Why Did Paul Claim Roman Citizenship?

UNDERSTANDING THE SCRIPTURES

We resume our excursion through the Book of Acts, here again are Dave and Tom: This is our Understanding the Scriptures segment, we’re in the Book of Acts. We’re in Acts Chapter 22, and we’ll pick up with Verse 25. “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.” And, “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.”

Dave:

These guys got a little problem now.

Tom:

They do.

Dave:

They think that Paul is just some kind of riff-raff, rabble rouser, and these people, they’ve got a riot on their hands, they’re trying to calm it. So they’re going to lay on Paul with a cat-o-nine-tails and get him to tell them the truth. He says, Wait a minute guys, I have some rights, I am a Roman citizen, and what you’re doing is not allowable. Now Tom, it’s kind of a bit of a lesson because on the one hand Jesus said, Turn the other cheek, but we have to understand what that really means, as well. In other words, it’s not revenge on my part, I’m not out to avenge myself, Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. But that’s not what this is a case of, this is a case of, people are breaking the law. It’s bad enough to get beaten for the name of Christ, but guys, don’t be beating me for this, because you’re breaking the law. Remember in Philippi, back in Chapter 16, Paul again stands up to the rulers, magistrates, because after they have beaten him and they got their feet in the stocks, lying on their backs in the horrible filth of that prison cell, and they’re singing hymns and the prison door flies open, and so forth. Then word comes from the magistrates: Oh, let these men go! Paul says, Wait a minute. If they want to tell us that we are free now, let them come themselves and tell us. So there are times you stand up for your rights. I remember when we were traveling in the Soviet Union, I mean, this is in the Iron Curtain days, and maybe bringing some Bibles, or whatever, in. It was quiet an experience. They could be just vicious against Americans, and you had to stand up to them. For example, they took all my stuff on one occasion, emptied my briefcase, took everything out at the boarder with Finland. Then they bring it back. There was some gospel tapes in there. Now I had a real struggle about this. I’d be happy to let them keep them, but I don’t know what they are going to do with those gospel tapes. They’re going to confiscate them or, then if I don’t demand them—because I’m going through everything, so I said, Hey, whoop, wait a minute, we’ve got some tapes that are missing, I want those back, too. See, I was afraid that if I didn’t do that, then it’s a sign of weakness and then that starts—the things begin to get worse. So, I found that I had to stand up to the Soviets, and this is what Paul is doing, and he has a right to do it.

Tom:

Yeah. And I think for our listeners, myself, I’m thinking about this as well. I don’t want this to be license for me to let pride get in the way or be haughty or—again, in my own flesh do something that could create some problems.

Dave:

On the other hand it’s not right that the wicked should just trample on the godly. And yet, when you are in a Muslim country you don’t have any choice. They have no laws, they’re not law abiding, they don’t go by the rules. Their only rule is, you know, either confess there is no God but Allah, Muhammad is his prophet, or we kill you. So, all I’m saying, Tom, is, it’s an example of some discretion that we can and need to use when it seems appropriate.

Tom:

Dave, obviously the chief captain, now he bought his Roman citizenship, I guess you could do that in those days. But Paul answers, No, I was born a Roman citizen.

Dave:

Yeah, and he’s demanding his rights.

Tom:

Verse 29: “Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him. On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.”

Dave:

So Tom, he’s still a prisoner but he shouldn’t have been bound hand and foot like you do when you are going to scourge them, but he’s still in custody. And, it’s interesting, later on he’s going to send the letter and he’s going to tell how, When I perceived that he was a Roman citizen then I rescuedhim. No, that’s not quite the way it happened. But—

Tom:

Right. But, it’s indicative of how we treat ourselves, isn’t it? We’re always going to put the best face forward and make ourselves look good even when we’ve blown it.

Dave:

Right. So Tom, we’re heading into an interesting part here where, you remember, they had to take Paul from Jerusalem with soldiers and horsemen and so forth and get him out of there fast because there were forty men who had sworn they would never, they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul, and I wonder what happened to them, I guess they—

Tom:

We know what happened to them, Dave, all of a sudden they came up with a rationalization, something—Well, what we were thinking about was this condition or that condition, and so on. These guys didn’t starve themselves to death, no way!

