Day 34: Acts 22:22-23:11  

Paul gets into trouble again (Surprise! Surprise!) with yet another crowd turning on him, this time in Jerusalem. “Then they raised their voices and shouted, ‘Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!’” (v. 22). Before they could take matters into their own hands though, the Roman Commander comes to his rescue.

He then orders Paul to be flogged and interrogated—in that particular order. The flogging would make him more open to tell the truth when he was interrogated. That was Roman logic for you.

What happens next is rather unexpected: As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?” When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.” The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I am,” he answered…Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains. (vs. 25-27, 29).

As we know from previous chapters, Paul is not exactly allergic to suffering. Nor is he immune to it. He had experienced his fair share of persecution along the way. Most of the time he would just take it lying down, so to speak. Yet, in this instance and also in Philippi (Acts 16:37-39), he pulls out the trump card of Roman citizenship that prevents them from laying a hand on him.

What is going on here?

Fast forward to chapter 23:6-8, when Paul is facing the Sanhedrin. “Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.)

Let’s be clear about one fact. The leadership of the Jews was clearly opposed to Paul and wanted to stop him from spreading the message of the gospel. Yet, before they could come at him unanimously, Paul comes up with a strategy to split them down the middle by blatantly siding with one of the two groups. Now there is a brouhaha within the Sanhedrin between the Pharisees and the Sadducees which prevents them from doing anything to Paul.

What is Paul doing here?

Sandwiched between these two episodes…in Acts 23:1, Paul makes what seems to be an innocuous statement: “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.”  The response to it is shocking: At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.

Paul’s response is rather harsh, wouldn’t you say? “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!”

When he discovers that he has just insulted the High Priest, Paul repents instantly: “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’”

What is this incident all about?

Remember these words of Jesus from Matthew 10:16? “Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves?” Paul illustrates this advice perfectly in today’s reading.

By apologizing immediately when he realized that he had violated Exodus 22:28 (“Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people”), Paul maintains his innocence before God.

By using his Roman citizenship to his advantage and by causing a split in the Sanhedrin, Paul demonstrates the need to be wise as serpents.

The same Holy Spirit who directed Paul to act with wisdom and stay innocent will do the same for us as well. Amen?