Introduction to 1-2 Thessalonians1 John B
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Hope in the Lord: Introduction to 1-2 Thessalonians1 John B. Polhill John B. Polhill is the James Introduction We have two accounts of Paul’s found- Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Paul’s Thessalonian epistles both deal at ing of the Christian community at Testament Interpretation at The South- length with questions related to the Thessalonica. The first is Luke’s account ern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Parousia (Second Coming) of Christ. The in Acts 17:1-9. Acts 17:10-15 tells of the Polhill has taught at Southern since Thessalonians seem to have had serious work at Berea, and Acts 17:16 of Paul’s 1969. He has written numerous articles questions in this area. The two letters look arrival in Athens. The same period of mis- and a widely acclaimed commentary on at Jesus’ return from very different per- sionary activity is covered by Paul’s own Acts in the New American Commen- spectives. 1 Thessalonians is quite pasto- account in 1 Thessalonians 1-3. The Lukan tary. The article printed here is from his ral. In the letter Paul sought to comfort and Pauline versions are quite distinct. most recent book titled Paul: The Man and assure the Thessalonians about Jesus’ They supplement one another and will be and His Letters (Broadman). coming. In 2 Thessalonians he was less examined separately. patient. Some were spreading the false word to the church that the day of the Thessalonica (Acts 17:1) Lord had already occurred, and Paul After leaving Philippi, Paul, Silas, and addressed the problem more forcefully. Timothy proceeded along the Egnatian The Thessalonian epistles are the earli- Way toward Thessalonica. A journey of est extant Pauline epistles. Paul estab- approximately 100 Roman miles, it took lished the Thessalonian church during his them through the towns of Amphipolis second mission, after leaving Philippi. The (32 miles from Philippi) and Apollonia (31 time was around A. D. 50. The two epistles miles from Amphipolis, 38 miles from were written in close proximity to the Thessalonica). Amphipolis was a large founding of the church, perhaps within town. In previous years it was the capital six months from Paul’s departure from the of the first division of Macedonia. But, city. The two seem to have been written Paul did not stop to witness there. He close together. They are strikingly similar headed for Thessalonica. With a popula- in both language and content. tion of 65,000 to 100,000, it was the largest The first part of this essay will exam- city of Macedonia.2 ine Paul’s establishment of the work in Thessalonica was an important com- Thessalonica and the period of his minis- mercial center located on major land and try immediately following, including his sea routes. The Egnatian Way ran through work in nearby Berea and his flight to the center of town. The city grew up Athens. It is possible that Paul wrote his around the best natural harbor in first Thessalonian letter from Athens. The Macedonia. The ancient town of Therme remainder of the essay will introduce the had been located there. In 315 B.C., Thessalonian correspondence. Cassander, one of Alexander’s generals, who succeeded him as king of Macedonia, Establishment of the Church organized Therme and a number of sur- at Thessalonica rounding towns into his new capital. He 22 renamed his new capital Thessalonica for reflected in the names of the local officials his wife, who was also Alexander’s half- whom Luke mentioned in Acts 17:6, 8. He sister. In the second century B.C., called them politarchs (NIV, “city offi- Macedonia allied against Rome and was cials”), a local term that only seems to defeated at the battle of Pydna (168 B.C.). have been used in Macedonia. The name The victorious Roman general Aemilius has been found on some 70 inscriptions Paullus organized all of Macedonia into in Macedonia, 28 of them from Thessa- four administrative districts with Thessa- lonica alone. The number of politarchs at lonica as capital of the second. In 146 B.C. any one time seems to have varied, but Macedonia was made a Roman senatorial Thessalonica appears to have had 5 in province with Thessalonica as capital. The Paul’s day. They were the main public city befriended Julius Caesar and subse- officials, responsible for maintaining quently Octavian and Antony at the time records, keeping the peace, convening the of the republican war. It was rewarded for town council, and maintaining good rela- its loyalty in 42 B.C. by being granted the tions with the Roman provincial officials.4 status of a free city, a status that was re- confirmed by Octavian in 31 B.C. In A.D. Paul’s Relationship with the 15 Octavian (now “Augustus”) removed Thessalonians According to