D. Timothy's Report (3:6-8)
i So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. 2 We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God's fellow workera in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 3 so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them. 4 In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know. 5 For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.
a2 Some manuscripts brother and fellow worker; other manuscripts brother and God's servant
Paul had made clear his deep concern for the Thessalonian converts. He had had to leave them, but he described that as being "torn away" from them (2:17). He had desperately wanted to see them again but could not. So he now recalls that in that situation he had sent his trusted Timothy to encourage them. That showed something of his interest in their spiritual welfare.
1 More than one problem makes its appearance here. First, there is the problem of the movements of the missionaries. In Acts 17:14 Paul went on to Athens alone, leaving Timothy and Silas at Berea. From Athens he sent for them (17:15). Then he preached to the Athenians, and proceeded to Corinth (18:1), where Silas and Timothy joined him from Macedonia (18:5). However, from this passage it is clear that Timothy at any rate was with Paul in Athens. This does not involve a contradiction with Acts, as some have supposed. The writer of Acts has omitted the journey of Timothy to Athens and back to Thessalonica, which is not surprising, for it was not important for his purpose. But it was important for Paul's purpose in writing this letter, and he writes about it accordingly.
Then there is the problem of "we."' As we saw on 1:1, the practice in this epistle differs somewhat from that in the Pauline letters generally. The plural is used almost throughout, whereas in most of his letters Paul prefers the singular (the singular occurs in 2:18; 3:5; 5:27; 2 Thess. 2:5; 3:17). Some commentators deny that Paul ever used the epistolary plural, maintaining that the plural is always meant to associate others with him. This, however, does not seem tenable. In the present passage even the emphatic use of the singular in verse 5 cannot outweigh the fact that one person is meant by the plural in verse 1. This seems clear from the plural form of the adjective "alone" (NIV, "by ourselves"), which yet can only refer to Paul. It is reinforced by the fact that the same subject is also to be understood of the verb "sent" in verse 2. We cannot think of Timothy as sending himself. It is hard to think of Silas as being included, for, in the first place, we do not know whether he was in Athens or not and, in the second, it is difficult to think of "we" as meaning two people out of three (though Ward and others accept this). So certain does it seem to Moffatt that one person only is meant that throughout these verses he translates "I" and not "we."
The emotional atmosphere of the preceding verses continues to be in evidence (the chapter division is unfortunate, for this section is very closely connected with the preceding). The separation Paul has been speaking of became unendurable,2 and thus he took action. "We thought it best" renders the same verb as that rendered "we were delighted" in 2:8; it points here to something in the nature of a resolve, but the word has a definite emotional content. This is continued with "to be left," which means strictly "to be abandoned." It is used of leaving one's loved ones at death (Mark 12:19), and in the papyri it is the technical term for leaving something in a will.3 Linked with the emphatic "by ourselves," it gives us some idea of the depths of the apostle's feelings. We must not think that it was easy for him to stay and preach in Athens, the intellectual capital of the world. Many of its inhabitants were cultured people who would regard Paul's message as unacceptable in polite society, while not a few were cynical and ready to mock at the gospel Paul preached. Paul was not insensitive, and he did not relish the prospect of working alone in such a place. He realized that it was necessary for Timothy to go for the good of the work, but this verse gives us a glimpse of what it cost him.4
2 This cost is further emphasized in that when he was facing such a grim prospect Paul sent to them one whom he valued as highly as he did Timothy. According to the most probable reading he calls Timothy "God's minister in the gospel of Christ" (the alternative is "God's fellow worker," NIV; so REB).5 "Minister" is the rendering of diakonos, from which we get our word "deacon." It is sometimes used in the New Testament to denote a member of one of the orders of the Christian ministry in the technical sense, but it is very unlikely to have that meaning here. Originally the word denoted the service of a table waiter, and from that it came to signify lowly service of any kind. It was often used by the early Christians for the service that they were to render habitually both to God and to people. Where a word like "slave," which is often used of Christians, puts the emphasis on the personal relation, this word draws attention to the act of service being performed. It is not Paul's habit to refer to Timothy in this way (he prefers to call him "our brother" or the like, but cf. 1 Tim. 4:6). The elaborate and high-sounding title may be meant to impress on the readers the importance he had attached to Timothy's mission.
3 This purpose is further explained.? The sense of the verb rendered "be unsettled"8 is not certain. Most translations agree with KJV, "be moved" (e.g., Moffatt, "being disturbed"; RSV, "be moved"; Phillips, "to lose heart"), as do most recent commentators. But the word does not often have this meaning. More usually it is closer to its original meaning of a dog's wagging its tail-"to fawn upon" or "to wheedle." Here Paul seems to have in mind the possibility that, while the Thessalonians were in the middle of their troubles, some of their enemies might by fair words wheedle them out of the right way.9 Perhaps while the Gentiles were persecuting them some of the Jews spoke kindly to them (or Paul feared that they would) with a view to persuading them to accept Judaism, which, of course, would have as one of its effects the immediate cessation of persecution. It was their being Christian that aroused hostility so that to apostatize from Christianity would mean instant relief. We must not minimize the attractiveness of this prospect for people suffering persecution.
