THE FIRST LETTER TO THE THESSALONIANS
Lesson 2
Chapters 2:13-3:13
Continuing Thanksgiving for the Community and Paul's Travel Plans
Generous and Holy Lord,
Paul offered his profuse thanks to You for the Christian
community of the Thessalonians. How often do we fail to offer our thanks to
You for our faith communities, for their fellowship, and the freedom to come
together to offer You our worship in the Liturgy of the Mass? How often do we
fail to thank You for Your Kingdom of the Universal Church and her priests,
bishops, cardinals, and Your Vicar, our holy earthly Father, our Pope? All
these are Your gifts to Your holy people, and we, like Paul, should express our
thankfulness and pray for Your guidance as Your Kingdom of the Church continues
to bring the Gospel message of salvation to the world. We pray in the name of
God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
+ + +
Are we worthy,
then, so much as even to mention the name of Paul? He had, in addition, the
help of grace, yet did not presume that grace eliminated the need to take
chances. We, on the other hand, who are destitute of the confidence grace
brings, on what basis, tell me, do we expect either to preserve those who are
committed to our charge or to gain those who have not come to the fold? We,
indeed, are those who have been making a study of self-indulgence, who are
searching the world over for ease and who are unable or rather unwilling to
endure the slightest hint of danger. We are as far distant from Paul's wisdom
as earth is from heaven.
St. John
Chrysostom, Homilies on Ephesians, 6
Paul testified to the Thessalonian Christians that it is not just eloquence of speech but faithful deeds that prove the truth and vitality of the Gospel message. Paul's extraordinary spiritual gifts and his endurance in hardship demonstrated to the Thessalonians that God inspired his words and his works. The recognition of the truth of his preaching came from the receptive hearts of his listeners who believed in Paul's testimony concerning Christ Jesus and their readiness to endure suffering for the sake of Jesus' Gospel of salvation.
Chapters 2:13-3:13
1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 ~ Paul's Thanksgiving for
the Community Continues
13 And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly, that, in
receiving the word of God from hearing us, you received not a human word but,
as it truly is, the word of God, which is now at work in you who believe. 14 For you,
brothers, have become imitators of the churches of God that are in Judea in
Christ Jesus. For you suffer the same things from your compatriots as they did
from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and persecuted us;
they do not please God, and are opposed to everyone, 16 trying to
prevent us from speaking to the Gentiles that they may be saved, thus
constantly filling up the measure of their sins. But the wrath of God has
finally begun to come upon them.
This section of the letter in 2:13-3:13 is a second declaration of Paul's thankfulness for the Thessalonian Christians and is unusual for a Pauline letter. Paul expresses his thanks to God for the community four times in 1:2, 2:13, 3:9, and 5:18. Paul is thankful for their faith regarding their relationship with God and in receiving the message of His divine word. They have received not just the human words of Paul and his missionaries, but with open hearts, they have accepted God's divine word, and through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, His word has brought them to salvation.
Verse 13 is a summary of the apostolic tradition. The "word" Paul refers to is the revealed Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus delivered God's saving word orally, followed by the apostolic preaching of Jesus' ministers (CCC 104, 1349). Next, the Holy Spirit inspired Apostles wrote down what became the New Testament Gospel message (Matthew, John, and Peter) and also the Church's other Holy Spirit inspired apostolic ministers (Paul, Luke, James, and Jude). Whether oral or written, it is the word of God, as St. Paul wrote: Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours (2 Thess 2:15). Today, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the message of the Gospel continues orally and in writing. The faithful across the face of the earth hear the preaching of the word of God and read the word in Sacred Scripture. They receive the word just as it was first delivered, heard, read, and embraced by receptive minds and hearts since the time of the ministry of Jesus and continued in the ministry of His Apostles in the earliest years of the Church.
Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture are bound together and communicate one with the other the words of God. Both come from the same divine origin and come together to form one thing, moving towards the same goal that is the transmission of the Gospel of salvation:
The word of God is not "Scripture alone." The oral Tradition came first and continues, preserved in the "living Tradition" of the Church. When the Thessalonian Christians received God's word of salvation through Paul, there was no canon of New Testament Scriptures.
Tradition is the way the Thessalonians received the Word:
St. Peter wrote ...the word of the Lord remains forever. This is the word that has been proclaimed to you (1 Pt 1:25).
Question: What does the
ministry of the New Testament writers parallel in the Old Testament? See 1 Kng 17:1-2;
Jer 1:4; Ez 1:3;
Hos 1:1.
Answer: The New
Testament writers paralleled the ministry of the Old Testament prophets who
received the word of God by divine revelation and announced it to Israel orally
and in writing.
