Ministry of Paul, Lesson 7

THESSALONICA: Scene of a Riot Incited by Jews Who Opposed Paul & Silas

22 October 2012

Bob Kaylor, Saving Grace Lutheran Church

All quotations from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version c 2001

History of the city: Founded in 315 B.C. by Cassander of Macedon,on or near the site of the ancient town of Therme (circa 650 B.C.),Thessalonica's history is long but little is known from before the Macedonian period. The city's name literally means "ThessalianVictory" and is in origin the name of a princess, Thessalonike of Macedon, who was so named because she was born on the day of the Macedonian victory at the Battle of Crocus Field. (She had been a half-sister of Alexander the Great, and King Cassander of Macedon’s queen.) After the fall of the kingdom of Macedon in 168 B.C. Thessalonica became a free city of the Roman Republic underMark Antonyin 41 B.C. It grew to be an important trade-hub located on the Via Egnatia, the road connecting Dyrrhachiumwith Byzantium, which facilitated trade between Thessalonica and great centers of commerce such as Rome and Byzantium. Thessalonica also lay at the southern end of the main north-south route through the Balkans along the valleys of the Morava and Axios rivers, thereby linking the Balkans with the rest of Greece. Thessalonica during Paul’s visits was virtually unchanged since the time of Cassander; almost every structure in it was nearly 400 years old. The area inside the walls was roughly one square mile. Over 40,000 people lived there.

Biblical connections: Neither the city of Thessalonicanor its residents are mentioned in our Old Testament andthey are mentioned only seven times in the New Testament. The books of 1 and 2 Thessalonians are epistles addressed specifically to this congregation. All of the other mentions of the city of Thessalonicaor its residents are in conjunction with the ministry of Paul, and occur five timesin Acts and once each in Philippians and 2 Timothy.

We catch up with Paul today in about A.D.50on what we call his second missionary journey. Paul and his assistants, Silas and Timothy,go there from Philippi where Luke has stayed behind.

Ac 17:1Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

Paul’s first stop in Thessalonica, as we’ve come to expect, is the synagogue. Also, as we’ve come to expect, some Jews and a larger number of Gentiles are receptive to Paul’s preaching but opposition quickly rises as well. Luke mentions Jason almost as though we’re already supposed to know him…maybe we are. Jason might be a relative of Paul’s.

Ro 16:21Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

If Jason was a relative of Paul’s, then he may have been familiar to some people in Luke’s audience, and therefore less needy of an introduction in the author’s eyes. But anyway, when the mob can’t find Paul they grab Jason and other disciples instead. Jason and the others are able to post bail and are released.

Ac 17:10The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue.

Paul and Silas are sent away for safety’s sake. We’ll talk more about the visit to Berea in a minute, but first let’s add a couple of details about the stay in Thessalonica from Paul’s words.

1Th 2:9For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

2Th 3:6Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. 7For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, 8nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. 9It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. 10For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.

Php 4:16Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again.

Paul and his companions did not want to be burden on the congregation, so they worked to support themselves. We know that Paul had a marketable skill: tentmaker (Acts 18:1). Paul also received offerings from the congregation in Philippi to support the work in Thessalonica. Even though not everything went as he would’ve wished in Thessalonica, Paul thought that the effort was worth it and appreciated the response of the new converts there.

1The 2:1For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. 2But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. 3For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, 4but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. 5For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. 6Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. 7But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. 9For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers.

1Th 1:1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. 2We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 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 loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.

1Th 4:9Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

We said we’d talk about Berea. That’s because Luke gives us a point of comparison between the Thessalonians and Bereanswhich tells us a little more about what went on in Thessalonica.

Ac 17:11Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. 13But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there.

Paul is on the run again and he goes first to Athens and then Corinth where Silas and Timothy will catch up with him brining news from Macedonia. In response to that news Paul will write both of his epistles to the Thessalonians, probably several months apart, in about A.D. 51. We’ll examine the epistles in a little while, but right now let’s skip to Paul’s next visit to Thessalonica on his third missionary journey in about A.D. 55.

Ac 20:1After the uproar [in Ephesus] ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia. 2When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. 3There he spent three months, and when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 4Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus. 5These went on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas, 6but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days.

Luke doesn’t give us much detail here, but it appears that Paul and his companions Including two Thessalonians) went through Thessalonica both on the way out and on the way back. He would’ve visited the congregation in Thessalonica, as well as those in Philippi and Berea, but it appears he may have established another congregation on this trip.

Ro 15:18For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ…

There was not a city of Illyricum, so Paul is probably referring to the region northwest of Thessalonica along the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. It had been a Roman province from 167 B.C. to A.D. 10 when it was divided up and became other provinces. It is about this time that Paul writes his second epistle to the Corinthians. The departure from Macedonia that we read about a couple of passages ago, is the last time that the congregation in Thessalonica will see Paul. Near the end of this missionary journey in about A.D. 57, he was taken into protective custody in Jerusalem and eventually taken to Rome where he would spend the rest of his life and ministry. But, one of Paul’s Thessalonian helpers would later accompany him on his trip to Rome.

Ac 27:2And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica.

The last reference to Thessalonica is when Paul is in Rome in about A.D. 67, and laments the departure of a helper.

