22 Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.” 23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, saying that he should be examined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this. 25 But when they had stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” 27 So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” 29 So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him. (ESV)

They listened to Paul up to the point where he mentioned his special calling to the Gentiles. That certainly added fuel to the fire of their prejudices, which stemmed from a fundamental misunderstanding of their own Scriptures.

Flogging was one of the worst forms of punishment the Romans had in their armoury, after crucifixion itself. Many a person did not survive the harsh beating, administered with a whip that had bits of metal or bone attached to the end. It was so awful that Romans were exempted from it. It was a punishment for the rest, but it was illegal to flog a Roman citizen. The mind boggles at the ruthlessness of the Romans, that they could consider treating Paul like this when they didn’t know for sure what he had done. Anyway, the tribune didn’t reckon on Paul being a Roman citizen. But he was – by birth – so his father must have been a Roman citizen also. This piece of information changed everything. Here was another occasion where Paul judiciously made use of his Roman citizenship. He was not unwilling to suffer for the gospel, but this would have been needless (see Acts 16:35ff).

Tom Hale’s comments are wise, helpful, and possibly timely. He writes:

‘We can see from Paul’s example that when trouble comes to us it is proper for us to use any reasonable and legal means to escape from that trouble. If we are innocent of some alleged wrongdoing, we need to say so; we need to defend ourselves. We should use all legal means to avoid punishment for crimes we did not commit. Christians in this world have the same legal rights as anyone else, and it is appropriate to claim those rights in a humble and respectful way. However, Christians must remember that they must not put their faith in any legal system but in God alone. Even if we do not obtain justice from men, we shall always obtain justice from God (see 1 Peter 2:19-23…)’