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. Acts 17:5
Have you any idea of the amount of blood that is on the hands of the Roman Catholic church? This organization systematically murdered, and ordered murdered, millions of people during the middle ages. During this period of almost a thousand years, small groups of Christians would spring up in various areas that were under the jurisdiction of the Catholic church. These groups would gain access to the Bible, or portions of it, and many people would be saved. The Gospel would be clearly preached, and the Christians would gather in the simplicity described in the Scriptures. As these companies grew, they would come to the attention of the local Catholic officials, who would inform Rome. The pope would then authorize the extermination of those little groups of Christians. Usually, the local church officials would hand off the actual slaughter to local groups who they knew would have no qualms about the dirty work. Those local groups of killers gladly butchered the Christians, keeping the victims’ property and possessions as their pay. This happened over and over and over again during those dark centuries. You don’t read of this bloody work in the history books, because the records from which the history books were written were kept by the Roman Catholic church. The use of ‘certain lewd fellows of the baser sort’ continued long past the persecution in Thessalonica in our text. It continues today.
Just as with the medieval martyrs, the missionaries in our text were not engaged in anything but peacefully and scripturally preaching the Gospel and teaching the converts. They were hurting nobody; they were certainly not forcing their views on anyone unwilling to hear them. But they were offending those who held to false doctrine and those who wanted to hold onto their own little religious fiefdoms. These religious leaders turned to people they had no business dealing with, and they turned to illegal means of troublemaking. All that mattered was that they hold onto their turf and that those who disagreed with them were eliminated. We look at this situation, just as we look at the medieval martyrs, and we see how unjust and unfair it was. So why did God allow it to happen? And why does He allow it to happen today in many places in the world? And why will it happen in our part of the world when certain groups around us gain the power they are slowly gathering?
The God Who is in control of all things does not allow these things to happen without a reason. Certainly those who fall under persecution will be richly rewarded for eternity for their faithfulness. There is nothing unfair about that! Those who orchestrate and order the persecution will also be amply rewarded with the wrath they deserve. And so will the ‘certain lewd fellows of the baser sort’ who carry out the dirty work. The Judge of all the earth will surely do right! -Jim MacIntosh