Acts 21:27-23:11 - Paul Arrested
27When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him,28shouting, Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.29(They had previously seen Trophimusthe Ephesianin the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)
30The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul,they dragged himfrom the temple, and immediately the gates were shut.31While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar.32He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.
33The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be boundwith twochains.Then he asked who he was and what he had done.34Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another,and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks.35When Paul reached the steps,the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers.36The crowd that followed kept shouting, Get rid of him!
Paul Speaks to the Crowd
37As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks,he asked the commander, May I say something to you?
Do you speak Greek? he replied.38Arent you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the wildernesssome time ago?
39Paul answered, I am a Jew, from Tarsusin Cilicia,a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.
40After receiving the commanders permission, Paul stood on the steps and motionedto the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic[a]:221Brothers and fathers,listen now to my defense.
2When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic,they became very quiet.
Then Paul said:3I am a Jew,born in Tarsusof Cilicia,but brought up in this city. I studied underGamalieland was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors.I was just as zealousfor God as any of you are today.4I persecutedthe followers of this Wayto their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison,5as the high priest and all the Councilcan themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associatesin Damascus,and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
6About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.7I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me,Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?
8Who are you, Lord? I asked.
I am Jesus of Nazareth,whom you are persecuting,he replied.9My companions saw the light,but they did not understand the voiceof him who was speaking to me.
10What shall I do, Lord? I asked.
Get up,the Lord said,and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.11My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.
12A man named Ananias came to see me.He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there.13He stood beside me and said, Brother Saul, receive your sight! And at that very moment I was able to see him.
14Then he said: The God of our ancestorshas chosen you to know his will and to seethe Righteous Oneand to hear words from his mouth.15You will be his witnessto all people of what you have seenand heard.16And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptizedand wash your sins away,calling on his name.
17When I returned to Jerusalemand was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance18and saw the Lord speaking to me.Quick!he said.Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.
19Lord, I replied, these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprisonand beatthose who believe in you.20And when the blood of your martyr[b]Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.
21Then the Lord said to me,Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.
Paul the Roman Citizen
22The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, Rid the earth of him!Hes not fit to live!
23As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaksand flinging dust into the air,24the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks.He directedthat he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this.25As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasnt even been found guilty?
26When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. What are you going to do? he asked. This man is a Roman citizen.
27The commander went to Paul and asked, Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?
Yes, I am, he answered.
28Then the commander said, I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.
But I was born a citizen, Paul replied.
29Those who were about to interrogate himwithdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen,in chains.
Paul Before the Sanhedrin
30The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews.So the next day he released himand ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrinto assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.
23Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrinand said, My brothers,I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscienceto this day.2At this the high priest Ananiasordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.3Then Paul said to him, God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!
4Those who were standing near Paul said, How dare you insult Gods high priest!
5Paul replied, Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.[c]
6Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadduceesand the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, My brothers,I am a Pharisee,descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.7When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.8(The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection,and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.)
9There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Phariseesstood up and argued vigorously. We find nothing wrong with this man,they said. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?10The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.
11The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said,Take courage!As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.Watch at: https://youtu.be/Cg3ag9zJizk