Acts 22:17-28

“Later, when I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the Temple, and I saw a vision. I saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem now! The people here will not accept the truth about me.’ But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in every synagogue I put the believers in jail and beat them. They also know I was there when Stephen, your witness, was killed. I stood there agreeing and holding the coats of those who were killing him!’ But the Lord said to me, ‘Leave now. I will send you far away to the other nations.’ ” The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they began shouting, “Get rid of him! He doesn’t deserve to live!” They shouted, threw off their coats, and threw dust into the air. Then the commander ordered the soldiers to take Paul into the army building and beat him. He wanted to make Paul tell why the people were shouting against him like this. But as the soldiers were tying him up, preparing to beat him, Paul said to an officer nearby, “Do you have the right to beat a Roman citizen who has not been proven guilty?” When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. The officer said, “Do you know what you are doing? This man is a Roman citizen.” The commander came to Paul and said, “Tell me, are you really a Roman citizen?” He answered, “Yes.” The commander said, “I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen.” But Paul said, “I was born a citizen.”