Atti 22:28 Commento

In the close of the foregoing chapter we had Paul bound, according to Agabus's prophecy of the hard usage he should receive from the Jews at Jerusalem, yet he had his tongue set at liberty, by the permission the chief captain gave him to speak for himself; and so intent he is upon using that liberty of speech which is allowed him, to the honour of Christ and the service of his interest, that he forgets the bonds he is in, makes no mention of them, but speaks of the great things Christ had done for him with as much ease and cheerfulness as if nothing had been done to ruffle him or put him into disorder. We have here, I. His address to the people, and their attention to it (Act 22:1, Act 22:2). II. The account he gives of himself. 1. What a bigoted Jew he had been in the beginning of his time (Act 22:3-5). 2. How he was miraculously converted and brought over to the faith of Christ (Act 22:6-11). 3. How he was confirmed and baptized by the ministry of Ananias (Act 22:12-16). 4. How he was afterwards called, by an immediate warrant from heaven, to be the apostle of the Gentiles (Act 22:17-21). III. The interruption given him upon this by the rabble, who could not bear to hear any thing said in favour of the Gentiles, and the violent passion they flew into upon it (Act 22:22, Act 22:23). IV. Paul's second rescue out of the hands of the rabble, and the further course which the chief captain took to find out the true reason of this mighty clamour against Paul (Act 22:24, Act 22:25). V. Paul's pleading his privilege as a Roman citizen, by which he was exempted from this barbarous method of inquisition (Act 22:26-29). VI. The chief captain's removing the cause into the high priest's court, and Paul's appearing there (Act 22:30).

Men, brethren, and fathers,.... A common form of address used by the Jews; see Act 7:2 but that the apostle should introduce his speech to these people in this manner, after they had treated him so inhumanly, as to drag him out of the temple, and beat him so unmercifully, is remarkable, and worthy of observation, when they scarcely deserved the name of "men"; and yet he not only gives them this, but calls them "brethren", they being his countrymen and kinsmen according to the flesh; and fathers, there being some among them, who might be men in years, and even members of the sanhedrim, and elders of the people, that were now got among the crowd: this shows how ready the apostle was to put up with affronts, and to forgive injuries done him: hear ye my defence, which I make now unto you; in opposition to the charges brought against him, of speaking ill of the people of the Jews, the law of Moses, and of the temple, and in order to clear himself of these imputations, and vindicate his character and conduct.

On the morrow,.... The next day; so that Paul was kept in the castle all night: because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews; which, as yet, he could not come at, some saying one thing, and some another; and which he ought to have known before he had bound him, and ordered him to be scourged: he loosed him from his bands not from his being bound with thongs to the pillar, that he had been loosed from before, but from the two chains with which he was bound, and held by two soldiers; see Act 21:33. and commanded the chief priests, and all the council to appear, the whole Jewish sanhedrim, which was now very much under the direction and influence of the Romans: and this he the rather did, because, though he could not come at the certainty of the charge and accusation, he perceived it was a matter of religion, and so belonged to them to examine and judge of: and brought Paul down; from the Castle of Antonia, into the temple, and to the place where the sanhedrim sat, which formerly was in the chamber Gazith, but of late years it had removed from place to place, and indeed from Jerusalem itself, and was now at Jabneh; only this was the time of Pentecost, and so the chief priests and sanhedrim were at Jerusalem on that account: and set him before them; or "among them"; in the midst of them, to answer to what charges should be brought against him. Next: Acts Chapter 23

Let it suffice to the martyr to have purged his own sins: it is the part of ingratitude or of pride to lavish upon others also what one has obtained at a high price. Who has redeemed another's death by his own, but the Son of God alone? For even in His very passion He set the robber free.

"When the centurion heard that, he went and told the tribune, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman. Then the tribune came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea. And the tribune answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born. Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the tribune also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him." "But I," he says, "was free born." So then his father also was a Roman. What then comes of this? He bound him, and brought him down to the Jews. And the chief captain was afraid, after he learnt that he was a Roman. Why then it was no falsehood.

But how is it possible to be both from Tarsus and a Roman? Hear then the Philippians, when they dragged Paul and Silas before the rulers into the marketplace, since the Pythoness' slave-girl was released, what do they say? that "These men are disturbing our city, being Jews, and proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to practice, being Romans." (Acts 16:20-21) Do you see the Philippians calling themselves Romans? Therefore nothing prevents Paul from being both from Tarsus and a Roman. For since it seemed a thing of honor to be called a Roman, and he who was called by this name was thought to acquire something more than others in terms of glory, many people, both collectively by cities and some individually, were eager to acquire this title for themselves. And while each was named after his native land, whichever it happened to be, indicating the place that bore him, he was also called a Roman, ascribing this title to himself as a mark of dignity. Therefore, at any rate, Paul also, when they were about to dishonor and strike him, brought forward this name, seeking to strike them with fear and to check them in their daring act. But they say: Let these things be so. How is it possible for Paul to have been born both in Tarsus and in Rome? For it has been shown to be in no way impossible to have been born in Tarsus and yet be called a Roman, having acquired this title for himself by way of some honor. And that he was also born in Tarsus and in Rome, how is that possible? And where does Paul say that he was born in Rome? "Yes," he says. For when the centurion said, "I bought this citizenship with much money," Paul says, "I was born a citizen." And what does this mean? For he did not say, I was born in Rome, but he indicates it from what follows. For when the centurion mentioned not Rome, but the Roman citizenship, he added, "I was born a citizen." Not in Rome (for the centurion did not say that he had acquired a great sum), but in the Roman state and honor, just as he said he acquired. How then was he born in the Roman state, if he was not born in Rome? Because when his father acquired this honor, and by it being revered and celebrated, he himself was born to him. Therefore when he says, "I was born a citizen," he means: He has recently obtained the honor himself, having acquired it, while I bear the paternal glory and have shared in it. For this reason he says, "I was born a citizen." And in another way. Paul was not lying in calling himself a Roman, although being a Jew, as he himself said a little earlier. For from Hadrian it happened that all were Romans. For those who were therefore esteemed to be called had then great privilege. He says these things so that, if he had been whipped, he would not become despised. For if they had scourged him, they would also have urged the matter and would have killed him. But now even if not for another reason, yet for this one not only did they not scourge him, but they also released him. Paul therefore asserts that his father was a Roman. For before Paul was born, Cilicia having become subject to the Romans, it was necessary that he too, being under them, be a Roman.

