²³And as they were crying out and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air, ²⁴the 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.

Protests, riots, police brutality—this sounds like a page from a present-day newspaper. The Romans were the most advanced society of the ancient world, yet they ruled with an iron fist all the nations and people they conquered. They built roads to connect faraway lands, and remnants of their magnificent remain today after two millennia. Aqueducts, colosseums, basilicas, statuary, forums—nothing else in the ancient world compared to the Roman advancements. The Roman domination began as a republic led by senators and continued as an empire under the first autocratic emperor, Caesar Augustus, who reigned during the early days of Jesus (27 B.C. to A.D. 14).

The Pax Romana (Latin for “Roman peace”) is traditionally dated from the beginning of Augustus’ reign and lasted for about two hundred years. This time period represents the pinnacle of Roman achievement and control. And Roman rule was iron-fisted. Their military was brutal in defeating and suppressing nations. Those who resisted were mercilessly defeated and their armies and civilians sold into slavery. As one can imagine, ruling over nations that did submit to Rome was a challenge, requiring military outposts scattered throughout the empire. In the gospels and Acts we see many references to the presence of the military in Israel with their centurions and commanders.

Such is the background to our passage in Acts. To a large extent, nations in the empire were allowed to administrate their own governmental affairs, so long as they paid their taxes and maintained the peace. But if they did not, the military would step in and take control, like police. For anyone who was not a Roman citizen, there was no legal path to appeal or redress. Israel was not a free state but was subjugated by Rome. Other places, like Tarsus in Asia Minor, were free cities, and those born there of free parents were automatically considered free people and Roman citizens.

Back to our story—the peace in Jerusalem was broken by the riotous crowd that had gone completely unhinged. The Roman commander, after assessing the situation, took Paul into custody. When the Romans wanted answers, they were free to use any means at their disposal. In this case, the commander ordered Paul tortured as a means to extract the truth of why he was being harassed.

Lord, I pray for my fellow believers who are being tortured for their faith.