When Yeshua was questioned by the lawyer about what was the greatest command, what did say?
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" Matthew 22:34-36 ESV
This lawyer and his colleagues often debated which commandment was the greatest. They identified 613 laws in the Torah, 365 being negative—"you shall not" and 248 being positive—"you shall." Many hours were spent debating about which commandments were heavy and which were light, which were great, and which were small.
In Yeshua’s day, there were seven schools of Pharisees. These seven schools all took the Bible literally, but they ranged from the most progressive school (the school of Hillel) to the most conservative (the very traditional school of Shammai). There were five other schools whose views fell in between these two. These rabbinic schools were always arguing about how to interpret the Torah or how to determine the proper yoke. A yoke was how they interpreted the Torah. The debate always revolved around which is the greatest commandment. The Jews said that the commandments contradict each other by God's design, so they had to know which ones were greater than the others. For example:
You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. Exodus 31:14-15 ESV
That's clear enough, isn't it? They were not to work on the Sabbath. But the Torah also taught:
You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen down by the way and ignore them. You shall help him to lift them up again. Deuteronomy 22:4 ESV
They were not to let animals suffer. If they saw an animal in trouble, they were to help raise it up. That is clear enough also. But what were they to do if they saw their neighbor's animal fallen down on the Sabbath? How could they keep one command without breaking the other? This is why they were always asking which commandment was the greatest? The greater one they must keep.
Look at Yeshua’s response to the lawyer.
And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 22:37-40 ESV
This lawyer came to test the yoke of Yeshua. How did Yeshua interpret the Torah? Yeshua agrees with this man's interpretation of the law to love God and to love your neighbor.
With 613 individual statutes of the Torah from which to choose, all of the schools of the Pharisees agreed on the greatest commandment—love God! When asked, "What is the greatest commandment?" Shammai's school would answer, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." Hillel's answer would be the same, and so was Yeshua’s answer.
When asked what the second commandment was, Shammai's school would answer: "Keep the Sabbath." They put the Sabbath law above loving your neighbor because they said the Sabbath was about God. It was simply too bad if a neighbor was in trouble on the Sabbath. One must keep the Sabbath. When Hillel’s school was asked what the second commandment was, it would answer, "Love your neighbor." Yeshua’s answer was also, "Love your neighbor." Love your neighbor came seventh in order in Shammai's school even though biblically it is second.
So, if all the commandments boil down to love God and love your neighbor, why are there so many commands in the New Testament? All of the New Testament commands tell us how to love our God and our neighbor. In this text in 1 Thessalonians, Paul is telling them how to love each other. This is how you love. Love is not a feeling it is an action, and this is what it looks like. If we did not have specific commands, how would we know how to love God or our fellow man? God's moral law give us a description of love in action.
In verses 5:12-13 he tells them how to treat the leaders in the local church.
We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 ESV
So, he tells them how to treat the leaders in the local church and then he tells them how to treat/love each other. This begins a series of present imperatives, denoting continuous or habitual action. There are fifteen imperatives in vv. 12-22. Paul exhorts the believers concerning how they are to respond to various persons within the congregation.
And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 ESV
Commenting on this verse, G.K. Beale writes,
"Many commentators see the remaining verses (5:14-22) as final instructions unrelated to the preceding context and to one another, especially 5:14-18. More likely, however, these commands are all catalysts for the Thessalonians to achieve peace with one another. A hint in this direction is the concluding comments of this entire section that mention ‘the God of peace’ as the one who will give them the ability to obey the preceding injunctions (5: 23-24)."
According to Beale, verses 14-22 are not just unrelated commands but are stipulations on how they are to, "Be at peace among yourselves." As they carry out these imperatives, they will have peace in their community.
In our text for today, Paul instructs the Thessalonians on how to minister in a variety of ways, depending on the state of the person who needs the ministry. For example, if someone is unruly, the duty of the Christian is to warn him. Others need comfort while some need to be upheld. One size doesn’t fit all.
"And we urge you"—this is from the Greek word parakaleo, which means "to appeal to, exhort, urge, encourage." This is a stronger word than the "we request" of verse 12.
