SUMMARY
PaulThe Apostle Paul, originally known as Saul of Tarsus, was the author of several New Testament letters and the founder of many Christian communities. and Silas visit Thessalonica, where they encounter opposition to their preaching.
ANALYSIS
This passage describes Paul and Silas visiting Thessalonica for the first time. Thessalonica was located, with Philippi, on the Egnatian Way, a major east-west travel and trade route. Thessalonica was the center of the Roman government in the province of Macedonia.
The narrative in Acts and Paul’s letter of 1 Thessalonians differ somewhat in the details of the Thessalonian mission. Acts describes the missionaries persuading and facing hostility from Jewish audiences in the city, while 1 Thessalonians remembers Paul, Silas (Silvanus), and Timothy working with GentileA gentile is anyone who is not Jewish. The term, which is derived from words that the Bible uses to denote the "nations" of the world, reflects beliefs that God had designated Israel as a nation that would be distinct from others, and a blessing... audiences (though see the polemical text in 1 Thessalonians 2:14‒16, regarded as a later addition by some scholars). The “devout Greeks” that Acts mentions in 17:4 are Gentiles who attend the Jewish synagogueA synagogue is a Jewish house of worship. Jesus often taught in synagogues where he sometimes ran afoul of Jewish leaders. In the book of Acts, Paul and others attend synagogues and teach in them.. Such people would not normally be characterized as having “turned to God from idols” (1 Thessalonians 1:9).
Those who oppose Paul and his associates accuse them of “turning the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). Though exaggerated, this charge ironically acknowledges the world-transforming effects of the Christ-centered gospel.
