“Tell me, art thou a Roman?”
The full verse · Acts 22:27 · KJV
the chief , and unto , , a ? He , .
Asked by
Roman Commander: the chief captain (the ESV's "tribune") who had ordered Paul examined by scourging, later named as Claudius Lysias (Acts 22:24; Acts 23:26)
Asked to
Paul: the apostle, bound with thongs inside the castle, who had just asked whether it was lawful to scourge an uncondemned Roman (Acts 22:25)
The Scene
Inside the castle, the centurion has just warned the chief captain, "Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman," so the captain comes to Paul in person (Acts 22:26-27).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionThe chief captain needed to hear it from Paul himself. If Paul was a Roman, the captain had already broken the law by binding him (Acts 22:29). His short question, "Tell me," asks for a plain yes or no. Matthew Henry says the chief captain "was surprised at this, and put into a fright." Earlier he had taken Paul for an Egyptian rebel (Acts 21:38); now he had to reckon with the possibility that his prisoner held the same rights he did.
The Response
What Scripture recordsPaul answered in one word: "Yea" (Acts 22:27). The captain replied, "With a great sum obtained I this freedom," and Paul said, "But I was free born" (Acts 22:28). At once those who were to examine him "departed from him," and the chief captain "was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him" (Acts 22:29). The next day he loosed Paul and brought him before the council (Acts 22:30).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsRoman citizenship carried legal protection. Barnes explains that it "was directly contrary to the Roman law, to bind and scourge a Roman citizen." Gill names the Porcian and Valerian laws, which forbade beating a citizen and condemning one without a hearing.
Citizenship could be gained in different ways. The chief captain had bought his "with a great sum" (Acts 22:28). Paul had his by birth. The text does not say how Paul's family received it. Gill, writing on Acts 21:39, notes of Paul's hometown Tarsus that "Pliny calls it a free city," but Scripture itself does not explain Paul's citizenship. Paul had already told the captain he was "a citizen of no mean city" (Acts 21:39).
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyIn a few verses the chief captain goes from treating Paul as a suspect to fearing what he had done (Acts 22:29). The prisoner turns out to outrank him in one respect: Paul was born to what the captain had to buy. Through all of it, God is keeping Paul safe for the work ahead.
The night after Paul stood before the council, the Lord stood by him and said, "Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome" (Acts 23:11). Paul's Roman citizenship, which the captain confirmed with this question, became one of the means God used to bring him there (Acts 25:11-12).
Look Closer
Why did the chief captain become afraid after Paul's answer?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Father, You were guarding Paul even in chains; how are You watching over me in the places where I feel powerless?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- Paul answered with one honest word. When is a short, truthful answer better than a long defense?
- Share a time you discovered later that God had been protecting you in a situation that looked out of control.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Paul's answer was simple: "Yea." He didn't boast or threaten. He told the truth and let it do its work. When your rights or your integrity are questioned, a calm, honest answer is often your strongest response.
This scene also shows that God can work through ordinary things like laws, paperwork, and officials. Here He protected Paul through the citizenship Paul was born with.
This doesn't mean status is what makes you safe. Paul's real confidence came from the Lord who stood by him (Acts 23:11). Use what you have been given, but put your trust in Him.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?”
“Art not thou that Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers?”
“May I speak unto thee? Canst thou speak Greek?”
“Hast thou appealed unto Caesar?”