How did the crowd in Jerusalem react when Paul mentioned the Gentiles?
Until the word Gentile was spoken, the crowd listened in rapt silence. At that word they lifted their voices, demanded that such a fellow be taken away from the earth, and declared he was not fit to live. Their reaction was violent rejection because Paul dared to mention Gentiles.
Les teaches that the crowd had listened to Paul with rapt silence and attention until he said the word “Gentile.” At that word they lifted up their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth,” declaring it was not fit that he should live. Les explains their fury was because Paul had even dared to use the word Gentile. He connects this to Israel’s larger rejection: the nation detested Jesus, and Moses had foretold that another nation would come into fellowship with God, yet Israel would hate them for it. The more the Gentiles succumbed to the Gospel, the more the Jewish people fought it, except for a few. Les notes this pattern continues even today, such as in Israel’s Law of Return, which tries to keep out Christians or Jewish people who are professed believers in Christ, because religiously they are still hidebound that there is no room for a Gentile in their so-called religion.
And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.
More Questions
What does the crowd's reaction in Acts 22 reveal about the Jews' attitude toward Gentiles?
The Jews' violent reaction to the single word "Gentile" shows their attitude toward Gentiles as "Gentile dogs"; merely daring to speak that word is what provoked the riot.
How did the Jews react to the idea that God calls Gentiles?
The Jews' rejection of Gentiles as "Gentile dogs" was so intense that merely mentioning the word Gentile in their hearing infuriated them — which is what Paul's statement in Romans 9:24, that God called not of the Jews only but also of the Gentiles, did to them in that context.
Why did the Jews riot against Paul when he spoke about Gentiles?
When Paul mentioned the word 'Gentile,' the Jews listening rioted, lifted their voices, and demanded that he be put to death, because he had so much as even thought about Gentiles.
How did the Jews view Gentiles, according to this passage?
The Jews' attitude toward Gentiles was such that they contemptuously called them 'Gentile dogs,' and this scene in Acts shows exactly what that attitude was.