Sermon Tone Analysis

I Thessalonians 4:13-5:11

 

! Introduction

            How far into the future do you plan?

Do you know what you will be doing tomorrow?

Have you made plans for events that will take place next month?

This summer?

Some organizations make five year plans.

Do we ever make plans for eternity?

If you are a Christian, you have made such plans because the gospel has implications that extend into all eternity.

When the gospel is told, the message is not only “God has forgiven your sins” but also “and given you eternal life.”

But how many of us live our lives with the steady awareness of that eternal life?

Although we don’t always live with an awareness of the end, we have a lot of questions about it.

We want to know, “When will Christ come?” “What will His coming be like?”

“What hope does His coming give to people who die?” “What will happen in eternity?”

The people in the church in Thessalonica had heard the promises of the return of Christ and of the hope of eternal life, but they had questions and they needed to be taught more.

So in I Thessalonians 4:13-5:11, Paul teaches them some more.

There are primarily two questions answered in this passage, but others are also examined.

He deals in 4:13-18 with the question, “What about death?” and in 5:1-11 with the question, “When will He come?”

We also know these promises, but in the distractions that life brings they are often obscured.

What hope, encouragement and challenges can we find in these verses?

Let us read the text.

!

I. What About Death?

!! A. The Question

            If you read the story about how the gospel came to Thessalonica in Acts 17, you will discover that Paul came to Thessalonica from Philippi where he had been persecuted for his proclamation of the gospel.

He went to the synagogue and “reasoned with them from the Scriptures” about Jesus.

Some Jews and a large number of Greeks were persuaded, but other Jews became jealous and Paul was forced to leave.

Paul had just begun to disciple the new believers in Thessalonica when he was suddenly torn from them without having been able to finish the work of teaching them everything Jesus had commanded.

He had told them the promise of Christ’s return and they greatly rejoiced at the hope of eternal life.

They believed the promises and were sure that soon Christ would come back to take them to their eternal home.

But then something disturbing happened.

Whether it was as a result of persecution that continued after Paul left or due to natural causes, some among them died.

They became quite disturbed and began to wonder, “what has happened to the promises?”

If people are dying, where is the resurrection?

Where is the power of God? Are his promises still true?

We can imagine that it must have been quite disconcerting and must have shaken their faith deeply.

Timothy had gone back to Thessalonica after Paul left and had reported back to Paul about this and other concerns and Paul replied to their concerns.

He says, “we do not want you to be ignorant.”

They simply did not know how the promises of God worked and did not understand how death fit into these promises but Paul would teach them.

We come at the question a little differently.

We understand.

We have perceived that death is not the end.

We have heard that Christ will receive those who have died knowing Him.

Understanding is not our problem.

Our problem is trust.

Our problem is, “do we really believe these promises.”

When someone dies, we ask ourselves, “do I believe that what God has promised about eternal life will really happen.”

When death threatens us, we have to make a decision about whether we are able to put ourselves into the hand of God and walk over the threshold to eternal life.

We wonder, “Are these promises really true?”

!! B. The Answer

            There is an interesting thing that happens in these verses which helps us affirm the reality of these promises.

The word which is used to refer to death almost throughout this passage is the word “sleep.”

For example, in verses 13, 14 & 15, Paul speaks about those who have “fallen asleep.”

Sleep as a euphemism for death is not uncommon.

Even among pagans this term was used.

In Homer’s Iliad there is a quote that says, “So there he fell, and slept a sleep of bronze, unhappy youth, far from his wedded wife.”

The Greek word for “sleep” is behind our word “cemetery.”

However, in this passage, there is one significant exception to this way of speaking.

One of the main times the word “died” is used in this passage is in reference to Christ.

When Paul refers to Christ, he does not say he “fell asleep,” he says Christ “died.”

This is significant because it helps us understand that the death of Jesus was a significant death.

It tells us that Jesus actually experienced separation from God and, as the sinless one, took the guilt of sin entirely upon himself and was punished for that sin.

When we think of that, we are reminded that He rose again from the dead and therefore, from that point on, it is entirely appropriate to speak about those who have died as having fallen asleep.

It isn’t just a euphemism any more, because those who die in Christ will wake up again, this time to eternal life.

The answer to the question “what about those who have died” is that Jesus has opened the way to eternal life even for those who die.

Because Jesus has provided the way, Paul goes on to assure them that they do not need to fear that the promises of God are lost just because some have died.

He assures them that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.

Since Jesus has provided the way, if we believe God, we can be fully assured that He will bring all those who are in Christ with Him to life eternal - whether they have died or are still alive.

Because of this promise, we also learn that we do not need to grieve like those who do not have hope.

Does that mean, as some seem to imply, that a funeral should be a celebration and we should not be sad at a funeral?

Of course not.

Paul does not say that “we do not grieve.”

He says that “we do not grieve as those who have no hope.”

There is a very great difference in these statements.

When someone close to us dies, we grieve, we sorrow greatly.

We understand that we will not see them again for a very long time.

But, we do not grieve as those who have no hope.

We know that, since they know the Lord, they are OK.

We know that since we know the Lord, we will see them again.

I have sometimes wondered about the parting greeting we sometimes use, “see you” or “farewell ‘till we meet again.’”

If we are with a person who does not know Christ, this may not be true.

We may never see them again.

But if we say this to a person who is a believer, even though we know that we will never see them on this earth, we will see them again.

So even when a person dies, we can say to them “see you.”

That is the hope that is ours, the reason why we do not need to grieve as those who have no hope.

!! C. What Will Happen When He Comes?

            Paul continues to answer their question about the problem of death.

He assures them that those who have died will certainly not miss Christ’s return.

In vs. 15, the phrase “certainly not” is expressed in Greek with two words that mean “not.”

So if you would read it in Greek, you could read, “not, not” or, as it is translated, “certainly not.”

There is no doubt that those who have died will not miss the resurrection.

He explains how it will happen.

There is a day coming when the Lord will descend.

The text says that there will be - “a loud command,” “the voice of the archangel,” “the trumpet call of God.”

There will be enough noise to literally wake the dead.

Paul’s word of comfort to these believers is that those who have died will not miss it.

God will wake them from their sleep.

Then, when those who are asleep have been caught up to meet the Lord in the air, those who are still alive at that time, will also join those who have died.

The mention of a meeting in the clouds reaches back to a rich Biblical background in which clouds represented the presence of God.

The clouds intention was always to obscure the holy presence of God, but when we will be in the cloud, the intention seems to be that we become part of the glory of God, we see Him, as is promised in the Revelation, face to face.

So the knowledge is affirmed to the Thessalonians and the assurance is given to us.