The First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians
Paul composed 1 Thessalonians several months after leaving the fledgling church of men and women who had turned from pagan practices to worship “God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1.1) which he founded in Thessalonica (see map, p. 228), a port city on the northern Aegean Sea and capital of the Roman province of Macedonia (see Phil 4.16). First Thessalonians, perhaps written as early as 41 ce, is considered not only the earliest of Paul’s extant writings, but also the earliest document in the New Testament.
Although Acts 17.1–10 also recounts Paul’s activity in Thessalonica, discrepancies between the epistle and Acts raise questions about that narrative’s historicity. Acts and 1 Thessalonians disagree on several key points, including the length of Paul’s stay in Thessalonica and his outreach to the Jewish community; for example, whereas Acts describes synagogue evangelism as a regular part of Paul’s missionary strategy, none of Paul’s letters mentions this practice. To the contrary, Paul saw his commission as preaching to the Gentiles, not to the Jews (see Gal. 2.2,7–9). Both Acts and 1 Thessalonians, however, report Paul’s difficulties in his mission in Macedonia as well as his desire to support the churches he founded.
Interpretation
Lacking information about how the community is faring and unable to visit himself, Paul dispatches his co-worker Timothy, probably from Athens (see 3.1) to these new followers. Timothy returns with a positive report (3.6–7), and Paul immediately writes this letter, primarily to respond to questions that have arisen in the Thessalonian community since his departure, especially regarding the parousia (the “second coming” or return of Jesus to judge and rule). Paul encourages the Thessalonians to remain steadfast as they await the parousia and, secondarily, he clarifies and reinforces the matters of belief and conduct that Timothy has noted.
The epistle first describes Paul’s general concern about the community since he left Thessalonica. This concern may have been exacerbated by his inability to return; in 2.18 he refers to his thwarted desire to visit again, and in 3.4,7 he vaguely mentions the challenges he and his companions have experienced. After the formal address, Paul devotes three chapters to reviewing his relationship with the congregation. He praises them for their faithfulness and reminds them of their time together and his concern for them. Paul’s relief on hearing good news from Timothy sets the stage for chs 4–5, in which Paul instructs the Thessalonians regarding the behavior that will enable them to avoid sin and enjoy eternal life when Jesus returns. Encouraging the Thessalonians to continue to live according to God’s demands, Paul focuses on sexual morality, sobriety, and the maintenance of good relations both within the Thessalonian community and with other communities of believers. He also urges them to live simple and unobtrusive lives.
Paul then turns to a number of questions about the parousia. Community members had died before Jesus’ return: if they were dead, how could they experience salvation? Paul reassures the Thessalonians that believers who had died would be resurrected on the “day of the Lord”—the new age when the kingdom of God would be established—to participate in the promised salvation. Paul then warns his congregation to avoid speculation about the date of the second coming, to live according to God’s will, and to trust that they will be saved. The letter closes with a prayer for the salvation of the Thessalonians. A few months later, Paul writes a second letter to the Thessalonians.
First Thessalonians is grouped with the other epistles written by or attributed to Paul and addressed to communities rather than individuals. Since these epistles are ordered by length, First Thessalonians is the penultimate, followed by Second Thessalonians.
First Thessalonians is addressed to a community of Gentile believers and, with the exception of the diatribe in 2.14b–16 against Judean Jews for their mistreatment of other Jews who believe in Jesus as Lord (see “Diatribe against the Jews,” p. 421), Paul does not discuss specific Jewish issues (e.g., circumcision, dietary regulations). Although this letter alludes to the LXX (see, e.g., 5.8), it contains no direct scriptural citations. The diatribe against the Jews may be an interpolation, that is, verses added to the text by a later editor. But whether by Paul himself or by someone writing in his name, 1 Thess 2.14b–16 remains a key passage in the development of Christian anti-Judaism.
David Fox Sandmel
1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.
2We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly 3remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4For we know, brothers and sistersa beloved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. 6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. 9For the people of those regionsa report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.
Diatribe against the Jews
First Thess 2.14b–16 reflects the tension that sometimes occurred between those Jews who did not accept Jesus as Messiah (see “Jewish Responses to Believers in Jesus,” p. 730) and those who did. These verses present a succinct summary of classical Christian anti-Judaism: the Jews killed Jesus, persecuted his followers, and threw them out of the synagogues; God has therefore rejected and punished them. The harshness of these words raises questions about Paul’s attitude toward his fellow Jews.
Because the Greek word for Jews, Ioudaioi, means both “Jews” and “Judeans,” Paul’s invective may be directed at this geographically limited group (see “Ioudaios,” p. 596), but readers through the centuries have understood the reference to be about all Jews, not just those in Judea.
