Book of 1 Thessalonians · Chapter 2 of 5
20 verses · 6 video commentaries from 4 courses · Berean Standard Bible
1You yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you was not in vain.
2As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God.
3For our appeal does not arise from deceit or ulterior motives or trickery.
4Instead, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, not in order to please men but God, who examines our hearts.
5As you know, we never used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God is our witness!
6Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it.
7On the contrary, we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother caring for her children.
8We cared so deeply that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives as well. That is how beloved you have become to us.
9Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless our conduct was among you who believed.
11For you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children—
12encouraging you, comforting you, and urging you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
13And we continually thank God because, when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is also now at work in you who believe.
14For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews,
15who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets and drove us out as well. They are displeasing to God and hostile to all men,
16hindering us from telling the Gentiles how they may be saved. As a result, they continue to heap up their sins to full capacity; the utmost wrath has come upon them.
17Brothers, although we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in heart), our desire to see you face to face was even more intense.
18For we wanted to come to you—indeed I, Paul, tried again and again—but Satan obstructed us.
19After all, who is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting, if it is not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?
20You are indeed our glory and our joy.
1 Thess 2:9
Paul and his companions worked diligently, day and night, to avoid burdening the communities they ministered to. This self-sufficiency, likely through a craft, allowed Paul to support himself and establish connections without relying on the financial support of new converts, although he was open to such offers.
Summarized by AI · The New Testament: Exploring the Christian Bible · Lecture 19: Paul’s Churches | Inventing Christian Communities · watch the clip
Beyond the introductions, 1 and 2 Thessalonians contain nearly identical phrases, such as the reference to working 'night and day so that we might not burden any of you.' This repetition of specific expressions to the same audience is considered unusual for a single author like Paul.
Summarized by AI · The New Testament: Exploring the Christian Bible · Lecture 21: Are Some New Testament Letters Forged? · watch the clip
In several of his letters, Paul indicates that he often refused financial support from the churches he founded, such as those in Thessalonica and Corinth. He preferred to work day and night to support himself, emphasizing his willingness to suffer and live in poverty as a mark of a true apostle, contrasting himself with opponents he sarcastically called 'super apostles' who boasted of their rhetorical power and charisma.
Summarized by AI · Through the Eye of a Needle: Jesus's Teachings on Wealth and Their Modern Relevance · Lecture 6: Wealth in the Wake of Jesus · watch the clip
1 Thess 2:14-16
In his earliest letter, 1 Thessalonians, Paul notes that his converts in Thessalonica faced persecution, similar to churches in Judea. He attributes this persecution to Jews who 'killed the Lord Jesus and His prophets' and hindered the preaching of the message to Gentiles. This passage is an early instance of blaming Jews for Jesus' death.
Summarized by AI · Bart D. Ehrman · YouTube · Does Paul Think God Hates Jews? · watch the clip
1 Thess 2:14-15
Paul attributes responsibility for Jesus' death to the Judeans, stating that they killed the Lord Jesus. This indicates Paul's understanding of the historical circumstances surrounding Jesus' crucifixion, linking it to Jewish opposition.
Summarized by AI · Did Jesus Really Exist? Evidence That Even Atheist Historians Accept · Lecture 1: Jesus in History · watch the clip
Ehrman disputes the claim by the author he is critiquing (Richard, page 12) that Paul says nothing in his letters that clearly places Jesus in the first century. Paul, writing in the fifties, says he met Peter, Jesus' disciple, and James, the brother of the Lord, three years after his own conversion, and he indicates that the same Judeans responsible for Jesus' death persecuted him after his conversion in the thirties (Ehrman cites this to 1 Thessalonians chapter one). Ehrman says these clearly do place Jesus in the first century and counts the claim as faulty.
Summarized by AI · Did Jesus Really Exist? Evidence That Even Atheist Historians Accept · Lecture 2: Jesus and the Mythicists · watch the clip