Near the conclusion of Paul’s personal purification and the 4 Nazirites’ purification sponsored by Paul, unbelieving Jews from Asia saw Paul in the inner court of the temple and immediately stirred up the thronging temple crowd into confusion. They seized Paul, crying out for help from their countrymen. They accused Paul of being antisemitic, antinomian, and even anti-God. But the most serious charge levied was their presumption that he had brought Trophimus the Ephesian into the temple, an act which would have cost Trophimus his life.
Their false accusations accomplished their intended effect, as the people of Jerusalem began to riot. They dragged Paul out of the temple, and the temple gates were shut behind him. As they were in the process of nearly killing Paul themselves, the Roman tribune stationed in the fortress right above the temple mount became aware of the sudden riot, and he swiftly came to the place where Paul was being beaten, bringing hundreds of Roman soldiers with him.
Certain that he already knew who Paul was (thinking him to be an Egyptian revolutionist) and seeing such hostility against Paul, he immediately arrested Paul and bound him in chains to quell the crowd. The tribune then demanded to know who this was and what he had done to deserve such fury from the people. The crowd was in such disarray that everyone was shouting out different things. Finding this to be a fruitless endeavor, the tribune ordered Paul to be taken back to the barracks. At the steps leading up to the barracks, the Roman soldiers had to carry Paul because the crowd was so violent. They followed the procession, crying out with murderous anger, Away with him!, just as the enraged crowd had screamed at Jesus just a few decades earlier.
You can listen to this teaching on Acts 21:27-36 by clicking on the following link: Paul the Prisoner: Ambassador In Chains