Truth By Torture

And as they were crying out and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air, the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, stating that he should be examined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way.  But when they stretched him out with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?"  When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, "What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman."  The commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" And he said, "Yes."  The commander answered, "I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money." And Paul said, "But I was actually born a citizen."  Therefore those who were about to examine him immediately let go of him; and the commander also was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had put him in chains. (Acts 22:23-29 NASB)

The Eighth Amendment of Constitution of the United States protects its citizens from cruel and unusual punishment.  Americans assume that the implied requirement of presumed innocence is constitutional, but even without the explicit wording, the idea is clearly assumed by the framers.  After two hundred years, we also sort of assume all this is universal.  It's not.

The treatment of Paul by the hands of the Romans seems really strange to American ears.  To be beaten by a mob, and then chained, dragged into the barracks and tortured just to find out what was causing the riot is crazy to us.  Yet in that day, it wasn't.  And in our day, it's not as crazy as we might assume.  What I think is really interesting here is the way Paul handles it; very calmly and without fuss.

Paul causes quite a stir in the barracks when he claims to be a citizen of Rome.  His claim is based on his birthplace, Tarsus of Cilicia.  So, while the citizenship had to be purchased with a large sum of money by the commander, Paul was born with it.  This citizenship guaranteed Paul certain legal rights that others did not have.  It may seem odd to think that of all the mob, it may have only been Paul who was a citizen.  We might know in our heads that Roman citizenship was not typical, but when considered in the setting, it might feel odd.

So Paul was protected by where he was born, something over which he had no control.  It may have factored into his thinking that he would be able to get to Rome one way or the other.  It may not have really occurred to him until about to be tortured.  But I tend to believe that Paul had his citizenship very much in mind as he journeyed to Jerusalem.  The Romans kept a very vigilant eye on that turbulent city.  Very little happened that the Romans didn't either know about, or control to a degree.  The threat of Roman violence was never far away.

It had to enter Paul's mind that he would fall into the hands of the Romans at some point, regardless of what the Jews did to him.  I believe it factored into his "plan" such as it was.  But that doesn't mean that Paul used it as an excuse to run amok among the Jews.  He tried to demonstrate his faithfulness to his people with the vow he joined, but the timing was off.  How could the complexities of Jewish relationships with Gentiles be explained to a Gentile? It would make little sense.  But that is what the mob riot was about.

The commander would have understood to a degree since he had felt the hatred of he and his men coming off the people over whom he watched. He had to know that he and his men were not only not welcome, but despised by those they watched.  Judea was an occupied nation, the Jews an occupied people, and they did not take to it well.  But there was more at work than simply Jewish hatred of Roman Gentiles.

The accusers of Paul hated him for teaching of Jesus when that teaching accepted Gentiles.  Jesus as the Jewish Messiah was just fine, that they liked, and as long as that was where he stopped, he was welcome in Synagogues.  But when this Christ became Lord of all alike, the trouble started.  And that is what would be difficult to describe to the commander, torture or no.  It would have seemed to be of such little account that no riot would have ensued from it.

What is it in my life that puzzles others?  What  keeps them from connecting the dots of my behavior and consequences?  Why is it that I do what I do, and why do the things that happen to me happen?  It's not always easy to point to the events of my life and explain that it is my Master bringing them about, nor is it easy to use my Master to explain my behavior.  Sometimes, when these things occur around church, it's easy.  But still, it sounds and looks like what I do is about church, not specifically my Master.

The key I need to find is how to make my life so much about my Master, that the connection is unmistakable.  It my still be confusing and odd, but it should be unmistakable.  Paul will eventually make this clear in his discourses to come.  But I never know if the commander ever get to see or hear that.  What about those in my neighborhood?  Will my life ever display an unmistakable connection to my Master?  Will the Jewish Messiah be seen as the explanation of the behavior and circumstances of this Gentile?  Only if, like Paul, I am crucified with Christ and I no longer live.  Only then will He begin to emerge from the depths of my life.  Now, where can I find some nails...and a hammer.

So, I Was On My Way To Damascus...

"But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?'  And I answered, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.' (Acts 22:6-8 NASB)

Paul had faced mobs all over Asia and Europe, and now, as he faces this one in Jerusalem, he gives his "defense" as he calls it.  We would call it a "testimony".  It's typically made up of what our lives were like before submitting to Jesus, how we did that, and then what our lives were like after.  He's giving what is probably a common story for him to tell.  He's done it in nearly every Synagogue from Judea through Greece.  Here he includes some local flavor, his return to Jerusalem and vision in the Temple, and so on.  But he never gets to finish.

As soon as he mentions God sending him far away to the Gentiles the mob starts up again.  The funny thing about this is that earlier, in Chapter 21, the commander couldn't get any consistent story from the crowd about what Paul had done to spark such a riot.  They seem pretty clear that it has to do with Gentiles, regardless of what other details they don't know.  What sparked the riot was the claim that Paul had brought Gentiles into the Temple by some Asian Jews.  That much seemed to be known by all or most.

The problem with Paul's testimony is that God includes Gentiles.  That's a real cultural and political problem for Jews.  Their survival has been based on being the Chosen People.  If God is also choosing Gentiles, then their standing before God is endangered, or so they think.  The problem is that they have turned a corner in their relationship with their Master.  They have "possessed" God rather than being possessed by Him.

This is a problem I see in my own life.  I am very skeptical of most religious ideas, practices, and people.  I've had these told to me all my life, only to find that the Scriptures weren't so pat and tidy.  The ideas, practices, and people of my religious youth were not always like what I read in Scripture for myself.  It tainted me, and I became cynical about church, religion, and practice.  I saw it segregating groups of people along racial lines, denominational line, social lines, and even educational lines.  It was not what I saw in Scripture, or at least what I saw was taught against, used as negative examples; what not to do.

But the problem was, I became my own "group".  One of the practices I saw and with which I should have disagreed I embraced instead.  I was proud of my viewpoint.  Those that differed in my view of Scripture I held in contempt.  I became those of whom I was cynical.  I became exclusive, not by telling others they couldn't be a part of "my group" but being rude to those who didn't.  My group was my group.  I missed out on being in my Master's group.

I think that I am in a much better place, theologically, than when I was raised, but all of us should be, and most are (if you think about it, even new adult believers are).  The other problem with these unscriptural viewpoints around which I was raised is that they were also exclusive.  The problem that the Jewish mob had that caused them to stop listening and throw cloaks and dust in the air, that was my problem too; and sadly still is sometimes.

Lately, in the last several years, I have intentionally chosen fringe and unpopular views of Scripture, all within the bounds of conservative Biblical views, but out there.  I know they are not all right, but I'm waiting for the discussion on the topic.  Because on the other side of it are a few things I really want.  One of the minor ones is clarity.  It's over rated with God, since He's Holy, but it's nice to gain a bit more clarity when possible.  Another one is perspective, which is something I can never gain on my own with just my own view through my knot-hole.  But two other important ones are the most often missed.  I gain fellowship with those involved in the discussion, and therefore with my Master who pulls us all together.

I have discovered that when I cast my cloak and throw dust, I'm pulling away from a relationship with my Master, and possibly some of His other servants.  Not every viewpoint is derived from Scripture, and not every viewpoint derived from Scripture handles Scripture correctly.  But with the bounds of rightly-handled Scripture there is much room for viewpoints and discussion.  If I can let go of my fear, pride, and resentment I'm pretty sure I can find a lot of fellow servants with whom to fellowship.