1 Thessalonians 1:1 – Introduction, background and authorship

The founder of Thessalonica was Cassander, an officer of Alexander the Great. In 316 BC, he named it in memory of his wife, Thessalonike, who was the half-sister of Alexander the Great. This city was located on the major highway that connected Rome to the East, and was the capital city of Macedonia.

Acts 17 tells us that Paul came to Thessalonica after he left Philippi during his second missionary journey. In Acts 17:1 we read of the presence of a synagogue, indicating that there was a number of Jews residing there at that time. It was here in the synagogue that Paul preached for three Sabbaths, and as a result, some Jews and a large number of Gentiles accepted his message. From these facts, we conclude that Paul had a successful mission and founded the church there (Acts17:4).

However, he was forced to leave the city after some Jews incited violence and attacked the house of Jason, where Paul was staying (Acts 17:5). Together with some believers, Jason was hauled to the magistrate. Since there was so much hostility, Paul was compelled to leave that city (Acts 17:9-10). He went to Berea where he again met with Jewish opposition and was also forced to leave that place (Acts 17:13-14). He then went to Athens, where he sent Timothy to check on the situation in Thessalonica. From Athens, he went to Corinth and when Timothy returned and reported to him in Corinth, he was prompted to write this Epistle to the Thessalonians.

Timothy’s reports to Paul precipitated the writing of this epistle. In the first two chapters, he wrote first to express to the Thessalonians his delight in their genuine conversion and progress in the Lord. While expressing his satisfaction, he also wrote to refute the charges brought against him by his Jewish opponents. In the third chapter, he began to encourage them to keep on progressing in their spiritual encounter before dealing with some eschatological misconceptions in the last two chapters.

Right in the very first verse, Paul identified himself as the author. The historical facts recorded in Acts 17 bear testimony that he was indeed the author of this epistle. He also mentioned his two traveling companions, Silvanus (Silas) and Timothy. Notice that unlike the other epistles, he did not assert his apostleship. There are two possible reasons for that. Firstly, he refused to distinguish himself from his two companions. And secondly, his apostleship was not in question here. By and large, he was well accepted by the believers in Thessalonica.

One thing about Paul in all his writings was his passion for the people. The reason he wrote was because he loved to see them inspired and be zealous for the Lord. He laid an example for us in his self-giving to the Lord. Like Paul, let us give more of ourselves to the Lord in the work of the Gospel.