Healing Is a Part of Redemption
112
Friend, this is symbolic of devils. This is symbolic of the devil’s hierarchy—principalities,
powers, rulers. When the enemy comes and starts doing something to you, you say, “Whoa! Not
in my house you don’t! No! No, you don’t! Is it legal, devil, for you to come in here and do
this?” And immediately these lower-level demons have to say, “What? Ask the boss devil. They
say it’s illegal… ” These lower-levels are pretty dumb and they say, “He said we can’t kill them
with cancer.”
He asks, “Why?”
“He says he is a citizen of heaven, and we can’t do it.”
“Whoa! Time out! Wait. We don’t want to cross God. Whoa! Go ask big devil.”
So the centurion went in and told the chief captain, “You better watch what you’re doing because
this man is a Roman. You better watch out what you’re about to do.”
The chief captain got out from behind his desk, came around to the courtyard where Paul was
still in shackles, and said, “Hey, what’s up?”
What if Paul hadn’t spoken up? What if he hadn’t said anything?
The chief captain said, “They tell me you’re a Roman. Is that true?”
Don’t you think Paul was glad he could say, “Yes, that’s right. Yes, I am a Roman citizen.”
The captain said, “With a great sum I obtained this freedom.” In those days, you could be born to
citizens and you would have citizenship—a lot like it is today. That was Paul’s case. Or, you
could do some great exploit in the military, and Caesar could award you citizenship. Or, if you
had enough money and knew the right people, you could buy it. Some things never change. If
you knew the right campaigns to contribute to...
He said, “It cost me a lot of money to get my citizenship.”
Paul said, “I understand that, but I was born this way. I was born free. I was born into this. I
didn’t earn it, and I didn’t buy it. I was born into this.”
Verse 29 continues, “Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined
him,” that’s the word for torture, “and the chief captain also was afraid…” What a turn! They’re
treating him like dirt, and they’re tying him to the post. The chief captain didn’t even stay out
there. He went inside to get something cold to drink. They’re going to beat Paul into a pulp. But
now, the head man is scared because he knew that Paul was a Roman, and because he had tied
him up.
Did you get the picture when he looked up from there and said, “I was born this way. I was born
free. That’s why I have all these rights. That’s why I am protected. I was born into this.”
