This lesson repeats inspiring Scripture and study from a 2021 blog. I am reposting this now because I needed to hear it again. It includes
excerpts from my book Who is the Holy Spirit? A Devotional Journey Through
the Book of Acts.[1]As we look forward to the Winter Olympics
of 2026, I thought it would be appropriate to use this for the background of
our selected text of 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 today.
Some
years ago there was a PBS special called "The Real Olympics." I
learned from this presentation that in ancient Greece to become an Olympic
athlete took everything that one had—all your time, all
your money, all your energy, all your focus. Anyone could become an Olympic
athlete as long as they completely dedicated themselves to it. And they had
better do that for any chance to win.
The
games were so brutally violent that it was not an unusual thing for athletes to
die, particularly in the wrestling and boxing games. To lose was complete
dishonor, so the few rules that existed could be broken, particularly when the
crowds cheered wildly. There were four results of the ancient Olympic games:
winning, surrender, knockout or death. So the training was intense. The
preliminary contests were intense. The ancient Greek athletes practiced
progressive resistance training. This was the concept, which of course is used
widely today as well, where the individual would begin early in their training
with a low amount of weight or resistance and gradually build up more weight
and resistance as the months and the years went by. The result was an athlete who could sustain
tremendous amounts of strain and exertion. It was said that the ancient Greek
athletes could most likely beat any of today's athletes without blinking an
eye. Some of the greatest characteristics of those ancient athletes included
perseverance, pain tolerance, skill and hope.
With
complete dedication, constant progressive resistance training and perseverance
a young athlete could take to the road to Athens. All along the way he would
have great victories, certainly some discouraging and perhaps some damaging
encounters. Then again that athlete
could find some great victories—perhaps even to stand with an olive
wreath on his head and with great fame for years to come.
It takes little or no stretch of imagination for this kind of process to be compared
to the Christian life and journey. And this is aptly demonstrated in our next
passage of Scripture in Acts.
Acts 17:1-4
When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. 4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.
Remember
that Paul, Silas and Luke had been in Philippi. Now they traveled about one hundred
miles to Thessalonica, heading south toward Athens. They traveled on the famous
Egnatian Way, one of the world-famous roads built by the Romans. With stones
several feet deep, laid painstakingly close, many of these roads still exist
today.
Just
as an athlete is very strategic in the path that they take in training and
selective about the competitions they participate in, so was the Holy Spirit as
he directed Paul. One of Paul’s strategies was to go to key cities. "He
did not aim simply to preach the Gospel wherever he could find an audience . .
. [Instead he moved forward] with a program for establishing churches in key
centers from which the surrounding countryside could be evangelized."[2] Thessalonica
was a premiere city in that day. "It was the capital of the province of
Macedonia and had a population of more than 200,000, including a colony of Jews
(and a synagogue)".[3]
Paul,
once again empowered by the Holy Spirit, entered a Jewish synagogue, longing
for his Jewish brothers and sisters to know the truth about Jesus. He wanted
them to know that Jesus Christ was indeed the Messiah they had been longing to
see. The Jews knew from ancient prophecy that there was one who was supposed to
come and save them from all their trouble. In their minds was the idea of a
great King riding proudly onto the world scene, transforming their oppression
into a ruling kingdom and dominating the world. It is no wonder then that they
had a hard time accepting the idea of a Messiah who would suffer and die. For
centuries most practicing Jews had or have overlooked or ignored the passages of
Scripture that described the Messiah who would have to suffer for the sins of
the world.
Isaiah 53:3-6
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and
familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was
despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and earned
our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and
afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our
iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his
wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity
of us all.
They
could not or would not comprehend that their Messiah "could be both a
conquering king and a suffering servant."[4] They did
not understand yet that their sins, our sins, were so great that the only
solution was for Jesus Christ, the only God-man, to die in our place. But not
only would he die, he would rise again to prove that God had the power to
release us from the awful guilt and consequence of our sin. We would not have
to die forever, because he died once. We would not have to live pitiful,
unforgiven lives, because he lives forever to forgive us when we seek him with
all our hearts.
This
is the message that compelled Paul to seek out people and tell them the good
news of Jesus Christ. This is the message that Paul carefully and passionately
explained to people on his road to Athens.