14 For you, brothers, have become imitators of the churches of God that
are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you suffer the same things from your
compatriots as they did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the
Lord Jesus and the prophets and persecuted us; they do not please God, and are
opposed to everyone...
In verses 14-15, what Paul writes suggests that the
persecution the Thessalonians are experiencing comes from both Jews and pagan
Gentiles in the Roman city.
Question: How does Paul
compare the persecution of the Thessalonians Christians with Old Testament
saints? Who were the first Christian martyrs? See Mt 20:17-19; 23:29-36;
Mk 14:1;
Acts 7; 12:1-2.
Answer: Paul compares
the Thessalonian Christians' bad treatment by their countrymen to the persecution
of the Old Testament prophets. Their persecution resembles the persecution of
God's messengers throughout salvation history that reached its climax in the
murder of Jesus the Messiah orchestrated by the Jewish religious leaders. He
also compares their suffering with the persecution of the Christians in the
churches in Judea. This persecution would include the deaths of the Christian
martyrs St. Stephen and St. James Zebedee.
The deacon, St. Stephen, suffered martyrdom in Jerusalem in c. 32/34 AD while the Apostle James Zebedee suffered martyrdom in Jerusalem in c. 44 AD.1
16 trying to prevent us from speaking to the Gentiles that they may be
saved, thus constantly filling up the measure of their sins. But the wrath of
God has finally begun to come upon them [come upon them at last]. [...] = literal Greek.
Paul's harsh words in verses 15-16 reflect the angry
atmosphere in Jerusalem and elsewhere against Christians in general and Paul in
particular. The focus of their opposition is the acceptance of Gentiles into
God's holy covenant with His redeemed people. Even some Jewish-
Christians were opposed to Gentiles entering the covenant with Yahweh without
first becoming Jews (Acts 15:1, 5). It is the jealousy of the "firstborn sons"
of Israel (Ex 4:22) against the "younger sons" in the human family.
Question: What warning
did Jesus give the Jews concerning the jealousy of a firstborn son towards a
younger brother who was lost from the family but restored through the father's
mercy? See the Parable of the Lost Son in Luke 15:11-32.
Answer: Jesus gave a
warning to the Jews concerning this unacceptable jealousy in His parable of the
father and his son who became lost to him through sin. The Gentiles are the
"lost sons" who, through God the Father's mercy, can now be forgiven their sins
and restored to His covenant family.
The Jews were also against Paul for switching sides in the Jewish opposition to Christianity by becoming a Christian himself (Acts 9:23-25, 28-30). Verse 16 uses imagery of a cup that is close to overflowing with the sins of wicked men and women deserving the judgment of the wrath of God. The imagery recalls the words of the Old Testament prophets and the Psalms: Isaiah 51:17-22; Jeremiah 25:15-28; 49:12; Ezekiel 23:31-33; Habakkuk 2:16; Zechariah 12:2; and Psalm 75:9. Some examples of passages using the imagery of the cup of God's wrath in the Old Testament:
God's supreme prophet, Jesus Christ, used the same imagery of "measuring out" wickedness in deserved judgment against the Pharisees when He prophesised the destruction of Jerusalem within His generation, saying, "Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets; now fill up what your ancestors measured out!" (Mt 23:31-32). The Book of Revelation also refers to God's wrath in 14:10; 16:19; and 18:6. For example, A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice, "Anyone who worships the beast or its image, or accepts its mark on forehead or hand, will also drink the wine of God's fury, poured full strength into the cup of his wrath, and will be tormented in burning sulfur before the holy angels and before the Lamb"(Rev 14:9-10).
Question: The Old
Testament judgment imagery of God's "cup of wrath," except for the Psalm
passage, refers to a divine judgment that is unlike the judgment passages from
the Book of Revelation. What is the difference?
Answer: The warnings of
God's judgment prophesised by the prophets referred to temporal judgments that
were intended to have a redemptive goal while the judgment in the Book of
Revelation is an eternal judgment.
The destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah was intended to teach the covenant people to repent their sins, reject their false gods, and return to their covenant relationship with Yahweh. However, in the Final Judgment, there will not be an opportunity to repent and turn back to God. It is the "Final Judgment" because there is no afterward!
But the wrath of God has finally begun to come upon
them [come upon them at last]. [...] = literal
Greek.
