1Th 2:13-16 | TNotes | STEP | 2:13 Paul gives thanks a second time (see 1:2 ; 3:9 ) because the Thessalonians accepted the message of the apostles—not just as a human philosophy, but as the very word of God (1:5 ; 2 Thes 2:14 ; 2 Cor 5:20 ).

2:13 ^a Paul gives thanks a second time (see 1:2 ^b; 3:9 ^c) because the Thessalonians accepted the message of the apostles—not just as a human philosophy, but as the very word of God (1:5 ^d; 2 Thes 2:14 ^e; 2 Cor 5:20 ^f).
2:14 ^g The evidence that the Thessalonian believers accepted the word of God was that they suffered persecution (1:6 ^h). This followed the pattern of the apostles, the churches in Judea (Acts 8:1 ⁱ), and Christ himself.
2:15 ^j Paul was not anti-Jewish; out of love for his own people, he prayed for their salvation (Rom 9:1-5 ^k; 10:1 ^l). But he was aware of the role some of the Jews had in the deaths of God’s messengers, including Jesus (1 Kgs 19:10 ^m; Acts 7:52 ⁿ). Now they had persecuted the apostolic messengers in Thessalonica (Acts 17:10 ^o; 2 Cor 11:26 ^p).
2:16 ^q The mission to the Gentiles was one of the most important issues in the early church (Acts 11:18 ^r; 13:46-49 ^s; 28:28 ^t; Rom 1:16 ^u).

• Judgment comes when sins pile up to their complete measure (Gen 15:16 ^v; Dan 8:23 ^w; cp. Matt 23:31-36 ^x).