Paul works as a tent weaver
Barely arrived in the city, Paul went to Jason, his relative, who - hospitality obliged - opened his house to him. Learning that the traveler was destitute, moved by his injuries, he provided him with the means to practice his trade as a tent weaver. Jason seems to have run a small weaving workshop with fairly large premises. Paul and his two companions found a warm welcome there, shelter, bread and work. Since they were counting on a fairly long stay, Paul and his companions did not want to be a burden on their host. In Thessaloniki, the Jewish community had built a sumptuous synagogue, equipped by merchants and bankers. It was the meeting place for all the Jews of Macedonia. In this synagogue Paul found an audience open to religious questions. There he also met proselytes and many “God-fearers”, recruited especially from the female community. Three Sabbaths in a row, Paul spoke in the synagogue. The scriptures provided him with a common theme and set of principles that he used to bring them to faith in Jesus Christ. Using the texts of Isaiah, Paul explained that the Messiah must suffer, die and rise from the dead
Everywhere he went, Paul invited his listeners to the in-depth study of Scripture. For him it was the fountain of youth of Christianity. The Scriptures will always have a central place in Paul's preaching and the Thessalonians responded to his call by welcoming the Word “with eagerness and not as a human word” (1 Thessalonians 1, 6; 2, 13). In Thessalonica, Paul and Silas made many conversions. They both stayed for some time in Jason's house. But, once again, as had happened elsewhere, the success of Paul's teaching aroused the fury of the Jews who threatened the two preachers with death. They accused them before the city magistrates: “these people who have stirred up the whole world are now here. These individuals act against the emperor's edicts; They claim that there is another king, Jesus.” (Acts 17, 6-7) Paul's adversaries recruited “rascals who roamed the streets” (Acts 17:5) to organize a riot and sow disorder in the city. They invaded Jason's house shouting that they wanted to bring Paul and Silas to justice. Fortunately, both were absent that day. They then dragged Jason with a few other Christians before the city magistrates. Paul avoided another period of imprisonment because his host agreed to provide a large sum of money as security. Since Jason was known to be a peaceful and honest citizen, he was asked to send away these troublemaking strangers as soon as possible. That same night, Paul made an appointment with the leaders of the community and left them with his instructions. He thought his absence would be short-lived. It was otherwise. For more than eight years, he would not see his friends from Thessalonica again. The Christian community organized the nighttime departure of the two men for Berea, a small town 70 km to the west. They deviated from the Egnatian Way, to take a secondary road.
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30. Thessaloniki
Mount Olympus, the highest peak in Greece, near Thessaloniki. The Greeks of Paul's time believed that Zeus and the other gods lived there, in palaces camouflaged from mortal eyes by a thick and permanent layer of clouds.
Even today, Thessaloniki is a major port on the Aegean Sea.
Paul and his two companions, Silas and Timothy, leave the city of Philippi and head south through Amphipolis, one of the oldest cities in Greece, but they do not stop there. After a journey of 150 km, along the Egnatian Way, they arrive in Thessalonica (Acts 17, 1). Travelers see the snow-capped peaks of Mount Olympus (2,985 meters), the holy mountain of the gods. It is up there that Zeus, “the shaper of the clouds”, sat enthroned. The Greek looked at this mountain with a fear similar to that of the Israelite facing Mount Sinai. Cassander, king of Macedon, founded Thessalonica in 315 BC. and named it after his wife Thessaloniki, the sister of Alexander the Great. The Romans seized it in 68 BC. Enlarged and became the capital of Macedonia, it obtained, in 42 BC, the status of a free city. It had a large port on the Aegean Sea and provided for the needs of a large part of the surrounding countries. By creating the Egnatian Way, which extended the Appian Way to Byzantium, the Romans made Thessalonica an essential stopover. The city was connected to Rome and Asia. Four meters below the current road, the old Roman road was exposed. Politically, power was in the hands of a proconsul, governing on behalf of the Roman Senate. Thessaloniki had a cosmopolitan population. There was a mixture of the nations of the world: Macedonians, Greeks, Asians, Syrians, Egyptians, Jews, Roman employees and legionnaires. If the Gospel succeeds in gaining a foothold in Thessalonica, Paul reasoned, it will spread throughout the entire Mediterranean basin. And that's what happened. After only two years, Paul wrote from Corinth to the Thessalonians: “For from among you the word of the Lord has sounded, and not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has spread everywhere. .” (1 Thessalonians 1, 8).