"Brothers"—this is the Greek adelphoi. Do you remember what we said about this word last week? It is often used by Paul to show a transition to a new subject. Here he moves from how they are to treat the elders to how they are to treat each other. But all the things mentioned here would apply to all believers, elders and everyone else. These verses deal with the "one another" responsibilities all believers have to each other. New Testament Christianity does not make a distinction between "clergy" and "laity." Within this family, God choose some to be leaders among equals.
"Admonish the idle"—"admonish" is the Greek word noutheteo which means "to strongly encourage, correct, or warn someone to change from behavior that is wrong or potentially wrong according to Scripture." It is related to the word for "mind," so it involves imparting knowledge, understanding, or instruction with a view toward correction. A.T. Robertson said the verb nouthete means to put sense into it, to come alongside and put some sense into their head.
Jay Adams has a book on biblical counseling (Competent to Counsel) that is based on the Greek word noutheteo. All believers are responsible to admonish those who are leading an undisciplined, disorderly life.
Paul repeats this command often. In his second letter to the Thessalonians, he says.
Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. 2 Thessalonians 3:15 ESV
Warn here is noutheteo. Paul tells the Romans that they are "filled with all knowledge and able to instruct [noutheteo] one another" Romans 15:14. He says to the Colossians in 3:16, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing [noutheteo] one another."
Here he says they are to admonish "the idle"—this is from the Greek word ataktoi, which is a military term for disorderly conduct. Idle is not a good translation of ataktoi because the word never meant anything like that in the ancient world during which time it was used fairly abundantly. Ataktoi, which is the negation of taktos ("ordered, what is prescribed") typically meant "not remaining in one's place, out of order, undisciplined." It could refer to one who breaks a commitment. Thus, a better translation is "disorderly" or "disruptive."
Paul may be referring to those who had quit their jobs in anticipation of the Lord’s near coming and were sponging off the rest of the church. He alludes to this in chapter 4.
and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 ESV
Then he directly addresses it at length in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12. He describes these brothers as follows:
For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. 2 Thessalonians 3:11 ESV
This is the adverbal form of Ataktoi. They were "leading a disorderly, disruptive life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies."
So, Paul is telling the believers that it is their job to strongly encourage, correct, or warn someone to change from behavior that is wrong or potentially wrong according to Scripture. This is a responsibility of all believers. So, why aren’t we doing this? This is something nobody likes to do. We don’t want to go to a fellow believer and tell them that they aren’t living right. They might not like this, who would?
One way to attempt to get out of this is to contend that admonition is the job of the elders, the church leaders. But the word "brethren" in verse 14 addresses the entire church. This is a responsibility not only of the leaders but of every believer.
But how do we do this? It’s crucial that you use the Bible and not your own opinion when you admonish someone. And understand that when you admonish someone, you should expect resistance. Often when we try to admonish someone, he will appeal to Matthew 7:1 and say, "Judge not."
"Judge not, that you be not judged. Matthew 7:1 ESV
This is one of the most misapplied verses in the Bible! Yeshua was not forbidding making judgments about another person’s spiritual condition. If you keep reading, in verse 6, Yeshua tells us not to give what is holy to dogs and not to cast our pearls before swine. You can’t obey that verse unless you judge that the other person is a dog or a swine!
What Yeshua is saying here is, "Don’t judge others for minor sins in their lives while you ignore major sins in your life. First, take the log out of your eye and then you can help your brother with the speck in his eye."
Paul puts it this way:
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Galatians 6:1 ESV
He tells us first of all who should respond to a brother in sin by stating: "you who are spiritual." Who are the spiritual? What does it mean to be spiritual? The ones who are spiritual are those who are walking in the Spirit, those who are abiding in Christ.
It is never fun to admonish a sinning believer, but it is necessary. When you truly love somebody, you don’t hesitate to warn him of a damaging behavior.
"Encourage the fainthearted"—the Greek word for "encourage" here is paramutheomai, which means comforting, consoling, being sympathetic, or feeling with a person in his trials. This verb is only used four times in the New Testament, twice by Paul in 1 Thessalonians and twice by John in John 11:19 and 31 where it refers to those who had come to console Mary and Martha in the death of their brother Lazarus.