"At last" in the Greek is eis telos, a phrase
that means "until the end," "finally," or "to the utmost." The word appears
six times in the New Testament (Mt 10:22; 24:13;
Mk 13:13; Lk 18:5; Jn 13:1 and
1 Thess 2:16). There are three interpretations concerning Paul's use of the
phrase in this verse:
The Old Covenant that ended with Jesus' resurrection has been replaced by a New Covenant that is the only means of salvation (Acts 4:12; Heb 8:13; 10:9). Under the Old Covenant, the righteous and the wicked awaited the coming of the Messiah in Sheol (Lk 16:19-31; CCC 633). However, with Christ's resurrection, salvation and divine judgment are now eternal since Jesus has opened Heaven to the righteous that had been closed since the fall of Adam (CCC 536, 1026). In any case, the phrase carries the sense that God's judgment is inevitable in both the temporal sense and the eternal.
1 Thessalonians 2:17-20 ~ Paul's Plans to Visit the
Community
17 Brothers, when we were bereft of you for a short time, in person,
not in heart, we were all the more eager in our great desire to see you in
person. 18 We decided to go to you, I, Paul, not only once but more than once;
yet Satan thwarted us. 19
For what is our hope or joy or crown to boast of
in the presence of our Lord Jesus at his coming if not you yourselves? 20 For you
are our glory and joy.
Paul and his ministers have been absent physically from their Thessalonian brothers and sisters but not spiritually. Paul was determined to return to them, but those plans were overturned, and Paul blames the influence of Satan. He doesn't provide the details of how Satan hindered their return, but he is probably referring to continuing Jewish and pagan opposition (Acts 17:5). The same evil forces that cause his departure are preventing his return.
19 For what is our hope or joy or crown to boast of in the presence of
our Lord Jesus at his coming if not you yourselves? 20 For you
are our glory and joy.
Paul uses the phrase "crown to boast" to express the
pride he will take in them when Christ returns in glory to "crown" those who
have remained faithful with their eternal reward according to their good deeds
recorded in the Book of Deeds (Mt 25:31-46; Rev 20:12-13). That Paul and his
team brought this community to believe in Christ will count as a victor's
"crown" for him and his team making, the Thessalonian Christians "our glory and
joy." The phrases "our hope or joy or crown" and "our glory and joy" are the
similar to what Paul expressed concerning the Philippian Christians in
Philippians 4:1 when he called them "my joy and crown" and refers to the
Hellenistic practice of crowning a victory in an athletic competition with a
laurel wreath.2
Paul introduced the apostolic coming of Christ that is the focus of 2:17-3:13 earlier in 1:10. The Greek word Paul uses for Christ's "coming" in verse 19 is Parousia. Paul uses this word mostly in an eschatological sense in his two letters to the Christians at Thessalonica concerning the anticipated "coming" of the Lord in glory (see 1 Thess 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thess 2:1). He will also use the word parousia in referring to the coming of "the lawless one" who is the Antichrist in a temporal sense (2 Thess 2:8). In Paul's Pastoral Epistles, he mostly uses epiphaneia/appearance or revealed (1 Tim 6:14; 2 Tim 1:10; 4:1, 8; Titus 2:13). However, in 2 Thessalonians 2:8-9, in referring to "the lawless one" he pairs epiphaneia with parousia: And then the lawless one will be revealed [epiphanein], whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and render powerless by the manifestation of his coming [Parousia]...
In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus announces the tradition of the "coming" of the Son of Man (Mt 16:27, Mk 8:38, and Lk 9:26, and at His trial in Mt 26:64 and Mk 14:62). Paul also uses other terms for the event of Christ's return at the end of time. For example, he uses "to come"/erchesthai (Rom 2:5; 1 Cor 4:5; 11:26; 2 Thess 1:7) as does St. Peter ( 1 Pt 1:7, 13; 2 Pt 1:16, 2 Pt 3:4, 2 Pt 3:12). Paul also uses the phrase "day of the Lord" (1 Cor 5:5; 1 Thess 5:2) or "that day" (2 Thess 1:10) and "the day" (Rom 13:12) to refer to Jesus' return in glory.
The Greek word parousia derives from pagan Greek for the ceremonial arrival of a king or ruler with his attendants to visit his subjects or the coming of a Greek god to aid the people who called for divine help. Paul draws on this visual image to show Christ as the Divine King returning with His attendants, the "holy ones" of His saints and angelic host in Thessalonians 3:13, ...to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming [Parousia] of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen. Jesus uses this same description in the Gospels (Mt 16:27, Mk 8:38, and Lk 9:26).
