But since they were crying out, it was necessary to find out from them, to ask them what they found suspicious in Paul's words; but the tribune simply caters to those in power and acts to please them, because he was not concerned with how to act more justly, but with how to calm their anger, even though it was unjust.
"Is it lawful for you to scourge a Roman citizen, and uncondemned?" Paul did not lie in saying that he was a Roman, because his father, for the sake of status, had purchased this title with money, since those deemed worthy of being called by this name enjoyed great honor. Paul says this so that, in the event of his punishment, they would not begin to treat him with contempt. If they had punished him, they would have given the matter a different turn and killed him; but now, though for no other reason than the very fact that he was a Roman, they not only did not punish him but also released him. Paul identifies two offenses in his punishment: one — that they wanted to punish him without a trial, and the other — that they wanted to punish a Roman citizen; and therefore he struck even greater fear into them.
"But Paul said: and I was born in it." Look: his father too was a Roman. Before Paul was born, Cilicia had already come under Roman rule, and therefore his father, as one who had come under their authority, necessarily had to be a Roman. Paul, according to the prophecy, was bound in Jerusalem, and the prophetic word was fulfilled. What happens next? The tribune unties Paul and brings him before the Jews. So it is no lie that he is a Roman, because the tribune was afraid that he was a Roman, that is, a man of noble birth.
Acts 22:30. The next day, wishing to know with certainty what the Jews were accusing him of, he released him from his bonds and commanded the chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin to assemble, and bringing Paul out, he set him before them.