Acts 21:31Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Since they saw that the followers of the new grace observed the precepts of the law less and performed the temple rites less often, they feared, as it says in the Gospel, that the Romans would come and destroy their place and nation (see Jn 11:48).

Although Paul had thus pacified the Christians from among the Jews, the irreconcilable zealots for the law from among the Jews did not become more favorably disposed toward him. They became even more irritated against him.

They saw that the man who, as they said, taught others to revile the people of God, the law, and the temple, dared to take part in the worship of that temple.

They had seen with him in Jerusalem a Christian from among the Gentiles, Trophimus. In fanatical bitterness, they concluded from this that Paul had also taken a Gentile with him into the temple, and had thereby defiled the temple.

A violent disturbance broke out. Paul could be snatched from the hands of the enraged fanatics only with the help of a detachment of Roman troops. They came out from the fortress of Antonia, which adjoined the temple.

The Apostle was seized, and the enraged crowd would have torn him apart if the tribune, Lysias (Acts 23:26), commander of the Jerusalem garrison, had not heard of the popular disturbance and come to the scene with part of the troops entrusted to him. Thinking Paul truly guilty of something, the tribune approached, took him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then, unable to learn what the prisoner was accused of because of the disorderly shouting of the people, he ordered him to be brought into the fortress.

The crowd rushed upon the Apostle Paul, and the cry "Help!" spread everywhere through the streets. It was impossible to defend oneself. Yet the Apostle Paul was saved by the holiness of the place and the vigilance of the Roman guard. When the rioters dragged the Apostle beyond the temple precincts so as not to defile the temple with blood, the Roman centurion standing guard in the Tower of Antonia noticed the popular tumult. Fearing a revolt, he at once sent word to Lysias, the commander of the tower, about what had happened. Lysias quickly came to the scene with a detachment of soldiers and delivered the Apostle from the hands of his enraged enemies.

"To the tribune of the cohort": this was the chief commander of the Roman detachment of troops. During the feasts it held a reinforced military post in Jerusalem and was stationed in the so-called Fortress of Antonia. This fortress adjoined the outer wall of the Jerusalem temple on the northwest side and was connected with its galleries by stairways (v. 35). The name of the tribune was Claudius Lysias (Acts 23:26).

The attempt of the Hebrews to kill the Apostle Paul failed because the Roman authority learned in time of this cruel act of mob justice. It prevented the crime, which was outrageous also because the apostle was being beaten.

They probably began to beat the apostle while still in the temple, and so severely that the ringleaders saw the matter would end in the tortured man’s death.

Therefore they dragged him out of the temple, so as not to defile it by murder, into the court of the women or of the Gentiles. There the doors were locked, so that no one might prevent the dreadful execution.

But the authority was not asleep. It appeared in time and snatched Paul from the hands of his torturers. At the mere sight of the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped tormenting him.