General

1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:

2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and ° three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

3 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

4 And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

5 But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy °, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

Paul traveling from the north east on his second missionary journey, with the experience of the jail at Philipi just behind him found a synagogue of the Jews at Thessalonica. Verse 2 help us to know that he didn't go simply to enjoy the order of service. There, he reasoned or disputed with the Jews, from the writings of the Old Testament (the scriptures that were then available), for three Sabbaths in the synagogue showing (or alleging) that Jesus is the Messiah, Son of the living God.

Here, the fruits of Paul's labor was revealed in that, some believed. It cannot be understood from the word some that only a few of the people that heard the gospel believed, because Acts 17:4 tells us that a great multitude (a whold lot of people) of the non Jews and important women believed. However the suggested understanding, which the context gives, is that only a few of the Jews (those is the synagogue) believed.

The non-believing Jews did not stand idly by; rather, their kinetic jealousy was activated by the power the gospel message had on so many. Don't miss a point that is revealed in verse 5 - many who present the gospel message, and more specifically who the bible declares Jesus to be, may have a similar experience. This scripture text should prove to be a point of encouragement at that time. Point: these Jews befriended or confederated with (took unto them) men of degenerated character, formed a mob (gathered a company - see Strong's # 3792), caused an uproar, and vandalized the house where Paul and his friends were staying, in order to get Paul and his friends to come out of the house. When there efforts failed, they took Jason and others of his church brethren to court accusing them of disturbing the peace and breaking the law.

Those who today teach unpopular truths need not be discouraged if at times they meet with no more favorable reception, even from those who claim to be Christians, than did Paul and his fellow workers from the people among whom they labored. The messengers of the cross must arm themselves with watchfulness and prayer, and move forward with faith and courage, working always in the name of Jesus. They must exalt Christ as man's mediator in the heavenly sanctuary, the One in whom all the sacrifices of the Old Testament dispensation centered, and through whose atoning sacrifice the transgressors of God's law may find peace and pardon. {AA 230.2}

The evil actions of the non-believing Jews ended the work of Paul at Thessalonica in about three weeks.