The Way
Seized in the Temple
A city set boiling by one rumor
Story
The brothers in Jerusalem welcomed the group gladly. The next day Paul went to see James, who led the church, and all the elders were there. Paul told them one by one the things God had done among the Gentiles. They praised God and said, “Brother, there are tens of thousands of Jewish believers, and they are all eager to keep the law. They have heard that you teach the Jews who live among the Gentiles to abandon the law of Moses and not to circumcise their children.”
The elders said, “There are four men here who have made a vow, a special promise to God. Go through the purification rite with them and pay for them to shave their heads. Then everyone will know that you yourself live by the law.” Paul went through the purification rite with the four men and went into the temple. When the seven days of purification were almost over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the temple.
They stirred up the crowd and shouted, “Men of Israel, help! This man has brought Greeks into the temple!” They had seen Trophimus of Ephesus, a Gentile believer, in the city with Paul earlier, and they assumed Paul had brought him in. As the crowd dragged Paul out of the temple and tried to kill him, the commander of a thousand Roman soldiers came running with his troops and had Paul bound with two chains.
Walk this scene on the map →Words of the Lord and of Paul
Brother, look. There are tens of thousands of Jews who believe, and they are all eager to keep the law.
Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place, and he has even brought Greeks into the temple!
Away with him!
The sayings are fresh renderings of the original meaning in today's language. Text: Acts 21:17–36
Background
The low wall around the inner courts of the temple carried a warning that any Gentile who crossed it would be put to death. Stones carved with that warning were found in Jerusalem in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Pause and Reflect
Am I judging someone based only on what I have heard and not checked?