The more common Christian term "Second Coming" does not appear in Christian writings until the latter half of the second century when it describes the return of the glorified Christ in contrast to His humble "first coming" in human flesh during His earthly ministry (The Letters to the Thessalonians, Abraham, J. Malherbe, page 272).3
1 Thessalonians 3:1-8 ~ Timothy
Returns With News of the Community
1 That is why, when we could bear it no longer, we decided to remain
alone in Athens 2 and sent Timothy, our brother and co-worker for God in the Gospel of
Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 3 so that no
one be disturbed in these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are
destined for this. 4 For even when we were among you, we used to warn you in advance that
we would undergo affliction, just as has happened, as you know. 5 For this
reason, when I too could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith,
for fear that somehow the tempter had put you to the test and our toil might come
to nothing. 6 But just now Timothy has returned to us from you, bringing us the
good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us and
long to see us as we long to see you. 7 Because of this, we
have been reassured about you, brothers, in our every distress and affliction,
through your faith. 8 For we now live, if you stand firm in the Lord.
We know from Acts 17:10-15 that Paul, Silas/Silvanus, and Timothy escaped from Thessalonica at night and traveled to Beroea, a city in the Roman province of Macedonia in northern Greece, located east of Thessalonica. In Beroea, they successfully preached to both Jews and Gentiles, winning many converts. When the Jews who had caused trouble for Paul in Thessalonica heard that he was successfully preaching in Beroea, they traveled there to cause trouble by stirring up the crowds against Paul and his team. Silas and Timothy remained behind while Paul continued by himself to Athens where Silas and Timothy joined him shortly later. From Athens, they all traveled to Corinth. It was while he was in Corinth that Paul sent Silas and Timothy back to Macedonia in northern Greece (Acts 18:1, 5).
The "that is the reason" in verse 1 is Paul's concern for the faith of the community in the midst of tribulation. Paul decided to send Timothy (and perhaps Silas) back to Thessalonica to "strengthen and encourage" the community in their Christian faith so that none might become weakened and lost to Christ through their sufferings.
3b For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. 4 For even
when we were among you, we used to warn you in advance that we would undergo
affliction, just as has happened, as you know.
Paul writes that Christians should not be surprised
when they experience persecution for their faith. It is the inevitable destiny
for true disciples of Christ who suffer with him in order to become His heirs
in the family of God the Father and be resurrected to glory with Him: and if
children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we
suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him (Rom 8:17). When
we suffer for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we imitate Christ. We
reproduce Jesus' experience of suffering in the lives of the faithful and in
His ordained apostolic shepherds like St. Paul (see 1 Cor 4:9-16 and 2 Cor 4:8-11).
5 For this reason, when I too could bear it no longer, I sent to learn
about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had put you to the test and
our toil might come to nothing.
It was Paul's parental fear for his Thessalonian
children that his short time with the newly converted Thessalonians was not
enough time to prepare them for the test of the persecution they were
experiencing.
Question: How does Paul
see their experience of persecution at the beginning of their "walk of faith,"
and what is his response? See Mt 4:1-11; Mk 1:12-13; Lk 4:1-13, and 1 Thess
3:6.
Answer: He considers
their experiences of persecution a form of Satanic testing like Satan tested
Jesus at the beginning of His mission. Therefore, he sent Timothy to minister
to them and to continue their faith training.
6 But just now Timothy has returned to us from you, bringing us the
good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us and long
to see us as we long to see you. 7 Because of this, we
have been reassured about you, brothers, in our every distress and affliction,
through your faith. 8 For we now live, if you stand firm in the Lord.
Timothy returned to Paul in Corinth with the news that
the Thessalonian Christians were standing firm in their faith and their love
for Paul and his team of missionaries. Timothy's news reassures Paul. It is
significant that he expresses their faithful endurance as a matter of life and
death. The faith of those God entrusted to him is for Paul the mission of his
life, and he is overjoyed that they still "live in Christ Jesus" unlike
unbelievers whose every step in life is a step closer to eternal death.
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 ~ Concluding Thanksgiving
and Prayer
9 What thanksgiving, then, can we render to God for you, for all the
joy we feel on your account before our God? 10 Night and day we pray
beyond measure to see you in person and to remedy the deficiencies of your
faith. 11 Now may God himself, our Father, and our Lord Jesus direct our way
to you, 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one
another and for all, just as we have for you, 13 so as to strengthen
your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the
coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen.
Paul's response to Timothy's report is to give thanks to God! In verse 9, Paul asks a rhetorical question concerning what thanksgiving he can offer to God for their perseverance in faith. How can his expressions of thanks adequately measure up to God's gift of the preservation of this infant church? The fact that the Christians in Thessalonica remained steadfast in the faith in spite of their afflictions is not only due to their own merits or Paul' preaching. The credit must go to the grace of God working in their lives. Timothy's news lessens Paul's great anxiety, but he still prays that they may be able to return to the community and continuing addressing the deficiencies of your faith.