Some scholars argue that these verses are an interpolation written by someone other than Paul. The verses are not consistent with Paul’s comments about Jews in Rom 9–11, nor are they integral to the letter; were they excised, the narrative flow would not be affected. These scholars also suggest that the “wrath” (2.16) refers to the destruction of the Temple in 70 ce, after Paul’s death. However, no ancient manuscript lacks these verses, and they fit logically and stylistically into the epistle’s context. Paul elsewhere uses strong language about his opponents consistent with his apocalyptic, dualistic worldview (e.g., Gal 5.2–26; 2 Thess 1.5–12). Indeed, some Jews, including Paul himself (see Gal 1.13), did attempt to “hinder” (2 Thess 2.16) the Gentile mission, most likely because the conversion of Gentiles away from worshiping the gods of Rome made the followers of Jesus politically suspect (not to worship the gods was considered treasonous; see “Paul and Judaism,” p. 633) and so put local Jewish communities in danger. The “wrath” could refer to the death of Herod Agrippa I in 44 ce, the famine in the land of Israel in 47 ce (Josephus, Ant. 20.41,101; see Acts 11.28), Claudius’s expulsion of the Jews from Rome in 49 ce, or another tragic event.
In 1965, the Vatican II document “Nostra Aetate” (Lat “in our time”) stated, “what happened in His [Jesus’] passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today.” Several Protestant denominations as well as countless individual Christians have similarly rejected the idea of Jewish communal and perpetual guilt for the crucifixion of Jesus.
2You yourselves know, brothers and sisters,b that our coming to you was not in vain, 2but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition. 3For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, 4but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts. 5As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; 6nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, 7though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentlea among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. 8So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.
9You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters;b we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was toward you believers. 11As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, 12urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
13We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers. 14For you, brothers and sisters,b became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you suffered the same things from your own compatriots as they did from the Jews, 15who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets,c and drove us out; they displease God and oppose everyone 16by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they have constantly been filling up the measure of their sins; but God’s wrath has overtaken them at last.d
17As for us, brothers and sisters,b when, for a short time, we were made orphans by being separated from you—in person, not in heart—we longed with great eagerness to see you face to face. 18For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, wanted to again and again—but Satan blocked our way. 19For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? 20Yes, you are our glory and joy!
3Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we decided to be left alone in Athens; 2and we sent Timothy, our brother and co-worker for God in proclaiminga the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you for the sake of your faith, 3so that no one would be shaken by these persecutions. Indeed, you yourselves know that this is what we are destined for. 4In fact, when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we were to suffer persecution; so it turned out, as you know. 5For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith; I was afraid that somehow the tempter had tempted you and that our labor had been in vain.
6But Timothy has just now come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love. He has told us also that you always remember us kindly and long to see us—just as we long to see you. 7For this reason, brothers and sisters,b during all our distress and persecution we have been encouraged about you through your faith. 8For we now live, if you continue to stand firm in the Lord. 9How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? 10Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith.
11Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 12And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. 13And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
4Finally, brothers and sisters,b we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more. 2For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication; 4that each one of you know how to control your own bodyc in holiness and honor, 5not with lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6that no one wrong or exploit a brother or sistera in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, just as we have already told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. 8Therefore whoever rejects this rejects not human authority but God, who also gives his Holy Spirit to you.
9Now concerning love of the brothers and sisters,b you do not need to have anyone write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another; 10and indeed you do love all the brothers and sistersb throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, beloved,b to do so more and more, 11to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we directed you, 12so that you may behave properly toward outsiders and be dependent on no one.
13But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters,b about those who have died,c so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.c 15For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died.c 16For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.
5Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters,a you do not need to have anything written to you. 2For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! 4But you, beloved,a are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; 5for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. 6So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; 7for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. 11Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.
12But we appeal to you, brothers and sisters,a to respect those who labor among you, and have charge of you in the Lord and admonish you; 13esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14And we urge you, beloved,a to admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. 15See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. 16Rejoice always, 17pray without ceasing, 18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19Do not quench the Spirit. 20Do not despise the words of prophets,b 21but test everything; hold fast to what is good; 22abstain from every form of evil.
23May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sounda and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.
26Greet all the brothers and sistersc with a holy kiss. 27I solemnly command you by the Lord that this letter be read to all of them.d
Sylvanus, elsewhere called Silas. Timothy, Paul’s close associate. Acts 16.1–3 describes him a having a Jewish mother (see also 2 Tim 1.15); he and Sylvanus accompanied Paul on his missionary journey. Unlike most of his letters, Paul does not here identify himself as an apostle, but see 2.7. God the Father, Tanakh and rabbinic references to God as “father” are usually in the limited covenantal sense of “Father of Israel.” See Isa 63.16; 64.8; Tob 13.4 [Sinaiticus A]; Wis 14.3; Sir 23.1,4; 3 Macc 2.21; Josephus, Ant. 7.380; Philo, Decalogue 64; Praem. 166; Spec. Laws 1.41; 2.225; b. Taʾan. 25b). Lord Jesus Christ, Lord refers to Jesus’ divinity, Jesus is his proper name, and Christ describes his messianic nature. Grace (Gk “charis”), referring to God’s blessing, a possible variant of “charein,” “greetings.” Church (Gk “ekklēsia”), as synonym for “synagogue” (Gk “synagōgē”), denotes primarily an assembly of people, not a building.