1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5

A Cost Too Great

A sermon by Pastor Joe Haynes

Preached on October 1, 2017 at Beacon Church

When I bought my first car (a 2.2L, 5-speed, 1988 Plymouth Horizon), my grandpa had told me to never pay the sticker price. So I made an offer and the salesman made a big show of writing it down, and with a very serious expression saying that he had to go and talk to his manager. He came back and told me he was afraid they just could not accept my offer, and he gave me their “bottom line”—just a few hundred dollars less than the sticker price. And I believed him. But do you know what your bottom line is?—what you cannot live without? What would shake you if you lost it? Maybe you’re like that car salesman—you just made up a bottom line. It’s nothing more than what you don’t want to live without?

I want you to look with me at these verses and first think about the losses that had shaken the Thessalonian believers, and then second about what Paul himself was willing to lose. We often talk about that aspect of the Gospel we could call, “what Jesus saves us from”, but this morning we need to think about “what Jesus saves us for.” We’ll start with the little bit of background Paul gives in verses 17-18. If you can think of 2:1-12 as Paul’s defense of their ministry when they were with the Thessalonians, these verses here introduce his defense of their ministry when they were absent from the Thessalonians. And it has big implications for us as well.

What they had lost

17 But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, 18 because we wanted to come to you-- I, Paul, again and again-- but Satan hindered us. (1 Thess. 2:17-18 ESV)

And that’s why Paul is defending his absence—explaining why they hadn’t returned to Thessalonica (cf 14b, and in 1:6, they became believers in spite of “much affliction”). Acts 17 gives us a partial snapshot of the kind of “afflictions” the missionaries saw before they left, although it doesn’t tell us about the ongoing afflictions they suffered after the missionaries left.

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.  2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,  3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ."  4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.  5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.  6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, "These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also,  7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus."  8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things.  9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.  10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue.  (Acts 17:1-10 ESV)

We can make some guesses from the bits and pieces in Acts and in the 2 letters Paul wrote to this church, about what they had suffered. Riots, and mobs, arrests, and beatings (from Acts); the deaths of enough fellow-Christians that it really shook their faith (1 Thess 4:13, 18; 2 Thess 2:1-3a), and ongoing persecution of some kind that were severe enough to threaten the survival of the church (2 Thess 2:4b). We can infer from this letter that the way Paul takes pains to explain their absence was because that too had made the Thessalonians’ sufferings more difficult. These baby Christians needed Paul, Sylvanus, and Timothy (especially Paul, c.f. v18), but they were gone.

It’s easy to imagine why Paul’s absence made things harder for the church. Later in 5:12-13, Paul refers to the leaders of the church, elsewhere called “elders” or “overseers”, and implies that many in the church didn’t respect them. No wonder. Inexperienced elders, new to the Christian Faith, passing on to others what Paul had taught them now that Paul had left, and while the church was going through intense suffering? How many times do you think they repeated the phrase, “Paul told us…” or “Paul said…” when they were trying to explain right doctrine, or give moral and ethical instruction? Human nature being what it is, it probably wasn’t long before their church members replied, “Yeah but Paul’s long gone. If we’re going to listen to you, we need to be sure.” “Paul said-so” wasn’t going to cut it when people began to wonder if the real reason Paul never came back was that Paul didn’t really care about them, that he didn’t have their best-interests at heart.

That’s the situation behind what Paul writes in verses 17-18.