11 Now may God himself, our Father, and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you, 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you, 13 so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming [Parousia] of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen.
Question: In the meantime, what three-part
petition to God does Paul make on their behalf?
Answer:
Paul wrote in 2:18 that Satan put obstacles in the way of his return to Thessalonica. Therefore, in the first part of the petition, Paul prays: Now may God himself, our Father, and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you... It is significant that the word "direct" in Greek is a singular verb even though it has two subjects. It may be bad Greek, but it is good Christian theology since it testifies to the mystery of the three Persons in one God.
In the second part of the petition, Paul prays for love. Paul is referring to the divine love that Christ infuses into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5). Love is a supernatural virtue which inclines us to love God for His own sake above all other things and to love our neighbor as ourselves for the sake of our love of God. It was part of the Old Covenant commands in Leviticus 19:18 and Deuteronomy 6:5, and it is what Jesus commanded in Matthew 22:27-40. Jesus said, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments." In our Christian witness, God's love flows through the community family of faith and their good deeds out to the family of humanity (Mt 5:43-48). The Most Holy Trinity is the giver of this gift, and only He can increase its flow (CCC 1825).
In the third part of the petition, Paul prays for the moral and spiritual sanctity of the community in preparation for Christ's return in glory followed by the Last Judgment. Verse 13 is the third mention of Jesus coming in glory (see 1:10 and 2:19). God provides for our continued holiness through the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Penance. Through both these sacraments, God prepares us for the unknown hour of Christ's return in glory and for the unknown hour of our deaths when we face our individual judgments (CCC 101-22 and 1038-1041). Both sacraments have the healing power to forgive sins. The Eucharist can forgive venial sins confessed in the Penitential Rite. However, we can only receive forgiveness for mortal sins through the Sacrament of Reconciliation when we confess and repent to Christ through His representative the ordained priest (Jn 5:16-17). In this petition, Paul tells us that Christ will not come alone. He will come as befits a king with His attendants, the saints (believers who died before His return) and angels.
Our striving for holiness will not be perfected until Christ's Parousia when we join Him in glory. Paul tells us in the meantime that we should not withhold our love in any way. The supernatural love of Christ embraces everyone without exception. St. John Chrysostom wrote: "Loving one person and showing indifference to others is characteristic of purely human affection; but St. Paul is telling us that our love should not be restricted in any way" (Homilies on 1 Thessalonians, 4).
Questions for discussion or reflection:
How have Christians across the Middle East been suffering
for their faith? How can we follow Paul's example in his concern for fellow
Christians, and what petitions should we make on their behalf?
Endnotes:
1 St. Stephen was one of seven deacons ordained by the Apostles
to see to the needs of widows within the Jerusalem community (Acts 6:1-6). In
the Book of Acts, Luke describes him as a "man full of faith and of the Holy
Spirit" and "full of grace and power" (Acts 6:8). He was arrested and judged
by the Sanhedrin. Condemned for blasphemy by the Jews, he was illegally put to
death by stoning (see Jn 18:31). A church built over his tomb in Jerusalem commemorates
St. Stephen as the first Christian martyr. His feast day is December 26. St.
James Zebedee was one of the original twelve Apostles and the brother of St.
John. James and his brother were sometimes separated out from the other
Apostles with Peter for important events in Jesus' ministry. These events
included the raising of Jarius' daughter from death (Mk 5:37; Lk 8:51), the
Transfiguration (Mt 17:1; Mk 9:2), and the Agony of Christ in the Garden of
Gethsemane (Mt 26:37; Mk 14:32-33). St. James Zebedee was the first Apostle to
suffer martyrdom when King Agrippa I of Judea ordered his death by beheading in
44 AD (Acts 12:2). His feast day is July 25.
2In addition to Phil 4:1 and 2 Thess 2:19 see similar references in Paul's other letters in 1 Cor 9:25; 2 Tim 4:8; 2 Tim 2:5; Heb 2:7, 9. Also see references to "crowns" in the letters of Peter and James ( 1 Pt 5:4; Jam 1:12) and in the Book of Revelation ( Rev 2:10; 4:4, 10; 3:11; 6:2; 12; 9:7; 12:3; 14:14; 19:12 and as a negative sign of power in 13:1).
3See for example the writings of St. Justin Martyr, Apology, 52.3; and Dialogue, 14.8.
Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2018 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.
Catechism references for this lesson (* indicates
Scripture is either quoted or paraphrased in the citation):
2:13 (CCC 78, 80-83, 95, 97, 104*, 1349*)
2:14-15 (CCC 597*)
3:2 (CCC 307)