30 New Days - Day 17

The 17th  day of a 30 day devotional Bible Study by the Rev. Tracy A. Siegman, Senior Pastor FCC, Covington, KY.  Shared with her gracious permission.

If you read the suggested passage each day, by the end of 30 days you will have read the entire New Testament.

Day 17
30-day reading plan: Acts 22 – 28

Daily Verse: Acts 22: 27

The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I am,” he answered.

There were many privileges that Roman citizens were afforded. Roman citizens could vote, hold office, marry a Roman citizen, and make legal contracts. They were immune to some taxes. Legally, they had the right to a legal trial and the opportunity to appeal to be heard by Caesar. As punishment, citizens could not be tortured or whipped and could not receive the death penalty except in the matter of treason. Even if guilty of treason, a Roman citizen could not be sentenced to death by crucifixion.

Roman citizenship was not easy to obtain. One had to be born of parents who were citizens, pay a lot of money to obtain citizenship, or earn it through 25 years of military service. 

Paul became a Roman citizen at birth. Paul was born to a Jewish family, but was given citizenship because he was born to Roman citizens in the Roman city of Tarsus. Because of the privileges of his Roman citizenship, Paul was saved from being flogged once. Paul was not handed over to the Jewish authorities for trial, because he was a Roman citizen; therefore, he was subject to Roman courts, not Jewish courts. Jesus would not have endured His trial and suffering had He been a Roman citizen.

Eventually, Paul’s Roman citizenship did not spare his life. He chose the conviction of his faith to follow Christ over his comfort and privilege. Tradition says that Paul was tortured and beheaded under the persecution of Christians by the emperor Nero

Questions for reflection:
Does your Christian faith afford you certain privileges in America versus citizens of other faiths? Has there been a time when you were faced with a choice between your faith and your citizenship?