We are not to be comforting, consoling, and sympathetic to those who are unruly but to the "Fainthearted"—this is the Greek word oligopsuchychos, which literally means "little-souled." It refers to those who are "fainthearted, despondent, discouraged." These are those who, looking at circumstances or problems, tend to want to give up and throw in the towel. It refers to a person who is easily discouraged or overwhelmed by stress. In the LXX, this word was used to refer to those who were discouraged due to trials. Brenton’s English Septuagint says:
And having departed from mount Or by the way leading to the Red Sea, they compassed the land of Edom, and the people lost courage by the way. Numbers 21:4 Brenton
They became fainthearted due to trials. Isaiah 35:4 in the Septuagint exhorts,
Comfort one another, ye fainthearted; be strong, fear not; behold, our God renders judgment, and he will render it; he will come and save us. Isaiah 35:4 Brenton
The adversity suffered by the Thessalonians (1:6; 2:14; 3:3–4) or the death of the loved ones in their community (4:13–18) would have been sufficient reason for some of the members of the church to become discouraged.
Paramutheomai points to the work of encouraging someone to continue on a specific course when faced with discouraging or perplexing problems. It works to promote endurance and staying power by helping others to get their eyes on the Lord and the principles and promises of His Word.
"Help the weak"—help is the verb antecho. Help is such a simplistic word for such a magnificent concept in Greek. The verb antecho literally means (1) "cling to, hold fast to something or someone, be devoted to," and then (2) "to be interested in, pay attention to." Here, it has the sense of "giving support, to hold them up."
"Weak"—is asthenes, from sthenoo," to strengthen." With the negative prefix a (not) it means "without strength, weak, powerless." It is used of both physical and spiritual weakness, and the context must determine its meaning. Paul does not define the exact weakness, but in the context, he is obviously talking about the spiritually weak. Notice what Paul said about the weak in Romans.
As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Romans 14:1-3 ESV
The Greek word for "weak" here, is astheneo, the same word in our text. The "weak" are weak in faith. The problem does not concern their opinions, and it's not about their liberties. It's about their faith. Paul tells the "strong" not to pass judgment on the opinions of the "weak."
We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me." Romans 15:1-3 ESV
"We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak"—obligation here is the Greek word opheilo, a very strong word meaning "to be under obligation," "to be a debtor." Paul is telling the "strong" that they have a debt, and that debt is to "bear" (bastazois). This doesn't convey the idea of putting up with or of tolerating but rather of getting under and carrying the load. It is used of carrying something, shouldering a burden. In Galatians, chapter 6, Paul teaches about bearing one another's burden ("to get underneath and put it on your shoulders").
Paul teaches here that Christians with such weaknesses are to be the special objects of the loving care of the whole body of Christ.
"Weak" in our text in Thessalonians could refer to those suffering under temptations to lapse into immorality (1 Thessalonians 4:2-8). We are not to admonish the weak or encourage the weak but to give them support, to hold them up.
"Be patient with them all"—this is a present active imperative. It is a command to continually be patient. The Greek word here for "patient" is makrothumeo, which literally means "long-tempered." It is derived from makros ("long") and thumeo ("passion, anger"). It is the opposite of our term "short-tempered."
When he described biblical love, Paul began with "love is patient."
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 1 Corinthians 13:4 ESV
The first thing Paul says about love is that it is patient. This is makrothumeo. In almost every New Testament occurrence, it conveys the idea of having an infinite capacity for someone to be injured without his seeking payback. It is used with regard to people and not to circumstances. It is having a long fuse. The loving person is able to be inconvenienced or taken advantage of by a person and yet not be upset or angry.
When one deals with the disorderly, the discouraged, and the weak, patience or longsuffering is certainly a needed quality. If we aren’t patient, we aren’t loving. If we’re frustrated and angry, we aren’t loving.
Paul exhorts the Colossians to
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Colossians 3:12-13 ESV
Patience is a characteristic of Yahweh.
And the Lord passed by before his face, and proclaimed, The Lord God, pitiful and merciful, longsuffering and very compassionate, and true, Exodus 34:6 Brenton
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? Romans 2:4 ESV
Believers are to emulate the character of their Father. We are to be imitators of God; we are his image bearers.
