And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.
Roman citizenship could be obtained by paying a large sum, as the chief captain did, but Paul's was inherited, for he was free-born. He held that citizenship from birth because his father was a man of reputation, a Cilician who himself held Roman citizenship. His declaration that he was free-born stopped the preparations to scourge him, because as a Roman citizen he could not be punished without legal condemnation nor be scourged in that manner.
The privileges of his free-born citizenship protected him from degrading violence at the hands of unbelievers. In the events connected with his case, Roman officials protected him and recognized that his accusers had not proved his guilt, in contrast to Jewish tribunals that condemned him without proof. His citizenship gave him special legal privileges that enabled him to appeal to Caesar and thus avoid being handed over to the Jewish authorities.
Because he was a Roman citizen he could not be tortured, so he was sentenced to be beheaded. His citizen privileges, together with his Hebrew education at the feet of Gamaliel at Jerusalem and his advanced education in literary science, could not bring him to the highest standard and left him in complete darkness until Christ was revealed to him. To convict and convert sinners his intellectual development had to be sanctified by the Holy Spirit and empowered from a higher source.
Roman citizenship could be obtained by paying a large sum, as the chief captain did, but Paul's was inherited, for he was free-born. He held that citizenship from birth because his father was a man of reputation, a Cilician who himself held Roman citizenship. His declaration that he was free-born stopped the preparations to scourge him, because as a Roman citizen he could not be punished without legal condemnation nor be scourged in that manner.
The privileges of his free-born citizenship protected him from degrading violence at the hands of unbelievers. In the events connected with his case, Roman officials protected him and recognized that his accusers had not proved his guilt, in contrast to Jewish tribunals that condemned him without proof. His citizenship gave him special legal privileges that enabled him to appeal to Caesar and thus avoid being handed over to the Jewish authorities.
Because he was a Roman citizen he could not be tortured, so he was sentenced to be beheaded. His citizen privileges, together with his Hebrew education at the feet of Gamaliel at Jerusalem and his advanced education in literary science, could not bring him to the highest standard and left him in complete darkness until Christ was revealed to him. To convict and convert sinners his intellectual development had to be sanctified by the Holy Spirit and empowered from a higher source.