May 22, 2022
Acts 22:21-29
“Paul’s Defense – Part 2”
Service Overview: Paul’s audience was tuned in, that is, until “Gentile” rolled off his tongue. This word triggered the crowd, and it was Rome to the “rescue” once again for Paul.
Memory Verse for the Week:
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)
Background Information:
- Today people are automatically a citizen of the country in which they are born, but that was not the case in Rome. To be a citizen of the city of Rome was to be numbered among the elite. It was a high privilege accorded, for the most part, only to the patricians of society. Roman citizenship could be achieved in basically two ways: by achieving a high level of service to the Roman Empire or by purchasing it with a large sum of money. Since Paul was born a Roman citizen, either his father or his grandfather had gained citizenship, perhaps without ever setting foot in Rome, through one of those two means. Paul’s father or grandfather was therefore likely extremely wealthy. There are other reasons to believe that Paul came from a wealthy family, not the least of which was his ability to come to Jerusalem and study at the feet of Gamaliel. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 335)
- The commander did not understand Aramaic and did not know what Paul had said; but one thing he did understand—he must not allow a riot and must deal at once with any man likely to cause a riot. So he determined to examine Paul under scourging. This was not a punishment; it was simply the most effective way of extracting either the truth or a confession. (Barclay, Acts, 163)
- Roman scourging was much more terrible than the beatings Paul had already experienced. The lash consisted of several leather thongs tied to a handle, but with pieces of metal or bone imbedded in the thong tips. Soldiers on either side of the victim struck alternate blows. Scourged prisoners were usually permanently maimed; frequently they died. (Airhart, Acts, 256)
- Roman law forbade any citizen of Rome to be bound without due process of law. Furthermore, no citizen was to be beaten under any circumstances, even if convicted. The penalty was death. So the Roman commander knew he was in trouble. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 288)
- This was not the normal Jewish flogging, which was bad enough, but the dreaded Roman flagellum. It was a beating so severe that in some cases it resulted in the death of the victim. It was what was done to Jesus before his crucifixion. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 372)
- The scourge (Lat. flagellum), an instrument of Roman inquisition and punishment, consisted of leather thongs studded with pieces of metal or bone and fastened to a wooden handle. Its use often crippled for life and sometimes killed. (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 527)
The question to answer…
Why did Paul wait so long to claim his right as a Roman citizen?
Answer…
Paul’s rights as a citizen were held secondarily to his desire to reach people with the gospel.
What deserves our attention in this account?
- The threat God’s grace posed.
(vv. 22-23 | Is. 42:6; 49:6; Acts 9:15; 15:14, 17; Rom. 1:6, 16; 3:29; 9:24; 11:11; Col. 3:11)
Paul’s message of grace was a threat to the Jewish religious system based on the Law. If large numbers of Jews continued to follow Jesus, who would be left to follow the high priest? If people could truly know God outside Judaism, then Jerusalem would no longer be the center of the (religious) world! (Phillip A. Bence, Acts, Kindle Location 4366)
- Paul’s strategic use of his rights for the cause of Christ.
(vv. 25-27 | Jer. 29:7; Dan. 4:27; Matthew 22:21; Romans 8:18; Galatians 6:10; 1 Tim 2:2)
Paul has sometimes been faulted for appealing to his legal rights as a Roman, rather than suffering silently. In fact, this appeal did sever him completely from the Jerusalem community. But they had already rejected him. Needless suffering, even for righteousness’ sake, is not a Christian virtue. It is wrong to court martyrdom or to recklessly throw one’s life away. Paul’s work was not done. Human life and strength are vehicles for God’s work in the world, but they are also intrinsically precious in God’s sight. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 258)
Paul was not a helpless victim. He had come to Jerusalem to preach Christ and he was willing to use every means to be heard. The Lord, not a Roman commander, or even the Sanhedrin, was calling the shots. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 313)
- The beauty and intricacies of God’s providence on display.
