This scene really is chaos. It’s no wonder: here we have a man who used to be a Jewish leader, teaching a gospel he tried to destroy, teaching other Jews that the laws they had followed all their lives were not God’s final plan. Add to that the inclusion of non-Jews in this new Kingdom, and you really do have a recipe for sheer confusion. Paul stood in that gap, though, and it must have taken immense patience. He endured pain and hardship in the name of this new Kingdom, and we are all part of the fruits of his committing to that work of the Spirit.