Church History: Date: A.D. 49-52
The Jews made use of certain lewd immoral people, who they picked up and gathered together, to give the sense that the city was against the apostles. All of the wise and sensible people looked upon them with respect, and valued them. The only ones who spoke out against them were those of lesser values, a company of vile men that were given to all manner of wickedness. Tertullian pleads this with those that opposed Christianity, that the enemies of it were generally the worst of men. It is the honor of religion that those who hate it are generally those that are lost to all sense of justice and virtue.
They set the city in an uproar, made enough noise to frighten people, and then everybody ran to see what the problem was; they started a riot in the city. Notice that the troublemakers of Christianity are, not the faithful preachers of the gospel, but the enemies of it. See how the devil carries on his designs; he sets cities in an uproar, sets souls in an uproar, and then fishes in troubled waters.
They assaulted the house of Jason, where the apostles resided, with a design to bring them out to the people, whom they had incensed and enraged against them, and by whom they hoped to see them pulled to pieces. They illegally searched Jason's house. It should have been done by the proper officers, and not without a warrant: "A man's house," the law says, "is his castle," and for them in a tumultuous manner to assault a man's house, to put him and his family in fear, showed to what outrages men are carried by a spirit of persecution. If a man has offended someone, magistrates are appointed to enquire into the offence and to make judgment of it; but to become judge, jury and executioner (as these Jews designed to do) was un just. They did this in order to make the verdict whatever they wanted it to be.
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