17 But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, 18 because we wanted to come to you-- I, Paul, again and again-- but Satan hindered us. (1 Thess. 2:17-18 ESV)

But now Timothy had come directly from Paul. He might be young, but he was Paul’s trusted fellow-missionary. And he had been a Christian much longer than anyone in Thessalonica, not to mention that he had been trained by Paul himself, and then sent as Paul’s representative with Paul’s authority. From the time they had been “torn away” until Timothy came back was, in truth, only “a short time” (v17), around 6 months or so. It hasn’t even been two weeks since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, but for the people affected, it can seem like ages. These believers had been suffering for months. But Paul comforts them that his heart had never left them. In chapters 1, 2, and 3, Paul repeats that he prayed for them all the time. And he had tried repeatedly to come back to them, but he blames Satan for somehow preventing it (v18). So knowing he really cared about them, and was also grieving being away from them, and was still hoping to return, maybe they would again be more willing to trust Paul’s authority, to listen to the instructions he gave, and receive this word from him as what it really is, the Word of God through Paul? They had lost a lot, but they hadn’t lost that: Heaven and Earth would pass away, said Jesus, before God’s Word passes away (Lk 21:33).

What they meant to Paul

“For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?  For you are our glory and joy,”  (1 Thess. 2:19-20 ESV). When these suffering believers heard Paul’s letter read out loud, I think his words must have fallen on their ears like rain after a drought. I think their hearts must have been eager for the comfort and reassurance he gave them. But look a bit deeper at what he says. Because the Holy Spirit inspired these words, not just to reassure the Thessalonians, but for the building up and strengthening of all Christians.

Having lost so very much, Paul points them to a more permanent treasure we can never lose. [read v18] Paul has a very real goal—a dream he looks forward to when things get hard: to one day stand before Jesus with a hear full of godly pride, and a gold medal in his hand. The word “crown” is not a royalty thing; it’s an Olympian’s prize for victory in sports. What he most looks forward to (his hope); what he banks his future happiness on (his joy); the finish line he works so hard to reach (his crown); the one thing he will be proud about (his boasting), is these believers, the church of Thessalonians (and the other believers in other churches he planted too). “You,” he says in verse 20, “are our glory and joy.”

We can sharpen our understanding of what he’s saying by looking at that word, “glory”. In general “glory” means some kind of excellence made visible. In connection with Paul’s “boasting”, the glory he means here is his reputation. What has Paul got to brag about? The church of the Thessalonians. The fact that they are a true church of real converts to Christ, forever changed by the Holy Spirit, trusting in God’s Word, and waiting for the return of Jesus, even in the middle of “much conflict”—having lost so much—such miraculous faith and endurance in that steadfast group of disciples in Thessalonica, is the only proof Paul needs to show he really is an Apostle of Christ Jesus, a true minister of the eternal Gospel of God, a missionary sent with the life-giving message of Salvation. So what does he boast about? Answer: the lives God saves through his ministry. Those lives are the visible manifestation of the genuineness and excellence of Paul’s own faith and conversion, the fruit of his work for Jesus.

What Paul was unwilling to lose

Before we read these last five verses, I want you to pause on that first word in chapter 3, “therefore”. Paul uses it to connect 2:20 with 3:1ff. The connection is this: like the Thessalonian believers who had suffered greatly, Paul had also suffered and lost much. But there was one thing he had not lost, that could not be taken from him: “You are our glory and joy” (v20). His pursuit of happiness was not only successful, but unshakeable. Seeing the souls God saved through his work as a missionary and preacher, Paul’s happiness was guaranteed. Watching an old episode of Designated Survivor, yesterday, an FBI agent despaired, “we have given so much already, maybe it’s time to give up”. Paul’s happiness was more durable than that FBI agent’s. “Therefore,” for that reason, he was willing to lose even more, to sacrifice again, yet one more time. Not giving up, but giving more for the sake of joy.

Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone,  2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith,  3 that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this.  4 For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know.  5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain. (1 Thess. 3:1-5 ESV)

