The Early Christian Community at Thessalonica
Leaving Certificate Section B Christianity: Origins and Contemporary Expressions
Part 4 The Formation of Christian Community
Topic 4.1 The first Christian communities as seen through one of the writings of Paul
Topic / Description of content / Outcomes4.1 The first Christian communities
as seen through one of the
writings of Paul / One community to be chosen from
Corinth, Thessalonica or Phillipi and
studied under the following headings:
- Geographical location
- Expressions of Christian
behaviour
- Difficulties within the
the wider culture. / As a result of studying this section, students should be able to
- Give an account of an early
either Corinth, Thessalonica or
Phillipi that includes
its geographical location
The main features of Christian
belief and how that belief
impacted on the lifestyle of
believers
Tensions within the community
and any other tensions with
others outside the Christian
community.
Leaving Certificate R.E. Syllabus, p29
Please note that the following article is background information only on this topic. It in no way constitutes a sample or exemplary answer on this topic
Thessalonica dates back to 315 B.C. and was founded by Cassander, who was a general of Alexander the Great. The city, located south of Phipippi, was the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia and the seat of the governor of Macedonia also. Its geographical location made it a focal point within the Balkan region, situated on the “Via Egnatia” which was the main route across the Balkans. Such a large and central area made it a prosperous cosmopolitan city where traders and other people of various cultures met and exchanged goods and views. It enjoyed rich commercial activity and possessed one of the prime naval stations of that region. Thus it became a significant and strategic centre for the spread of the Christian faith in Macedonia.
In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke tells us that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy came to Thessalonia during Paul’s second mission. Acts 17:1-9 recalls how Paul and the others passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia until they reached Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue. Paul went in and for three consecutive Sabbaths he developed the arguments from Scriptures for the Jews, explaining and proving how it was ordained that Christ should suffer and rise from the dead. “And the Christ”, he said, “is this Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you”. Some were convinced and they joined Paul and Silas. Many others, including some of the leading women, also joined them. “The Jews, full of resentment, enlisted the help of a gang from the market place, stirred up a crowd, and soon had the whole city in uproar” (Acts 17:5). They shouted “The people who have been turning the whole world upside down have come here now; they have been staying at Jason’s. They have broken Caesar’s edicts by claiming that there is another king, Jesus” (Acts 17:7). Hearing this, the citizens and the city councillors were alarmed, and they made Jason and the rest give security before setting them free. We see immediately that there were deep tensions among the early Christian community and the Jewish population in the city of Thessalonica. Paul’s letter to the Christian community at Thessalonica (the first of all letters written by Paul) was probably written around 50 A.D. while he was at Corinth and just a few months after his departure from Thessalonica.
The first letter to the Thessalonians gives us a glimpse into the issues and questions facing the Thessalonians at that time. Since it had a synagogue, we know that there was a strong Jewish presence in the community. 1 Thes 1:9 mentions that the Thessalonians had turned from “idols / false gods”, indicating that this was predominantly a Gentile-Christian community. The manual trades mentioned in 1 Thes 4:11 suggest that many of the believers were members of the middle or lower working class. Paul, working from his shop in the market place (1 Thes 2:9) seems to have built up a familiar and caring relationship with the early Christian followers in Thessalonica. 1 Thes 2:7 tells us that he had been gentle among them “like a mother feeding and looking after her children we felt so devoted to you”. Paul shared with them his own life experience and faith and the gospel of God had a great impact on them. However, there was great opposition (“we had received rough treatment and insults at Philippi”, 1 Thes 2:2) to Paul and to his message. Acts 17:5, mentioned above, tells us that there was envy at the success of Paul’s mission, so he and his companions were forced to leave Thessalonica much sooner than they had hoped (1 Thes 2:17). When they could no longer bear this tension and disharmony Paul and some others moved on to Athens. They sent out Timothy to Thessalonica to spread the gospel of Christ to keep them firm and encourage them in their faith. Timothy brought positive news to Paul when they were reunited. 1 Thes 3:6 tells us that Timothy brought “good news of your faith and your love, telling us that you always remember us with pleasure and want to see us quite as much as we want to see you”. In fact the faith of the Thessalonians was a source of great hope and encouragement to Paul and the others in the middle of their own distress. 1 Thes 3:8 quotes Paul as writing “now we can breathe again, as you are holding firm in the Lord”, and in 1 Thes 2:17-20 he stresses that they had a strong desire and longing to see the Thessalonians again face to face and assures them that they were the pride and joy of Paul and the others. It is clear from this letter that there was a strong bond of Christian love between Paul and the people of Thessalonica. Evidence of this is found in 1 Thes 2:8, “we felt so devoted to you that we would have been happy to share with you not only the Gospel of God, but also our own lives, so dear had you become”. This desire to see each other again reflects a genuine caritas relationship between Paul and the early Christian community at Thessalonica.