I have obtained this citizenship for a great sum of money. Another edition indicates more clearly what he had said. The tribune said: Do you say so easily that you are a Roman citizen? For I know at what price I obtained this citizenship.

And Paul said: But I was born so. That is, in this I am more of a Roman than you because I did not buy the Roman name elsewhere, but I was born in their city.

I acquired this city with a great sum of money. In Greek, for city it has πολιτείαν: which signifies rather civil society, that is, social interaction among citizens, or the administration of the republic, than city. For the tribune had not bought the Roman citizenship he possessed, but the partnership of the Roman commonwealth of which he was a participant. But Paul was even more a Roman citizen, because he had this not by purchase, but by birth.

"But Paul said: and I was born in it." Look: his father too was a Roman. Before Paul was born, Cilicia had already come under Roman rule, and therefore his father, as one who had come under their authority, necessarily had to be a Roman. Paul, according to the prophecy, was bound in Jerusalem, and the prophetic word was fulfilled. What happens next? The tribune unties Paul and brings him before the Jews. So it is no lie that he is a Roman, because the tribune was afraid that he was a Roman, that is, a man of noble birth.

Paul, in his address to the people, gives an account of his birth and education, Act 21:1-3. His prejudices against Christianity, Act 21:4, Act 21:5. And of his miraculous conversion, and call to the apostleship, vv. 6-21. The Jews, hearing him say that God had sent him to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, become exceedingly outrageous, and clamor for his life, Act 21:22, Act 21:23. The chief captain orders him to be examined by scourging; but he, pleading his privilege as a Roman citizen, escapes the torture, Act 21:24-29. The next day the chief captain brings Paul before the chief priests and their council, Act 21:30.

With a great sum obtained I this freedom - So it appears that the freedom, even of Rome, might be purchased, and that it was sold at a very high price. But I was free born - It has been generally believed that the inhabitants of Tarsus, born in that city, had the same rights and privileges as Roman citizens, in consequence of a charter or grant from Julius Caesar. Calmet disputes this, because Tarsus was a free not a colonial city; and he supposes that Paul's father might have been rewarded with the freedom of Rome for some military services, and that it was in consequence of this that Paul was horn free. But that the city of Tarsus had such privileges appears extremely probable. In Act 21:39, Paul says he was born at Tarsus in Cilicia, and in Act 22:28, he says he was free born; and, at Act 22:26, he calls himself a Roman; as he does also Act 16:37. From whence it has been concluded, with every show of reason, that Tarsus, though no Roman colony, yet had this privilege granted to it, that its natives should be citizens of Rome. Pliny, in Hist. Nat. lib. Act 16:27, tells us that Tarsus was a free city. And Appian, De Bello Civil. lib. v. p. 1077, edit. Tollii, says that Antony, Ταρσεας ελευθερους ηφιει, και ατελεις φορων, made the people of Tarsus free, and discharged them from paying tribute. Dio Cassius, lib. xlvii. p. 508, edit. Reimar, farther tells us, Adeo Caesari priori, et ejus gratia etiam posteriori, favebant Tarsenses, ut urbem suam pro Tarso Juliopolin vocaverint: "that, for the affection which the people of Tarsus bore to Julius Caesar, and afterwards to Augustus, the former caused their city to be called Juliopolis." The Greek text is as follows: - οὑτω προσφιλως τῳ Καισαρι προτερῳ, και δι' εκεινον τῳ δευτερῳ, οἱ Ταρσεις ειχον, ὡϚε και Ιουλιοπολιν σφας απ' αυτου μετονομασαι. To which I add, that Philo, de Virt. vol. ii. p. 587, edit. Mang., makes Agrippa say to Caligula, φιλων ενιων πατριδας ὁλας της Ῥωμαΐκης ηξιωσας πολιτειας· You have made whole countries, to which your friends belong, to be citizens of Rome. See the note on Act 21:39. These testimonies are of weight sufficient to show that Paul, by being born at Tarsus, might have been free born, and a Roman. See Bishop Pearce on Act 16:37.

PAUL'S DEFENSE FROM THE STAIRS OF THE FORTRESS--THE RAGE OF THE AUDIENCE BURSTING FORTH, THE COMMANDANT HAS HIM BROUGHT INTO THE FORT TO BE EXAMINED BY SCOURGING, BUT LEARNING THAT HE IS A ROMAN, HE ORDERS HIS RELEASE AND COMMANDS THE SAMHEDRIM TO TRY HIM. (Acts 22:1-30) when they heard . . . the Hebrew tongue--(See on Act 21:40). they kept the more silence--They could have understood him in Greek, and doubtless fully expected the renegade to address them in that language, but the sound of their holy mother tongue awed them into deeper silence.

With a great sum obtained I this freedom--Roman citizenship was bought and sold in the reign of Claudius, we know, at a high price: at a subsequent date, for next to nothing. But to put in a false claim to this privilege was a capital crime. I was free born--born to it, by purchase, or in reward of services, on the part of his father or some ancestor.