A little more background. In Acts 17:15, Paul arrive in Athens alone and sent word for Timothy and Sylvanus, who were still in Berea, to come to him as soon as possible. The next verse in Acts says Paul waited for them there in Athens, but doesn’t mention when they arrived. But then for the sake of the new believers in the churches of Macedonia, probably including Philippi, Berea, and Thessalonica, Paul sent Sylvanus (Silas) to check on the first two, and young Timothy to Thessalonica. The reason Paul described this as a sacrifice is because it was. Paul was probably at least 60 at this time. And hints in Galatians 4:5, and 6:11, suggest he was nearly blind. He had been severely beaten and even left for dead less than a year before writing this, so also may have had other permanent injuries. And the way Paul speaks about Timothy throughout his letters shows how much he leaned on him. In Phil 2 for example, Paul says, “I have no one like him”, about “his proven worth”, and that he was “like a son with a father”. When I was in Mizoram, India, with my dad, walking in busy traffic and up steep hills, I was worried about my dad and watched over him closely. But my dad has no problem seeing. For Paul, therefore, to let Timothy go was to leave himself without the physical help and guidance he depended on. Paul had already lost so much, why was he willing to give up the help and companionship he needed?

Paul says, in verse 1, “he could bear it no longer”. So he sent Timothy back to Thessalonica. And here’s a clue why he “couldn’t bear it any longer”—he says Timothy’s mission was, “to establish and exhort you in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions. (1 Thess. 3:2b-3a ESV). To “be moved by afflictions” means to be so badly shaken by what you suffer that in the end you don’t trust Jesus after all. Genuine faith in Christ is faith that lasts. But Paul also sees this as something that can grow stronger if it gets the protection and help it needs, so that it grows strong enough to endure. In my teens I did a bunch of work with my dad in forestry. I’ve seen lots of young trees that were planted in places they couldn’t survive. And I’ve seen trees, badly scarred, and wounded, that still survived damage from animals, long dry seasons, and forest fires. Professing Christians that survive afflictions like that, are Christians who have eternal life. That life is proved by what it endures. But when it is young and fragile, it is vulnerable to attack. That’s why Paul was worried about the church in Thessalonica surviving: he knew it was under attack. “For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain,” (1 Thess. 3:5 ESV).  Tree-planters plant over 500 million trees each year in Canada. And to help them survive, they have to plant them deep enough, where conditions are suited to help them grow.[i] Paul was so worried, by the news of all the afflictions the Thessalonian believers had suffered, that he was afraid Satan might have succeeded in uprooting the faith of the new believers. He was willing to give up many things, to suffer many losses, but he was not willing to let Satan undo the work they had done to plant the Gospel in that city. He was not willing to lose these beloved believers.

What you can endure

I skipped verse 4, which talks about the future Paul had told the Thessalonian church to expect. “For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know,” (1 Thess. 3:4 ESV). Paul probably means that he had spent time teaching them about Jesus’ prophecies, for example in Luke 21:12-19.

12 But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake.  13 This will be your opportunity to bear witness.  14 Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer,  15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.  16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death.  17 You will be hated by all for my name's sake.  18 But not a hair of your head will perish.  19 By your endurance you will gain your lives. (Lk. 21:12-19 ESV)

They will persecute you. They might even kill your body. But they can never even touch your eternal life. I’m now sure the guy who sold me my first car wasn’t telling me the truth about their “bottom line”. Do you know yours? What are you willing to give up for the sake of following Jesus? What cost is too great? Well, I think like Paul you and I need to answer that question only after we know the truth of verse 18, the one thing that’s worth any cost: What we most look forward to (our hope); what we bank our future happiness on (our joy); the finish line we work so hard to reach (our crown); the one thing we will be proud about (our boasting)—not the things we accomplish, but the eternal things God accomplishes through us when we serve Him. There is a day coming when we will experience the greatest thrill of our everlasting lives: to be alive forevermore in the living presence of Jesus Christ, our Creator and Saviour. It’s because He is the highest possible delight of every Creature, that our greatest earthly joy can only be found in the things we do now out of love for Him. The treasures we look forward to giving to our King, the fruit of the harvest we prepare in order to present before Him on that day, the works of worship we offer to Him now and forever. Paul said, “Is it not you? You are our glory and joy!” Reading this, I was encouraged and strengthened and reminded what joy I’m working for. What are you working for? Who will you present before Jesus when He comes? What crown or trophy will you lay down at the feet of your crucified and risen Saviour when He returns?