Iii. Occasion And Purpose Of 2 Thessalonians 11
Paul's next preaching place after Thessalonica was Berea (Acts 17:10). Here he found the Jews much less prejudiced, and when he and Silas preached in the synagogue the Bereans received their word and checked it against Scripture. As a result many Jews believed, as well as Gentile adherents of the synagogue. But the Thessalonian Jews heard what was happening, and some of them came to Berea. There they stirred up so much trouble that Paul sailed away to Athens, though his helpers, Silas and Timothy, stayed on.
Having arrived at Athens, Paul sent for Silas and Timothy to come to him quickly (Acts 17:15). But he was so stirred by the idolatry he saw that he could not wait for their arrival before preaching the gospel, both in the synagogue and in the marketplace. His preaching aroused interest and won some converts. But for the most part the cultured Athenians found the resurrection a stumbling block. At some time during Paul's stay in Athens Timothy came to him, but Paul sent him back to Thessalonica to strengthen and encourage the believers (1 Thess. 3:2). That left him alone in Athens.
We have every reason for thinking that Paul was a discouraged man when he came to Corinth, his next port of call. Fanatical opponents had brought about his forcible ejection from three successive preaching places, in each case just when it seemed that his work would be crowned with success. After that he had gone to Athens, the cultural center of Greece, and had been met by mockery. In later days he recalled that he had arrived at Corinth "in weakness and fear, and with much trembling" (1 Cor. 2:3).
But not long after this, Silas and Timothy came to him from Macedonia (Acts 18:3), bringing news of his converts there. They told him that despite all difficulties the new believers were standing firm (1 Thess. 3:6-9). Their story was such that Paul could not but be encouraged. He saw his setbacks in their right perspective and realized afresh that God was with him, that he was indeed God's messenger, and that the blessing of God was on the work he was doing. He received new strength. Inspired by this news, he gave himself over to the vigorous proclamation of the gospel that was to mean so much to Corinth in the following days, as we gather from Luke's report: "When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ" (Acts 18:5). Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians reflects this mood of relief and exultation. He prayed night and day that he might see these good friends and supply what was still lacking in their faith (1 Thess. 3:10). But since that was not possible he prayed for them where he was, and his prayer shows something of what he longs for God to do in and for his Thessalonian converts (1 Thess. 3:11-13). This whole letter expresses his concern for them and his joy in them.
It is not certain that Silas as well as Timothy had been to Thessalonica, but we know that Timothy had been there (1 Thess. 3:6), and that recently. One or both of these friends brought Paul news of the Thessalonian church, and 1 Thessalonians was the reaction to the need thus revealed. While in general Paul was thrilled at the progress made by this church, the report showed that these new Christians had gone astray in some matters and that they were facing some difficulties. He wrote accordingly to correct and encourage them.
It is clear from Acts that the principal opposition to the church at Thessalonica came from the implacable Jewish community in that city. They were probably able to enlist a certain amount of Gentile support, but the Jews were the mainspring of the constant opposition. One part of their campaign was a personal attack on Paul himself. They urged that he had no real love for his converts (else why did he not come back to them?). They said that he had never been motivated by a genuine concern for them, but only by the desire for personal profit. At that period there were many wandering preachers, both of philosophy and religion, who made a living by imposing on the credulity of those whom they could persuade to listen to them.12 It was easy to impugn Paul's sincerity13 and to class him with these familiar wandering charlatans. Should his enemies have been successful in this campaign of slander Paul would have been hopelessly discredited,14 and the message he preached along with him.
Findlay reconstructs the calumnies of the slanderers thus: "Those so-called apostles of Christ are self-seeking adventurers. Their real object is to make themselves a reputation and to fill their purse at your expense. They have beguiled you by their flatteries and pretense of sanctity ... into accepting their new-fangled faith; and now that trouble has arisen and their mischievous doctrines bring them into danger, they creep away like cowards, leaving you to bear the brunt of persecution alone. And, likely enough, you will never see them again!"15 If the Thessalonians had come to accept this (and the amount of attention Paul gives it may indicate that some were being influenced), the effect on the church would have been disastrous. So Paul devoted a considerable amount of space to the refutation of such slanders. He insisted on the purity of his motives. He pointed to the way he and his companions had steadfastly refused to take anything from the Thessalonians, but had worked hard day and night to support themselves. He protested his love for his converts.
