Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Thessalonians 3

We could no longer refrain.—The Greek word contains the metaphor of a vessel overfull and bursting with its contents. “We” must be understood here, by the limitation of 1 Thessalonians 2:18 and by the direct singular of 1 Thessalonians 3:5, to mean St. Paul alone, not him and Silas.

To be left at Athens alone.—The difficulty of interpreting this passage to agree with Acts 17:15-16 and Acts 18:5 is not a light one. From those passages, it would appear that immediately upon reaching Athens, St. Paul sent word back to Macedonia by the friends who had escorted him, for St. Silas and St. Timothy to join him at once. However, it seems some delay took place, and St. Paul had arrived at Corinth before his companions reached him. Consequently, they were never with him at Athens.

In that case, “to be left alone” must mean, “We resolved not to keep with us the brothers who escorted us.” The “sent” of 1 Thessalonians 3:2 would then mean that he gave them a message for Timothy to go back to Thessalonica (presumably from Berea) before joining St. Paul at Athens. This is because the tense of the Greek verb “to be left” absolutely necessitates an act of parting with someone: it cannot mean, “We were willing to endure loneliness a little longer.”

But such an interpretation does not fit well with Acts 17:15; it is hard to reconcile an urgent message to “come with all speed” with a command to make such a détour. It seems, therefore, most reasonable to suppose that Silas and Timothy joined St. Paul immediately at Athens and were sent back into Macedonia almost as quickly—Silas to Berea or Philippi, and Timothy to Thessalonica. This would explain St. Paul’s being left alone, an expression that would hardly have been used if Silas had remained with him at Athens, as some (misled by the word “we”) have supposed. It also explains how in Acts 18:5 both Timothy and Silas come from Macedonia to Corinth.

The sending of Silas from Athens is not mentioned here, simply because it held no particular interest for the Thessalonians. If the two men did not reach St. Paul at all while he was at Athens, after receiving such an imperative message, they must have been very slow. A week would have allowed ample time for their journey from Berea, and Acts 17:17 and Acts 18:1 certainly imply a much longer period of his residence there. “To be left alone” was a great trial to St. Paul’s affectionate nature: such a sacrifice might well impress the Thessalonians with the strength of his love for them.

Sent.—It may possibly mean that a message was sent to him at Berea, ordering him to go, but it is far more naturally understood if Timothy were at Athens at the time.

And minister . . .—The text here, according to the judgment of most of the best editors (though Tischendorf in his last edition has modified his opinion), is interpolated, and the verse should run: “our brother, and God’s fellow-worker in the gospel of Christ.” Timothy, being a person so well known at Thessalonica, it is difficult to see why he should be thus particularized, unless he was the bearer of the letter, and St. Paul wished to insist upon their paying him due deference in spite of his youth.

To establish, perhaps in the sense of perfecting their organization.

To comfort is here equivalent to “to encourage.”

Moved, or more literally, seduced. The very peculiar word in the original means, initially, the fawning of an animal upon its master. Then, through the intermediate sense of “wheedling,” it comes to mean the gradual detachment of a person from their resolution by any insinuating representations, whether of flattery or (as here) of fear. The next word should be in or in the midst of, rather than “by.” Therefore (though both may be included), their own “afflictions” are primarily meant, not St. Paul’s.

For yourselves. “Your previous expectation that Christianity involved the suffering of persecution should be enough to prevent you now from losing your faith.”

We are appointed to it. The “we” means all Christian people: their election into the Church must necessarily be an election to suffering (see marginal references). “No cross, no crown.”

For truly, when . . .—To appreciate the nature of the argument, see the passages referred to in the margin.

For this cause.—“Because I knew that temptation was sure to overtake you, I sent to see whether our work still lived, and was likely to live, in spite of it.”

To know your faith.—“To ascertain whether you still believed:” only the form courteously implies that the faith was certainly there, and St. Paul only sent to “make assurance doubly sure.”

The tempter.—See Matthew 4:3. The word and the tense in the Greek imply, not only that it is his character to tempt, but that it is his constant occupation.

Have tempted you . . . .—The original implies no doubt on the writer’s part that the Thessalonians had been tempted; the only doubt was how they had borne it. The striking out of the comma after “tempted you,” and reading the clauses quickly together, will give a fair notion of the purport. It might be paraphrased, “Lest, in consequence of the temptations which the tempter brought against you, our toil should prove in vain.” The “temptations” were those of persecution, and the time at which they befell, the same as in 1 Thessalonians 3:4, it came to pass.