Paul works as a tent weaver
Barely arrived in the city, Paul went to Jason, his relative, who - hospitality obliged - opened his house to him. Learning that the traveler was destitute, moved by his injuries, he provided him with the means to practice his trade as a tent weaver. Jason seems to have run a small weaving workshop with fairly large premises. Paul and his two companions found a warm welcome there, shelter, bread and work. Since they were counting on a fairly long stay, Paul and his companions did not want to be a burden on their host. “You remember, brothers, our labors and fatigues: night and day, we worked, so as not to be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed the Gospel of God!” (1 Thessalonians 2, 9).
Paul speaks in the synagogue
In Thessaloniki, the Jewish community had built a sumptuous synagogue, equipped by merchants and bankers. It was the meeting place for all the Jews of Macedonia. In this synagogue Paul found an audience open to religious questions. There he also met proselytes and many “God-fearers”, recruited especially from the female community. Three Sabbaths in a row, Paul spoke in the synagogue. The scriptures provided him with a common theme and set of principles that he used to bring them to faith in Jesus Christ. Using the texts of Isaiah, Paul explained that the Messiah must suffer, die and rise from the dead: “A man of sorrows and familiar with suffering, like one before whom one veils his face... He was pierced because of our crimes, crushed because of our faults. The punishment that gives us peace is upon him, and in his wounds we find healing... Mistreated, he humiliated himself, he did not open his mouth, like the lamb that allows itself to be led to the slaughter, like a mute sheep before the shearers.” (Isaiah 53, 3-7) The Messiah, he said, is this Jesus whom I announce to you. Paul explained that the Messiah awaited by the Jews, the victorious King, was only a dream. The true Messiah wore a crown of thorns, was crucified, and died for love of us. What a scandal! Most Jews could not accept a crucified Messiah! It will be especially among the pagans that Paul will encounter the most open hearts. As had happened elsewhere, the success of Paul's teaching aroused the fury of the Jews who threatened the two preachers with death. Everywhere he went, Paul invited his listeners to the in-depth study of Scripture. For him it was the fountain of youth of Christianity. The Scriptures will always have a central place in Paul's preaching and the Thessalonians responded to his call by welcoming the Word “with eagerness and not as a human word” (1 Thessalonians 1, 6; 2, 13). In Thessalonica, Paul and Silas made many conversions. They both stayed for some time in Jason's house. But, once again, as had happened elsewhere, the success of Paul's teaching aroused the fury of the Jews who threatened the two preachers with death. They accused them before the city magistrates: “these people who have stirred up the whole world are now here. These individuals act against the emperor's edicts; They claim that there is another king, Jesus.” (Acts 17, 6-7) Paul's adversaries recruited “rascals who roamed the streets” (Acts 17:5) to organize a riot and sow disorder in the city. They invaded Jason's house shouting that they wanted to bring Paul and Silas to justice. Fortunately, both were absent that day. They then dragged Jason with a few other Christians before the city magistrates. Paul avoided another period of imprisonment because his host agreed to provide a large sum of money as security. Since Jason was known to be a peaceful and honest citizen, he was asked to send away these troublemaking strangers as soon as possible. That same night, Paul made an appointment with the leaders of the community and left them with his instructions. He thought his absence would be short-lived. It was otherwise. For more than eight years, he would not see his friends from Thessalonica again. The Christian community organized the nighttime departure of the two men for Berea, a small town 70 km to the west. They deviated from the Egnatian Way, to take a secondary road.
