John Calvin Commentary 1 Thessalonians 2:9

"For ye remember, brethren, our labor and travail: working night and day, that we might not burden any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God." — 1 Thessalonians 2:9 (ASV)

For you remember. These things tend to confirm what he had stated previously — that to spare them, he did not spare himself. He must assuredly have burned with a wonderful and more than human zeal, since, along with the labor of teaching, he also labored with his own hands as a worker to earn a living and, in this respect also, refrained from exercising his right.

For it is the law of Christ, as he also teaches elsewhere (1 Corinthians 9:14), that every church provide its ministers with food and other necessities. Paul, therefore, in placing no burden on the Thessalonians, did something more than the requirements of his office demanded of him.

In addition to this, he did not merely refrain from incurring public expense, but avoided burdening anyone individually. Furthermore, there can be no doubt that he was influenced by some good and special consideration in so refraining from exercising his right, for in other churches he exercised, equally with others, the liberty allowed him.

He received nothing from the Corinthians, to avoid giving the false apostles an opportunity to boast about this matter. Meanwhile, he did not hesitate to ask from other churches what he needed, for he writes that, while he labored for the Corinthians free of charge, he robbed the Churches that he did not serve (2 Corinthians 11:8).

Therefore, although the reason is not expressed here, we may nonetheless conjecture that the reason Paul was unwilling for his needs to be provided for was to avoid placing any hindrance in the way of the gospel. For this also should be a concern for good pastors: that they not only serve with eagerness in their ministry, but also, as far as they are able, remove all hindrances to their course.