But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention. 1 Thessalonians 2:2
We all know what Paul was referring to when he spoke of being shamefully entreated at Philippi. We recall how Paul and Silas had cast the demon out of the woman whose masters profited by her divination, and how her masters had complained to the local authorities. We also recall how the authorities took the preachers, laid many stripes on them, and had them cast into prison, where the jailor placed them in the stocks in the inner prison. This shameful mistreatment caused great embarrassment for the officials the next day when they were faced with the reality that they had beaten uncondemned Roman citizens. But it also produced an atmosphere where it was difficult for the preachers to function in Philippi. So they journeyed on to Thessalonika. As our text declares, they did not allow their experiences at Philippi to deter them from boldly preaching at Thessalonika. Even when faced by a mob described as ‘certain lewd fellows of the baser sort’ (Acts 17:6) who were stirred up by envious Jews. Their perseverance is an example to us.
It was good that Paul and Silas maintained their evangelical fervour when they reached Thessalonika, because they saw many souls saved there. A large Assembly was planted to the glory of God. That would not have happened if the experiences at Philippi had been allowed to discourage or intimidate the preachers. You and I can often be intimidated when we encounter opposition or rebuke when we speak a word of testimony, or hand out a Gospel tract, or invite somebody to a Gospel meeting. A nasty retort can often send us scurrying for cover. I recall how intimidated I felt one time when I was a teenager when I tried to give one of our neighbours an invitation to a series of Gospel meetings. His rejection of the invitation was so frosty that I felt like I was two inches tall, and it took me awhile to gather the courage to give an invitation to anyone else. The fear of man is very real and very crippling to our testimony. But the Thessalonian Christians were proof that great things can be accomplished if we can overcome that fear.
Paul and Silas were aware that God can work through the opposition and the setbacks. They could rejoice that their shameful mistreatment at Philippi had led to the salvation of the jailor and his family. They could also rejoice that being chased out of Philippi resulted in their finding a large number of receptive hearers in Thessalonika. These were not unusual events in God’s program. He often uses the slamming of doors in one place to allow us to find the opening of doors in another place. But that won’t happen if we allow the setbacks to stop us from moving forward.
Being mistreated for our testimony for our Lord is not always a bad thing, not if we allow God to use us to continue witnessing for Him.