That a supposed heavenly vision in the temple would send Paul to the Gentiles was an unthinkable, blasphemous notion. The crowd reacted to this "red flag" vocally, even turbulently. Raising their voices to drown Paul out, they took up again their cry "Away with him!" (21:36; Lk 23:18). Their reason: the proclaimer of such apostasy is not fit to live! Screaming excitedly, throwing off (better shaking out) their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, the crowd shows that they want to have nothing to do with Paul. To them he is as repulsive as an unclean Gentile.

The Jews show themselves to be unfit evaluators of Christianity. Their ethnic pride and prejudice are a warning to us all. We have our own "red flags" that cause the same paralysis of mind and hearing. They put an immediate stop to reason and substitute a blind, violent mob spirit or a granitelike imperviousness to gospel truth (Ogilvie 1983:311).