Acts 22-24

When Paul is mobbed at the temple he is arrested and carried off to be interrogated (read "beat up"). Paul states that he is a Roman citizen (22:25). The commanding officer of the Jerusalem detachment questioned Paul regarding this (22:27). I am curious why this Roman commander thought he could not get the truth about the Jewish commotion without beating it out of Paul and yet he takes the prisoner's word regarding his citizenship? We could readily dismiss this reaction as an act of God's providence, which would not be without scriptural precedent. But I wonder if there were somethIng more to it. Was it the authority in Paul's voice? Was there a growing suspicion that every "criminal" identified by the Jews was not guilty of a Roman "crime"? Scripture does not reveal the answer, so we will never know. Yet this incident does show that God honors those who speak the truth.
Stuart