The trouble in which the Thessalonians found themselves arose not from the suffering that is the ordinary lot of people in general, but from what Rolston calls "the peculiar difficulties which they face as Christians in the midst of a secular society which acknowledges a different set of values." To compromise might appear to be an easy way out of their troubles, but Paul insists that they knew better. "You" is emphatic (really "you yourselves"), and the sense of this part of the verse is well given by Moffatt, "Troubles are our lot, you know that well" (i.e., so long as we understand "lot" not as the action of some blind fate, but as the portion God allots to his people). The verb translated "were destined"'() conveys the impression of something stable, something that cannot be altered. As Calvin puts it, it "is as though he had said, that we are Christians on this condition." Tribulation is not to be wondered at by Christian people as though some strange and unusual happening befell them. Under the conditions of the world, with so many opposed to the gospel and not taking the trouble to understand it, tribulation is inevitable (cf. Mark 8:34; John 16:33; Acts 14:22). More, it is the means of teaching us many lessons. Human nature being what it is, we will learn some things only the hard way. If we are in trouble and need help and advice we do not run over our list of friends and say: "Ah, there's so-and-so. Never had a day's trouble in his life: he'll be just the one to help!" Rather, we know that there are qualities of character that are brought out only by affliction. In our hour of need, someone who has these qualities is invaluable (cf. 2 Cor. 1:4). Suffering, then, is part of the very process of living out the Christian life, and Paul suggests that we should not regard it as something monstrous and alien. The God who is over all watches over his children, and the affliction that comes to them is only such as he permits. There is always some lesson to be learned from it. It is always part of our being shaped into what God would have us be. It is inevitable. We are appointed to it. I I
4 Paul had asserted that the Thessalonians knew this basic truth. He now reminds them that he had foretold their sufferings when he was in their city, and foretold them repeatedly, for such is the force of the continuous tense he employs (cf. Rutherford, "the warning was often on our lips"). The certainty of persecution loomed large in the apostle's mind, as well it might, both from the nature of things and from his own experience. So he often spoke of it. He further said "that we would be persecuted." This assertion emphasizes the certainty of the affliction and hints at its divine appointment (Clarke heads his exposition of this paragraph "The Cup That Will Not Pass" ).12 This same expression13 is used in a number of places in the New Testament to give greater certainty than the use of the simple future and to hint at the fact that God is in the particular act being foretold (e.g., Rom. 8:13, 18; Gal. 3:23; cf. also Acts 14:22 for coincidences both of thought and language). So Paul reiterates what he had said in the previous verse, that trouble, for the Christian, is not to be dismissed as totally evil. The hand of God is in it. He has appointed his people thereto.
Once more Paul appeals to the knowledge of the Thessalonians. He is not telling them something strange and novel. He does not need to produce proof at every step. He had repeatedly foretold suffering. This was not just so much empty sound, for his predictions had been fulfilled.14 The Thessalonians themselves had knowledge that this was so.
5 There is a good deal of repetition in these verses. Paul was very stirred as he wrote. He is anxious to leave his correspondents in no doubt as to his essential meaning, so he does not scruple to repeat his points. In this verse he says again what he has said in verses 1 and 2, that he sent Timothy when he could no longer endure the separation. He is very emphatic about his personal feeling and action, and adopts the unusual course in this letter of using the singular, and that with the emphatic pronoun.15 In the earlier verses he has referred to Timothy's being sent to strengthen the faith of the Thessalonians. Now we have the other side of it, namely, that he has been sent also in order that16 the apostle might be reassured. Paul was anxious to hear that the faith of his converts had not failed in the time of testing.
The concluding part of the verse employs a change of construction, from indicative to subjunctive, which it is impossible to reproduce in English. The effect of the indicative (NIV, "might have tempted") is to give the impression that the writer feels it probable that the tempter has indeed tempted them, but the subjunctive ("might have been useless") throws doubt on the idea that the preachers' labor had been in vain.17 In other words, Paul manages to convey his confidence that they had resisted the temptation that he knew they would have encountered.18 The evil one is called "the tempter" again in the New Testament only in Matthew 4:3, though he is elsewhere said to tempt people. The same evil spirit is called Satan in 2:18. Consistently he opposes the divine purposes (cf. 1 Cor. 7:5).
The reference to the activity of the tempter should not be overlooked. Satan is referred to in every major division of the New Testament. He is supreme in the realm of evil spirits (Eph. 2:2; 2 Thess. 2:9). His activities are always opposed to God and to the best interests of people.19 Afflictions like sickness are often attributed to the activity of his minions, and Paul describes his "thorn in the flesh" as "a messenger of Satan to torment me" (2 Cor. 12:7). Satan's activities in the realm of the spirit are seen in the taking away of the good seed from people's hearts (Mark 4:15), and "sowing" evil people in the world (Matt. 13:39). As "the god of this age" he blinds the minds of the unbelieving (2 Cor. 4:4). He tempted Jesus (Matt. 4; Luke 4), and he tempts his followers (Luke 22:3; 1 Cor. 7:5). He hindered Paul's missionary work (1 Thess. 2:18). He sought to gain advantage over the faithful (2 Cor. 2:11). Had he been successful in what he was doing among the Thessalonians Paul's hard work (the apostle's word means toil to the point of weariness; it is that rendered "toil" in 2:9) would have been rendered futile. Yet he is not conceived of dualistically, as commensurate with God. He is surely the chief among the enemies to be subjugated at the end (1 Cor. 15:25). Indeed, he has been defeated already (Col. 2:15). Christians here and now may defeat his purposes (Eph. 6:16).20