Pentecost Season · Proper 26 · Year A
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13
Paul’s Ministry in Thessalonica
November 1, 2026
Overview & Insights
“We worked night and day… so that we would not be a burden to any of you.” (1 Thessalonians 2:9)
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 2:9-13 Working Preacher
The Lutheran home commentary on this Year A reading by a named seminary scholar.
1 Thessalonians 2 - The Word of God at Work Enduring Word · David Guzik
A verse-by-verse evangelical study of Paul's fatherly care and the received word of God.
1 Thessalonians 2:9 Commentaries BibleHub
Classic commentaries gathered verse by verse on Paul's labor and the word at work.
1 Thessalonians 2:9 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 (Matthew Henry Complete) Bible Study Tools
Matthew Henry's full exposition of the chapter for a classic devotional reading of the received word.
1 Thessalonians 2:9 Interlinear BibleHub
The Greek of the passage word by word with parsing and Strong's numbers, including the verb for at work.
Enter the Bible: 1 Thessalonians Enter the Bible
Luther Seminary's book introduction to 1 Thessalonians for the setting of Paul's message there.
Book of 1 Thessalonians Overview BibleProject
An animated overview of 1 Thessalonians that frames Paul's ministry among a young church.
The Church Fathers
Questions preachers ask
What does Paul commend?
Paul reminds them how he labored to support himself and lived a holy, blameless life among them, and thanks God that they received his message “not as a human word, but… the word of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:9–13).
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