The beginning of the Church of Thessalonica
1 ① You well know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not in vain. 2We had been ill-treated and insulted in Philippi but, trusting in our God, we dared announce to you the message of God, and face fresh opposition. 3Our warnings did not conceal any error or impure motive, nor did we deceive anyone. 4But as God had entrusted his Gospel to us as to faithful ministers, we were anxious to please God who sees the heart, rather than human beings. 5We never pleased you with flattery, as you know, nor did we try to earn money, as God knows. 6We did not try to make a name for ourselves among people, either with you or anybody else, although we were messengers of Christ and could have made our weight felt. 7On the contrary, we were gentle with you, as a nursing mother who feeds and cuddles her baby. 8And so great is our concern that we are ready to give you, as well as the Gospel, even our very lives, for you have become very dear to us. 9Remember our labor and toil; when we preached the Gospel, we worked day and night so as not to be a burden to you. 10You are witnesses with God that we were holy, just and blameless toward all of you who now believe. 11We warned each of you as a father warns his children; 12we encouraged you and urged you to adopt a way of life worthy of God who calls you to share his own glory and kingdom. 13This is why we never cease giving thanks to God for, on receiving our message, you accepted it, not as human teaching, but as the word of God. That is what it really is, and as such it is at work in you who be lieve. 14Brothers and sisters, you followed the example of the churches of God in Judea, churches of Christ Jesus. For you suffered from your compatriots the same trials they suffered from the Jews, 15who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and who persecute us. They displease God and harm all people 16when they prevent us from speaking to the pagans and trying to save them. By doing so they are heaping up their sins, but now Judgment is coming upon them. 17We are for a time deprived of your presence, but not in our heart, and we eagerly long to see you. 18For we have wanted to visit you, and I, Paul, more than once; but Satan prevented us. 19In fact, who but you are our hope and our joy? Who but you will be our glorious crown before Jesus, our Lord, when he returns? 20Yes, indeed, you are our glory and our joy.
- 1 Thes 2,1 As a nursing mother who feeds and cuddles her baby (v. 7): Paul's tenderness. Paul recalls the work and energy he spent to convince, to call each one personally. The conversion of a single person demands perseverance, weariness and struggles for the apostle. All the Christians of Paul's time know that the mother Church in Jerusalem has been the first to suffer heavy persecution. For the Thessalonians, it was also an honor to have remained steadfast in the face of persecution. Some people will find Paul's words concerning the Jews harsh and exaggerated: It is obvious that verses 15-16 do not refer to all the Jews or to the Jewish people of future time. Paul means those Jews and Judeo-Christians who persecute him from city to city. The divine sentence condemning them has already been pronounced yet they reflect his experience, verified in Acts 15-28.