(v. 28 | Genesis 50:20; Proverbs 16:9; 19:21; Matthew 10:29; Romans 8:28)
There is an indomitable courage that comes from knowing that Christ is the Lord of circumstances. He controls coincidences. It was not by chance that Paul’s father bequeathed him Roman citizenship. Nor was it a fluke that the commander was one who would have respect for a fellow citizen because of his own purchased status. The picture we get of the Apostle through all the changing circumstances is of a man who is ready to grasp opportunities to reach the center of religious and political power with his witness to Christ. (Ogilvie, Acts, 314)
How can a text like this offer us hope and insight? By reminding us that…
A. Needless suffering is not a virtue.
(Exodus 3:7; Psalm 55:22; Romans 5:3; 8:18; 8:28; 2 Timothy 1:8; 2 Peter 1:5)
Paul was not afraid of death, but he was not about to be permanently maimed or even killed in a Roman barracks and miss the real reason he had come to Jerusalem, and his further destination of Rome. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 312)
Why didn’t Paul just submit to the beating? He, more than anyone, knew Jesus’ teaching regarding the blessing of suffering for Christ, about turning the other cheek, about following the example of Christ. But none of those really fit in this instance. Paul utilized common sense. He realized that this beating would serve no purpose. It’s one thing to be a martyr when you have no other recourse. But to submit to a brutal, avoidable beating would be masochism, pure and simple. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 379)
B. God has established government; therefore, utilize the rights you’ve been given.
(Ps. 22:28; Dan. 2:21; John 19:11; Acts 5:29; Rom. 13:1; 1 Tim. 2:1-2; Titus 3:1)
If God could use the Roman government as His instrument, contemporary governments are not outside His power. (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Location, 4378)
As Christians in a free society, we have tremendous civic privileges: first amendment freedoms (speech, press, religion), library privileges, voting rights, and the chance to run for public office, to write letters, march, and even protest! Are we making full use of these God-given opportunities? (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 379)
C. God is sovereign over government; therefore, trust him regardless what happens.
(John 19:11; Acts 5:29; Rom. 8:28; 12:19; 13:1; 1 Cor. 1:25-29; 1 Peter 2:9-17)
Perhaps at this point some of his friends were saying, “We told him so! We warned him!” For Paul and his associates, it may have looked like the end of the road, but God had other plans for them. Paul would witness again and again, and to people he could never have met had he not been a Roman prisoner. God’s missionary did get to Rome—and the Romans paid the bill! That’s what happens when God’s people are willing to be daring! (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 394)
Do that which is good, without fear, and without limit or reserve. What right have we to blame the government when we do not do that which is good ourselves? (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, 262)
Gospel Application…
The good news of Jesus is that grace is offered to any and all who will turn to, and trust in him!
(John 10:16; Acts 28:28; Romans 1:16; 3:22; 10:12; Galatians 3:14; Colossians 3:11)
No devout Jew would have anything to do with the Gentiles! Had Paul not uttered that one word, he might have later been released, and perhaps he knew this. However, he had to be faithful in his witness, no matter what it cost him. Paul would rather be a prisoner than give up his burden for lost souls and for missions! We could use more Christians like that today. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 393)
Spiritual Challenge Questions…
Reflect on these questions in your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with a Christian family member or Life Group.
- How do Roman law and justice come to Paul’s aid (22:24-29)?
- What are some ways we might see God’s sovereignty on display in today’s text? What should that tell us about God, even when government is corrupt?
- What are some rights you are afforded as a citizen?
- What are some ways our rights as U.S. citizens might be used strategically to advance the gospel?
- What forms of needless suffering have you seen people go through when there were other options?