Macedonia from senatorial provincial sta- Acts 17:2-16 tus and placed it directly under his own Establishing the Church (17:2-4). rule (imperial provincial status) because Upon arriving in Thessalonica, Paul of Macedonian unrest over the heavy pro- preached in the synagogue, as was his vincial taxes. (Unlike senatorial provinces, custom. For three sabbaths he “reasoned” imperial provinces were under the direct with them from the Old Testament scrip- control of the emperor and had one or tures, seeking to demonstrate that Jesus more legions stationed within them.) In was the expected Messiah. Luke gives no A.D. 44 the emperor Claudius removed details, but probably Paul employed such the legions, returning Macedonia to its texts as those used by Peter in his sermon former senatorial provincial status. at Pentecost (Acts 2:16-35), by himself at The significance of all this is that Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:16-41), and per- Thessalonica’s fortunes were very closely haps the Servant passages which Philip tied to Rome. From the time of Augustus, shared with the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts a temple had been established there to 8:30-35). As was generally the case, the venerate Julius Caesar. By Paul’s day a members of the synagogue eventually cult had been established in Thessalonica turned on Paul, but not before he had for the worship of the goddess Roma.3 made many converts. Three categories of Thessalonica was never made a Roman converts are mentioned: “some” Jews, “a colony but remained a free Greek city. This number” of God-fearing Greeks, and a siz- meant that the local Greeks maintained able number of prominent Greek women their own legislative and governing pre- (v. 4). Many such Gentile women, like rogatives, were exempt from the provin- Lydia, seem to have been attracted to the cial taxes, had their own rights of coinage, Diaspora synagogues. and had no Roman troops within their The breach with the synagogue is indi- borders. The city’s Greek government is cated in Acts 17:5-9 by the account of the 23 Jews stirring up a mob against Paul. The the person of the emperor. Everyone was separation probably occurred a consider- expected to take an oath of loyalty to the able time before the mob incident. Luke’s emperor. When viewed superficially, the reference to three sabbaths (17:2) most Christian message about Christ the King likely refers to Paul’s initial period of wit- could be seen as seditious; it had been so ness in Thessalonica, which occurred in taken in the case of Jesus (cf. John 19:12). the synagogue. Paul must have continued The politarchs of Thessalonica found on in Thessalonica for some time after themselves much in the situation of Pilate separating from the synagogue. An exten- with Jesus. On the one hand, the charges sive period of ministry in Thessalonica is were unsubstantiated. On the other, there indicated by the Philippians sending him was an angry mob and a politically sensi- aid there “again and again” (Phil 4:16) and tive accusation. They arrived at a solution by his having to support himself in that they probably viewed as a reasonable Thessalonica with his own hands (1 Thess compromise. No one suffered any physi- 2:9, 2 Thess 3:8). cal harm and the peace was preserved. The Mob (17:5-6a). Jason (v. 9). Eventually the Jewish opposition did The politarchs had Jason “post bond” force Paul to leave Thessalonica, a pattern and then dismissed the Christians. Luke all too familiar from Paul’s first mission- did not specify the terms of the bond. The ary journey. This time the Jews did not act larger narrative would suggest that Jason alone. They incited the Gentile population was asked to guarantee that there would against the Christians. Specifically, they be no further disturbances to the peace. It enlisted some “rabble from the market- may have specified that Paul and Silas place.” This riffraff succeeded in provok- were to leave the city. Jason’s role in the ing a full-scale riot. The mob rushed to the incident is significant. He seems to have house of a certain Jason, who was evi- been a Christian of considerable social dently a Christian with whom Paul and standing and the church apparently met Silas had been staying. Not finding the in his house. He was its patron. It is pos- missionaries, they dragged Jason and sible that his house was an urban insula, some of his fellow Christians off to the an apartment with a workshop on the politarchs. ground floor and living quarters in the upper floors. If so, Paul may have worked The Charges (17:6b-8). in Jason’s workshop and slept in his Much as at Philippi, there were mul- living quarters above.5 It would have tiple charges, but only one that would been the location for Christian assemb- have raised the alarm of the magistrates.