Acts 22:22-30. The mob that had been trying to kill Paul has quieted and listened to him speak, but when he says that the Lord appeared to him and told him he would be sent to the Gentiles, they lose their patience. They now cry out that Paul should not be allowed to live. They wave their garments and throw dust in the air. The tribune orders Paul to be taken into the barracks, examined, and scourged in order to find out what the crowd is so upset about, but when he learns Paul is a Roman citizen, he is afraid and the soldiers withdraw from Paul. Still wanting to learn what is going on, the next day the tribune orders the Jewish chief priests and elders to meet and he brings Paul before them.

The tribune heard everything that Paul said to the crowd, and he saw the crowd's reaction. He must have understood that it was the crowd that was being unreasonable, not Paul. The thing that apparently set them off was Paul saying that he had a vision in which Christ told him he was to be sent far away to preach the Gentiles. Certainly, the tribune could see that there is nothing in this that is grounds for rioting and Paul's death. Yet when the crowd begins becoming unruly again, the tribune orders Paul to be scourged! So now it is the tribune that is acting unreasonably. I would understand having Paul held and questioned, since the crowd is not going to explain itself, but the scourging is completely unnecessary. The tribune can see and hear that Paul is a reasonable man -  why not just talk to him?

I think the tribune is feeling confusion and fear because he truly does not understand what is happening and he has no idea how to regain control. The ordered scourging, then, is him lashing out in his confusion (pun intended!🙂). It is the tribune taking out his fear on Paul - making Paul a scapegoat. Fortunately, Paul announces his Roman citizenship and protects himself (something, notably, that Christ could have done to save Himself from crucifixion but didn't - Joseph had to be counted in the census, which means that he was a Roman citizen, and he passed that citizenship on to his son.)

Lately, many people are becoming scapegoats to satisfy the raging confusion and anger of the citizenry. This is happening more and more to people of faith, as the beliefs of the culture become more and more opposed to those of our faith.  When we find ourselves in this situation, we should remember that we are citizens of the kingdom of God. This will not bring us the same protection as Roman citizenship did for Paul, but, whether we end up being "scourged" or not, we know who we are and what we believe - we are not confused. And we can and should pray for our persecutors in their confusion - "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."