A Study in First Thessaloinans. INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

The gospel first reached Europe around A.D. 49, as a result of Paul's second missionary tour. It was on this tour that Paul and his party responded to the night vision of the Macedonian man by sailing from Troas (site of the ancient city of Troy), via the Aegean island of Samothrace, to Neapolis--the port city of Philippi (Acts 16:8-12). Here the apostle met the business women Lydia, cast a spirit of divination out of a young female slave, was publicly beaten and wrongfully arrested as a result. On learning that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, the imperial authorities eagerly apologized, freed the apostles, and urged them to leave town. They did (Acts 16:13-40).

Traveling 144 kilometers southwesterly, Paul and Silas came to Thessalonica. This was an old city, it had been established many centuries earlier and was called Therma because of the hot springs that were there. At its beginning this was a small city. In about 315 B.C. a man by the name of Kasander who was one of the generals of Alexander the Great and who, when Alexander the Great died and his Grecian Empire was divided up among four of his generals, received this particular area in Asia Minor. Kasander decided to build a large city at ancient Therma and he called the city Thessalonica. Interesting enough, he named this city after his wife Thessalonica, who by the way was the half sister of Alexander the Great.

In the time of the apostle Paul, it is estimated that the population of the city was about 200,000, which in that day would have been very large as cities go. It was a part of the Roman Empire when Paul visited it, being that the Romans captured it in 168 BC. from the Greeks. Although it belonged to Rome it was still largely Grecian in its philosophy and religious practices because most of its inhabitants were of the Grecian background of Hellenism. There was also a mixture of Roman aristocracy which was the ruling body of the city. So this was quite a heathen and prosperous city being located on the Aegean sea with a well protected harbor port, and it was right by the major Roman highway that went from Rome to the east. Because it was on this major land route and its well protected harbor a lot of merchant and military people lived there. By the way it is still a city today. It is known as Salonicka and it has a population of about 300,000.

It is important to understand some of the background to the epistles to the Thessalonians. As you read the book of Acts and see Paul going on his missionary journeys you notice that upon entering a city he would always go first to the Synagogue. That is worth noting because the Bible tells us that Peter was by divine design the apostle to the circumcision, that is, to the Jews. While Paul we are told was the apostle to the uncircumcised, that is, to the Gentiles. So what is intriguing, is that every time Paul entered a city he tried to make contact first with the Jews at the Synagogue. Most commentator's answer as to why Paul did this is because the Bible says that the gospel was to go to the Jew first, then the Gentiles. There maybe some of that residual in Paul's mind, but I do not think that was the main reason why Paul went first to the Synagogues.

He went first to the Synagogue because that is where the Jews and the proselytes to Judaism from the Gentiles gathered. It was in the Synagogue they studied the O.T. scriptures and talked about a coming Messiah who was going to be a great deliverer. In the Synagogue they talked about, to some degree, sin and holiness. So the best place for a frame of reference to evangelize would be the Synagogues. When Paul was talking to a Gentile audience on Mars Hill in Athens, he says, "listen you have a statue to an unknown God, I want to talk to about this unknown God." He used the statue as a point of reference for evangelism. But when he went into the Synagogues he had Jews who were learned in the O.T. So as a point of reference he taught that Messiah whom these Jews believed in and studied about was suppose to die. He took them one dimension further, they believed in Messiah so he had that frame of reference with them, I mean, he could go back to Genesis and go through to Malachi and discuss all the prophecies concerning the Messiah.

Incidentally, Peter could not do that in the same way, because Peter was, in the words of scripture, an unlearned Galilean, meaning that he was not learned in Judaism the way Paul was. In Judaism Paul's credentials were impeccable, he had studied under the best teachers of that time. So when Paul went to a new city and went to the Synagogue, the people there knew who Paul was. Because of His training, background and knowledge he was welcomed by an initial audience, "come brother, speak to us." Peter could not do this because he had not received the training that Paul had. So Paul used his background as a point of reference to teach fuller the gospel that these Jews already knew so much about. So the Synagogue was the best place to go to get an assembly of believers started because not only were there Jews there that knew something about the gospel, but there were also Gentiles present, so what better place for evangelism.

