ACC ~ Acts 22 v29

GOD WORKS THROUGH HUMAN WAYS. CHRYSOSTOM: He would have earned contempt had he been scourged. But as it is, [Paul] throws them into greater fear. If they had scourged him, they could have dismissed the matter or even killed him. But as it is, the result is not so. See how God permits many results to occur through human ways, both in the case of the apostles and with the rest of humankind. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 48.