Acts 22:24-30

And told them to whip him. Whether the Roman commander had understood a word Paul had said to the people (since it was in Hebrew), he could see from their actions that they considered him a dangerous man. It had long been a common practice to torture prisoners to make them tell the truth. The whip had bits of bone or stone tied in the ends of the thongs, and these would tear the flesh where they hit. Compare Matthew 27:26 and note. Paul said to the officer. It was illegal to whip a Roman citizen, or to torture him in any way. The name "Roman" was magic (compare Acts 16:38). Since the penalty was death for falsely claiming to be a Roman citizen, the officer immediately believes what Paul says. Are you a Roman citizen? The commander himself asks this. He says he paid a large sum of money to become a Roman. Paul, however, was born a Roman, which means his father had been a Roman citizen as well (compare note on Acts 6:9). Tarsus was a free city, which gave its citizens status. And the commander was afraid. He had broken the law by tying Paul with chains. So the next day. To find out just what this was all about, the Roman commander orders the whole Council to meet and takes Paul before them. Acts 23:10 implies that Paul faced the Council, not in any way as a prisoner, but as an equal.