Bible Study series: Acts 22:22-30. He said something that triggered the mob. The Romans had to rescue him.
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At the link to the original post, next, I write more commentary and dig a little deeper into the Greek. I also offer a section titled Observations for Discipleship at the end. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided in the commentary section for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Acts 22:22-30
22 They were listening up to that word, and raised their voices, saying, “Away with such a man from the earth! He is not fit to live!” 23 They were shouting and flinging their robes and throwing dust up in the air.
24 The commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, saying to examine him by the whip, so that he would know the cause of why they were shouting at him in this way. 25 As they were stretching him out with straps, Paul said to the centurion standing by, “Is it permitted you to flog a Roman man without a guilty verdict?” 26 When the centurion heard that, he went to the commander and announced, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.”
27 The commander approached and said to him, “Tell me. Are you Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 And the commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a lot of money.” Paul said, “I was born one.” 29 Instantly then those who were stretching him out backed away. And the commander was afraid, finding out that he was Roman and had chained him.
30 The next day, intending to find out exactly why he was accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the high council to gather and brought Paul down and stood him before them. (Acts 22:22-30)
Comments:
22-24:
“that word”: the word Gentiles. He was (falsely) accused of bringing a Gentile into the holy place of the temple, and the whipped-up crowd of extra-devout fanatical Jews reacted to this word.
They were either tearing off their clothes or flinging them, according to the Greek word. Both are true. They tore and flung them. It was a scene of religious fanaticism.
Remember that Paul was speaking in Hebrew, and the Roman commander understood not a word of it. He must have been shocked when the crowd, so peaceful and quiet before, turned fanatical with shouts and physical displays. So naturally he wanted to get the truth out of Paul. But how? Examining someone by the ferocious whip—not the rods—is based on the unjust theory that someone would not tell the truth unless it was beaten out of him.
25:
Paul’s question, rather than a flat statement (“it is unjust to whip a Roman citizen with a guilty verdict!”), is amusing, though the lived-out scene for him was not amusing at all. I have heard from Messianic Jews that they grew up in households that asked questions.
But more important than that historical tidbit, don’t be afraid to claim your rights. Sometimes extra-devout Christians say Christians don’t have rights. Just surrender. But Paul would disagree.
Bruce points out that if the scourge was going to be the flagellum, it may have killed crippled him because it consisted of leather thongs weighted with rough pieces of metal or bone (comment on v. 24). Fortunately, he was a Roman citizen, so he was legal exempt.
26-29:
It was a fearful thing for the authorities if they were to chain and flog a Roman citizen without a trial and guilty verdict. In this case the commander had chained him and almost flogged him.
“backed away”: suddenly the soldiers about to carry out the order to flog Paul treated him as if he were radioactive. Very amusing image to see them back off—but again not amusing for Paul at the time! It was a relief for him.
“The area was probably the Gabbatha, a stone pavement in the fortress that also served as a central courtyard. Williams (1990: 38) notes that Jesus was probably scourged here as well” (comments on vv. 25-29). Paul had persecuted the followers of Jesus and ordering them whipped, and Jesus told him that Saul was persecuting him—Jesus. Now Paul was about to be flogged where Jesus was. The irony!
The Roman commander told Paul that he had paid a lot of money for his Roman citizenship. Bruce teaches us that he bribed intermediaries in the imperial secretariat of the provincial administration to put his list of names in the list of candidates for enfranchisement (comment on vv. 26-28). The commander’s name was Claudius, so he got his citizenship under the emperor of that name, who ruled from AD 41-54.
30:
“high council”: this is the Sanhedrin or Jewish supreme court, which I translate as high council in other passages. They did not have the power of death or execution, for this was reserved to Roman jurisdiction, except when someone violated the sanctity of the temple. In that case even a Roman citizen could be put to death by the Sanhedrin (Acts 21:28), if the people had not already stoned him to death before then.
Jews had lots of rights in their own country, but the Roman commander would not allow a Roman citizen to suffer unjustly. So he ordered armed guards to escort and be in the courtroom, to protect Paul.
Pronouns “he”: Paul was accused; and the commander released him.
I like Bock’s summary of the entire passage:
One danger of a longtime practice or belief that has established itself as a tradition is that it can undercut the faith that it is supposed to support. The unwillingness of Paul’s opponents to consider how God’s recent activity relates to God’s promise and program has made them unwilling and unable to respond to a hope designed for them. This is tradition gone bad. It created blindness and stubbornness, a deadly combination. (p. 665)
GrowApp for Acts 22:22-30
1. Paul appealed to his civil rights—his rights as a citizen. Have your heard about some hero who appealed to his or her civil rights?
2. How does he or she inspire you? Or maybe you have done this. If so, tell your story.
RELATED
The Historical Reliability of the Book of Acts
Book of Acts and Paul’s Epistles: Match Made in Heaven?
SOURCES
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