See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 1 Thessalonians 5:15 ESV
Because of the hostilities the Christians in Thessalonica faced (2:14), there was sufficient motivation for the believers to seek ways to avenge themselves on their persecutors. We must strongly guard against our natural tendency to retaliate for a wrong suffered, no matter what the injury.
"See that no one repays anyone evil for evil"—this is another present active imperative. Believers are to respond differently than unbelievers. Believers should act in love and not in anger.
Some of you who know your Bible might be thinking, "What about where the Tanakh says in Exodus 21, Leviticus 24, Deuteronomy 19, "…an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth"?
That is talking about public law. That Mosaic prescription has to do with the nation; a nation is to have a system of justice that retaliates against evil. So that where there is a murder, there should be the execution of a murderer; where there is a theft, there should be retribution brought upon the thief. There is an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth in a society as ruled by men in a government that is ordered by law. But that is not to be for private revenge. And that's the point. God's design for the society is not vigilante law.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Yeshua spoke out against their misapplication.
"You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. Matthew 5:38-42 ESV
He goes on to say,
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, Matthew 5:44 ESV
So, Paul tells the Thessalonians, "See that no one repays anyone evil for evil"—which he obviously got from the Lord. Maybe we should cling to audience relevance here and say that this was just for the first-century saints. That might make us feel better but it would be wrong. This is a command for the church, for all believers. Peter also repeated this command:
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 1 Peter 3:8-9 ESV
Believers, this is how we are supposed to live.
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." Romans 12:19 ESV
Revenge is one of the most natural of human responses to hurt or injury or bad attitudes. We always feel that if we treat others according to the way they have treated us, we are only giving them justice. We love movies like Charles Bronson’s Death Wish. We feel that we have a right to retaliate. It was John Kennedy who said, "Don't get mad, get even."
Seneca commented that vengeance was "legitimate" (De Ira 2.32.2). In the Roman world, just as in the Greek, avenging oneself for a wrong done was necessary "because of the humiliation a Roman’s prestige suffered, if he showed himself reluctant to respond and retaliate for hostile acts. A Roman, governed by a harsh ethos, simply could not afford to ‘turn the other cheek’ and expect to maintain his position in society." The loss of social honor called for vengeance to be exacted in order to reestablish one’s place in the community.
This represents the wisdom of the world. And if we are truthful, that's the way most people, even many Christians, operate. When anyone threatens our rights or takes what we think belongs to us, we are inclined to retaliate. Revenge, or defending your own borders, is the first impulse of the unregenerate. We are not to fight with the same spirit as they do; we must have a Christ-like response.
I think that one of the most convicting Scriptures to our self-centered materialistic vengeful attitudes is Hebrews 10:32-34 ESV).
But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
It says they, "joyfully accepted the plundering of your property." I would very much like to tell you that this is a textual error, but it's not! This is very convicting. This is the concrete action of the tribulation mentioned in verse 33. Their property was being confiscated.
The word "plundering" is from the Greek harpage, which most likely points to mob violence, and the unjust seizer of property. Notice that it doesn't say anything about retaliation or resistance. I would like it to say, "And they took their AR-15's and Mossberg 590's and shed blood defending their property." But it says, "They joyfully accepted it."
Now, I know from experience that ordinarily there is nothing in this world that causes more distress, depression, grief, anxiety, and sorrow than the loss of one's material goods—especially those material goods for which an individual has diligently and honestly labored and which they and their families still need. But our text says, "They "joyfully accepted the plundering of your property." How could they have this attitude? What did they know that we don't? Yahweh! They knew Yahweh in such an intimate way that it controlled how they lived. Joy is a by-product of a spirit-controlled life.
Let me ask you a question: "Is anyone brought closer to the Kingdom by your asserting your rights? Is anyone brought closer to the Kingdom by your retaliation?" I think the answer is obvious. We do not win people to Yeshua by beating them up. We were not won that way. Neither do we become more like Christ by asserting our rights. He never did.
You see, God has a purpose. His purpose is to show His grace through His people. His purpose is to touch people's hearts by His mercy. His purpose is to develop our character so that we are conformed to the nature of Yeshua. His purpose is to reveal His Kingdom on earth through His people.
