1-2 Thessalonians by Dr. Jeffrey A.D. Weima - Faculty Book Review
From The Forum Magazine, Spring 2015 - view the full issue here
Only every great once in a while does a scholar publish a book that can rightly be called his “great work.” Jeff Weima’s commentary on 1-2 Thessalonians fits into that category.
Developed over the course of twenty years and interrupted by many other projects on the Thessalonian correspondence, Weima’s commentary was much anticipated.
But maybe producing a great work over a long period of time isn’t such a bad thing.
“The unintended consequence of all these delays has been the opportunity to gain a more mature understanding of 1-2 Thessalonians,” Weima writes in the author’s preface to the commentary. “There have been many occasions when ideas and truths in Paul’s correspondence to the Thessalonians … suddenly became visible and compelling after the benefit of simply interacting with the text for a longer period of time.”
Published in the acclaimed Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series, Weima hopes that this commentary adds value to an already-solid collection. He also hopes the reference will be useful to pastors for years to come, with insights that transfer from study to pulpit to pew to life.
“I take real pleasure and a bit of pride in the fact that as scholarly and detailed as [the commentary is], it’s in a sense pastoral. Despite its intimidating length and technical details, it still is pastorally sensitive.”
One example of the scholarly-pastoral dimension of the commentary can be seen in Weima’s treatment of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, where Paul is offering guidance to those grieving the deaths of brothers and sisters in the faith.
“I suggest … that there’s a false theology in the church that somehow tears [are] a sign of weak faith, that Christians shouldn’t grieve because, ‘Hey, this person’s in a better place … .’” Weima says.
“The line I use in teaching, and in the commentary too, is that ‘Tears in the face of death are not a sign of weak faith, but a sign of great love.’”
Another example of the scholarly-pastoral element of Weima’s work is in his discussion of the three end times passages that appear in the Thessalonian correspondence: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 5:1-11; and 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17.
“All three of these passages include or end with the same Greek word, the same key concept: parakaleo, the word ‘comfort,’” Weima says.
“[Often] people go to these end times passages and get all excited that they’ve got a blueprint for the future. [But] then you’re kind of distorting or misusing the purpose of the text. In other words, Paul didn’t give these texts to give a map for what’s going to happen in the future. No, he gave these texts to comfort Christians.”
It was a pastoral focus that initially motivated Weima to write the commentary. “Whether it’s comforting people, or whether its giving proper instruction … all of this [exploration of the concerns of the Thessalonian church] has practical consequences for the daily lives of parishioners and congregations.”
“It’s kind of nice to imagine that in locations where I am not, there are people who will consult the book and in some way it will hopefully help them understand 1-2 Thessalonians. That’s fun to think about,” he says.
What’s up next for Weima? A welcome change in focus to a user-friendly book about Paul the letter writer, exploring ways to read Paul’s letters to better grasp what he, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was trying to say.
