Paul in Jerusalem
Paul went to Jerusalem. There some Jews accused him of teaching against
Jewish law and of defiling the temple by bringing Gentiles into it. The
whole city was in an uproar, and people came running to see what was
happening.
They were trying to kill Paul, but he was rescued by the Roman
soldiers. The crowd was so violent they had to carry Paul to get him
away from his enemies.
They stopped on the stairs to the castle and Paul asked to speak to the
crowd. With soldiers around him, he began to defend himself. He told of
his conversion. They listened for awhile until he said the Lord had
sent him to the Gentiles. Then they became violently angry. The
commander took him inside and ordered him to be beaten.
They didn't know Paul was a Roman citizen, and Roman citizens were not
to be beaten. When he told them of his citizenship, they became fearful
of how they had treated him. The commander ordered him to appear before
the Jewish Sanhedrin. He caused a division between the Pharisees and
the Sadducees by revealing he was a Pharisee and believed in the
resurrection of the dead.
There was another uproar, and the commander took him to the barracks.
That night the Lord stood near Paul and told him to take courage. He
was going to Rome to tell the people there about his faith.
There was a plot to kill Paul, but his nephew learned of it and told
the authorities. The commander decided to send him to Governor Felix.
To insure his safe arrival, he was accompanied by 200 soldiers, 70
horsemen, and 200 spearmen. They left at 9:00 at night with Paul riding
on horseback.