“Satan hindered us.” What a statement! And this is the only
time in all of his letters that Paul penned these words. They are interesting
words. Paul said that he had a great desire to return to Thessalonica, but
Satan hindered them. The concept is not that unusual because everywhere Paul went, opposition mounted. Once he had been
in a city for a while, preaching in the synagogues as was his custom, the Jews
would rise up against him. He would leave the synagogues – and usually have
even greater success – and the Judaizers would rise up against him. These were
the professing Christians who claimed that you had to practice Judaism in order
to be a Christian. Often these folks would stir up trouble inside and outside
the church. And sometimes, even the pagans would rise up against Paul to the
point that he would find himself imprisoned or running for his life. And in none
of those instances did he point the finger at Satan as he does now. Why?
Look at the verse again. When he wanted to return to
Thessalonica, he says that Satan hindered them. Perhaps Satan used one or more
of the groups above to prevent his return. However, the word Paul uses for “hinder”
comes from a Greek word with an interesting definition. The root of the word
has to do with mourning, but its usage has to do with a military practice of
making slits in a road to hold up a pursuing enemy. Some believe that the “authorities”
were preventing Paul from returning. Now, maybe I am reading too much into
this, but look at the definition again. Read it slowly. Read Paul's statement again. Do you see it? Paul is
the pursuer, and the “authorities” are running for their lives, throwing up
obstacles to keep him away. Folks, that is the way that it is supposed to be.
We should have Satan on the run trying to keep us from winning people with the
gospel of Jesus. Wouldn’t it be great if the church of the 21st
century would once again become the pursuers? God, make it so!
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