“Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.”
At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they were afraid of the people - the 'fear of the people' (phoboumenoi ton ochlon) reverses the power dynamic. The officers do not lay hands violently but bring them without force (ou meta ias), suggesting a kind of ceremonial arrest. The people's favor is a restraint on institutional power.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
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