"Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their policemen, saying, 'Release those men.'  And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, 'The chief magistrates have sent to release you.  Now therefore, come out, and go in peace.'  But Paul said to them, 'They have beaten us in public without a trial, men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they sending us away secretly?  No indeed!  But let them come themselves and bring us out.'  And the policemen reported these words to the chief magistrates.  And they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans, and they came and appealed to them, and when they had brought them out, they kept begging them to leave the city.  And they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brethren, they encouraged them and departed."

Being a Roman citizen at this time allowed a man certain privileges:  Citizen's were allowed free access to all of the Roman civil services, including a trial.  Every Roman citizen was allowed the right to a trial if they were accused of any crime.  It was also forbidden for citizens to be beaten in public.

Paul and Silas had the law on their side.

Yet still they were submissive.  They still allowed themselves to be beaten without saying a word.

They allowed themselves imprisonment without raising their voice.

This is a learned response.  They learned it from Jesus.

We are sometimes so consumed with our own rights that we forget what submissive looks like.

Christ is our example.