Today we start a study through the New Testament book titled 1st Thessalonians. What is 1st Thessalonians?
Turn to Acts 17, because there’s a back story we need to hear if we want to answer the question “What is 1st Thessalonians?”
In Acts 17, the Christian church is only about 20 years old. What Jesus and the Holy Spirit started in Jerusalem is now spreading across the Roman Empire, primarily through the work of missionaries. One of those missionaries is a man named Paul. Paul started his career as a Jewish Pharisee, totally opposed to the Christian movement, including rounding Christians up and throwing them in jail and murdering them. Then Jesus appeared to Paul, and Paul was radically transformed. As passionately as Paul had been opposing Jesus, he now threw his formidable knowledge and personality completely behind the mission of Jesus.
Paul and his ministry associates went on mission trips around the Roman Empire, inviting as many people as possible to become followers of Jesus. When those people became followers of Jesus, Paul would group these new followers into church families. When I say “church families,” do not think “church buildings.” There were no church buildings at this time. The Christians instead met in small groups in homes. In a given town or city there would have been a network of house churches.
One of the towns in which Paul started a network of house churches was the city of Thessalonica. You can visit this city still today in Greece, and its name is almost the same, Thessaloniki. The photo above is modern-day Thessaloniki including ruins of the Roman Forum.
When I visit Philadelphia, I walk by Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, filled with a sense of awe, considering the events that happened there over 250 years ago. 250 years is a long time. But Thessaloniki? It goes back over 2050 years.
It was just about 2000 years ago that Paul visited the city which was called Thessalonica in the first century. Thessalonica was not only the capital city of the region, it was the region’s largest city. In Paul’s day, if you wanted to reach people for Jesus, Thessalonica was a must visit.
We pick up the story in Acts 17, verse 1, where Paul preaches in the synagogue in Thessalonica. He declares that Jesus is the Messiah the people have been looking for. Jews, Greeks, men and women, become followers of Jesus. God is at work, and a new house church movement launches.
Think about that timeframe. Three Sabbath days. That’s three Saturdays in a row. Paul was in Thessalonica only about three weeks. In that short time, through Paul and his friends’ ministry, God starts a new house church movement. It’s quite amazing.
Just then trouble strikes. Anti-Christian Jews start a riot, forcing Paul and his friends to leave Thessalonica, fleeing for the lives under cover of night.
Paul could be thinking, “Whew…that was a close one. Thank you Lord for keeping us safe. I guess we need to preach in a different town.” We know Paul does think that, because if you scan through the rest of Acts chapter 17 and then through all of chapter 18, Paul keeps preaching in Berea and Athens and Corinth. But though Paul now has loads of ministry opportunities in new places, he doesn’t forget the Christians in Thessalonica.
Actually, Paul is very troubled about the Christians in Thessalonica. Why? We find out in the next post.
Engaging Scripture 
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