These Gentiles were there because they were noble, they looked around at the culture of their day and saw wickedness, perversion, they saw the many deities that people worshiped, they saw the many male and female prostitutes in the heathen temples and they were not in favor of such debauchery. Therefore they proselytized to the Jewish faith. These Gentiles were sometimes called God-fearers, Cornelius, was such a man, they were Gentiles who embraced the God of Israel and Judaism, studied it and were a part of the Synagogue audience. There were some Synagogues that had more Gentiles present than Jews, so Paul knew there was no better place to evangelize than in the Synagogues. It was only when Paul told them that Messiah had to die, be buried and would rise again, he got into trouble with some of the Jews.

It is important to know that the Gentiles even though they were allowed in the Temple, they were restricted to the Court of the Gentiles, in actual fact they were fifth class citizens. You had the High priest, the priest, the Jewish males, the Jewish females, then you had a wall and on the other side of that wall you had the court of the Gentiles and if they went beyond the wall they were risking their lives. Now bring that into the Synagogues, even though the layout was not as it was in the Temple, the Gentiles were still fifth class citizens and not really accepted as brothers.

Now here comes Paul into the Synagogue and says, "wait a minute guys, the middle wall of partition between the Jew and Gentile has been knocked down, you who were afar off are now made nigh, you who were in darkness are now in the light. You no longer have to be a fifth class citizen in this faith, we are no longer under the Law we are under grace." So Paul started teaching the concept of grace, no wonder so many of these Gentiles accepted the message of the great apostle, in fact according to (1:9; 2:14-16, most of the Thessalonian converts were Gentiles who came out of Idolatry. And some of the godly Jews who had the proper spirit were also thrilled, but there were some, who were so tied to the way things were, who thought themselves to be so theologically correct, that did not like it. They only did not like what Paul was preaching, they also did not like the fact that they were losing their authority over the Gentile converts. So the "godly" leaders kicked Paul out of the Synagogue because he did not believe exactly the way they did and guess what? A lot of the Gentiles followed Paul as well as some godly Jews. That is why some of these Jewish leaders at Thessalonica were furious with Paul. That is why they trumped up evidence against him and had him thrown out of town. That is why they would travel fifty or sixty miles to Berea to stir up opposition to him in the synagogue there.

Acts chapter 15 records what is known as the Council in Jerusalem. This council was made up of leaders in Jerusalem, who met to discuss theological concepts.

It is after this council that the apostle Paul in v.36, wants Barnabas to accompany him on a second missionary journey, to visit the churches that God allowed them to establish on their first missionary journey, to see how they are doing. Barnabas agrees that this is a good idea, and wants to take John Mark with them. Paul is strongly opposed to this because on his first missionary journey, John Mark, who had been with them deserted them when they were up in Asia minor and withdrew from the party. Paul remembering this says that John Mark is not reliable or dependable and does not want to take him.

As a result of that there was a real strong conflict between these two great men of God, Paul and Barnabas. They could not come to an agreement, so Barnabas took John Mark and sailed to Cyprus v.39. Paul on the other hand chooses Silas to join him and with the blessing of the church goes to Syria and Cilcia to strengthen the churches there.

The first city that Paul visits is Antioch of Syria, he continues overland into Asia Minor which is modern day Turkey visiting the churches at Derbe and Lystra, while there they meet a godly young man named Timothy and invites him to join them on their continuing missionary journey. After spending some time visiting the churches in the different cities Paul continues west into Asia. This is not the continent of Asia, but Asia of Turkey under Roman control. Paul wants then to go down south to the province of Asia, but God tells them not to go in that direction. Paul then goes to Mysia on his way to Troas right on the western end of modern day Turkey in Asia Minor bordered by the Aegean Sea. Paul then wants to go North to Bithynia, bordered by the Black Sea, but they are also forbidden by God to go there.

Paul is now in a bit of a quandary, which is understandable. He has been in the east and has moved westerly, he wanted to go south to the province of Asia, but God says no. He wants to go north to Bithynia, but God again says no, so Paul winds up right at the edge of the Aegean Sea at Troas. Paul says, "what am I suppose to do? I've been east, God won't allow me to go south or north and before me is a body of water across which is another continent".

