Acts 22:30

Monday, 18 December 2023

The next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down and set him before them. Acts 22:30

A literal translation would be, “And the next day, desiring to know for certain why he is accused by the Jews, he loosed him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to assemble. And having brought down Paul, set him among them” (CG).

In the previous verse, the Roman soldiers withdrew from their plans to scourge Paul. Now, the words continue with, “And the next day.”

Without any delay, and certainly because Paul was a Roman, the commander acted. He surely didn’t want to keep Paul incarcerated if he had done nothing wrong. Continuing, it says he was “desiring to know for certain why he is accused by the Jews.”

This refers back to Acts 21:34, which occurred on the previous day –

“And some among the multitude cried one thing and some another.

So when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, he commanded him to be taken into the barracks.”

The circumstances following need to be carefully considered. If Paul was a Roman, then the commander would certainly have talked to him about what happened and asked about the situation. No charges had been filed against Paul that we are aware of. He was in the midst of a ruckus and was carried out of it. At this point, the commander just wants to know for certain why he was accused.

As he had not been able to satisfactorily determine what the Jews were in a tizzy about, and because he could not “examine” Paul through torture, he needed to set the record straight before he could take any further action. Therefore, “he loosed him.”

The word is luó. It means to loosen. Thus, he may have been bound, or he simply may have been in a cell from which he was released. Either way, once he was loosed, the commander “commanded the chief priests and all the council to assemble.”

A general meeting of the leadership was called. This probably would never have been needed if Paul was not a Roman. Instead, the scourging would have revealed what they needed to know. However, that could not take place, and so this meeting was necessary. There is still the consideration that if Paul was telling the truth in whatever they had discussed, he would still be open to attack and harm. Therefore, the verse and the chapter end with, “And having brought down Paul, set him among them.”

In order to both protect Paul and also to get the leaders to tell their side of the story, he had Paul escorted to them for all to openly work through the matter. The commander had made a giant mistake in his handling of Paul the previous day. He would not allow such an error to take place again. Therefore, Paul was to be carefully escorted and protected during the entire process.

Life application: The account of the Roman commander shows that cutting corners is not the best way to go about things. He was given the responsibility of maintaining the peace, but he was also given the responsibility of protecting the citizens of Rome from those among whom they dwelt.

It may have been unexpected to find a Jewish man in the middle of a ruckus to be a Roman citizen, but it was something he should have checked anyway. This is especially so because putting anyone through a scourging would be a serious matter. But to put a Roman citizen through that ordeal would be a life-changing ordeal for both of them.

He didn’t stop to check. Now he must make an extra effort to determine what he might have found out the day before without the additional grief. We can learn from this. When we have a matter that is set before us, the least we can do is think through what the outcome of being hasty may be. Small things can turn into big problems if we don’t consider how our decisions may adversely affect the result we are trying to obtain.

Go slow, think through your actions, and then act in a wise and prudent manner in the matters you are involved in. Be sure this is especially so when others may be negatively affected by what you do. Stop and pray about matters as well. James tells us that if we lack wisdom, we should ask of God, “who gives to all liberally and without reproach” (James 1:5).

Glorious Lord God, may the decisions we make and the actions we take be carefully considered before we act. Give us wisdom to not cause harm to others as we go through life. May we carefully think through the steps we take so that harmony will reign, and You will be glorified through the wise conduct of Your people. Amen.