He pointed out their Roman citizenship, that they had been beaten unfairly and publicly, and thus refused to be released secretly (Acts 16:37
). Fearing discipline from their own higher-ups on the matter, the magistrates were forced to give Paul and Silas an apology and personally release them from the prison (Acts 16:38–39). This apology and release would have been more or less a public “walk of shame” that admitted their wrongful treatment of the missionaries.
Paul cast a demon out of a fortune-telling Philippian girl who was being used by her owners for gain (Acts 16:16–18). Her owners thus accused Paul and Silas of 1) being Jews, 2) disturbing the city, and 3) promoting customs unlawful to Romans (Acts 16:19–21). Paul and Silas were sorely mistreated as a result (Acts 16:22–24). Interestingly, even though they were falsely accused (the owners’ real concern was their loss of income), Paul and Silas, both Roman citizens, did not bring attention to their Roman status in order to receive a fair trial and avoid being beaten. But Paul shamed their captors over the matter later (Acts 16:35–40). Why did Paul not speak up at first but only later point out his Roman citizenship?
