Written in the early 50’s (c.50-51), while Claudius is still emperor of Rome.

Paul’s claim that he was called by Christ Jesus to preach the gospel to the Gentiles is one that he quite obviously took seriously. (Galatians 1:16) The gospel that he carried with him took root in at least four Roman provinces: Galatia, Asia (Colossae and Ephesus), Macedonia (Philippi and Thessalonica), and Achaia (Corinth).

Some scholars believe that Paul’s mission to the Thessalonians occurred between his two visits to Jerusalem that are mentioned in Galatians 1:18 and in 2:1—during the 14 years between Paul’s arrival in Syria and Cilicia and his return to Jerusalem for the conference with the other apostles.

Prior to his visit to Thessalonica, Paul and Silas had been expelled from Philippi by the city’s leaders. (Acts 16:39)

It is uncertain how long Paul and Silas stayed in the city—anywhere from four weeks to four months. Regardless, their time in Thessalonica was tumultuous; Luke stating at the beginning of Acts 17 that the two preached in the synagogue there for three sabbaths providing “evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead, and saying, ‘This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.’” (2) This message resulted in a mob attacking the two apostles’ host, Jason. Anger against Paul’s and Silas’ message stemmed from a claim that the two advocated a king other than Caesar.

Thessalonica is in Macedonia and located on a good natural harbor; it was the meeting place of four roads, one being the Via Egnatia, Rome’s main east-west highway. This combined with its harbor made the city a commercial center and ultimately the capital of the province. At the time of the apostles’ visit Thessalonica was estimated to have had a population of around 100,000 people. (532, Carson and Moo) This was no piddling backwater.

Thessalonica was a free city, meaning that although it was part of the Roman Empire, it maintained its own government, and Roman troops were not stationed within it—except for some personal guards attached to Roman officials. The status of civitas libera was granted after the battle of Philippi in 42 BCE settled the civil war between Brutus and Cassius, who had killed Julius Caesar and the forces of Marc Anthony and Octavian—who would later become Caesar Augustus—in recognition of the city’s loyalty to Rome. By 44 CE, just a few years prior Paul’s letter—but sometime close to the time of James’ letter—Macedonia became a senatorial province. This meant that it was governed by the senate and not the emperor. So Paul’s Thessalonica was governed, essentially, by the people. So taking all this into consideration, the very Greeky Thessalonians were also proudly Roman.

Thessalonica’s population also maintained a fairly high percentage of immigrants: Roman, Jewish, and many others. The last bit of this historical stuff that is important to know is that from 40-51 CE, the latter date is about the time of Paul’s letters, this part of the eastern Roman Empire was experiencing food shortages and famine. Acts 11 touches on the impact of this famine.

Now a brief look at the city’s religion: Thessalonica was a cultic center for the worship of the many gods that were shared throughout the empire, as well as for some that were not. These included Zeus, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Dionysus, Cabrius, and Serapis: “You know that old chestnut.” The city possessed a Serapeum where the gods of Egypt were worshipped; Isis worship was wide-spread. To put it clearly, there were many cults vying for the Thessalonian’s attention and faith.

Lastly, by the time of Paul’s letters to the church there, the imperial cult had been present in Thessalonica since 42 BCE with the divinization of Julius Caesar. It was not forced upon the population—yet—but served as a sort of social and religious glue across the Empire. Its presence in the city was seen as a sign of gratitude for all that Rome had done for it.

This context helps shape the issues that the Thessalonian church is facing and even provides some understanding to Paul’s theology. We need to keep this in mind as we study Paul’s letters to the congregation.

Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians can be divided into sections: 2:1-3:13, describing Paul’s interaction with the church, and 4:1-5:11, concerned with the apostle’s teachings and exhortations. In the first half of chapter 2, Paul reminds the Thessalonians of his ministry there and how they had received his message. The second part of the letter concerns the need to live in a way that pleases God. This is necessary despite the persecution the church appears to be facing. Once again, we give a nod back to James and his teaching on how to remain faithful in times of trial. In this respect, 1 Thessa-lonians is reminiscent of James’ letter. In many ways, Thessalonians is a Gentile mirror for James’ church, since both letters concern themselves primarily with dealing with the temptation that believers are experiencing during trial.

If you recall from that series, James’ letter is addressed to Jewish Christians who are facing pressures from all directions. James begins his letter by reminding them that trials and tribulations should be expected and should be considered a blessing because they prove and strengthen faith. However, it appears that many in the Church are yielding to temptation, or have already done so, while facing their struggles. He reminds them of all that they have learned in their Jewish faith and explores why believers fall into temptation. And in response to this situation, James provides them with instructions as to how they can return to faith.

James, therefore, is concerned primarily with how Christians who have given in to temptation can fully return to their faith. By comparison, Paul addresses here a Gentile church facing troubles and provides it with instruction on how to maintain and strengthen its faith through it all.