1 Thessalonians Introduction: Part 3

1 Thessalonians Introduction: Part 3
Written by LaRosa Johnson
Tue, 06/02/2009

Continuing where we left off in our introduction to Paul's epistle to the Thessalonians, we want to spend our time today looking at the circumstances that led Paul to pen a letter to this group of believers. To do that, we're going to look at the account that was given to us by one of Paul's traveling companion, Luke the physician, who penned the gospel of the same name, as well as Acts. So, if hearts and minds are prepared for the study of our Lord's Word, let us open our Bibles to Acts 17.

Quote :

Acts 17:1-10 (NASB) - 1Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” 4And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women. 5But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people. 6When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset the world have come here also; 7and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. 9And when they had received a pledge from Jason and the others, they released them. 10The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.

Regarding Paul's missionary visit to Thessalonica, this is all the information that is recorded by Luke in Acts, a sum of ten verses. Interestingly enough, we see that there was quite a bit going on, and it's a shame that we only have this handful of verses to work with because there is so much more to the story. Well, rest assured that we do have more information, and it'll come to us as we engage the text of Paul's epistle, but we will save that for when we get there. The first thing that we need to do is setup the picture so that we can orient ourselves to what is going on and how Paul and his team ended up in Thessalonica. So let's begin there.

If we go back a couple of chapters and look at Acts 15:36ff, we find Paul and Barnabas in Jerusalem after meeting with the apostles who were there. It was here that a council convened to clear up some of the errant doctrine that was being taught by some of the teachers. It was after this meeting, where they received instruction on what should be taught as foundational material, that Paul and Barnabas decided that it would be a good idea for them to visit the cities where they had previously proclaimed the gospel. After getting into a major disagreement over John Mark (i.e. the Mark that penned the gospel) the two decided to part ways and continue their work for the Lord. So, after embarking on his second missionary journey, "he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches" (Acts 15:41).

Skipping ahead a bit, after having several doors closed by the Holy Spirit (Acts 16:6, 7), Paul and his team eventually ended up in Philippi, where they were able to spend some time doing ministry. It was here that they ended up being beaten and thrown into prison after casting a demon out of a girl. This is also the encounter where the Philippian jailer comes to Christ after the earthquake. Shortly thereafter, Paul and his team are set free and urged to get out of town. It's at this point that Paul ends up traveling through Amphipolis and Apollonia before ending up in Thessalonica, which is the event that we have quoted above.

As per his custom, the first thing that Paul did when he entered a new city was to head to the local Jewish synagogue so that he could first proclaim the gospel message to the Jews of that area. He apparently had some success because for three consecutive sabbaths he was there proclaiming the gospel message to the Jews. Paul's message of the cross was powerful and some Jews believed, as well as some of the God-fearing Greeks (proselytes) and prominent women. It was during this time that Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy were teaching these new believers the ways of God and how to be properly oriented to their new Christian life.

Now, we know that Paul was in the synagogue for three sabbaths, but we have no indication of how long he was actually in town before trouble started to stir up; but, we at least know that he & his team were there for at least a month's time. Either way, it wasn't long before some of the non-believing Jews became jealous and started to cause a ruckus and cause trouble. Knowing that they were likely staying with a man of the town named Jason, they brought him before the city's authorities proclaiming that the men he was housing were causing issues and commanding the people to live a life contrary to the decrees of Caesar and that there was another king. After getting the crowd stirred up, they eventually received a monetary pledge from Jason promising that Paul's team would leave town and not return. Immediately after being released by the authorities, Jason had Paul's missionary team leave town, sending them on their way to Berea, a nearby city.

That's it, that's all the information that Luke records. But, just from that account alone, we can see why Paul would have felt that it was necessary to write a letter to these new believers. He barely had any time to spend with them and train them up in the ways of the Lord, so he was adamantly concerned for their spiritual well-being, especially considering the stir that the Jews had caused which had forced him to leave town in the first place. As you continue to read on in Acts, you soon find out that it was shortly after this that Paul's team got split up, and they weren't able to meet back up until they had all reached Corinth, which is where Paul penned this epistle.

Haven gone through Acts, we now have enough background information to actually begin our study in 1 Thessalonians. So, next time, we will start with a broad sweeping overview of the epistle, as we take a chapter-by-chapter survey to acclimate ourselves to the letter's content. After we have done that, we will be more than ready to commence our verse-by-verse study. Until then, keep your armor on and be on guard!

devotion courtesy of Trailblazin Ministries
http://www.trailblazinministries.com/devotions/1thess003