Acts 22:22-29 - Prayer Isn't Always the Right Answer
When God has already given you what you need, you don't need to ask for more.
SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF... Paul addressed the mob that surrounded him near the temple in Jerusalem, telling them of his dramatic conversion experience and how he was commissioned to bring the gospel to the Gentiles.
Acts 22:22–29 (NASB95)
22 They [the mob] listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live!”
23 And as they were crying out and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air, 24 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. 25 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?”
26 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.”
27 The commander came and said to Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman?”
And he said, “Yes.”
28 The commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.”
And Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.”
29 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.
Canons of Dordt
Point III/IV, Article 17: God’s Use of Means in Regeneration
Just as the almighty work of God by which he brings forth and sustains our natural life does not rule out but requires the use of means..., the supernatural work of God by which he regenerates us in no way rules out or cancels the use of the gospel...
For this reason, the apostles and the teachers who followed them taught the people in a godly manner about this grace of God, to give him the glory and to humble all pride, and yet did not neglect meanwhile to keep the people, by means of the holy admonitions of the gospel, under the administration of the Word, the sacraments, and discipline [the ordinary means of grace].
So even today it is out of the question that the teachers or those taught in the church should presume to test God by separating what he in his good pleasure has wished to be closely joined together [His supernatural power and ordinary means]...
To God alone, both for the means and for their saving fruit and effectiveness, all glory is owed forever. Amen.
Summary
The opening scene to today's episode is one we've seen over and over in the book of Acts - an evangelist, cornered by a crowd which can't stand what they're hearing. Interestingly in this case, the Jerusalem crowd that had been stirred into a swirled frenzy actually respectfully listened to Paul up to his final statement, but they lost it when he described himself as sent by the Messaih far away to the Gentiles (v21).
Luke describes the chaos that ensued. They raised their voices, yelling for Paul to be removed from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live. They cried out, threw off their cloaks and tossed dust into the air. There is never room for reason, logic, tolerance or understanding in a riotous mob. Keep this in mind the next time you see one on the news - or even ganging up in the comment section on the web.
So the Roman authorities stepped in. The confused commander likely couldn't understand any of Paul's speech to the mob since it would have been spoken in Aramaic, so he shifted the speech to one of the few universal languages that all people know: compulsion by torture. He ordered Paul to be examined by scourging.
"The scourge (Lat. flagellum), an instrument of Roman inquisition and punishment, consisted of leather thongs studded with pieces of metal or bone and fastened to a wooden handle. Its use often crippled for life and sometimes killed." (source)
Dig Deeper
What's really interesting in this passage is how Paul gets himself out of this jamb. Notice that he doesn't do the one thing that we might have expected him to do in a dire situation - he doesn't pray (at least explicitly). Now it's not at all that Paul's not a proponent of prayer! After all, he'll go on to encourage the Thessalonians to pray continually!
But not every predicament in life affords the opportunity for formal, hands folded and heads bowed prayer - especially not the predicament Paul found himself in as they stretched him out with thongs. There are times when God expects you to act, not just to pray - to use the resources God has abundantly provided, rather than to beg for an extraordinary miracle from above.
And so Paul used what he had available, which as it turned out was quite significant. He pulled his citizenship card, which provided him with certain inalienable rights - not the least of which was a prohibition against being tortured. The same Paul who reminded the Philippians that our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20), now fully leans into his citizenship in Rome - a citizenship he was born into.
It's good for you to have an instinct to approach every problem and challenge in prayer. But it's not wrong for you to immediately rely on the resources that God's already given you to solve it. Living with a mindset of continual prayer - albeit, often not formal prayer - will help you be ready to recognize and rely on the resources God has given you to meet the challenges you'll continually face.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who always gives us what we need, when we need it;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you'll have an attitude of continual prayer so that you'll better recognize the ordinary resources God has given you to meet the challenges you face;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
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