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2 Thessalonians 3:1. Pray therefore for us, brethren, that the word of the Lord may spread and be glorified, as it is with you, He himself previously prayed for them, so that they would be confirmed in the faith, now he asks them to pray for him, not asking that he should not be exposed to dangers (for he doomed himself to this), but that “so that the word of the Lord would spread and be glorified.” Here the request is combined with praise: “as,” he says, “and you,” so that everyone would submit to him just as you do. So the apostle does not ask for anything for himself, but for everything of God. 2 Thessalonians 3:2. and so that we can get rid of disorderly and crafty people, for not everyone has faith. The Apostle speaks of those who objected to his preaching and were hostile to the dogmas of the faith, such as Alexander the coppersmith. 3 He hinted at this by saying: “For not everyone has faith,” that is, not everyone believes, but those who are worthy do. Just as if someone said that not everyone is worthy to serve in the royal army, but only those who are fit for this. At the same time, He encourages them, presenting in them so much boldness before God that their prayer can contribute to the success of the preaching of their teacher himself. He also imperceptibly makes clear the dangers caused to him by those who opposed the word. And it is of great consolation for them that Paul, being so tall, still struggled with dangers. 2 Thessalonians 3:3. But the Lord is faithful, who will strengthen you and keep you from the evil one. Above he said: “God chose you” “for salvation,” instead of: “chose you for Himself.” So, God is faithful, that is, true, and will undoubtedly accomplish what he began; and he will strengthen you, as we have prayed, so that you will no longer be shaken, and he will preserve you, so that Satan will not overcome you. 2 Thessalonians 3:4. We are confident about you in the Lord, that you do and will do what we command you. After the apostle prayed for the Thessalonians and said: God is faithful and, of course, will complete the work of salvation begun in you, but so that you do not think that everything depends only on God, and therefore do not give in to laziness, now he demands assistance on their part, as if to say: God is faithful and will undoubtedly complete His work, but on the condition that you also work. Notice the wisdom of the apostle. He did not simply say: “we have confidence in you,” but “in the Lord,” that is, we believe in God’s love for mankind, that it will fill you with strength, to show them that everything depends on God. And he did not just say: “confident in the Lord,” but: “about you,” and: “you do and will do,” so that they, referring everything to God, would not become lazy. We must place everything on God, but in such a way that we ourselves can act. He was not content with saying: “you will fulfill,” but added: “you will fulfill,” showing that we must be zealous for virtue until our last breath. 2 Thessalonians 3:5. May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ. Again he prays for them, showing his care for them. Since he intended to reproach some of them, he anoints their hearts in advance to show that he is giving them an order out of much love. And so he said: “May the Lord direct your hearts,” that is, make sure that they follow the right path and do not deviate from it. For many things deviate from the right path of love: covetousness, vanity, sorrows, and temptations. This and much more prevents us from moving towards the love of God and loving Him as we should. The words “into the patience of Christ” can either be understood this way: so that we can endure as He endured, or this way: so that we wait patiently for Christ and do not despair, but firmly believe that He will fulfill what He has promised. Having spoken about patience, the apostle hinted at sorrows. He combined patience with love because to love God means to endure everything for Him, without complaining, complacently. By “Lord” here we mean “Spirit,” as Basil the Great noted. 2 Thessalonians 3:6. We command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, We have often said that Paul means stricter instruction by testament. So in the present case, making a more strict instruction, he says: it is not we who command, but Christ. For what I say, He says. But He nowhere commanded to indulge in inactivity. keep away from every brother who behaves disorderly, That is, to move away from anyone who lives disorderly, that is, without doing anything, even if he is rich, or poor, or a saint. For those who refuse useful activities usually quickly fall into idle talk and indifference. And this is chaos. How? Thus: whoever does nothing goes out of order (rank) established by the teacher. Therefore the apostle adds the following. and not according to the tradition that was received from us, The tradition that I conveyed to you in my actions, becoming a model for you, for in fact it is a tradition. 2 Thessalonians 3:7. for you yourselves know how you should imitate us; for we did not commit outrages among you, 2 Thessalonians 3:8. they ate no one's bread for free, We did not riot, that is, we did not remain idle. Here the apostle calls doing nothing disorderly, as above. For God intended man to be at work, and for this purpose he provided him with members suitable for this; so that whoever remains idle steps out of the rank of God. Note that the apostle called free food that which receives maintenance from them. But it was not free because he preached. And the worker deserves his food. but they were engaged in labor and work night and day, Pay attention to increased speech. If those who have taught us something do not honor us for God’s sake, then we are indignant, as if we had received the most severe offense. so as not to burden any of you, - It is especially difficult to take from listeners. In the present case, this is what the apostle is talking about, because the Thessalonians were poor. 2 Thessalonians 3:9. not because we do not have power, but to give ourselves to you as a model for us to follow. The apostle had the right not to work, since he was busy with a more important matter, preaching, and to eat at the expense of his disciples; however, out of his kindness, he worked and fed himself and those with him in order to teach this to his disciples. 