Acts 21:29

‘For they had before seen with him in the city Trophimus the Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.’

Gracious Luke then tries to find some excuse for them. He finds their total evil hard to understand. And he points out that they had earlier seen Paul with the Gentile Trophimus in the city. That is why they then ‘supposed’ that he had brought him into the inner courts when he was dedicating himself. But you do not kill a man in the basis of ‘supposes’. They certainly ‘supposed’ it, but it was totally without justification, and was simply the product of their own prejudiced and perverse minds. Furthermore it was unlikely, because all doors to the Temple were policed by Levites, one of whose duties was to ensure that no Gentile, whether accidentally or deliberately, entered the inner courts. And it was inexcusable because their own Law said that they must enquire carefully into such a situation before doing anything. Luke gives an explanation, but it is no excuse. There is no excuse for jumping to conclusions simply on the basis of prejudice, especially on so serious a matter (Deuteronomy 13:14).