16 June. Paul and Silas are accused of treason at Thessalonica
"Paul went into the synagogue [at Thessalonica] as he always did, and on each Sabbath day for three weeks he talked with the Jews about the [Jewish] Scriptures. He explained and proved that the Christ [the Jewish Messiah] must die and then rise from the dead."
"He said, 'This Jesus I am telling you about is the Christ [the Messiah].' Some of the Jews were convinced and joined Paul and Silas, along with many of the Greeks who worshipped God and many of the important women."
"But the Jews became jealous. So they got some evil men from the market-place, formed a mob and started a riot. They ran to Jason's house, looking for Paul and Silas, wanting to bring them out to the people. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers to the leaders of the city."
"The people were yelling, 'These people have made trouble everywhere in the world, and now they have come here too! Jason is keeping them in his house. All of them do things against the laws of Caesar [the Roman emperor], saying there is another king called Jesus.'"
"When the people and the leaders of the city heard these things, they became very upset. They made Jason and the others put up a sum of money [as a bond to keep the peace]. Then they let the believers go free."
(Acts 17:1-9)
On reaching Thessalonica, Paul and Silas preached in the Jewish synagogue on three consecutive Sabbaths. They explained how the Jewish Scriptures pointed to the coming of the Jewish Messiah who would die and rise again to life - and that Jesus was indeed the promised 'Christ' - the 'Messiah' - the 'anointed one' of God. Many believed, but some of the Jews become jealous of Paul's success.
These Jews rounded up the idle scoundrels from the agora and caused a riot. They rushed to the home of Jason – one of the believers with whom Paul was staying – and dragged him before the Roman magistrates.
The mob accused Paul and the new believers of anti-Roman activity tantamount to treason - saying they were serving another king called Jesus.
While the magistrates "became very upset", they also realised that there was absolutely no evidence of treason or subversion, and set Jason and the other believers free, while they retained a bail bond to ensure that they kept the peace.
The believers were concerned for Paul and Silas's safety, so they arranged for them to escape from Thessalonica that night under cover of darkness.
The photo shows the Roman odeion - a small theatre - alongside the Roman agora (the market-place) in Thessalonica.
You can read more about Thessaloniki - the second largest city in modern-day Greece - @ https://www.thebiblejourney.org/…/10-…/paul-in-thessalonica/