Verse 32
And forthwith he took soldiers and centurions, and ran down upon them: and they, when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, left off beating Paul.
At the northwest corner of the temple stood the great tower of Antonio, official headquarters of the Roman presence in Jerusalem. That presence was commanded by a chiliarch (commander of a thousand, or a tenth of a legion) with centurions (each commanding a hundred) under him. Thus it appears that two or three hundred men were used by the chiliarch (called the chief captain) in his rescue of Paul.
From the scene here, it is crystal clear that the Jewish temple would have to be destroyed, in order to break up the center of opposition which it sheltered. That opposition was ruthless, unprincipled, and resourceful; and, if they could have continued in possession of such an instrument of power as the temple assuredly was, the gospel might not ever have been fully free of it in Judaea. However, Paul's speech about to be given would be the last great opportunity that the temple-keepers would ever have to renounce their unbelief and accept the Savior. Only about a decade from the uproar in this chapter would elapse before Vespasian and Titus would unknowingly implement the Lord's great prophecy of the temple's utter ruin. See my Commentary on Mark under Mark 32:2 for ten reasons why God destroyed it.
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