Acts 21 28

Acts 21:28 kjv

Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.

Acts 21:28 nkjv

crying out, "Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place."

Acts 21:28 niv

shouting, "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."

Acts 21:28 esv

crying out, "Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place."

Acts 21:28 nlt

yelling, "Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who preaches against our people everywhere and tells everybody to disobey the Jewish laws. He speaks against the Temple ? and even defiles this holy place by bringing in Gentiles. "

Acts 21 verses

Acts 21 28 Meaning

Acts 21:28 records the intense and false accusations hurled at the Apostle Paul by zealous Jews from Asia, which instigated a violent riot in the Temple court. The accusers asserted that Paul systematically taught against the Jewish people, the Mosaic Law, and the Temple itself. Furthermore, they made the grave, and untrue, charge that Paul had physically desecrated the sacred Temple by bringing uncircumcised Gentiles into areas forbidden to them, making it ritually impure and profaned. This specific accusation was designed to provoke outrage and rally the crowd to act against him.

Acts 21 28 Context

Acts chapter 21 begins with Paul's determined, yet warned, journey to Jerusalem. Upon his arrival, he received a warm welcome from James and the elders, but they also informed him of a significant problem: many thousands of Jewish believers were zealous for the Law and had heard false reports that Paul taught Jews in the diaspora to forsake Moses, not to circumcise their children, and not to observe their customs. To demonstrate that these rumors were untrue and to show his respect for Jewish traditions, Paul agreed to undertake a purification ritual, supporting four men in completing a Nazarite vow. This public act aimed to affirm his ongoing observance of the Law. However, as the seven days of purification were nearing completion, Jews "from Asia," who knew Paul from his ministry there, spotted him in the Temple. Based on having previously seen Paul with Trophimus, an Ephesian Gentile, within the city of Jerusalem (but not inside the Temple proper), they mistakenly assumed Paul had brought Trophimus past the barrier (the soreg) that separated the Court of the Gentiles from the inner, sacred Jewish courts. This mistaken assumption formed the basis for the explosive and inflammatory accusations in verse 28, quickly escalating into a full-blown riot against Paul within the Temple precincts.

Acts 21 28 Word analysis

• "Men of Israel" (Ἄνδρες Ἰσραηλῖται, Andres Israēlītai): This is a powerful, nationalistic address to the Jewish crowd, designed to invoke a sense of shared heritage and loyalty. It immediately identifies the accusers with the people being supposedly wronged.

• "help!" (βοηθεῖτε, boētheite): An imperative verb expressing extreme urgency and a plea for immediate action. It signals an perceived existential threat that demands a swift, collective response.

• "This is the man" (Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἄνθρωπος, Houtos estin ho anthrōpos): A stark, accusatory identifier pointing directly at Paul. It serves to personalize the alleged transgressions, making Paul the central target of the mob's wrath.

• "who teaches" (διδάσκων, didaskōn): A present participle, implying continuous action. This highlights Paul's consistent practice of instructing, but framed pejoratively, suggesting an ongoing campaign of harmful doctrines.

• "all men everywhere" (πάντας πανταχοῦ, pantas pantachou): An emphatic generalization, accusing Paul of broad, universal proselytism that allegedly undermines Jewish principles across the Roman world. It exaggerates the scope of his gospel mission to portray him as a pervasive threat.

• "against our people" (κατὰ τοῦ λαοῦ, kata tou laou): "Against the people." This refers to the Jewish nation, its customs, distinctiveness, and collective identity chosen by God. The charge implies Paul's teachings lead to disloyalty or disrespect for Jewish national-religious identity.

• "and the law" (καὶ τοῦ νόμου, kai tou nomou): Denotes the divinely revealed Mosaic Law (Torah). For Jews, the Law was central to their covenant, righteousness, and cultural identity. Teaching "against" it was seen as apostasy.

• "and this place" (καὶ τοῦ τόπου, kai tou topou): Refers to the Jerusalem Temple, the holiest site in Judaism and the physical representation of God's presence among His people. Teaching "against" it signified contempt for God's chosen dwelling.

• "and besides that" (ἔτι τε, eti te): A transitional phrase ("furthermore," "and yet more") used to introduce a second, even more egregious, and immediately actionable charge. It intensifies the gravity of the accusations.