In addition to the campaign of the Jews there was opposition from the Gentiles ("your own countrymen," 1 Thess. 2:14-15). Paul wrote to encourage his friends to stand fast in the face of such persecution.
Apart from these external trials, within the church some erroneous views on the second advent were causing trouble. It is clear that the converts, while they knew the essentials, were yet imperfectly informed about this doctrine. Paul wrote to give the Thessalonians that fuller information which they needed. Some of them had evidently received the impression that the Parousia was imminent. Christ would come and take them all to himself. But then some of them died, and that raised a problem for the survivors. Did it mean that the deceased would miss their share in the events of that great day? Did it perhaps throw discredit on the whole idea of the Parousia? Paul wrote to set their minds at rest and to give them the true teaching.
Another false inference that some of them drew from the thought of the imminence of the second coming was apparently that it was unnecessary for them to do any work.'6 This in turn meant that they had to live on the charity of their fellows and became idle busybodies. The full development of this tendency is seen in the second letter, but we find its beginnings in the first (1 Thess. 4:11-12). Paul sought to set such people on the right track.
A further aspect of the second coming seems to have concerned the possibility of knowing just when it would be. At any rate Paul thought it necessary to remind his readers that there was no knowing when it would happen (1 Thess. 5:1-3), which seems to indicate that some had been concerned about the point.
It is likely that in trying to deal with the problem the zeal of the leading members of the congregation had outrun their tact. Some of the rank and file were offended and were beginning to have a low opinion of them. Paul counseled the church at large to hold their leaders in high esteem "because of their work" (1 Thess. 5:13).
A feature of life in a Greek city of the first century was its laxity in sexual morality. Converts were taught that in Christ things were different, but the pressure from their environment to revert to the old, easy behavior must have been very strong. Paul accordingly includes a section encouraging them to stand firm in this matter (1 Thess. 4:4-8).
There are other indications of some measure of irregularity in the new church. Thus Paul speaks about the Holy Spirit in a way that may indicate that some had frowned on the enthusiasm17 of members who were more Spirit-led.' 8 But in the foregoing we will have most of the matters that seem to have weighed on the great apostle as he wrote to his friends. The really important thing was that he wrote in exultation of spirit, having just heard the good news of the way they were standing fast. He wrote to let them know how thankful he was. He wrote to let them know of his tender concern for them. He wrote to give them fuller information about matters in which their zeal had outdistanced their knowledge. He wrote to put them further along the Christian way that meant so much to him and to them.
A number of recent scholars, notably W. Schmithals and W. Marxsen, are of opinion that Paul was combating some form of Gnosticism, but the attempt to establish this has not been notably successful. In the first instance, the reasons for seeing Gnosticism behind this letter have not proved very cogent; all the passages urged can be satisfactorily understood quite apart from any Gnostic interpretation. Furthermore, despite the popularity in some quarters of the view that there is Gnosticism behind some of the New Testament writings, no one has been able to show that Gnosticism as such was in existence as early as this.19 Until it can be clearly shown that Gnosticism preceded the Christian movement it is difficult to take seriously the idea that the basic Christian writings depend on and express or oppose Gnostic concepts.20
Malherbe points out that in writing 1 Thessalonians Paul "created something new."21 Letters were, of course, well known and widely used in the ancient world, but Malherbe's point is that in the letters of the time there is no parallel to Paul's pastoral purpose. Throughout 1 Thessalonians the apostle's concern for the spiritual well-being of his converts shines through, and he has considerable success in providing what was needed for the Thessalonian Christians in the unexpected difficulties they were encountering. We are so accustomed to reading the New Testament letters that we are apt to take this kind of letter for granted. But it helps us see something of Paul's achievement when we reflect that in his Thessalonian correspondence he has done something that, as far as we know, nobody else in antiquity had succeeded in doing.