PAUL' S ROMAN CITIZENSHIP

Acts 22:24-28 The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him. And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned? When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman. Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea. And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.

After Paul had delivered his defense before the mob of Jewish zealots, the multitude lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live (Vs. 22). It seems that Paul's Jewish audience came to its angry, riotous peak when he told them that he was chosen by Jesus Christ to take God's message of salvation unto the Gentiles (Vs. 21). It was at this point that they refused to hear any more of Paul's defensive testimony, which resulted in a demonstration of their anger: they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air (Vs. 23).

Responding to the actions of the riotous mob, the chief captain had Paul brought into the castle and ordered Paul beaten so he would confess the reason the Jewish mob had hatred for him and demanded such severe civil punishment because of his actions and teaching. Having been bound by Roman guardsmen and threatened with scourging, Paul asked the centurion in charge, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned? Indeed, the Romans had such a law. It prohibited any chastisement or condemnation of any Roman citizen without hearing him speak in his defense, and without due deliberation of his entire defense. Undeniable evidence of wrongdoing must be proven before punishment could be administered to a citizen of the Roman Empire.

When told by the centurion that Paul was a Roman citizen, and in order that he hear it for himself, the chief captain asked Paul, Tell me, art thou a Roman? Paul answered, Yea. The chief captain then told Paul that he received his Roman citizenship by purchasing it with a great sum (of money). Paul replied, But I was free-born. There is much debate on how Paul was a free-born citizen of Rome. Some bible scholars are of the opinion that Paul gained his citizenship because his father was a Roman citizen. Others gave another reason, which seems more plausible. Tarsus, the city in which Paul was born, although not a Roman colony, had been decreed a free city of the Roman Empire by a former ruler, possibly Augustus Caesar. In either instance Paul, although a Jew by nationality, was a Roman citizen by birthright having all the rights available to its "free-city" citizens under Roman law.

This being established, the government officials immediately ceased any civil actions that would result in Paul being beaten, since such punishments specifically violated Roman law. The fact that they had bound him was also a violation of the law, which caused the chief captain to fear for his own life because of abusive acts to Paul, as a Roman citizen (See Vs. 29).

The last verse of this chapter tells us that on the day following the events noted above, the chief captain of the Roman guard still could not understand why the Jews became a riotous mob, and without intervention they would have put Paul to death. This abusive act by the Jewish mob against Paul would have violated the Roman law under which they lived. After being restrained by the Roman officials, the Jewish mob demanded that governmental officials punish the apostle Paul, even requesting that he be put to death. Naturally the chief captain desired to know why he was accused of the Jews. In order to solve this dilemma he first had the chains, which bound Paul, removed leaving him unrestrained. Secondly the chief captain commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear. Undoubtedly, this council was the Jewish governmental tribunal - The Sanhedrin. It is evident that this Roman official thought the condemnation of Paul was concerning a violation of their religious law. Therefore the chief captain wanted to hear the Jewish leaders explain the charges and accusations that the people had brought against Paul, so he brought Paul down, and set him before them.