• "he has even brought Greeks" (καὶ Ἕλληνας εἰσήγαγεν, kai Hellēnas eisēgagen): Accuses Paul of the specific act of bringing uncircumcised Gentiles (Greeks generally referring to all non-Jews in this context) into forbidden Temple areas. This moves from abstract "teaching" to a concrete "action."

• "into the temple" (εἰς τὸ ἱερόν, eis to hieron): Implies entrance into the restricted inner courts of the Temple, specifically beyond the soreg or balustrade that demarcated areas permissible only for Jews. Gentiles were strictly prohibited from these areas on penalty of death.

• "and has defiled this holy place" (καὶ κεκοίνωκεν τὸν ἅγιον τόπον τοῦτον, kai kekoinōken ton hagion topon touton): Kekoinōken (from koinoō) means "to make common, to render ceremonially impure or profane." The perfect tense indicates a completed action with lasting effects. This was the most serious accusation, as it claimed desecration of the sacred Temple, demanding severe punishment and provoking intense zeal.

• Words-group analysis:

  • "Men of Israel, help!": This phrase is an urgent, nationalist, and highly emotional call to action, framing Paul as an enemy of the entire Jewish collective and a violator of sacred spaces, requiring immediate intervention. It's a calculated rhetorical move to bypass reason and stir primal loyalties.
  • "This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against our people and the law and this place": This comprehensive charge broadly targets Paul's universal Gentile ministry, twisting its message of Christ's supremacy into an assault on Jewish identity, divine law, and their holy sanctuary. It encapsulates the theological conflict Paul experienced throughout his ministry, accusing him of treason against all fundamental aspects of Judaism.
  • "and besides that, he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place": This is the climax of the accusation, detailing an alleged act of ritual desecration—a capital offense. It turns theoretical opposition into a perceived physical violation, which, coupled with the previous broad accusations, was intended to incite instant and violent mob justice against Paul. The emotional charge against "defiling this holy place" tapped into the deepest religious sensitivities of the Jewish people concerning their Temple and their covenant relationship with God.

Acts 21 28 Bonus section

The Herodian Temple had an outer Court of the Gentiles, which was permissible for all people, including uncircumcised Gentiles. The strict prohibition referred to the inner courts, accessible only to Jews who were ritually clean. The specific area past the soreg, the approximately 4.5-foot high stone barrier that demarcated the sacred inner precincts, bore warning inscriptions in Greek and Latin. One such inscription found in archaeological excavations reads, "No foreigner is allowed beyond the balustrade and the area around the sanctuary. Whoever is caught will himself be responsible for his ensuing death." This highlights the immense gravity of the charge leveled against Paul, which directly threatened Jewish communal identity, their relationship with God, and even Roman tolerance, all for which the death penalty was a real and sanctioned consequence.

Acts 21 28 Commentary

Acts 21:28 marks the violent climax of Jewish hostility against Paul, based on deeply held religious and nationalistic convictions, compounded by severe misinformation. The accusation comprises two major facets: Paul's teaching and his actions. The teaching charges—against the Jewish "people," "law," and "place"—were not strictly true in Paul's theology, as he reverenced the Law as holy (Rom 7:12) and viewed the Temple as historically significant. However, his doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone (Gal 2:16), which effectively transcended the ceremonial aspects of the Mosaic Law for all believers, and his relentless mission to include Gentiles, was interpreted by some zealous Jews as undermining their unique identity and divinely given covenant.

The truly incendiary, and false, charge was Paul's alleged physical action of bringing "Greeks into the temple" to "defile this holy place." This was no mere theological dispute; it was an accusation of sacrilege, a capital offense. Jewish regulations, permitted by Roman law, strictly forbade uncircumcised Gentiles from entering the inner courts of the Temple, with warning inscriptions explicitly stating that trespassers would incur the death penalty. The accusers, drawing a false conclusion from seeing Paul with Trophimus (an Ephesian Gentile) elsewhere in the city (Acts 21:29), transformed a harmless observation into a claim of deliberate and severe defilement. This particular accusation instantly transformed the simmering theological discontent into a full-blown riot, as the purity and sanctity of the Temple were paramount to Jewish identity and faith, making any perceived defilement an intolerable affront to God Himself. This incident vividly illustrates the collision between traditional Judaism and the inclusive, universal mission of early Christianity.