22:23,24
The Roman commander was desperate to avoid a riot, which would definitely have been a black mark against him. He then directed that Paul be flogged. This was a common practice amongst the Romans, and was aimed to get the truth out of the victim. The commander wanted to know why the presence and words of Paul were causing such a commotion.
22:25-29
As they were just about to begin the flogging (which would have been of a particularly severe kind), Paul told them that he was a Roman citizen. Under Roman law floggings were limited to non-Roman citizens. This immediately changed the whole situation, for the commander would not want to be found to have flogged a Roman citizen. He was surprised to find that Paul was a Roman citizen, especially that Paul was born a Roman. Roman citizenship was something to be greatly prized. The flogging was immediately called off.
22:30
The commander still wanted to know why there was such a commotion over Paul. He knew it was the Sanhedrin, the Jewish leaders, who were the root of the problem. So he arranged to have Paul and the Sanhedrin and chief priests to meet together so he could get to the bottom of the matter. This would take place in a controlled environment, so as to avoid any riots!
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