Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 Thessalonians 2:14

"For ye, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judaea in Christ Jesus: for ye also suffered the same things of your own countrymen, even as they did of the Jews;" — 1 Thessalonians 2:14 (ASV)

The word “for” confirms the principal statement of v.13—their ready acceptance of God’s word. Welcoming the word and enduring sufferings because of it often go together. The stature of the Thessalonians as “imitators” had already been established in the past (cf. 1:6). Deliberate imitation of sufferings for sufferings’ sake is an unworthy Christian objective, but imitation of a Christian lifestyle is legitimate and desirable. Persecution inevitably arises when Christians pattern their lives after the Lord.

Paul tenderly reminds these brothers that they were not the first to be afflicted. “God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus” had been the first, and through faithful endurance they had become an example of what Jesus had predicted about the suffering entailed in discipleship. Apparently the way these earliest Jewish Christians handled themselves had become widely known, even before Luke wrote Acts (about A. D. 62). Paul’s sympathy toward and harmony with Judean Christianity, whose bitter opponent he had been before conversion, are hereby assured, and the unity of all Christians, no matter what their ethnic background or geographical locality, underlies this description of their common experience in suffering. Hearty acceptance of God’s message, which is so often accompanied by adversity, is the very thing that ensures one against falling away when adversity arises (cf. Matthew 13:20–21).

Both the Thessalonian churches and the churches in Judea suffered persecution from fellow-countrymen. For the Thessalonians these were predominantly Gentiles, though Jews also had been instrumental in stirring up opposition in that city (Acts 17:5–9). For the Judean churches, opposition had come from those of a Jewish background, who were also strong advocates of the Jewish religion that Christianity so strongly threatened.