The Crowd’s Reaction
The crowd listened until Paul said that word. Then they all began to shout, “Away with such a fellow! He isn’t fit to live!” They yelled, threw off their coats, and tossed handfuls of dust into the air.
Acts 22:22-23
Paul Discloses His Roman Citizenship
The commander brought Paul inside and ordered him lashed with whips to make him confess his crime. He wanted to find out why the crowd had become so furious. When they tied Paul down to lash him, Paul said to the officer standing there, “Is it legal for you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been tried?”
When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and asked, “What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen!”
So the commander went over and asked Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”
“Yes, I certainly am,” Paul replied.
“I am, too,” the commander muttered, “and it cost me plenty!”
Paul answered, “But I am a citizen by birth!”
The soldiers who were about to interrogate Paul quickly withdrew when they heard he was a Roman citizen, and the commander was frightened because he had ordered him bound and whipped.
Acts 22:24-29
Paul Before the High Council
The next day the commander ordered the leading priests into session with the Jewish high council. He wanted to find out what the trouble was all about, so he released Paul to have him stand before them. Gazing intently at the high council, Paul began: “Brothers, I have always lived before God with a clear conscience!”
Instantly Ananias the high priest commanded those close to Paul to slap him on the mouth. But Paul said to him, “God will slap you, you corrupt hypocrite! What kind of judge are you to break the law yourself by ordering me struck like that?” Those standing near Paul said to him, “Do you dare to insult God’s high priest?”
“I’m sorry, brothers. I didn’t realize he was the high priest,” Paul replied, “for the Scriptures say, ‘You must not speak evil of any of your rulers.’”
Paul realized that some members of the high council were Sadducees and some were Pharisees, so he shouted, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, as were my ancestors! And I am on trial because my hope is in the resurrection of the dead!” This divided the council—the Pharisees against the Sadducees— for the Sadducees say there is no resurrection or angels or spirits, but the Pharisees believe in all of these. So there was a great uproar. Some of the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees jumped up and began to argue forcefully. “We see nothing wrong with him,” they shouted. “Perhaps a spirit or an angel spoke to him.”
As the conflict grew more violent, the commander was afraid they would tear Paul apart. So he ordered his soldiers to go and rescue him by force and take him back to the fortress. That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, “Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well.”
Acts 22:30 – 23:11
Here is a collection of the readers’ questions or significant comments:
- Ian, the title to last Gems got me wondering: why was it that the Roman commander called the meeting of the Sanhedrin? And how was it that he could do that? I would have thought they were autonomous.
- “Until Paul said that word”, is the word really “Gentile”? That seems so ridiculous. And what does tore their garments and threw dust in the air signify? It seems a strange thing to do. I hope you comment on that.
- Why did the commander have Paul lashed with a whip? It seemed one minute that he was sympathetic then he wanted him lashed. I don’t understand.
- I am still puzzled as to why Paul didn’t disclose his Roman citizen when he was first escorted out of the temple area by the commander. Surely that would have been the best time to tell the commander he was a Roman citizen. It’s almost as though Paul was helping the Jews to persecute him. He told the officer freely who obviously told the commander. Why didn’t Paul just tell the commander himself?
- Why was the commander frightened that he had ordered Paul bound and whipped? Was that illegal or something?
- How could the Roman commander call the Sanhedrin together?
- Why did the High Priest order Paul to be slapped for saying that? What was wrong with saying, “Brothers, I have always lived before God with a clear conscience”?
- Wow that was pretty out there Ian for Paul to call the High Priest a corrupt hypocrite wasn’t it? He got a reaction didn’t he? Is that why he did it?
- I don’t understand how Paul didn’t recognise the High Priest. Hadn’t he been a part of the Sanhedrin before. Surely he would have recognised the High Priest? Wouldn’t he have recognise him by the clothes he wore? That bit puzzles me. Sorry for these dumb questions Ian. (Don’t worry, the same question came to my mind too.)
- Wow for the first time I have realised how much the Pharisees and the Sadducees didn’t like each other. Paul deliberately said that about the resurrection didn’t he? It was like he was stirring the pot. Amazing. Didn’t he fear for his life?
- Isn’t the issue about two things Ian? Jesus being Messiah and Paul going to the Gentiles? They are pretty major provocative things. How can these Pharisees and Sadducees get side tracked by trivial things to the point where they lose it? The court turned into chaos after this. Amazing how they could have lost it so easily. Care to comment?
- The scene that Luke describes here indicates to me how sensitive and on a knife edge the Jews were. Man it doesn’t take much to push them over the edge. Touchy touchy. (Please don’t attach my name to this).
I will start working my way through these questions in the next Gem. I have to confess sometimes I wonder why I allow you all to come up with questions. I am sure I could get through Acts a whole lot quicker if I didn’t. But I do like prompting you to ask questions because some of you come up with questions I haven’t thought of and I am pretty good at coming up with questions. Collectively you have got some good ones here. I am sure there are others of you who think, I don’t need to add my questions. I am sure the regular responders will cover the field.
It is interesting that this rejection by the Jews led ultimately to Paul’s appeal to Rome and his imprisonment there. This seems to be a clear line that Paul crosses over. One minute he claims his Jewish descent and the next minute he is claiming his Roman citizenship which ultimately takes him to Rome. Although Paul has stated earlier in Acts (just a few short chapters ago) that he was going to the Gentiles, he still hangs in there for the Jews. He is being true to the Romans 1:16 order – to the Jew first and then to the Greek (read Gentile). The letter to the Romans at the beginning of chapter 9 makes it clear that Paul stills feels deeply for his own people. Paul seems to have been willing to put up with an amazing amount of pain in order to reach his people the Jews. But now he has reached the point of claiming his Roman citizenship.
Something else that struck me while reading through this and waiting for your questions is the fact that the Roman Tribune or commander wasn’t any the wiser after Paul’s speech as to the reasons for all of this commotion. I think the reason was two-fold. He couldn’t understand Aramaic and he was not a religionist and so didn’t really understand the Jewish issues that were at stake here. Thus he was willing to interrogate Paul again by binding and flogging him. This was a legal Roman approach to get the person to confess. There were no parliamentary acts of habeas corpus yet at this time in history.
More to come. . .
Legality is not a guide for morality.
Ian Vail
Listen To Silence As Much As You Listen To Words.
Robb Thompson
In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.
Albert Einstein
“Be yourself” is terrible advice. Some people are terrible human beings. Rather evaluate yourself and work on improvement.
Rick Godwin
Never allow your pet peeves to cloud today’s priorities.
Ian Vail
Your why-power will fuel your willpower! Make sure you have a “why” behind every “what!
Rick Godwin