BIBLE STUDY LESSON 14

SERIES V --- JOURNEYS FOR YESHUA

RIOT

PAUL IS TAKEN PRISONER

From Acts 21:27-22:22

With four other men, Paul had publicly made a vow at the temple, which would be fulfilled in seven days with a sacrifice. On one of those days, when Paul was in the temple, some antagonistic Jews from Asia recognized him as the man they had opposed back home. Immediately they grabbed Paul and began shouting for help. [Help! Men of Israel, help!] they cried out. [This is the man who preaches against our people, our Law, our nation and our temple. He even brings Gentiles into our temple and defiles it!] Since they had seen Paul in Jerusalem with Trophimus the Ephesian, they assumed that Paul had brought him to the temple. A riot broke out within minutes, and Paul was dragged from the temple. As the doors shut behind them, the mob started to beat him to death. However, the Roman Cohort nearby rushed to the scene and the beating stopped. The commander ordered Paul bound in two chains and tried to find out who he was and what he had done wrong. But the mob shouted so many things that the commander could not understand any of them, so he ordered his soldiers to take Paul into the fortress. By this time the mob was becoming so violent that the soldiers had to carry Paul on their shoulders as they went up the steps. [Away with him! Away with him!] the people shouted. Just before Paul was taken into the fortress, he called to the commander, speaking in Greek. [May I talk with you?] he asked. The commander was surprised to hear Paul speaking the language of the Gentiles. [So, you know Greek,] he said. [Then you really aren’t the Egyptian who stirred up trouble and led four thousand murderers into the wilderness?] [No, I am a Jew from the city of Tarsus, in Cilicia, a very important city,] Paul answered. [Please let me speak to the crowd.] The commander gave permission and Paul motioned for the crowd to be quiet. When the tumult died down, he spoke to them in Hebrew, standing on the stairs of the fortress. [Brothers and fathers, please listen while I defend myself,] Paul began. When the crowd heard that he spoke in Hebrew, they listened carefully. [I am a Jew who was born in Tarsus in Cilicia,] Paul continued. “But I was educated here in Jerusalem, strictly according to the law of our ancestors, under the great teacher Gamaliel. I once showed the same kind of zeal for YHVH that you have shown here today, persecuting those who followed the Way, putting them in chains, imprisoning them, or even killing them. [The high priest and all the council members know about these things, for they gave me letters to the brothers in Damascus, so that I might bring back any people of the Way to Jerusalem, to punish them. But as I approached Damascus, a brilliant light shone down at noon. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, ‘Saul! Saul! Why are you trying to hurt Me?’ I asked who was speaking and the voice answered, ‘I am Yeshua of Nazareth, Whom you are hurting.’ My companions saw the brilliant light, but did not hear the voice speaking. [‘Adonai, what do You want me to do?’ I asked. Then He told me to go into Damascus where I would receive instructions. The bright light had blinded me, so my companions had to lead me into the city. In Damascus, Ananias, a devout Jew who obeyed the Law and was respected by all the Jews of Damascus, laid his hands on me and commanded me to see again. Immediately my sight returned. Ananias also told me that YHVH had chosen me to know His will and to see the Moshiach, and even to hear Him speak. He told me also that I must tell people everywhere what I had seen and heard, and that I should be baptized, be cleansed from sins, and to call upon Adonai. When I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the temple one day and had a vision in which YHVH spoke to me. ‘Leave Jerusalem soon,’ He told me, ‘For the people here will not listen to the truth.’ I argued with Adonai, trying to convince Him that the people here knew how I had persecuted those of the Way, imprisoning and beating people in every synagogue who believed in Him. I even helped those who murdered Stephen, holding their coats as they killed him. But YHVH insisted that I leave, saying ‘I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’] The crowd had listened quietly until he said that, then suddenly they turned on him again, shouting, [Take him away and kill him, for he is not fit to live.]

COMMENTARY

JERUSALEM: ANCIENT BATTLEGROUND

Jerusalem is called [the city of peace,] but it was often a battlefield in ancient times. The Israelites were surrounded by powerful countries frequently at war with one another. These important powers competed for control of the tiny land that lay between them. They especially wanted Jerusalem because it was an important fortified city. But the Jews were fierce defenders of their freedom and fought many battles for the sake of Jerusalem. 1000 B.C. David and his men attacked Jerusalem, the last stronghold of the Canaanites in Israelite territory. They surprised the Jebusites, the Canaanite tribe living in Jerusalem, by entering the city through the underground water shaft. The conquered city became King David’s new capital and the permanent location of the Ark. 927 B.C. The peaceful reign of Solomon was followed by political strife. The northern tribes revolted against the south, tearing the nation in two. Shishak, the king of Egypt, took advantage of the quarrel and attacked Jerusalem. He carried away the treasures of the temple and palace. 790 B.C. King Amaziah of Judah challenged Jehoash, king of the northern kingdom, to meet him in battle. Amaziah was defeated and the victorious ruler attacked Jerusalem, breaking down the city walls and carrying away the royal treasure. 730 B.C. Pekah, the king of Israel, combined forces with King Rezin of Syria. They invited Ahaz of Judah to join them in their revolt against the Assyrians, but Ahaz refused. The two kings turned on Ahaz and attacked Jerusalem. But the city’s defences stood firm. 701 B.C. Sennacherib, the powerful ruler of Assyria, marched south, conquering many of Jerusalem’s neighbours. But the prophet Isaiah assured King Hezekiah that Jerusalem would not be taken. The Assyrian army surrounded the city, trying to frighten Jerusalem into surrender. But the city could not be conquered by fear and the Assyrians departed. 586 B.C. For many months Nebuchadnezzar’s army camped outside Jerusalem’s walls. The Babylonians built a siege wall around the city to starve the people into surrender. When the Hebrews were weakened, the Babylonians broke through the northern wall, destroyed the temple and levelled the city. The people were enslaved and taken away to Babylon. 167-141 B.C. The Syrian king, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, attacked Jerusalem and plundered the temple. When he set up a statue of Zeus in the Holy of Holies the Jews revolted. The Syrians fought more than twenty-five years to control the rebels before finally giving up the struggle. 63 B.C. While rivals fought for the throne, Jerusalem was in political turmoil. The quarrel opened the way for the Romans to take over the city. Pompey attacked from the north with battering rams and siege engines. After three months he broke through the wall and captured the city. 66-70 A.D. For more than a century the Jews lived under Roman rule, but they never forgot their dream of independence. They revolted against their conquerors during Passover in 66 A.D. For three years the Jews resisted the Romans’ attempts to put down the rebellion, but by 70 A.D., only Jerusalem continued to hold out. Titus besieged the city with three Roman legions. When at last they broke through the walls, the Romans burned the temple and destroyed the city. The ritual of daily sacrifice ceased on July 17, 70 A.D., and has never been resumed again.