At Troas Paul has a night vision in which he sees a man in Macedonia standing and calling out to him, "Come over and help us." Now, understand this is one of the greatest turning points in human history. What it meant was that God was leading Paul into Europe, westward, so that the gospel in the centuries that followed would move in that direction, because Paul crossed the Aegean Sea into what is known today as Greece, which is in Europe. So Paul heeding the voice of the man from Macedonia crosses the Aegean Sea and lands on the continent of Europe.

He makes his way to the city of Philippi which was a Roman colony, which was like a little piece of Rome in another part of the world. People who lived in this colony were treated as Roman citizens and highly privileged because there were not many Roman citizens in the Roman world.

When Paul went out to evangelize he used strategy, to the degree that was possible he located the large cities, he located the major highways and seaports, because new believers would then take the gospel all over the world because of their mobility. Realizing this he makes his way to Nepolis and on to Philippi.

In Philippi there were no Synagogues, so he could not, as his custom was, go to the Synagogue. However, Jews were living throughout the Roman world as merchants and business men. In most cities that Paul went to there was a Synagogue. Because there was no Synagogue in this city, it is indicative that very few Jews lived there as only ten Jews were needed to have a Synagogue. Nonetheless, Paul hears of a prayer meeting by a river outside of the city which was the normal place where the Jews of that city met for prayer.

Here Paul meets a woman named Lydia who is from Thyatira one of the seven churches of Asia Minor in the book of Revelation. This lady was a business woman, a godly woman, but she has not come in contact with the gospel before. Paul preaches to her, as a result she accepts Jesus as Savior and invites Paul to stay in her home. Paul accepts her invitation and starts a church at Philippi, to which the book of Philippians would later be written.

While he is there ministering a woman begins to follow him day after day, all the while crying out, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation." This woman was possessed with a spirit of divination and because of this was a fortune- teller. Paul casts out the demon, the girl can no longer tell fortunes, the monetary profit that her owner was getting was no longer there, as a result he gets very upset at Paul. You think there would have been rejoicing because a demonic woman had been set free, but instead they take Paul and his team and drag them before the magistrates accusing them of teaching things that were not lawful for Romans to receive or observe. As a result Paul and Silas are beaten with many stripes and thrown into prison secured by stocks around their feet.

This is an affliction that Paul and Silas receive with joy, for you find them in prison, backs bleeding because of the severe whipping and their feet in stocks. What are they doing? Of all things, singing hymns to God. Do we have that kind of Christianity? All of a sudden, the prison shook, all the prisoners chains fell off and the prison doors were open. Friend there is great power in praising God! The jailer awakens out of his sleep, sees the prison doors open, thinks the prisoners have escaped draws his sword to kill himself. Paul tells him not to do that because nobody had escaped. The jailer with knees a-shaking brings Paul and Silas out and asked them what he must do to get saved. Not only does he get saved, his whole family gets saved as well. Do you see what receiving affliction with joy can do?

The next day the magistrates sent word to let Paul and Silas go. But Paul and Silas said, "No way, we are Roman citizens, they had no lawful right to beat us and throw us in prison openly the way they did, now they want to let us go secretly, let them come themselves and get us out." At any rate the magistrates were afraid when the found out that they were Romans, came down, pleaded with them to go, and asked them to leave town. They left the prison, went to Lydia's house encouraged the people there and left town.

They passed through a couple of cities, seemingly without stopping to minister, then on to Thessalonica, a strategic location at which Paul wanted to minister. He goes to the Synagogue for three Sabbaths (I take this to mean that he was in the temple daily for three weeks teaching instead of one day, the Sabbath out of each week) and reasons with them from the O.T. scriptures. What Paul reasons with them is the fact that the Messiah of the O.T. had to suffer, die and be resurrected from the dead. After reasoning that out with them, Paul goes on to say that Jesus, the one who suffered, was crucified, buried, resurrected and ascended in to heaven, is the Messiah. After three weeks he persuades a few of the Jews, a multitude of devout Greeks, and a lot of the leading women. It seems that the leading woman were more sensitive to the Spirit than the leading men. Thank God for godly women. These people were believing what Paul and Silas said. The religious Jews fearing loss of authority and control over these people, kicked Paul and Silas out of the Synagogue, as a result a church split happened.