2Ti 4:10For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

Religious roots of the city:The city ofTherme had one of the major temples of Dionysis, the Greek god of wine and fertility, which dated from about 500 B.C. as well as a communitycenter dedicated to Hestia, virgin goddess who was the protector of hearth and home. When it became Thessalonica, a sacred district was established on the west side of the city center that then contained temples of all the Greek gods. (Why wouldn’t you want to include the whole pantheon? After all, you could see Mount Olympus from Thessalonica on a clear day.) With the arrival of the Romans, temples were added for Roma, a divine personification of the city of Rome, and the imperial cult. If the Greek and Roman temples weren’t enough, there were other temples outside the sacred district to the southwest for the Egyptian deities Isis (the ideal mother and wife as well as the protector of nature and magic) and Osiris (ruler of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead). Perhaps more blatant than the deification of emperors by the Roman Senate, previously referred to as the imperial cult, was an Egyptian god that was fabricated entirely for political purposes. Serapis was devised during the third century B.C. on the orders of Ptolemy I of Egypt as a means to unify the Greeks and Egyptians in his realm. The Jewish synagogue is said to have been at the waterfront.

Content of the epistles/Summary of Paul’s message: The two letters are often designated as the eschatological letters of Paul.

1 Thessalonians:Paul had left Thessalonica abruptly (see Ac 17:5–10) after a rather brief stay. Recent converts from paganism (1:9) were thus left with little external support in the midst of persecution. Paul’s purpose in writing his first letter was to encourage the new converts in their trials (3:3–5), to give instruction concerning godly living (4:1–12) and to give assurance concerning the future of believers who die before Christ returns (4:13–18). Although the thrust of the letter is varied, the subject of eschatology (doctrine of last things) seems to be predominant in both Thessalonian letters. Every chapter of 1 Thessalonians ends with a reference to the second coming of Christ, with ch. 4 giving it major consideration (1:9–10; 2:19–20; 3:13; 4:13–18; 5:23–24). Thus, the second coming seems to permeate the letter and may be viewed in some sense as its theme.

Outline

  • The Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians (ch. 1)
  • The Grounds for the Thanksgiving (1:1–4)
  • The Genuineness of the Grounds (1:5–10)
  • The Defense of the Apostolic Actions and Absence (chs. 2–3)
  • The Defense of the Apostolic Actions (2:1–16)
  • The Defense of the Apostolic Absence (2:17—3:10)
  • The Prayer (3:11–13)
  • The Exhortations to the Thessalonians (4:1—5:22)
  • Primarily concerning Personal Life (4:1–12)
  • Concerning the Coming of Christ (4:13—5:11)
  • Primarily concerning Church Life (5:12–22)
  • The Concluding Prayer, Greetings and Benediction (5:23–28)

2 Thessalonians:Because of its similarity to 1 Thessalonians, the second letter to this congregation must have been written not long after the first letter—perhaps about six months. The situation in the church seems to have been much the same. Paul probably penned it about A.D. 51 in Corinth, after Silas and Timothy had returned from delivering 1 Thessalonians. Inasmuch as the situation in the Thessalonian church has not changed substantially, Paul’s purpose in writing is very much the same as in his first letter to them. He writes (1) to encourage persecuted believers (1:4–10), (2) to correct a misunderstanding concerning the Lord’s return (2:1–12) and (3) to exhort the Thessalonians to be steadfast and to work for a living (2:13—3:15). Like 1 Thessalonians, this letter deals extensively with eschatology . In fact, in 2 Thessalonians 18 out of 47 verses deal with this subject.

Outline

  • Introduction (ch. 1)
  • Greetings (1:1–2)
  • Thanksgiving for Their Faith, Love and Perseverance (1:3–10)
  • Intercession for Their Spiritual Progress (1:11–12)
  • Instruction (ch. 2)
  • Prophecy regarding the Day of the Lord (2:1–12)
  • Thanksgiving for Their Election and Calling (Their Position) (2:13–15)
  • Prayer for Their Service and Testimony (Their Practice) (2:16–17)
  • Injunctions (ch. 3)
  • Call to Prayer (3:1–5)
  • Charge to Discipline the Disorderly and Lazy (3:6–15)
  • Conclusion, Final Greetings and Benediction (3:16–18)

Modern day view of the ancient city: Ancient Thessalonica is beneath the modern Greek city of Thessaloniki so little of it can be seen. Making traces of it even harder to find is the fact that a couple of times in recent centuries there has been an effort to make Thessaloniki an envious modern European city. In the 1860s for example, ancient city walls and gates were removed in order to widen and realign streets. While the Jewish population of the city in Paul’s day and today is small, it appears that it was much larger during some of the centuries in between. During World War II 43,000 Jews from Thessaloniki were sent to concentration camps and 11,000 to forced labor camps. Thessaloniki is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia. According to the 2011 census the municipality of Thessaloniki today has a population of 322,240, making it the fifth largest and most populated city in the Balkans and the second most populated city that is not a capital. It is Greece's second major economic, industrial, commercial and political center, and a major transportation hub for the rest of southeastern Europe; its commercial port is also of great importance for Greece and the southeastern European hinterland. The city is renowned for its festivals, events and vibrant cultural life in general, and is considered to be Greece's cultural capital. The city's main university, Aristotle University, is the largest in Greece and the Balkans. In addition to its historic roots, Thessaloniki is also a very popular tourist destination in Greece. In 2010, it was ranked as the world's fifth-best party city worldwide, comparable to other cities such as Dubai and Montreal.