Dave:

Yeah, I don’t think so. So, here he is, he is in custody and now we’re going to give the priests, the counsel, an opportunity to come and state their accusations. So that’s where we begin Chapter 23.

Tom:

Right. “And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?”

Dave:

Well Tom, this is one of my favorite passages because there are many places where the Bible challenges us to know the facts. Let me read the next verse. “…them that stood by said, Revilest thou God’s high priest?” And then we have a strange statement from Paul. “Then said Paul, I wist not,”—or I didn’t realize, “brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.” Now I have asked many Christians, Do you see a problem here? We’ve got a real problem. Well I can tell you I’ve got stacks—files of what the atheists have said.

Tom:

Mmhmm. It looks like Paul is a bit clueless here, I mean shouldn’t he know what’s going on?

Dave:

Well, he’s come to Damascus, he went to Damascus with authority from the high priest, and he knew these people. And now you’ve got the high priest sitting there in his robes, and Paul says: Oh, Sorry guys, I didn’t realize that was a high priest. What is he, a stranger? Well, Tom, that would be a tough one for us to figure out, except Josephus comes to our rescue.

Tom:

Josephus the historian.

Dave:

Right, Jewish historian, and he explains that Ananias had been deposed from his office of the high priest for misconduct. His successor had been murdered and Ananias had unlawfully taken that position again and Paul is saying: Oh, guy’s a high priest—Well, I didn’t realize that! He’s being a little bit facetious.

Tom:

And sarcastic.

Dave:

And sarcastic, right. It’s one of these things that the Bible has allowed to be in there so that we can establish the validity of scripture. You couldn’t have written this a hundred years later, two hundred years later. You wouldn’t have been able to put something like that in there. But this is what actually happened and it is another one of those absolute proofs that the Bible is God’s Word. It’s not written after the fact by some person who made up this story, this is actual history, and Paul, I love Paul, he’s got some spunk. He’s standing up for what is right—God will smite you, you whited wall—you sit there to command me to be smitten, judging me according to the law and commanding me to be smitten contrary to the law—God will smite you, you whited wall. Well Tom, maybe some times there is an occasion when we need to speak up like that.

Gary:

Dave and Tom will continue their discussion on the topic of salvation next week, we hope you can join us. This is Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call. Israel, Islam and Armageddon, the new video by Dave Hunt, is now available from The Berean Call. Is the stage being set for the grand finale? Jerusalem, mentioned an astonishing 800 times in the Bible is prophesied to play the key role in world destiny.Scores of Biblical prophecies concerning Jerusalem have already come to pass, as will those yet to be fulfilled. Discover exciting insight into what will transpire in the days to come. Israel, Islam, and Armageddon shows how the current peace process is froth with peril and will ultimately lead to Armageddon, how the Antichrist will lead the world’s armies to destroy Israel, the truth about the Vatican’s intentions, and the Palestinian myth. Video host, lecturer and author Dave Hunt: We tell the truth about Arafat, who he is, about the PLO what that is, about the so-called Palestinian people, where even the word Palestine that is commonly used today comes from. I think we clear up a lot of misunderstandings.

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Next week, we continue our series of programs based on Dave Hunt’s book, Yoga and the Body of Christ, What Position Should Christians Hold? And, what is the Kundalini spirit? In Religion in the News, Psychiatrists and Religion, we’ll take a look at that story and address the question: Will the Mahdi be the Antichrist? We hope you can tune in. If you have questions or comments about this program we urge you to contact our offices. Search the Scriptures Daily Radio Ministry is made possible by God’s grace, your prayers, and your financial support. I’m Gary Carmichael, and for Dave, Tom and everyone here at The Berean Call, I would like to thank you for joining us, and invite you to tune in again next week. Until then, if you desire to know God’s truth, search the scriptures daily.