The crowd that wanted to kill Paul begin to cry out,  to throw off their clothes, and throw dust in the air.  These sound like the actions of a mob, not the actions of God's people.  The chief captain ordered Paul to be brought into the castle and be examined by scourging.  In other words, he was to be whipped to get answers that he had already given.  The chief captain was trying to maintain order no matter the truth or the cost to maintain the peace.  Too often people today are willing to compromise the truth in order to maintain peace, especially if a large group is creating problems.  Still, no matter how large or wild the group gets, we can never compromise the truth of the gospel to maintain peace with the world.  Paul then asked a simple question in Acts 22:25.  As they were binding him to scourge him, he asked, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?"  Sometimes, our best course of action is to simply remind people of who we are.  Paul was not a Egyptian as some had said, nor was he just a Jew.  He was a Roman citizen and had certain rights.  We should not be ashamed to claim the rights our citizenship brings us.  Even if an angry mob threatens us, we are still endowed with certain rights, and we should make the most of them.  The chief captain asked Paul if he was a Roman and Paul answered yes.  The chief captain said he had purchased his freedom with a great price, but Paul said he was born free.  Those who were to examine Paul immediately left, and the chief captain was afraid, because he had bound a Roman.  God sent the ideal person into this situation, a man who was a Jewish Christian and a Roman.  When God sends us to a particular place, we can be sure He has sent the best person for the task.