However, this Christian community at Thessalonica was very much in its infancy and was outnumbered by those who staged hostile opposition to it. Paul urged them to “go on making even greater progress and to make a point of living quietly, attending to your own business and earning your living, …so that you may earn the respect of outsiders and not be dependant on anyone” (1 Thes 3:10-11). Some people in Thessalonica were trying to discredit the authority of Paul and the others, which created tensions with the early Christian community there. Within the community itself there were anxious concerns about the date of the Second Coming (Parousia) as well as about the fate of those who had died before the Second Coming. The Christian community had anticipated the imminent return of Jesus during their lifetime. This may have contributed in some measure to a carefree attitude within the community, whereby some people decided that if the end was in sight then they might as well enjoy life and dispense with the commandments. It is clear that the early Christians there were anxious and fearful that those who had died would not receive the triumph of Christ at the Second Coming. This doubt in the resurrection of the dead is challenged by Paul when he stressed the importance of their belief in the resurrection. In 1 Thes 4: 13-18 Paul assures the Christian community at Thessalonica that those who have died are with God through Christ’s death and resurrection, and that those who are still alive will not have any advantage when the Parousia happens. Whether followers were living or dead, the salvation of Christ was for all, and that all were united in him. Those who have died in Christ will be the first to rise and then those who are still alive will be taken up in the clouds to meet the Lord. Regarding the expected date of the Parousia, he reminds them in 1 Thes 5:2 that “the Day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night”, unexpectedly, and will take people unawares. He urged them to stay wide awake and sober so as to stay in the light, to wear faith, hope and love as their armour, and to continue strengthening and encouraging each other. Paul himself may have expected the Second Coming to occur soon, during his lifetime but stresses that it will come unexpectedly. Paul makes use of familiar Jewish apocalyptic imagery and metaphorical language to communicate the nature of the Parousia. He refers to the “archangel’s call” and the “sound of the trumpet of God” and going to meet the Lord on the clouds “in the air”. The Jewish people still anticipated their Messiah who would inaugurate the last times when he came. It would be a time of triumph and majesty preceded by signs. The early Christian community believed that Jesus had inaugurated the last times, but that the ultimate triumph and majesty was yet to come in the future. This theme is taken up again in Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians. Paul explains that the Parousia will be preceded by a Great Revolt wherein the “wicked One, the lost One, the Enemy” (2 Thes 2:3-4) will appear. In verse 8 he goes on to say that “The Lord will destroy him with the breath of his mouth and will annihilate himwith his glorious appearance at his coming”. Satan will however be at work in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders and people will be deluded by what is false preceding the Parousia. Therefore the Christian community needed to stay strong and steadfast in their faith in Christ. Paul is here challenging them also to overcome their fear and sadness and replace it with hope and faith in Jesus Christ.
