LESSON 2

Show and Tell

(1 Thessalonians 1:1-10)

For many American schoolchildren, their first experience of public speaking is show-and-tell. The teacher asks the child to bring an object, a photo, or a house pet to class to show the other children. Then, while everyone is looking at the attraction, the child must talk about it, answering such questions as, Why is this item special? Who gave it to you? What can you do with it? Who are the people in that photo? Where was it taken? What are they doing in that police car? What is Snuffy's favorite food? Why isn't she awake right now?

Think of how awkward and confusing this exercise might be if it were only show-if the child put the object on the table but didn't explain its significance. The class would have to guess what it is or its importance. Just as bad would be if it were only tell. Without anything to look at, the class could conclude that the speaker is just making stuff up. Together, though, show-and-tell is effective. There is something interesting to look at and something to learn about it. Or something interesting to tell and a visual to reinforce it.

Communicating the Christian gospel needs to resemble show-and-tell. Some Christians specialize in the show part. They try to live good lives that serve as an example of the gospel. They go to church, volunteer in the community, and strive to be honest. They hope their religious niceness will win people over, but without a clear explanation, observers can only conclude that these are darn-good neighbors. Other Christians specialize in tell. They speak about the good news, sharing it with everyone they can. They tell and tell and tell. Secular people hear what they are saying, but they have difficulty squaring the words with the lives of the people doing the telling.

We need both the showing and the telling. We need a clear and coherent message that our lives confirm and recommend. Today's Christians don't always understand this, but the first-century Thessalonians did. We can see how well they understood the gospel from Paul's warm greeting to this new Christian community.

• Who wrote this letter, remembering that first-century letters began with their authors (1 Thessalonians 1:1)?
• To whom was the letter written, and what was their relationship to the divine (v. 1)?
• From the outset of this letter, what evidence did Paul have of the Thessalonians' life in Christ? What motivated their Christian work and perseverance (vv. 2-3)?s

Many weddings include the reading from 1 Corinthians 13:13, which ends, "There are three things that remain: faith, hope, and love," but Paul's letter to the Thessalonians begins by mentioning these highest virtues. The fruit of their life in Jesus was grounded in and growing from these three. In essence, Paul told them that Christian faith works, Christian love labors, and Christian hope endures.

The combination of faith, hope, and love can be found throughout the New Testament. Whenever the Holy Spirit does his work of regeneration, the born-again soul begins to exhibit these precious qualities in increasing measure.

• Look up the following passages and mark which of these three-faith, hope, or love-is mentioned. Then make note of how one virtue interacts with others for the Christian.7

Passage

Faith

Hope

Love

Interaction of these virtues

Romans 5:5

1 Corinthians 13:12-13

Galatians 5:5-6

Ephesians 3:16-19

Colossians 1:3-6

1 Thessalonians 1:3

1 Thessalonians 5:8

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

1 Timothy 4:10-12

Philemon 1:4-6

Hebrews 11:1

1 Peter 1:21-22

The Gospel Received

• How did Paul describe the way the good news was initially delivered in Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5)? What added punch to the message? What was the show for Paul's tell?
• Why was Paul confident of the Thessalonians' conversion to faith in Christ? Whose example did they imitate? What harsh reality was part of the examples the Thessalonians followed (vv. 6-7)?

When teaching most practical skills, we know how important visuals are. Imagine explaining over the phone how to tie a shoelace: "Cross the right-hand string over the left-hand string. Then loop the right-hand string back under the left-hand string. Now, pull it tight." In that single instruction, it is easy to see the confusion that might result. And we are not even halfway finished. Even if this instruction makes sense to the hearer, it is because she can picture it in her mind due to having seen someone do it before. When we were young, someone modeled this explanation for us until we could understand and learn to do it ourselves and eventually model it again for others.

This is how we learn to tie our shoes, brush our teeth, write our alphabet, boil an egg, and a myriad of other everyday skills. Why do we think we need show-and-tell for the mundane abilities of life but that we can understand the Christian message and the life it inspires just by reading a book or listening to a sermon? Paul did not believe this. Neither did Jesus.

After his baptism and wilderness temptation, Jesus began his ministry by calling a small group of followers to his side. Their first calling was to follow (Mark 1:16-20; 2:13-14), simply to be with him (3:13-15). Then they could witness the life of God the Son directly, seeing what he was like, hearing what he taught, and watching what he did. This eclectic little group of disciples would spend at least three years with Jesus.8 And when it was time for them to lead his movement, they would be like their Master, saying what he said and doing what he did.

Paul was not in Thessalonica for long, but he was there long enough. In his short tenure, he clearly taught the simple gospel while showing the people the gospel-transformed life. He showed and told them that living for Jesus was worth any suffering that might come as a result. He showed and told them how to work hard as believers without burdening anyone else. He showed and told them how to confidently speak out about Jesus in the face of opposition. It was this show-and-tell that they responded to. It was this model and message that changed their lives.

• After the Thessalonians learned the gospel and gospel living from Paul and his companions, what new role did these believers play in the Jesus movement (1 Thessalonians 1:7-8)? What influence did they have on the lives of others? How far-reaching was their influence?
• What kind of reputation did the Thessalonian Christians have in the region? What news about them got back to Paul (vv. 9-10)?

After Paul and his friends were uprooted by the riot in Thessalonica, they moved on to Berea and Athens before settling in Corinth for a year and a half (Acts 18:11). Most Bible scholars think that Paul wrote his first letter to the Thessalonians during that period in Corinth, the capital city of Achaia. Word about the faith and example of the Thessalonians gradually filtered back to Paul while he waited and prayed for them. They had an impact in their own province of Macedonia, but their exemplary faith also influenced people in Achaia, the adjacent province.

These new believers followed Paul's Christian model until they became model Christians. Their lives set an example for all the people of their region in southern Greece. Their admirable faith showed others the way to Jesus. One might conclude that they specialized in showing the gospel.

Many modern Christians have advocated for what the sociologist and priest Andrew Greeley called "the evangelism of a good example."9 They...