1 THESSALONIANS IN A NUTSHELL

1 THESSALONIANS IN A NUTSHELL

“This is most likely the earliest letter that we have from Paul. The backstory for it is found in the book of Acts. It is where Paul and his coworker Silas went to the ancient Greek city of Thessalonica [Macedonia],
see Acts 17. After just one month of telling people the good news about Jesus, a large number of Jewish and Greek people gave their allegiance to Jesus. They formed the first church community there; but trouble was
brewing.

Paul’s announcement of the risen Jesus as the true Lord of the world led to suspicion. So, the Christians in Thessalonica were eventually accused of defying Caesar, the Roman Emperor, when they said that
there is another King, King Jesus. This led to a persecution that got so intense Paul and Silas actually had to flee from the city. This was painful for them because they loved the people there so much. So, this
letter is Paul’s attempt to reconnect with the Christians in Thessalonica after he got a report from Timothy that they were doing more than okay; they were flourishing despite this intense persecution.
This month let us learn from the questions they asked Paul and the answers he gave them. (Courtesy of the Bible Project)