Angry incoherent crowds seem to be common in these times. Paul was a or the most prominent known follower of Jesus in the period before 70 AD (CE). He was the author of a body of letters and was very influential throughout the area from Jerusalem to Athens and possibly beyond. Paul endured much, including several trials.
The first clear “trial” with testimony was by a mob in Jerusalem in 57 CE, close by the Temple. The account of that event incidentally portrays some aspects of the life of the day.
The report is found in Acts, chapters 21-22.
“The whole city was stirred up, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul, dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. As they were trying to kill him, word went up to the commander of the regiment that all Jerusalem was in chaos. Taking along soldiers and centurions, he immediately ran down to them. Seeing the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. Then the commander approached, took him into custody, and ordered him to be bound with two chains. He asked who he was and what he had done” (Acts 21:30-33 CSB.)
I take it that “the whole city” was a large body of men who were stirred up and dragged Paul out of the Temple to kill him in the public space. I also assume the Temple gates were shut to prevent the trouble spilling from outside into its precinct.
The earlier part of account says that some people incorrectly assumed Paul had desecrated their sacred place.
It is hard to imagine why the mob were only “trying to kill him”, and not succeeding. How much injury did they do to him? Were there no stones handy? Were people just getting in each other’s way?
(There had been other violence offered to Paul in past years away from Jerusalem.)
I do imagine the Jerusalem Romans were on high alert to respond to any sign of disturbance. At that specific moment Paul was of no significance. Trouble, on the other hand, could escalate and that was to be prevented. (Here I note that just nine years later deadly conflict broke out [First Jewish War]. The rebellion saw many deaths and, eventually, heavy force. Jerusalem was defeated in 70 and the Temple was no more.)
That day in Jerusalem the Romans lost no time intervening. The tribune himself, Claudius Lysias, was in command on the spot. When “they” saw the soldiers they stopped beating Paul. I assume they had been using fists and feet.
The commander guessed the object of the violence was some kind of wrongdoer in the community. His obvious step was to make Paul his prisoner and, with order restored, find out what it all meant. Thereby hangs a tale!
“Part of the crowd shouted one thing, and part of them shouted something else. But they were making so much noise that the commander could not find out a thing. Then he ordered Paul to be taken into the fortress. As they reached the steps, the crowd became so wild that the soldiers had to lift Paul up and carry him. The crowd followed and kept shouting, “Kill him! Kill him!”” (Acts 21:34-36 CEV).
The original claim was that Paul had taken identified foreign gentiles into the Temple. Some accusers knew that charge; others did not. Possibly there was a more general knowledge that there had been disturbances abroad in Jewish communities and Paul was prominent in that.
The commander needed to know something concrete. Competing and unclear claims would not do.The one thing clear was that the crowd wanted the accused man dead. Whilst Paul would have been, at that stage, of no concern to him, clarity was needed. What, exactly, was wrong? How could he find out?
“As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek? Are you not the Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?” Paul replied, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people.” And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying:”
(Acts 21:37-40 ESV)
The tribune (commander) did not expect this dusty, roughed up, Jew, to speak Greek. That indicates to me that the common experience of the occupation forces in Jerusalem (etc) was of a language barrier between them - the Latin speakers and the Aramaic ("Hebrew") speakers. It is not surprising that the Romans could fall back on Greek, which was then the common language around the Mediterranean. That was a relic from the more recent times of the Greek speaking Alexander and successors. Paul’s competence in Greek was clearly something unexpected that day.
Using Greek meant Paul and the Roman could converse and the tribune could see a possible answer to his dilemma. First the tribune wanted to know if Paul was a “terrorist”. The capture of one of the leading “dagger men” would be a useful thing for his CV! Apparently assassins and terrorists were common enough.
Perhaps their conversation was longer. It resulted in the Roman dropping that suspicion and giving the permission. He gave Paul permission to speak to the crowd. Did he realise that Paul would then move into Aramaic so that he could get a hearing from the crowd?
How long did it take for Paul’s hand-signals to hush the crowd? Once they were hushed it was easier for them to listen to their own language being spoken. Probably everyone could follow - except the Romans!
“After receiving the commander’s permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic:
“Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.” When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. Then Paul said: “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished. (Acts 21:40, 22:1-5 NIV).
These were all things to gain Paul credit in the eyes of his (male) contemporaries! A born Jew, brought up in Jerusalem. Trained by Gamaliel, the most outstanding Rabbi. Zealous in following the Law under the guidance of the Rabbis. He was a determined and effective opponent of the Jesus' party. He worked at clearing them out of the synagogues. He even hunted them outside the Jewish area. That travel became his turning point.
““As I was on the road, approaching Damascus about noon, a very bright light from heaven suddenly shone down around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. “And the voice replied, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, the one you are persecuting.’ The people with me saw the light but didn’t understand the voice speaking to me. “I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ “And the Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything you are to do’” (Acts 22:6-10 NLT).
