WHERE IS JUSTICE?
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Opening Prayer
Father, thank you for your steadfast love that holds me fast, for your great power that keeps me secure, and for your faithfulness that sustains me.
Read ACTS 22:22–29
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Paul the Roman Citizen
22 The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!”
23 As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. 25 As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?”
26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.”
27 The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”
“Yes, I am,” he answered.
28 Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.”
“But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.
29 Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘Almighty God, by whom kings reign and princes decree justice, and from whom alone cometh all counsel, wisdom and understanding … send down the heavenly wisdom from above.’1
The power dynamics in this passage are fascinating. The Jews use the power of the mob against Paul. The Romans are quite willing to put down mobs with extreme brutal force, but it is clear here that they want to keep the people happy, or at least peaceful. The power of the mob robs Paul of his audience for the gospel, as well as his freedom, and it threatens his physical welfare. That is frightening. Paul is helpless against the mob’s anger, but he has rights as a Roman citizen to secure justice for himself. It is then the Roman commander’s turn to be alarmed at the potential consequences of abusing a Roman citizen. It is horrifying how normal it was for the authorities to abuse those who did not have citizen’s rights, as is clear from Paul’s initial treatment.
Paul’s knowledge of justice and citizen’s rights is a good example to us. We know only too well from daily news how often power is abused, on a domestic, national, and international scale. Some of us will have experienced threats to our freedom and security because of the gospel, but even if we haven’t personally, it’s true for our brothers and sisters around the world. It is a vital part of our family responsibility to pray against persecution and injustice. We also need to seek justice, to do justice, and to speak out for the abused and vulnerable. So many in our society do not have the power that Paul had here when his safety was threatened. How can we be with them and for them so that justice is done?
Apply
Call to mind an injustice you are aware of: seek God, the lover of the poor, persecuted, and oppressed, asking that he extend mercy and bring justice.
Closing prayer
Lord, direct my path to seek justice in my community and steward well what power I have to bring justice for the weak.
1 William Barclay, ‘Prayer of the House of Commons’, in A Barclay Prayer Book (Westminster John Knox Press, 2003).
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