And we see the great result in Acts
17:4: some of the Jews were
persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing
Greeks and not a few prominent women. Not only did some of the Jews
finally comprehend the role of the Messiah—that he had indeed already come to
them and that he now lived to set them free—but so also did many of their Greek
friends who were seeking the truth that would set them free. And that is how
the Thessalonian church was born.
Somewhere
a long time ago a tiny group of people came together in this same way in your
community. A Christian church was birthed where you are because of what Jesus
did for them. And now we gather together today because of what Jesus did for
us.
Think
with me again about the concept of progressive resistance training. In our
Christian life, God permits us that path as well. Some of us live with the idea
that the longer we are Christians the easier life should be, right? That is not
the path to becoming a great spiritual athlete. Progressive resistance training
in our spiritual lives means that opposition will come. It will come for many
reasons. Among those is the spiritual battle we face when we turn our backs on
Satan. He will do anything he can to tear us down. We must be aware that "our enemy
the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to
devour." (1
Peter 5:8) That old devil wants to defeat you so badly he will do it through
full frontal attacks, through the subtleties of boredom, or just the drip,
drip, drip of constant temptation. There are times, too, that he will
manipulate others to try to destroy not only you, but the Church of Jesus
Christ. Talk about Olympics trials! Look what happens next.
Acts 17:5-10
5 But
other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from
the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. 6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, 7 and
Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s
decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” 8 When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. 9 Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.
10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.
You
have heard about dishonest and biased judges at the Olympic Games. You have
heard about athletes who sabotage other athletes. It is very disheartening,
very discouraging, enraging, sad, and could be utterly defeating. In the same way politics can be used against
the innocent. Declaring that another king had come was one of the greatest
threats a Roman Caesar could face. He was supposed to be most powerful, not
this man named Jesus they were calling King!
So now let's jump
in to the first chapter of I Thessalonians, a wonderful, heartwarming letter. The
first section, 1:1-10, is really a snapshot of the more in-depth expressions
found in the remainder of the letter. After a comparatively brief stay in Thessalonica,
Paul and his companions felt it important to write to these dear friends. It is
striking that there is such incredible love and warmth for these people. You would
think that that kind of depth of feeling could only come after extended
friendship and fellowship. But the transformation of salvation and the power of
the Holy Spirit can work just that quickly! Have you ever had a chance encounter
with another Christian during travel and found that remarkable and immediate connection
and consolation? I have. That is the power of the presence of Jesus Christ and
the Holy Spirit leading us to recognize the unbreakable Kingdom bond that
exists all over the world. Praise God!
That same bond
carries further even after we have had fellowship together. To demonstrate that
bond, Paul teaches us how to pray effectively for others: We always
thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.
(v. 2) On those extended missionary journeys, the long walks from town to
town, the hours watching the waves splash against the sides of the boats as
they crossed seas, and in the quiet nights of reflection—these were filled with
prayers and thanksgiving for their friends in Thessalonica. And these prayers
aided in the continual transformation of those young Christians in their spiritual
battles in that pagan culture.
We
remember before our God and Father . . . What do you remember about your Christian friends? Do you reflect
on their behaviors and reach out to them to encourage them?
Your work
produced by faith,
Your
labor prompted by love, and
Your
endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
What transformation!
In contrast, their pre-Christian days may have been listed in this way:
Your work produced by duty,
Your labor diminished by selfishness, and
Your vacillating values inspired by the changing culture around
you.
Thank God for the
transforming work done in us that gives us new and better ways to be! Arnold
Airhart wrote: "What it [the Gospel] does do, through the grace of
humility, is to join all ranks in a fellowship of love and labor unmarked by
either conscious condescension or servility."[5] In such
a short time this group of believers acted out their Christianity in such a way
that it encouraged the missionaries' hearts. What a wondrous fellowship that
crosses miles and time. What a consolation that leads to further transformation
and the reason to persevere in the faith.
And yet, Paul and
his missionary colleagues recognized the continual pressure these dear folks
were under. And so, they sought to encourage them. For we know, brothers and
sisters loved by God, that he has chose you . . . (v. 4) Remember
that Paul wrote to a predominantly Gentile congregation that was pressed on one
side by Jewish leaders who were willing to take legal action against them and
on the other side a culture filled with pagan practices and idolatry including
Egyptian religion, traditional Greek religions, and cultic practices from
Somathrace.[6] Not to
speak of the pressure from the emperor cult of the Caesar's. F.F. Bruce wrote:
"Their practices are clean contrary to Caesar's: they are proclaiming a
rival emperor, Jesus."[7] Craig
Keener wrote: "Most of pagan culture reacted angrily to Jewish people's
converting pagans from the religion of their ancestors; because a greater percentage
of Christians were converts from Gentile backgrounds, they would face still
greater hostility."[8] Folks
under that kind of pressure need motivation to persevere!