He took most of the people who were members of the Synagogue with him. Church splits are not always a result of the work of the devil, some of them are sanctioned by God with Holy Spirit design!

Once kicked out of the Synagogue, Paul goes to Jason's house (who may have been one of the high ranking Jews of the Synagogue who believed) and has church. How long they have church before the next event happens may have been six months according to some commentators. The religious Jews who were not persuaded, got upset over the exciting things happening, as church was held Jason's house. They took some evil men from the market place (possibly paying them off) and form a mob, set all the city in a uproar and attacks the house of Jason looking for Paul and Silas.

When Paul and Silas are not found, they take Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, told them that "these people (referring to Paul, Silas and Timothy) who has turned the world upside down have come here also, and are causing trouble for Caesar by saying that there is another king, whose name is Jesus. Jason here, has taken these men into his house and protected them." At hearing this the authorities apparently did not take the charges seriously. To satisfy the crowd they took money from Jason and the others. This probably means that Jason and his friends provided bail as a guarantee that Paul and Silas would leave the city immediately.

The believing brethren knowing how bitter and determined these religious Jews were took no chances. So, immediately they send Paul and Silas about fifty miles southwest to a town called Berea, fearing that these religious Jews may harm them. The first thing they do when they arrive in Berea is go to the Synagogue. This is amazing, after all that Paul had gone through at Philippi and Thessalonica, they were kicked out of the Synagogues and treated as common criminals, but what do they do upon entering a new town, head straight to the Synagogue. This is a man who does not feel sorry for himself, this is a guy with courage, conviction and commitment who has one goal and that is to teach the truth.

What better place to teach the truth then the established church. Why? because they have become so rapped up in their own organization and practicing their own traditions that Bible truth is no longer manifested in their lives and the word of God is of none effect.

But Paul found that the Jews in Berea were more noble, and more opened minded than the Jews in Thessalonica. Paul begins to share with them the same message that got him kicked out of the Synagogue before, Messiah had to die and rise again. These Jews did not condemn Paul because of his new revelation, they did not get angry with him because what he was saying was against their belief, but as free thinkers with minds of their own, they searched the scriptures daily to see if what was coming over the pulpit was true. This kind of searching that weighs the evidence, leaving out nothing, is a great example for people today.

All to often some preachers and teachers have used the Bible merely as a hunting ground for proof texts that seem to uphold their preconceived ideas, twisting or ignoring everything else the Bible says about the issue.

Those who honestly are truth-seekers of what God's Word says will subject what they hear and read to the test of Scriptures. Any pet idea deserves to be thrown out if it will not stand examination in light of the whole Bible. We may be shaken, we may even be shocked if we find something we have heard all our lives and find out it is not really taught in the Bible. But we will be blessed by truths that the Holy Spirit drives home as we keep on searching the Scriptures. Thus, the net result will be the strengthening of our faith.

So these Berean's allegiance was to God's Word, not some preacher's or denomination's interpretation of it. I can visualize them discussing, debating, and arguing with integrity and honesty as to whether their beliefs line up with God's word or not.

Most preachers today refuse to sit and discuss scripture to see if their doctrines are based on the Word or not.

In Thessalonica a few Jews believed but the majority let their old prejudices guide them, and they reacted violently against the gospel. In Berea, because of their searching of the Scriptures, many of the Jews believed. There was no opposition stirred up among them. This indicates that they not only accepted the truth of the Gospel, but they opened their hearts and let the Holy Spirit apply it for Christian living. The response of faith is always obedience.

Somehow or another the news of the effective proclamation of the gospel got back to the religious Jews at Thessalonica. The Synagogue at Berea had caused no trouble, this did not please the Jews at Thessalonica, so they came to Berea and did the same sort of thing they had done back in their city. They shook up and disturbed the crowds trying to incite them to mob violence against Paul. Just imagine, their religious blinders cause them to travel for days (a days journey back then was considered to be about fifteen miles) to get to Berea, and days to go back home plus the time the spent in Berea causing trouble. With these religious Jews, it was not a mere dislike for what Paul was teaching, they vehemently opposed him. If they had to trump up evidence they would do it, if they had to travel a hundred miles they would do it. It is sad but, Satan's greatest hindrance and his most effective means against the gospel of Jesus is religious people!

