Acts 22:24 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.

NIV: the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this.

NASB: the commander ordered that he be brought into the barracks, saying that he was to be interrogated by flogging so that he would find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way.

CSB: the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, directing that he be interrogated with the scourge to discover the reason they were shouting against him like this.

NLT: The commander brought Paul inside and ordered him lashed with whips to make him confess his crime. He wanted to find out why the crowd had become so furious.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be examined under scourging, so that he might know why they shouted so against him.

It was the responsibility of the governor of Judea and Samaria to maintain peace in Jerusalem. That was no easy task, especially when the governor spent most of his time in his headquarters in Caesarea Maritima. The work fell to the 600 soldiers barracked in the Antonia Fortress. The barracks were named after Mark Antony and rose from street-level to above the northwest corner of the temple mount. This gave the soldiers an excellent view of the temple and the surrounding courtyard which is presumably how they realized a mob was trying to rip a man limb from limb.

The man under assault was Paul. His attackers thought he had brought a Gentile in to the temple—a capital crime according to both the Mosaic and Roman laws. When the tribune heard of the commotion in the city, he took soldiers and ran down to the mob. The mob stopped beating Paul and the tribute arrested him, ordering his soldiers to chain Paul (Acts 21:27–35). The tribute then let Paul speak to the mob (Acts 21:37–40).

Either the tribune doesn't understand the nuances of why the mob would be upset that Paul associates with Gentiles—like himself—or he doesn't understand Aramaic. At the end of Paul's speech, which inflames the crowd even more, the tribune is still confused. He orders that Paul be flogged to get the truth out of him.

Some English versions use "commander" instead of "tribune." "Tribune" identifies a certain type of officer in the Roman army. He was typically less than thirty years old and served in administration and logistics. He could be called to lead military units in battle if needed. After a year, the tribune could go on to another position in the military or he could move on to political work. "Commander" is a position in the military: it means the person is in command of troops. A centurion, whom the tribune orders to flog Paul, was a career army officer in command of about 100 legionaries. Some translations consider the terms "tribune" and "centurion" linked enough to be the same.

In the noise and the heat of the moment, afraid the mob will turn riotous, the tribune has forgotten something that Paul told him: Paul is from Tarsus (Acts 21:39). Everyone born in Tarsus was automatically a Roman citizen. That means they could not be chained—as the tribune has already done (Acts 21:33)—or beaten without a fair trial. Fortunately for the tribune, Paul manages to stop the centurion before the flagellum lands its first strike (Acts 22:25).

Acts 22:23–30 describes how the Roman army tribune continues to seek understanding. A mob of Jews on the temple mount want Paul dead (Acts 21:27–40). The officer let Paul speak, hoping to uncover the cause, but Paul only managed to agitate the crowd more (Acts 22:1–22). Now, the tribune tries the traditional Roman way of uncovering the truth: flogging. Unfortunately, he missed the part where Paul is a Roman citizen. Even the chains on Paul's wrists are illegal. The next morning, the tribune will try one last tactic: the Sanhedrin. It doesn't end well (Acts 23:1–10).

In Acts 22, a young Roman military officer realizes he cannot control Jews who do not wish to be controlled. He has just rescued Paul from a crowd that largely doesn't know why they want to kill Paul. In hopes of gathering information, the tribune allows Paul to speak to the crowd. The crowd listens only briefly, then explodes again. The tribune tries flogging but is foiled by Paul's Roman citizenship. Finally, the tribune schedules a meeting with the Sanhedrin. It does not go well (Acts 23:1–10).

Paul came to Jerusalem to tell the church of his ministry's success with Gentiles. The leaders are more worried about a rumor that Paul no longer respects the Jewish law. Paul agrees to perform a very Jewish ritual, but in the process is falsely accused of bringing a Gentile into the temple. A mob assaults him, and the Roman tribune arrests him (Acts 21:17–36). The tribune tries to uncover the truth by letting Paul speak to the crowd, then almost flogging him (Acts 21:37—22). Next, he will bring Paul to the Sanhedrin, to no avail (Acts 23:1–10).

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.