As people waited eagerly for the Second Coming Paul urged them to avoid becoming lazy, drunk, carefree and indifferent. He urged them to examine their lifestyles and to live good and holy lives. They are to avoid idleness (a problem which is implicit from 2 Thes 3:1-15). They are to keep away from those who lead undisciplined lives and to model themselves on the early missionaries who paid for their own food and lived disciplined lives. In verse 10 he urged them “not to let anyone eat who refused to work”, indicating that the laziness of some was a problem in the community. It seems that some were doing no work themselves but were interfering in other people’s work (v11). Paul urges these to “go on quietly working and earning the food that they eat” (2 Thes 3:12). He follows this by an instruction to all not to slacken in doing what is right and to have nothing to do with anyone who refuses to obey Paul’s instructions in this letter (v14). In 1 Thes 5:14 he urges them to “admonish those who are undisciplined, encourage the apprehensive, support the weak and be patient with everyone”, indicating that there was a cohort within the Christian community who were leading lives of idleness, undiscipline and laziness. He asks the followers to have consideration, respect and affection for their leaders in the community. Equally he emphasises that there is to be an end to the sexually immoral lifestyle of some in the community. In 1 Thes 4: 3-8 Paul calls people to holiness in accordance with God’s will, and to control their bodies, resisting selfish lust and to never take advantage of another in these matters. Clearly, in such a cosmopolitan city with a rich mixture of peoples and cultures, there was quite a level of sexual immorality among the city people. He reminds the followers that if they choose to reject this message they are choosing to reject God, who gave the Holy Spirit.
Paul exhorts the early Christian community to live honourable and good lives in the face of harsh opposition from others. He wants the Thessalonian community to be seen as a shining light to the members of the neighbouring religious cults in Thessalonica. In 1 Thes 2: 13 he acknowledges them for receiving the word as God’s word, not a human invention. In v14-15 he reminds them that “you, my brothers, have modelled yourselves on the churches of God in Christ Jesus which are in Judea, ion that you have suffered the same treatment from your own countrymen as they have had from the Jews, who put the Lord Jesus to death, and the prophets too, and persecuted us also”. His words indicate that there were deep hostilities and resentments in the relationship between members of the early Christian community at
Thessalonica and the Jewish community there. He says that the conduct of such people “makes them the enemies of the whole human race, because they are hindering us from preaching to the gentiles to save them (1 Thes 2:16-17). Paul’s hope is that the loving lifestyle of the early followers will be an example of holiness to the Jews and gentiles. Their lifestyle, unity, discipline, work, faith and love would be a shining example to those who continues to worship false deities and patrons who contributed to the wealth of Thessalonica.
Paul addresses the early Christian community in Thessalonica as a Church (1 Thes 1:1), from the Greek word “ekklesia” which in Hebrew referred to the sacred assembly of God’s chosen people (Qahal). For Paul, this community was, in a manner of speaking, also a chosen people, for God loved them dearly and so provided a living space for them. In verses 4-5 Paul writes that the community had been chosen, “because our gospel came to you not only in words, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with great effect”. The early converts became an example to all other believers in Macedonia and Achaia, and their faith in God spread everywhere, despite the “great hardship” (v6) they had to endure. The unifying force among this early faith community is the love of God, mad known to them through Jesus Christ. The letter opens with an unambiguous statement that the Church in Thessalonica “is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (v1). The Holy Spirit, then would help to build up and strengthen the early Christian community, giving them joy and reminding them of God’s unfailing presence among them. We note that the early faith community were filled with a spirit of thanksgiving and gratitude to God for having received the experience of the Risen Christ. Paul remarked on their faith, hope and love (1 Thes 2:3) and attributes it not to any human source but to God’s grace. He acknowledged how the community faced many afflictions and hardships but they remained steadfast in their faith. “Among the churches of God we take special pride in you for your perseverance and faith under all the persecutions and hardships you have to bear (2 Thes 1:4).Modelling themselves on Paul, Silas and other missionaries, and the churches in Judea (1 Thes 2:14), the early followers had learned that to remain steadfast in faith they needed to be united as one community. In turn, that community became a model for other newly found Christian communities in Macedonia and Achaia (modern day Greece, north and south) because of its exemplary fidelity to Christ (1 Thes 1:7-8). However, there was no room for complacency. Paul reminded the early community at Thessalonica that there was an ongoing need to improve in living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In 1 Thes 4: 1 Paul wrote “We urge you and appeal to you in the Lord Jesus; we instructed you how to live in the way that pleases God, and you are so living; but make more progress still”. Clearly, their lives were less than perfect. Although there is a clear bond of love between the community members, Paul asked them to deepen and extend that love too others so as to grow in holiness.
Adapted from Christianity: Origins and Contemporary Expressions
by Thomas Norris & Brendan Leahy, Into the Classroom series, Veritas 2004
Biblical source: The New Jerusalem Bible
1