 21:37–40 explains how Paul convinces a Roman military officer to allow him to jump from a dangerous situation into something even worse. A mob at the temple has just tried to kill him. Paul, of course, wants to explain; not to defend himself against the false accusation that inspired the mob, but to share the story of his faith in Jesus of Nazareth. The tribune is confused, thinking Paul is an Egyptian revolutionary. He allows Paul to speak, and immediately regrets it.

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.