The first mode of
motivation was the fact that they were chosen. Of course there were Jewish Christians
in this church who had lived with the life-long conviction of being chosen by
God for his salvation. But the bulk of this group did not live with this in the
hearts. They had to be reminded that they had been grafted in with all the
rights and privileges of children of God. (Romans 11:11-32) And that election,
given to any who open their hearts to the saving work of Jesus Christ,
was grounded in the glorious love of God. "Proof of their election was the
fact that the Spirit drove the Gospel home in their hearts."[9]
The second mode
of motivation for perseverance, founded in their Holy Spirit transformation,
was because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with
power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. (v. 5a) If they had been
present, these missionaries might have leaned in, touched the hands of those
up-hill-battling Christians and said, "I need you to remember this . . .
" That unmistakable power that they responded to through the simple preaching
of the Gospel was still transforming, still emboldening, still empowering them
to live lively Christian lives!
The third mode of
motivation for transformative perseverance came in the act of imitation. You
know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of
the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of suffering with the joy
given by the Holy Spirit. This is no pop-culture imitation on Tik Tok or
YouTube. This is an imitation of the real person of Jesus Christ. The flat and
narrow imitations of this world only mimic, they do not transform. When believers
engage in the constant practice of doing their best to be like Jesus (not just
appear to be like him) they reflect him in such a way that others are attracted
to him and his Kingdom. We do not imitate to make people like us or to appear
like us; we imitate to be like Jesus. This is why Paul can rejoice in their
imitation. They don't behave like the missionaries. They behave like Christ! I
don't want a Church full of human leader look-alikes. I want a Church filled
with all of the diversity and beauty of each person created in God's image shining
the light of Christ to the world.
The fourth mode
of motivation was to tell them what witnesses they had actually become. Arnold Airhart
wrote that "[t]his entire passage is graphic testimony from the primitive
missionary church of the utterly transforming force of the gospel in pagan culture
[and] the astonishing effectiveness of their witness (6-10) could be accounted for
only as the outflow of divinely implanted qualities."[10] And
so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord's
message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God
has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it,
for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how
you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for
his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from
the coming wrath. (v.7-10) While many commentators point out that Paul's
language of all and everywhere are hyperbolic, could it not be
possible that because of the strategic positioning in this cultural crossroads
of a city that indeed the Gospel spread far more broadly? Of course, it could.
That's the nature of the Gospel and its transformative power. Give it an inch
and it will take a region!
Those
Thessalonians Christians had gained not only the incomparably great salvation
and hope to persevere, they also gained the understanding of the severity of
God's wrath stored up for those who do not respond as they did to the Gospel.
No wonder their lights were shining so brightly! The whole culture needed to
know and imitate Christ to avoid his wrath. The decidedly eschatological bent
of 1 and 2 Thessalonians always holds this in front of us as we read these
wonderful letters.
Some
of the troubles we face are a consequence of our own selfishness and sin. But
we have a solution for that—the forgiveness of God and the strength of the Holy
Spirit to deal with the consequences.
But, some of the troubles we face are from the evil in the world, the
wickedness of sinful people, the oppression of dark systems of power that need
to be reclaimed for good. These points of resistance are not our final answer.
Just like the ancient Greek athletic values of perseverance, pain tolerance,
skill and hope, we can adopt those values and be overcomers through Jesus
Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. We can more than recover from these
battles and trials. We can come out the other side victorious because we know
that our God is eternal and invincible; that no matter what threat comes our
way, no matter what scars we sustain there is a hope that springs eternal
because of our great Savior Jesus Christ and the ever-present power of the Holy
Spirit!
And
all along the way we will find people with similar stories that will encourage
our hearts. We will find others who have an open heart and mind to the truth of
God. We will be buoyed up by those whose witness will ring out for years to
come. These are the kind of people that
Paul and his companions found in Thessalonica.[11]
M.R. Hyde
Copyright 2021, 2026