Quotes to note…
There were two things at stake here. First, if someone punished a Roman citizen without due legal process, he exposed himself to the death penalty. Had Claudius scourged Paul without a trial, he could have been executed. Second, if a prisoner at his trial claimed falsely to be a Roman citizen, that person could be put to death. This is how highly Roman citizenship was prized at this time in history and why the issue of Paul’s credentials as a Roman is very much at the fore in the discussion. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 335)
If a person claimed Roman citizenship falsely and was later discovered to have lied, the penalty was death. So if Paul said he was a Roman citizen, it was no doubt true. The officer assumed Paul could prove it. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 372)
It is interesting to note that Paul did not press the subject of his Roman citizenship when he was before the angry mob of his fellow Jews. That would have been cowardice and not courage. Before the Jews, he wanted to communicate that as a Hebrew he had believed in Jesus Christ and had become His loyal and obedient apostle. Now about to be scourged, he used the powerful weapon of his Roman citizenship. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 312)
Claudius boasted, indicating that he had gotten his citizenship by bribing the Roman officials, for it could not be actually purchased. But Paul was ahead of the Roman captain, for he had been born into freedom and Roman citizenship, thanks to his father. How Paul’s father obtained his freedom, we do not know. We do know that Paul knew how to make use of his Roman citizenship for the cause of Christ. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 393)
Today, we, too, need to remember who we were, who we would be without Christ: “There but for the grace of God go I.” Can we, like Paul, announce that we are transformed people? If so, do we follow Paul’s example in giving appropriate credit to God and His grace? As Paul told the Corinthian believers, “By the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Cor. 15:10). (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Location, 4342)
The truth that God cares about the Gentiles is clear in the Old Testament (e.g., Gen. 12:3; Isa. 11:10; 42:4). But Roman oppression had blinded the minds of this generation of Jews. Gentiles in their eyes were dogs, scavengers. Consequently, in their prejudice, they began crying out again for Paul’s death. He was violating what they had wrongly come to consider as the purity and integrity of the Jewish people. (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Location 8221)
Paul’s entire time in Jerusalem was one filled with serious misunderstandings, but he pressed on. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 394)
There were times when Paul was ready to stand on his dignity; but it was never for his own sake. He knew his task was not yet done; gladly he would one day die for Christ but he was too wise a man to throw his life away just yet. (William Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles, 163)
Paul saw no value in added suffering. (Remember that Paul was still smarting from a beating received that very day; see 21:31-32.) In this situation, he claimed his rights as a Roman citizen: Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty? (22:25). The answer was an obvious “no.” (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Location, 4366)
[Paul] was suggesting that the Gentiles could be saved and made right with God without first subscribing to the law and submitting to Jewish circumcision. In effect, Paul was claiming divine approval for the idea that Jews and Gentiles could have equal standing before God. This message collided head-on with the blindness, pride, and prejudice of the Jews. The results were explosive. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 377)
By his own testimony (see 16:22-23; 2 Corinthians 11:24-25), Paul had been beaten with rods and had even received, on several occasions, the Jewish “thirty-nine lashes.” The scourging proposed here by commander Lysias was different. This was the same kind of flogging that Jesus had been subjected to just before his crucifixion. Using a short leather whip imbedded with bits of bone and metal, a Roman solider would rip away the flesh of his victim with each blow. If this punishment didn’t kill or permanently maim the recipient, it took months or even years to recover. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 378)
The tossing of outer garments and the throwing of dust was the oriental way of expressing their abhorrence and total rejection of Paul’s person. Perhaps it also suggested their desire to stone him. In his rejection Paul had become one with Jesus and His witness, Stephen. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 256)
29 That Paul was a citizen put the situation in a different light (cf. 16:37-39). Examination under torture, while suitable for ordinary men in the empire, had to be abandoned, and some other way of determining the nature of the charge had to be found. Undoubtedly the commander shuddered as he realized how close he had come to perpetrating a serious offense against a Roman citizen. (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 529)
29 The revelation of Paul’s Roman citizenship gave the whole business a different aspect. Rough-and-ready methods which might be all right for ordinary mortals must be avoided when the person affected was a Roman citizen. The tribune shuddered as he realized how near he had come to perpetrating a serious illegality; indeed, he had already begun to perpetrate it by giving the order for Paul to be flogged; but at least the flogging itself had been arrested. He was now responsible to his own superiors for the protection of this Roman citizen; he must therefore set up a formal inquiry in order to ascertain the true cause of the disturbance. (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 442)
In Acts 23:26 Luke tells us that the commander’s name was Claudius Lysias, a fact that explains the purchase of his citizenship. During the reign of Claudius, Roman citizenship was sold for great sums. It was customary for these new citizens to adopt the name of the reigning emperor. Now we can understand why the commander exclaimed, in essence, “I know how much it cost me to buy my citizenship!” (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 313)
Paul was a Roman citizen because his father, though a Hebrew, was a citizen and the Apostle had inherited the status he now used so strategically. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 313)
What is the role of the state? In the Western world, we have fanciful ideas of what we think the state should do for us today. But the role of the state as the Bible speaks about it is just two-fold. The state exists: (1) to establish, maintain, and assure justice; and (2) to provide for the defense of its citizens. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 373)
The problem today is that we look to the state for things the state was never intended to do. And the state, perhaps in part as a result of its mistaken attempt to do these other things, sometimes neglects the two things for which it is chiefly responsible. We have entered into a time in American history when people want the state to provide them with security. They expect the state to care for them from the cradle to the grave. But the state was never meant to do that. As a matter of fact, when we are talking about the care of people, this care is a duty God has given to his people, the church, and to families, which have a moral obligation to care for their own members. This is not something the state should do. Nor can the state do it well, even if it tries. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 373)