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Time after Pentecost · Proper 25 · Year A

1 Thessalonians 2:1-13

Paul’s Ministry in Thessalonica

October 25, 2026

Young Mother Gazing at Her Child, William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Young Mother Gazing at Her Child, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1871Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Bouguereau painted mothers and children repeatedly, often after the deaths of his own. The finish is flawless and the attention is entirely on the looking.We were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children: Paul picks that comparison for how he preached.William-Adolphe BouguereauA French academic painter (1825-1905), enormously successful in his lifetime, dismissed for most of the twentieth century, and taken seriously again for his sheer technical command.Metropolitan Museum of Art, New YorkThe largest art museum in the Americas, founded in 1870 by a group of New Yorkers who wanted one and had no collection to start from.Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
LSB Three-Year Lectionary
GospelMatt. 22:34-46Mt 22:34-46
Epistle1 Thess. 2:1-131 Thes 2:1-13
Old TestamentLev. 19:1-2, 15-18Lv 19:1-2, 15-18
PsalterPs. 1Ps 1

Overview & Insights

“We were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.” (1 Thessalonians 2:8)

In the thanksgiving, Paul incidentally touched on their ministry in Thessalonica, but he now speaks of that ministry more directly, defending his own and his colleagues’ conduct against Jewish slanders. The matters touched on include: (1) the circumstances of their coming to Thessalonica and their motives in being there (2:1–6); (2) their conduct towards the Thessalonians (2:7–12); and (3) the response of the Thessalonians to their message and the ensuing hardship caused by that response (2:13–16). Because of their hostility toward the Jews and based on the assumption that they reflect the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 (for the latter, cf. 2:16c especially) the last four verses have been regarded as an interpolation by some interpreters. The argument for a post-70 date for these verses is supported, some argue, by their similarity of theme and language to passages in the Synoptic Gospels, especially Matthew 23:29–36.

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Commentary

Commentary on 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8Commentary on 1 Thes 2:1-8 Working Preacher

The Lutheran home commentary on Paul's gentle, God-pleasing ministry.

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 Commentary1 Thes 2:1-8 Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching

A Reformed preaching commentary on integrity in ministry and a nursing mother's care.

1 Thessalonians 2 - Paul's Ministry Remembered1 Thes 2 - Paul's Ministry Remembered Enduring Word · David Guzik

A verse-by-verse evangelical study of Paul's motives, gentleness, and the word at work.

1 Thessalonians Commentaries and Sermons1 Thes Commentaries and Sermons Precept Austin

A gateway to inductive word studies and cross references across 1 Thessalonians.

1 Thessalonians 2:1 Commentaries1 Thes 2:1 Commentaries BibleHub

Classic commentaries gathered verse by verse on Paul's conduct among them.

1 Thessalonians 2:1 Verse-by-Verse Commentary1 Thes 2:1 Verse-by-Verse Commentary StudyLight

A large library of expositors stacked verse by verse for a further voice on the passage.

Background & Word Study

1 Thessalonians 2:1 Interlinear1 Thes 2:1 Interlinear BibleHub

The Greek of the passage word by word with parsing and lexical helps.

1 Thessalonians Overview1 Thes Overview BibleProject

An animated overview of Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians.

The Church Fathers

1 Thessalonians 2 (Catena)1 Thes 2 (Catena) Catena

Patristic comments verse by verse on the apostle's gentle care and the word of God.

Questions preachers ask

How does Paul describe his ministry?

Paul recalls coming to them not to please people but gently, “like a nursing mother caring for her children,” sharing not only the gospel but his very life (1 Thessalonians 2:1–8).

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