6. Found them not. Alert friends had probably smuggled Paul and Silas out of the house and were hiding them until they could be safely moved out of Thessalonica ( 10). When balked of their hoped-for prey, the rioters seized local victims, but dealt more legally with them.
Drew. surÅÂ, “to drag,” or “to draw.” In 8:3 the word is used of Saul’s “haling” men and women to prison.
Certain brethren. These brethren are unnamed, but by no means unnoticed.
Rulers of the city. politarchai, from polis (“city”) and archÅÂn (“ruler”). In known literature the word appears to have been used only by Luke, but archeology has shown that he used it accurately. Nineteen inscriptions have been discovered in which the word politarchÃâs is used. In the majority of cases the reference is to magistrates in Macedonian cities, and five inscriptions actually refer to Thessalonica, so Luke’s detailed accuracy is confirmed. He correctly described the officials in Philippi, a Roman colony, as stratÃâgoi (see on 16:20); but Thessalonica was a free Macedonian city, and its non-Roman magistrates, of which there were five or six at this time, were known officially as politarchai. It was before these officials that Jason and his friends were now haled.
Turned the world upside down. Or, “stirred the world up,” as also in Acts 21:38; Gal. 5:12. For comment on the word “world” ( oikoumenÃâ) see on Matt. 24:14; Luke 2:1. Similar charges of trouble-making were brought against Elijah (1 Kings 18:17), and against the Christians of the 3d century (Tertullian Apology 40; Ad Nationes 9). Similar accusations will be brought against God’s people in the last days (GC 614, 615).
In the present case the charge was doubtless exaggerated in the heat of the moment, but its import was serious. The Romans took pride in their Pax Romana (“Roman Peace”), and were ready to deal severely with those who disturbed it. But no matter how overstated the accusation may have been, it shows that the missionaries’ reputation for gaining converts had preceded them to Thessalonica, and testifies to the rapid spread of Christianity.