Review

Following the beginning of this letter with its introductions and greetings, Paul’s words reveal that he was clearly moved by his recollection of the young Christian fellowship at Thessalonica.  Here in this passage, Paul speaks with pleasure about what happened after he first came to preach the Gospel and establish the church there.  He says, ‘you welcomed the Word in the face of severe suffering and with … joy …’ (1:6).  This sets the scene of the rest of the passage.  Clearly, what happened at Thessalonica had become known in the region (1:8) and the good example of a few early Christians had been amplified to good effect as others heard their story.

One thing we may not immediately realise is that Thessalonica was the capital city of Macedonia (what is now northern Greece), and so it is understandable that what happened in the ‘capital’ of a region was influential elsewhere.  Paul also tells us that that the story of the young church had also become known in Achaia.  Now this region is what we now call southern Greece, and it contains important cities such as Athens and Corinth.  A map of Paul’s ‘second missionary journey’, if you have this in your Bible, will show you some of the geography.  This great venture of Paul turned out to be probably the most significant missionary ever mounted, and the details of this can be found in Acts 16:1 to 18:22.

What, however, does Paul mean when he speaks of ‘severe suffering’ (1:6) amongst the Christians at Thessalonica?  It is worth remembering Jesus said when He first began to teach that His disciples would face persecution (Matt 5:11,12), and after Pentecost, the church in quickly learned that the coming of the Spirit did not mean that the growth of the Jerusalem church would be without cost (see Acts 3,4).  Paul knew all about dire trouble and persecution himself; for example, he was stoned in Lystra on one of his earlier journeys (Acts 14:19).

Persecution happened for a number of reasons.  Sometime the coal Jews were jealous of his work and did not like him to use their synagogues to preach a controversial message.  But most persecution of Christians took place in the towns and cities of the Roman world, where superstition was rife, and the preaching of Paul about the resurrection of the dead caused uproar in some cities, notably Philippi (Acts 16:19f.), and later on at Ephesus (Acts 19:23).  If this was Paul’s experience, then local Christians probably endured much more that has never been recorded.

Our passage today reflects the fact that when the Gospel is preached with clarity, it confronts people with God’s truth, and truth requires people to make a decision whether to accept it or not.  Paul rejoiced in the small number from Thessalonica who made the choice to accept faith, because their choice affected others (1:9) and this was a small example of what he knew would carry the Gospel throughout the world to change it for the better!  The religions, beliefs and concerns of those who opposed the early Christians have long since been forgotten within world history, and we no longer hear of ‘Gnosticism’ for example, and the world of Greek and Roman Gods is studied with academic interest but not practiced!  Paul’s words in this passage reflect how the Kingdom of God grows; the Word is received ‘in the face of severe suffering with the joy of the Holy Spirit’ (1:6), but it grows throughout the world until the return of the ‘Son of God from heaven … who reuses us from the wrath to come!’ (1:10)

We do not know the details of the all stories that spread around concerning the founding of the Thessalonians church, but the record of Acts 17:1-9 is fascinating reading.  Paul and his companions were received at the local synagogue, and preached there for three Sundays in a row explaining that Jesus was the Messiah.  Some Jews then stirred up opposition to Paul, and attacked the house of a believer called Jason whom they dragged before the local authorities accused of upsetting the local peace (s serious matter in the Roman world).  Jason managed to pay bail and extract himself from the situation, but the local believers immediately urged Paul and Silas to leave and sent them on their way to Berea (Acts 17:10).  Who knows what other acts of heroism and kindness happened?

We would love to know more, and feel a little cheated by Paul’s comment here ‘we have no need to speak about it!’ (1:8)!  Whatever happened, it seems that when Paul went later to Athens and Corinth, the two great cities of Greece (Athens - 17:15f. And Corinth - Acts 18:1f.) he discovered that some of the people living there amongst the Jewish community had already heard about what happened in Thessalonica (1:8,9).  Moreover, these stories were of kindness and generosity to God’s messengers, of turning to the Gospel and rejecting pagan gods, and of enduring in the face of opposition (1:9).  Paul was delighted, for as far as he was concerned, this was authentic ‘Gospel’.  All together, this was a true account of a genuine and lively response to God, and he rejoiced in it, as should we whenever we hear of the power of the Gospel at work.

In the last verse of this passage, Paul describes the faith of the Thessalonians as authentic, and saying that they were ‘waiting for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come’ (1:10).  In writing this, Paul was not just extending appreciative comments, he was indicating what was to come later on in the letter.  There was indeed a reason for him to write to the Thessalonians, and it was not simply to commend them for their faith.  The Thessalonians had become over concerned about what would happen when Christ returned, and Paul was worried lest some had picked up erroneous beliefs.  All Christians of that day expected the Lord’s return very soon, and many were concerned that it had not yet happened.  For them, this was a major challenge to their faith.

Throughout his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul was intent on offering guidance about this, but he did not start by confronting the issue.  He wanted the Thessalonians to know  how much he appreciated their faith and their testimony.  It was having a world wide impact!

6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the Word in the face of severe suffering with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 and in this way, you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.  8 As a result of this, the Lord's message has been broadcast not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place where your faith in God has become known; so we have no need to speak about it!  9 They themselves report what kind of reception you gave us, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the true and living God, 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead; Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come!