Acts 23:27-30

The commander put himself in the best light possible in view of the facts. He mentioned his "rescue" of Paul in the temple courtyard but did not say that he almost flogged Paul. New in this letter is the mention of Paul’s arrest by the Jews, evidently the Jewish temple police. Lysias wrote that he had rescued Paul because he knew that Paul was a Roman citizen, but the commander only learned of Paul’s Roman citizenship after he had arrested him (Acts 21:34; Acts 22:26-27). Of particular importance is the notice that in Lysias’ judgment Paul was not guilty of any crime (cf. John 18:38), but his case only involved disputes over Jewish theology (cf. Gallio in Acts 18:14-15). This was another judgment favoring not only Paul but Christianity by a Roman official that Luke carefully documented (cf. Acts 19:40; Acts 23:9; Acts 25:25; Acts 26:31-32). Every Roman magistrate before whom Paul appeared (Gallio, Lysias, Felix, and Festus) declared him innocent. Undoubtedly Claudius Lysias told the Jewish leaders to go to Caesarea after Paul had left Jerusalem.