Before these religious Jews could do any damage, the Berean Christians sent Paul in the direction of the Aegean Sea, probably intending to send him away by ship. Silas and Timothy stayed behind since Paul was the object of these religious Jew's wrath and hatred.

These Bereans were not afraid to let Paul go because they knew that even the newest believers would remain in the faith because of their searching of the scriptures for the basis of the truths of the gospel. Furthermore Silas and Timothy would continue to instruct and train the assembly of believers.

Next we find Paul in Athens by himself. Here he is, the great Apostle, abused by religious people, run out of churches, and run out of towns. As Paul looks around this city he sees the godlessness, he sees the idols, he sees the intellectual snobbery of Athens along with the most degrading and immoral idolatry.

Because of what Paul saw in Athens, his spirit was provoked. He goes to the Synagogue and reasons with the Jews and Gentiles there, also he reasoned daily at the market place with the ones he found there. He also chats with certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. Because of what he says to them, they take him to Mars Hill before the Council of Areopagus, the superior court of Athens. Here Paul is permitted to speak and I love what he says. Now, realize that he cannot preach the same words that he used in the Synagogues such as, Messiah must die and be resurrected. These people had no prior knowledge of the Messiah, he couldn't use those methods with the heathen in Athens.

Paul, an evangelist strategist, as he begins to speak with great wisdom he says, "As I walked through your city I perceive that in all things you are very religious, because I saw statues to your gods all over the place. One of these statues really got my attention because of its' inscription, 'TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.'" This was the only point of contact he had with these heathen. He continues, "You have a statue to an unknown God, I want to tell you about that unknown God." He proceeds to talk about God who made the world and everything in it, God who gives life to all things and proceeds to give his Mars Hill sermon.

When Paul reached Athens he sent a message to Silas and Timothy to join him there (Acts 17:15). This they did, but while in Athens, the Thessalonian believers were weighing heavy on his mind. He may have been wondering, how they were doing, had he taught them enough, would they carry on in his absence, would they remain faithful in the midst of the persecution they were experiencing from the religious Jews? Paul was deeply concerned and sends Timothy back to Thessalonica with the mission of finding out how they are doing (1 Thess. 3:1).

Paul then goes on to Corinth and ministers in that sinful city for eighteen months. While he is there Timothy comes to Corinth and informs Paul that the Thessalonian believers had stayed true and faithful in following the Lord in the midst of very difficult circumstances. Paul so touched and encouraged by this report, he writes them to tell them of his joy. Also he realizes that they had been taught so little, they needed to be instructed more especially as it relates to the coming of the Lord. So it is out of that context that Paul writes 1 Thessalonians and sends it to them and in a few weeks follow that up by writing 2 Thessalonians.

Written primarily in a mood of relief and gratitude, 1 Thessalonians is marked by thankfulness over the growth of the church in Paul's forced absence. This letter reiterates what Paul had urged earlier when he was with them.

One doctrinal and practical concern, probably brought back by Timothy to Paul, led to the major theological emphasis for the letter. They had clearly understood his teaching that Jesus, brought back from the dead by God, would come again in triumph. Since Paul had left Thessalonica, however, several of the Thessalonian believers had died. What would become of them, the Thessalonians wondered, since Christ had not yet returned?

Paul's response fueled hope and therefore comfort to those who grieved the loss of loved ones. The dead in Christ, in fact, would be the first to be resurrected. The living Christians would join them and all would be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Comfort indeed!

The theme of Christ's return occurs from one end of the letter (1:10) to the other (5:23), every chapter in 1 Thessalonians refers to this decisive future event.

Immediately following the prediction of Christ's return (4:13-18), Paul makes the point (5:1-11) that the suddenness of the coming of Jesus will not surprise prepared Christians who have made themselves ready (5:8).

The bottom line of this letter which is twice affirmed (4:18; 5:11: the Greek text uses exactly the same words)--is comfort in the face of death. Such a message encourages those who have lost loved ones through death and encourages expectancy of the Lord's return so as to be united with those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.

Above all, in 1 Thessalonians Christ emerges as the coming king, the conqueror of death, gives comfort to the bereaved and joy to His expectant subjects. But it also will be a day of judgment for those who do not know Him, for it will begin the Day of the Lord's wrath (5:2).