2 Thessalonians 3:10. For when we were with you, we commanded you this: if anyone does not want to work, he should not eat. “With you” (προς υμάς) instead of: “with you” (μετ υμών). In the first letter the apostle talks about this condescendingly, but here it is more strict. For if he himself worked day and night, although he had no need, then how much more should others do the same. 2 Thessalonians 3:11. But we hear that some among you act disorderly, do nothing, but fuss. Since our mind is in constant motion, therefore, when we do not occupy it with useful things, it indulges in indecent things, as said above, begins to investigate how others live, and from here it turns into gossip, idle talk and idle talk. So, you should work, working with your hands. Those who, having the strength to work, indulge in idleness, should not beg for alms. You will say: I pray and fast. But this is not the work of hands. You can still have manual work. And if you are negligent about this, then you will be subject to judgment as an idle lover. They will say: how is it that those who teach are not forced to work? He has a most important and difficult job, which will not allow him to do manual work. You, a private person, don’t have anything like that, and you’re sinning by neglecting your work. 2 Thessalonians 3:12. Such we admonish and convince by our Lord Jesus Christ, Since he expressed himself more strictly, saying: “we exhort,” he again turns to them with greater condescension and says: “we persuade.” But through this admonition it becomes even more weighty and strict. so that they, working in silence, eat their bread. He demands two things from them: as from the disorderly, to remain silent, as from the idle, to work and eat their own bread, and not someone else’s. For they should not look at the hands of others. 2 Thessalonians 3:13. But you, brothers, do not lose heart in doing good. Look how quickly the father’s heart softened—he immediately took pity on them. Move away, he says, from them and separate yourself, but, however, do not allow them to die of hunger. So what will come of this? Is it possible that anyone, being sure that I will feed him, will remain idle? It is enough for you to move away from him and not give him courage by pretending that you are angry with him. Although some of them will not improve after this, still do not lose heart in doing good. 2 Thessalonians 3:14. If anyone does not listen to our words 4 in this message, take note of him Some read: “our words” (λόγω ημών), with the letter ή, which is why they understood it this way: if anyone does not listen to the word of me, Pavlov, as if spoken through this epistle, take him into account and treat him as if he were excommunicated. Saint John read: “yours” (υμών) and made us understand this place like this: if anyone does not listen to us speaking to him what you have learned through this epistle of mine. and do not communicate with him to shame him. Do you see what good it will do if he is excommunicated? This is exactly shame. For if it is shameful to simply take, then even more so if they give to him after excommunication. Excommunication was considered a great punishment in ancient times, but is no longer considered such. For if it was necessary to shun a person who simply does nothing, then how much more to shun others. 2 Thessalonians 3:15. But do not consider him an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. As above, having said: let him who does not work not eat, the apostle was afraid that such people would not perish from hunger, and therefore added: “But you, brethren, do not become weary in doing good,” so now, having said: “do not communicate with him,” he was afraid that this would completely separate him from the brotherhood, as one who despaired of himself. That’s why he added: “But do not consider him an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.” And after giving alms, he commands to admonish him, and not to insult him, so that he can receive a benefit for both body and soul. Whoever admonishes his brother does not clearly reveal his resentment; on the contrary, he does it in private and with condescension. Let us, he says, grieve not because we give alms to someone who does nothing, but because he violates the law of God, and let us sympathize with him as if he were sick. Let those who not only do not give food, but also insult the beggar and throw stones at him, listen to this. For your sake he is poor so that you can heal your wounds with love for him, and you drive away the one who endures poverty for your sake. What insensitivity this is! 2 Thessalonians 3:16. May the Lord of peace Himself always give you peace in everything. Everywhere he seals his admonitions with prayer, imposing prayers like certain seals and signs on what is deposited in the treasury for safekeeping. Thus, here too, since, probably, strife occurred among the Thessalonians as a result of such cases when some - those who were removed - became more bitter, others - the wealthy - no longer gave to such people with full readiness: the apostle rightly prays that peace will “always” be between them. For they must take care of this in order to always maintain peace. And, moreover, “in everything,” so that there is no reason for discord anywhere, neither from words nor from the course of action. For in this way, he says, you will easily make the disobedient better. Nothing contributes more to the correction of what we want to correct than peaceful, serene treatment and admonition without anger. This is what the Lord promised: “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). If, he says, He will be with all of you, that is, with those who must be corrected and with those who have been corrected, then everything will be for good. He will heal those who do not want to work, and He will confirm those who love work in their diligence. 2 Thessalonians 3:17. Greetings from my hand, Pavlova, He calls prayer a greeting, showing by this what and when it was necessary to greet; this deed was done for spiritual benefit and prayer, and was not a simple sign of friendship. which serves as a sign in every message, So that messages are not written on my behalf by any deceivers (and this, as we said at the beginning, was done by many), I, he says, write a greeting with my own hand. “In every message” that may be sent to you, or in every message to anyone. 2 Thessalonians 3:18. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. The Apostle began with grace, and now he again ends the epistle with grace, as if enclosing what was said with great walls on both sides, laying a solid foundation and adding an unshakable end. For if the grace that saves us be with you, it will heal all our infirmities; because such is the power of grace. And she will remain with you if you do not drive her away. Grace dwells in prudent souls, filled with simple faith and brotherly love. May it be granted to us to have such souls as to show brotherly love, to admonish those who accidentally err as brothers, and in every way to correct them in the world, to be protected everywhere by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who accepted us among the believers and brought us to the Father in the Holy Spirit. To Him is due all glory, honor and worship, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. At the blzh. Theophylact: "yours" (υμών) You might be interested in: