~ Taken from Vincent Cheung, Commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians ~
Paul’s second missionary journey began from Antioch (Acts 15:30-35). His disagreement with Barnabas over Mark resulted in the dissolution of their original partnership (15:37-39), so that this time he chose Silas to go with him instead (15:40). They passed through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches (15:40b). When they arrived at Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium, Paul inducted Timothy into their missionary team (16:1-3). The relationship between these two would turn out to be productive both on a personal and a ministerial level.
Paul and the others traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, but were kept from preaching in the province of Asia (16:6). When they reached the border of Mysia, they were about to continue into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them (16:7). So they passed by Mysia and went to Troas (16:8). There Paul had a vision that convinced the group that God had called them to enter Macedonia (16:9-10).
From Troas they sailed to Samothrace and then to Neapolis, and then traveled to Philippi (16:11-12). Their work there receives major coverage in the Acts of the Apostles. The initial preaching was met with some success (16:13-15), but then they were confronted with demonic harassment that led to a city riot and their imprisonment (16:16-24). God’s miraculous deliverance, in conjunction with their joyful and steadfast faith, reversed their predicament and gave them the upper hand. This resulted in the conversion of the jailer and his whole family (16:25-34). Nevertheless, they were asked to leave and so they departed from the city (16:35-40).
After passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they reached Thessalonica (17:1). Their ministry was successful, since they not only persuaded some of the Jews, but “a large number” of Greeks and prominent women were also converted (17:2-4). But some Jews became jealous, so that they incited some bad characters, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city against the believers (17:5-9). And so the Christians sent Paul and Silas away during the night (17:10).
Although the present work is an exposition of Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians, in order to grasp some of the observations that I will make in this chapter and a later chapter, we will need to go beyond Thessalonica in our survey of Paul’s second missionary journey. So we will continue a little further.
The Thessalonian Christians sent Paul to Berea (17:10). His work there was again successful, and “many” people believed, both Jews and Greeks, men and women (Acts 17:12). It is said of them, “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (17:11). Luke’s emphasis in this verse is often misrepresented. He is not commending the Bereans for their healthy skepticism or discernment, but he is making a contrast between the receptiveness of the Bereans and the stubbornness and resistance that many of the Thessalonians exhibited. So to first stress even a healthy sort of skepticism or discernment in the Bereans would be to teach almost the opposite of what the verse says. The attitude commended is a receptiveness and openness to the gospel. It is not a “we will not believe unless we have to” attitude, but a “we will believe in accordance to what has been revealed” attitude. In any case, when the Jews in Thessalonica learned of Paul’s work at Berea, they went there also, “agitating the crowds and stirring them up” (17:13). So the believers escorted Paul away to Athens (17:14-15).
Luke covers in detail Paul’s work in Athens. The apostle preached in the synagogue and in the marketplace, and his disputation with some philosophers brought him before the Areopagus (17:16-21). A large section is then devoted to transcribe or summarize Paul’s speech, a significant discourse that resembles a presentation in Christian systematic theology or philosophy (17:22-31). This effort was met with some success – “a few men” and “a number of others” became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus (17:34). There was some opposition, albeit more in the form of mockery than the violent riots stirred up by the Jews in other places (17:18, 32).
The most dangerous persecution will often come from those who consider themselves the people of God. Jesus said, “They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God” (John 16:2). Likewise, a minister of the gospel will often find that his greatest enemies consist of professing believers, those who say they are Christians, but who uphold human traditions and personalities rather than God’s commands and teachings.
Then Paul left Athens and entered Corinth (18:1). His preaching there was effective, as a synagogue ruler and his entire household, along with many of the other Corinthians who heard the gospel, believed in the Lord. But the Jews again opposed the gospel and “became abusive” (18:6). They attempted to manipulate Gallio the proconsul, but he dismissed them, since Paul committed no crime (18:12-17). So Paul remained in Corinth for a while longer (18:18).
After that, Paul set sail for Syria, and stopped by Ephesus on the way (18:18-19). He went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews, but when they asked him to remain, he declined, but said that he might return (18:19-21). Then, he went to Caesarea, and finally back to Antioch (18:22).
There is a recurring pattern in this narration of Paul’s second missionary journey. Whenever he entered a new location, he would first enter the local synagogue and reason with the Jews, showing from the Scripture that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ, that he had to suffer and die, and be raised from the dead. This does not mean that his ministry was limited to the synagogues, only that he would attempt to persuade the local Jews first concerning the truth of the gospel. Then, persecution would erupt, usually incited by the Jews who were resistant to the truth and jealous of Paul’s success, so that the apostle and his companions had to leave that location and continue with their journey.
From this we may make some observations about the functions and effects of persecution in relation to the progress of the gospel.
First, persecution constantly propelled Paul and his companions forward in their mission. They proceeded from place to place rather rapidly, always remaining long enough to get the job done, but seldom staying longer than necessary. When persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem in Acts 8, the Christians scattered throughout Judea and Samaria, and “those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (v. 4). Thus persecution is one manifestation of divine providence that facilitates the spread of the gospel.
Second, persecution prevented the infant church from beginning with the burden of false believers who would profess the Christian religion because of curiosity or excitement. Of course, such a profession does not come from genuine faith, and does not result in transformed thinking and behavior, nor does it lead to salvation of the soul. A congregation that is burdened with a large percentage of false believers will have problems affirming the proper doctrines and governing itself aright, and it will have difficulties in relating to outsiders in a way that honors the doctrine of Christ and the power of the Spirit, and in a way that rightly distinguishes itself from the kingdom of darkness.
On the other hand, a church that is born in the midst of persecution is more likely to comprise of individuals that are compelled to profess the gospel due to the force of its truth and the work of the Spirit within their hearts. They do not have illusions about what Christianity will offer to them and require from them. Concerning one who has no genuine faith, Jesus explains, “But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away” (Matthew 13:21). Genuine disciples are those who would forsake all to follow Christ (Luke 14:26-27, 33), who would put their hands to the plow and not look back (Luke 9:62). Therefore, persecution is also one manifestation of divine providence that serves to maintain the purity of the church.
Christians pray, worry, scheme, conspire, compromise, beg, plead, threaten, entice, and become exercised over how to gather more people into their churches. This is a legitimate desire if we mean that we wish to preach the gospel so that people would believe it and become faithful members in our congregations. But a matter that is almost as urgent as this other is how we can expel from our churches the overwhelming number of false believers that we have collected over the years. As one preacher said, “Unregenerate men make lousy Christians.” Among other things, biblical preaching and strong persecution will drive out those who refuse to believe but still wish to maintain their reputation as Christians.
Now, anything that can be done by persecution can be done by the word of God alone. For example, a person who becomes aware of the harsh treatment that he would experience as a believer could have learned about this from the Scripture prior to and apart from any persecution. A person whose false faith has been exposed due to his inability to endure hardship could have discovered this through self-examination by the word of God. Nevertheless, not all men are honest, and persecution often forces them to become at least a little more candid with themselves and with the world.
The third point follows from the first two, and that is, persecution does not indicate God’s disapproval of a ministry. It is a mistake to assume that if a ministry is saying and doing what God has commanded, then it would perform its mission without oppositions (persecution), hindrances (delays, limitations, etc.), and apparent setbacks. These things are often the tools of providence by which God would produce the exact effects desired through the ministry. They serve to maintain a level of efficiency, purity, and honesty among the ministers and the converts.
The fourth point follows from the third, and provides another reason as to why a legitimate ministry may face opposition, even persecution that often appears to hinder its mission and progress. And that is, Christians are called not only to gather and educate the elect – this is only one specific aspect of their calling. Rather, Christians are called to be witnesses for the Lord Jesus. In other words, Christians represent and evidence God’s truth, power, and grace to the world, and the purpose for doing this is not only to attract those whom God has chosen for salvation, but also to incite the negative reactions of the reprobates so as to draw out in their words and deeds that which is in their hearts, that is, the wickedness and rebellion in them.
Men are tested and exposed by their response to a ministry that proclaims the word of the Lord by the power of his Spirit. The elect are awakened, converted, and edified, but reprobates will persecute such a ministry. Thus non-Christians testify against themselves before God by the way they deride and oppose believers and preachers of the gospel. Each instance of persecution is another example by which God demonstrates to the world the wickedness and obstinacy of those who reject the Christ. Each instance of persecution is another affirmation of God’s justice in his condemnation against all sinners. John 3:19 says, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” And so, Paul writes, “For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life” (2 Corinthians 2:15-16; also 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16).
This understanding enables us to maintain a joyful attitude in the face of persecution, and to combat doubt and discouragement. Men’s endorsement does not validate a ministry, just as men’s rejection does not disqualify it. Only the word of God, the standard that has been revealed and established by divine revelation, is the true and final judge. But even though we speak with this note of triumph, the pain of persecution is actual and intense in those who must bear it. Therefore, let us be mindful of the suffering of our fellow believers, and pray for those who must endure hardship for the sake of the gospel.