John Calvin Commentary Acts 22:25

"And when they had tied him up with the thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?" — Acts 22:25 (ASV)

Is it lawful? He alleges first the privilege of the city, then he defends himself by common law. And although there was more weight in the second point (namely, that it is not lawful to scourge a man before his case is heard), yet he would have achieved nothing unless the centurion had been more moved by the honor of the Roman Empire.

For nothing was then considered more grave than to do anything contrary to the liberty of the Roman people. Valerius’s law, the law of Porcius, and the law of Sempronius, and similar statutes, forbade doing any violence to the person of a Roman citizen without an order from the people. This privilege was so secure and sacred that they considered it not only a deadly offense but also an offense that could not be atoned for, for a Roman citizen to be beaten.

Therefore, Paul escaped more by this privilege than by common justice; yet, in a just cause, he did not hesitate to ward off the injury intended for him with this shield of his citizenship. We must understand that he asserted the right and privilege of the city in such a way that the chief captain was brought to believe him, because his words would not have been believed unless he had offered some proof.

Moreover, it was not a difficult matter for a man who was well-known to produce witnesses. We explained in the sixteenth chapter why he allowed himself to be scourged at Philippi (Acts 16:37)—an ordeal he now forestalls by his own declaration—namely, because he would not have been heard in a tumult raised among the common people. But because he now has to deal with Roman soldiers, who behaved more moderately and seriously, he uses the opportunity.