What greater shock could Paul have than for Jesus to speak to him? The Jesus whose certain death his ilk had orchestrated. No doubt Paul (Saul) had heard claims that Jesus was alive again. He would have known that to be wrong! As he knew it, Jesus had blasphemed by claiming to be equal with God and had deserved to die. Now, here, that same Jesus was telling him to continue to Damascus but for a very different reason.
There were other witnesses to that moment on the road. They might not have wanted their names spoken by Paul. I wonder if he did name them.
Were Paul’s Jerusalem hearers getting a little edgy as he told his story? They did not accept that Jesus was alive but maybe could concede a vision.
“Since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, those who were with me took my hand and led me to Damascus. “A certain Ananias, who was a devout man according to the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living there, came to me, and standing beside me, he said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ In that very hour I regained my sight and saw him. Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear his own voice, for you will be his witness to all the world of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name’” (Acts 22:11-16 NRSVUE).
Everything about this intervention by Ananias was respectable. We also know (Acts 9) that Ananias had doubts, but he obeyed. He was a man of repute amongst the local Jews.
Washing away sins in accepting baptism had a long history.
God had clearly intended his Word to reach far and wide.
People should become Jews. Perhaps there was uneasiness at the link to Jesus the Nazarene, but otherwise, not an alarming agenda - yet.
““After I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw him telling me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ “But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in synagogue after synagogue I had those who believed in you imprisoned and beaten. And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I stood there giving approval and guarding the clothes of those who killed him.’ “He said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles’ ”” (Acts 22:17-21 CSB).
Eventually Paul returned to Jerusalem but not to bring prisoners. I wonder if word reached the religious elite that Paul was back but now on the other side? There may not have been much time for any reaction. "They know" said Paul. Unsurprisingly Paul was in the Temple when he was warned that time was up. He had to make his escape without delay.
Paul found it hard to believe his contemporaries would ignore his complete change. His former life activity was well known in Jerusalem. He was the extreme persecutor.
The Lord was firm and clear. Paul must go; not only go, but go outside the Jewish diaspora to the non-Jews, to the much more numerous Gentiles.
At that point the faces of the crowd must have totally changed.
“The crowd listened until Paul said this. Then they started shouting, “Get rid of this man! He doesn't deserve to live.” They kept shouting. They waved their clothes around and threw dust into the air. The Roman commander ordered Paul to be taken into the fortress and beaten with a whip. He did this to find out why the people were screaming at Paul” (Acts 22:22-24 CEV).
Paul did in fact go to the Gentiles. On his journeys he went to the Jews first but then was rejected and went out to the Gentiles. The idea that God could accept Gentiles as Gentiles was abhorrent in Jerusalem that day. The crowd seems to have been sorry they ever listened to such a turncoat. Throwing dust in the air and shouting is a vivid picture of frustrated rage.
Paul was under coercion. On one hand a crowd ready to slaughter him. On the other hand the Romans with their chains and whips. The commander now had just as big a problem, or a bigger one. He had heard the sound of Paul’s Aramaic and seen the listeners’ attention, but not understood. Now he had a focused uproar and did not know why. Something was really wrong! He would have to resort to the usual method - torture. He intended to learn from this prisoner - in Greek.
“But when they had stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him” (Acts 22:25-29 ESV).
Paul spoke up; was that when he had realised what all the Latin commands meant? He was “for it” and it was no use speaking to the foot-soldiers doing their duties. Unlike Jews, Roman citizens had rights. Those rights might be overturned by the Caesar, but not by soldiers.
Why did Paul wait until he was tied up? Did the Centurion come along to check on the men? Did he come to administer the flogging? Whatever the reason, he could speak Greek - here was an opening, and he did hear Paul. Then he was alarmed!
The commander knew at that point only that there was ferocious opposition from the crowd to one of their own. The Governor (in Caesarea) expected the commander to solve problems, not to send them minus solutions! The account continues until Claudius Lysias sent Paul safely away under armed escort, no doubt with a sigh of relief. He had to pass the matter on! Not that he gave up on it too soon.
Did any of those angry men of Jerusalem remember, and think? They could have sought out those followers of the Way who were amongst them and were of good repute in the community. The followers treasured the Scriptures and aimed to conform their lives to God’s requirements. They could be found in the Temple. They trusted God for forgiveness when they confessed. They relied on God’s mercy and care. They loved others as themselves. (I do not know what the followers did about the obsolete sacrificial system which continued until it was no longer possible.)
Language had been a vital part of those happenings in Jerusalem. So it would be and was, especially elsewhere. The Scriptures were available in Greek and people like Paul could tell God’s story in Greek. That was the common language of the community, or of a huge part of it.
How very fortunate we are today to have no language barrier. Just the same, there remains a lot of work to be done if every tribe and people is to hear God’s spoken word in their own heart language. See, for example, the work of Wycliffe Bible Translators.
Bible GatewayBlue Letter BibleYou Bible
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are not moderated. Allen Hampton