The choice is yours. The choice is either to take matters into your own hands or to be an agent of the Kingdom of God. You can assert your rights, or you can reach out to others. You can retaliate, or you can show compassion.
"But always seek to do good to one another and to everyone"—this present active imperative is rendered literally "continue to pursue good." The term "good" here is agathos, which usually emphasizes a moral quality. The Greek word translated "seek" is dioko which means "to hasten, run, chase after, press on, to persecute." It means to go after something with strong intent and effort. We could paraphrase, "Rather than seek vengeance, go after the other person’s highest good with a vengeance."
Paul put it this way in Romans.
To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." Romans 12:20 ESV
Needless to say, this flies in the face of common sense. You shoot enemies, you don't feed them. Our enemy by definition will almost always be someone close to us. I don't have any enemies in Iran, because I don't know anybody over there.
"You will heap burning coals on his head"—is this a proof text for round about revenge? Some say that the burning coals is a figure of God's judgment that will come on the enemy if he persists in his antagonism. This doesn't sound very nice, unless having burning coals on your head is a good thing.
This is a Hebrew idiom. Idioms come from historical origins and often refer to a particular event or custom, so it may be instructive to ascertain what this idiom meant to the ancient Jew. Paul is quoting Proverbs 25.
If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you. Proverbs 25:21-22 ESV
That saying is in the middle of several proverbs that use physical images to describe emotional reactions. Right before it is the following passage:
Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, and like vinegar on soda. Proverbs 25:20 ESV
The physical picture of discomfort illustrates that trying to make a person in mourning happy just distresses them more. Likewise, the passage about coals is about the emotional discomfort an enemy will feel when you waken his conscience about his conduct toward you.
According to the Jewish Encyclopedia:
The word "coal" is often used in a metaphorical sense: 2 Samuel 14:7 speaks of the "quenching of the coal" of a man, meaning the complete annihilation of his issue; while in Proverbs 25:22 kindness bestowed upon an enemy is called "heaping coals of fire upon his head," since it tends to waken his deadened conscience and help him to realize his wrong. Ecclus. (Sirach) viii. 10 compares the smoldering and easily roused passion of the godless man to the coal that is easily lighted and breaks forth into flame.
The ancients were a nomadic people who depended upon fire for their daily work. When one would retire for the night, they would stoke the fire with fresh wood so that there would be coals remaining in the morning. It may be necessary to get up in the middle of a particularly cold night and repeat the process so that there are still coals remaining in the morning. However, if one is lazy and does not prepare the fire the night before, the coals are all extinguished in the morning and that individual is forced to go to a neighbor and beg for some hot coals. Envision your enemy coming to you in the morning begging for a few coals. He brought a small bowl with him with which to hold the coals. You have few coals to share since your fire will not be fully built until late morning. However, recognizing your enemy's need, you offer him so many coals that he has a full, large bowl full. The ancients carried a bowl on the top of their head.
To heap burning coals on someone's head is to give them a gift that they do not deserve. This is consistent with grace. It is also an act that is deserving reward: "…and the Lord will reward you." That's in the Proverbs passage, not in Romans. There is no measure of hypocrisy and no desire for vengeance in this act. By so doing we leave the judgment and vengeance entirely up to Yahweh, doing exactly what the Scripture describes, and exactly what the Holy Spirit would inspire.
See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 1 Thessalonians 5:15 ESV
This relates to Christian actions toward believers and non-believers (all men). Christians must diligently endeavor to produce what is intrinsically beneficial to others, whether other Christians ("each other") or unbelievers ("everyone else"). The most painful wrongs often do not come from the world, but from other believers. The seriousness of the abuse suffered has no bearing on the issue. Some Thessalonians had been victims of unjustified harsh treatment, but regardless of this, a positive Christian response is the only suitable recourse. The welfare of the offender must be the prime objective.
The Bible teaches that although God's standards are high, and thus seem impossible, God provides supernatural resources to meet them.
I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 ESV
What does Paul mean when he says, "I can do all things through Christ"? He means that because he is in communion with Christ, the power of Christ is available to him for every need. Paul cannot do "all things" simply because he is a Christian. He can do all things because he is living in a dependent relationship with Christ. He is abiding in Christ. He is controlled by the Spirit.