1 Thessalonians was written shortly after Paul’s departure, and the letter is replete with how this quick departure was difficult. He had worked as a tentmaker in their midst and thus shared his very life with them (1 Thess 2:8–9). Paul mothered and fathered these believers in their newfound faith (1 Thess 2:7, 11). They believed the gospel in spite of the Jewish opposition and thus persevered together (1 Thess 2:13–16). Such bonds would have tightly tethered their hearts together as one.
From time to time, Luke records dual-episodes in Acts to show the similarities and contrasts between events in the life of Paul. We see this in Acts 17:1–9 and 17:10–15. In both instances (in Thessalonica and Berea), Paul and others evangelized (Acts 17:1–3, 10), people believed (Acts 17:4, 11–12), others persecuted the missionaries (Acts 17:5–7, 13), and Paul was forced to leave (Acts 17:8, 14–15). The contrast between the two is that the Berean “Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica” (Acts 17:11).1 That is, whereas the Thessalonian Jews were split in believing that Jesus was the Christ, the Berean Jews eagerly received the gospel at large.
Paul stayed in Thessalonica perhaps 3–6 months, and he was briefly in Berea as well. In both instances, just as the believers came to know the gospel, so also they had come to know Paul as a spiritual father who quickly had to leave. How did they process his departure?
