Acts 21:27-40 And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people… Here we see — I. THE GENIUS OF RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE. Three things come out which always characterise this: — 1. Cunning — indicated in the watchword, "Men of Israel, help! " hereby naively intimating that Paul was an enemy to Israel, and that all should make a common cause in crushing him. Religious bigotry ever works by artifice and insinuation. 2. Falsehood. (1) It fabricates false allegations (ver. 28). This was all a spiteful fiction. (a) Did Paul "teach all men everywhere against the people"? It is true he denounced their bigotry, and exclusiveness; but never their race, and their high distinctions. (b) Did he ever disparage "the law"? He taught that its ceremonies were not binding upon Gentile disciples, nor of eternal obligation even unto the Jew; but always displayed a profound regard for it as a Divine institution, the glory of the ancient world. (c) Did he ever speak "against this place"? He taught that God dwelt not "in temples made with hands"; but never a word did he utter in dishonour of the temple. (d) Did he ever bring "Greeks into the temple, and pollute the holy place"? No; they only "supposed" that he did — they perhaps saw Paul walking in the streets with Trophimus, and rushed to this conjecture. (2) But whilst all those charges are groundless, they bear testimony to Paul's — (a) Notoriety. "This is the man"; implying that he is well known, and that none require any further particulars. This Paul has in a few years painted his image on the imagination of the Jewish people. (b) Industry. "He taught all men, everywhere." Thus, they unwittingly confirmed the apostle's own description of his labours, and also his biographer's account of his marvellous activity. (c) Power. Had he been obscure and of feeble influence, they would have spoken and acted differently. They felt, he was a man of such colossal influence as required the force of a whole nation to. confine. 3. Violence. Religious intolerance does not argue, for it lacks an intelligent faith in its own cause. It has, therefore, ever had recourse to fraud and force. II. THE GENIUS OF A MOB ASSEMBLY. Men are pretty well the same in all ages. The mob gathered in the streets of Jerusalem evinced just those things which mobs show now in Paris, New York, or London. Here is — 1. Credulousness. The false charges were accepted without any inquiry. "All the city was moved." Man is naturally a credulous animal, and this propensity gets intensity in association with numbers. Hence what even a credulous man will not believe when alone, he readily accepts from the lip of a demagogue. Men accept creeds in churches which they repudiate in private discussion. Mobs will swallow whatever is offered. 2. Senselessness. "Some cried one thing, and some another." The mob at Ephesus (Acts 19:32) acted in the same way. A sad sight this. It is this senselessness that makes the opinions of mobs so worthless, their movements so reckless, and their existence so dangerous. 3. Contagiousness. "The people ran together," and when they came together their hearts surged with the same common passions. One man's thought, whether good or bad, may influence a nation. Conclusion. Note — 1. The great mixture of characters in social life. Here are Evangelical Christians, Asiatic Jews, Romans, Paul. 2. The great advantage of civil government. 3. The antagonism of the depraved heart to Christianity. (D. Thomas, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him, |
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