Morning Message – John Cline,|
Text: 1 Thessalonians 1
Reader: Ken Bellous
Who was the Apostle Paul, that man who was one of history’s most important people? Every historian who does not hold an anti-Christian bias acknowledges that Paul’s bringing of Christianity to the “West”, to Europe, changed Western society, and then the world as missionaries took the Gospel message of Jesus throughout the world. Only Ethiopia and India knew of Jesus in a manner separate from Paul’s influence. He was born in today’s south-eastern Turkiye, in the province of Cilicia, and in the city of Tarsus. He was Jewish and given the birth name of Saul. He later adopted the Greek equivalent of Saul, that being Paul, when he began his missionary work among Greek-speaking Gentiles. So, unlike others in the Bible, God had not changed Saul’s name to Paul. Saul adopting the Greek variant of his name was smart.
Project map of Paul’s second missionary journeyWe will look at this map a few times today but, at this time, let us note four places: Tarsus in the province of Cilicia, where Saul/Paul was born and lived; Antioch, which would become the hub of first century missionary work; Pamphylia, a Roman province which we will read about later in connection with Cyprus, the island where Joseph, a Levite, was from. This Joseph of Cyprus was renamed by the apostles in Jerusalem, as “Barnabas” (which means “son of encouragement”), after he sold land he owned and gave them the profits from that sale to use as they wished, which probably included buying the food given out in a daily distribution of it to the poor, including widows, in the Jerusalem church. As the church grew in numbers in Jerusalem, persecution of Christians similarly grew, climaxing with the stoning and death of the deacon Stephen, a scene in which Saul of Tarsus, a devout Pharisee, took part. Realizing that their lives were in danger if they stayed in Jerusalem, all the Christians – except the apostles and leaders of the early church – fled. Saul, that devout Pharisee, sought and received permission from the Jewish High Priest to chase Christians who had fled to Damascus to arrest and bring them back to Jerusalem to stand trial. But, on a road leading into Damascus, Jesus appeared to him, and Saul was converted. A changed man, he thereafter preached powerfully about Jesus in the synagogues of Damascus, then put himself through a three-year period of learning about the Christian faith. Once he felt ready to get on with the ministry Jesus had called him to, that of reaching Gentiles with the Gospel, he decided that the first thing he should do was meet the apostles.
When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him & brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord & that the Lord had spoken to him, & how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So, Saul stayed with them & moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He talked & debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. (Acts 9:26-30)
Saul was a force to be reckoned with, a dynamo of evangelistic fervour. The apostles decided that he was too valuable to have killed by the Pharisees in Jerusalem – who hated him for having abandoned their cause when he became a Christian. Thus, they spirited Saul away to the port city of Caesarea and sent him on a ship back to Tarsus.
Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. (Acts 11:19-23)
The Jewish believers in Jerusalem were amazed to hear that Gentiles had become followers of Jesus. So, they sent Barnabas, the one they named “the son of encouragement”, to check things out. Seeing that it was true that Gentiles had accepted the Gospel, Barnabas decided that the one God had chosen to minister specifically to Gentiles, Saul, needed to come and minister to them there in Antioch.
Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So, for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. (Acts 11:25-27)
As the church in Antioch matured, the Christians there realized that the Good News about Jesus needed to be taken elsewhere, as Jesus had told them to, so they fasted and prayed. Here is what happened:
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So, after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. (Acts 13:2,3)
Their first destination would be Cyprus where Barnabas was from and then they would go to Turkiye where Paul was from. Barnabas invited his nephew Mark – who would later write the Gospel of Mark – on their evangelistic missionary journey. When the opposition to their message became too intense Mark lost his nerve in Pamphylia and left. By the way, Saul, now ministering to Gentiles, here adopted the name “Paul”.
Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. (Acts 15:36-41)
God, of course, can work in all things, and so, instead of only one set of evangelist missionaries returning to Cyprus, now there were two sets going to different places. The route Paul and Silas followed led them to Tarsus, Paul’s home city. Ok, back to the map…
Paul’s Second Missionary Journey took place from 51-53 A.D.
At this point, let’s note Tarsus, Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium. The road Paul was taking would lead him to Thessalonica where he would establish a church and to whom he would later write the two letters to the Thessalonians that we will be preaching through his fall but first Paul and Silas would have to go through the provinces in Turkiye. After going through his hometown of Tarsus, he continued on the road and,
Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So, the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. (Acts 16:1-5)
Ok, let’s go back to our map…
(once again)…Project map of Paul’s second missionary journey
This time note that Paul, Silas, and Timothy came from the east, Cilicia, and went through Galatia. They planned to go southwest to the province of Asia Minor but the Holy Spirit blocked them from doing so. When they arrived at the border of Mysia, a province to their south, they believed they should not go there but instead go to Bythynia, a province to the north, but again the Holy Spirit would not let them go that place. Instead, they would be led west to the port city of Troas.
Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So, they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. (Acts 16:6-10)
Troas was on the eastern side of the Aegean Sea, Macedonia on the western side, and in between was the island of Samothrace. Luke, the Gospel writer and the author of Acts, had joined Paul’s team by then.
From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days. (Acts 16:11,12)
Ok, let’s return once again to our map.
(once again)…Project map of Paul’s second missionary journey
Let’s note Neapolis, a port city in northern Macedonia, and Philippi, located inland from Neapolis. Today, we think of travel there as being a luxurious, romantic adventure. That was not the case back in those days. Leaving Philippi and going south 100 kilometers through Amphipolis and Appolonia and travelling by foot, the missionaries would eventually arrive in Macedonia’s largest city, Thessalonica. Let’s here note Berea which was also in Macedonia, plus two cities in the province of Achaia: Athens, and Corinth. This will be our last time looking at the map. Ken Bellous will now read for us:
When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. (Acts 17:1-4)
Paul seemed fearless, but, in reality, he was a “man on a mission” (literally) and he overcame his fears with the Lord’s help, pressing in to do the work God had called him to. Not only would he preach to Gentiles, though, but also to his own people, the Jews. Some Jews in Thessalonica believed his message and became followers of Jesus.
But other Jews were jealous; so, they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called “Jesus.” When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go. As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. (Acts 17:5-10a)
As had happened to him in Jerusalem, Paul was again sent away, this time with Silas, south to the city of Berea. There he would preach with great success but also face a familiar foe.
Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible. (Acts 17:11-15)
This time, Paul was not just sent on his way but escorted by other believers south for 303 kilometers to Athens. Meanwhile, Silas and Timothy stayed behind in Berea, Macedonia. In Athens, Paul courageously argued the truth of the Gospel with the leading philosophers of that city. A few people became followers of Jesus but the people there were not as receptive as the Bereans had been.
After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. (Acts 18:1-5)
The saying, “the gang’s all here” could be applied here. Excited and thankful to have Silas and Timothy back together with him, Paul sought a report from them regarding the churches of Macedonia. Based upon the things they told him, Paul decided that they, with Paul as the lead writer, had better write to the church in Thessalonica. So, they wrote two letters, a few months apart, sending them by courier who would have walked them to the church in Thessalonica. Paul stayed for 18 months in Corinth. So, what were some of the things happening in Thessalonica that Paul felt needed correction and further explanation? We will see this more clearly in the coming weeks as we go deeper into the letters, but persecution, along with the fact that some of their members had died, had caused confusion in the church for they had mistakenly believed that Jesus would return any day now. When he didn’t, they wondered if he had but that they had missed it, and had the rapture of the church may have happened and they had also missed that? Furthermore, they wondered if the persecution they were living in was the last-days tribulation period Paul had evidently talked to them about? Others in the church, sensing that the end-times were not at hand, after all, had given up living for Jesus and were engaging in inappropriate behaviour while still others had lapsed into idleness, given up working because, in their thinking, what was the point of working if Jesus could return at any moment? Ok, let’s read.
Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father & the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace & peace to you. We always thank God for all of you & continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, & your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. (1 Thess. 1:1-6)
The Thessalonians prior acceptance of the Gospel message, Paul, Silas and Timothy recognized, had come with the cost of severe suffering, but it also resulted in deep faith, hope, love, and joy. The writers were thankful!
And so, you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. (1st Thessalonians 1:7,8a)
The Christians of Thessalonica had such a vibrant faith that it inspired the Christians in the provinces of Achaia and Macedonia to likewise live well for Jesus. Theirs was a powerful faith worthy of praise.
Therefore, we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. (1st Thessalonians 1:8b-10)
The Gospel message presented by Paul to the Thessalonians was simply this (and we will look at this more in the coming weeks): first, turn from idols; second, serve the living and true God; and third wait for Jesus to return. When he comes, he will rescue us from the coming “wrath” which will be God’s judgment on sin. Continue to live in faith, with hope, and having love is what Paul, Silas, and Timothy sought to encourage the Thessalonian Christians to do in their two letters to them. That message still applies to us today. More next week! Let’s pray…
