1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

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1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (ESV)

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Commentary:

            Death and life after death is the topic of this section of scripture we are studying today. Paul here gives us a treatise on what happens when we die. He does not want us to be ignorant of what a Christian should believe about these things. Paul wants us to find comfort in the face of death. No doubt, a Christian mourns the loss of a dear one who dies, but we should not mourn without the hope we are called to in Jesus Christ.

            The world outside of Christianity believes that there is no hope for any existence after death and so they mourn the loss of their loved ones without hope. But since we as Christians know that Jesus Christ lived, died and lives again we have by Christ’s own words the promise that when we die, we are present with the Lord in heaven. This was and still is a counter cultural way to approach death. In the days of Jesus, a typical epitaph on a grave might read: “I was not, I was, I am not, I care not”1

            I can safely say that according to the scriptures no one believed Jesus when he said he would rise from the grave. The two Marys’ and Salome who went to the tomb early on that 1st Easter Sunday morning took spices with them to anoint a dead body. They were frightened out of their minds when they found Angels at the tomb but not Jesus. (Mark chapter 16:5-8).

According to out text, the dead in Christ shall rise and meet with those we are still alive in Christ shall meet Jesus “in the air”. As Jesus descends from heaven in a very loud and abrupt fashion with a trumpet blast and a cry from an archangel. From that


1Gupta, Nijay 1-2 Thessalonians (New Covenant Commentary Series) Cascade Books. 2016. P. 92





day onward we shall be with him forever. It can be hard to wrap our minds around this truth. We doubt its going to happen. But Paul says we should “encourage one another with these words. (v.18) And so we shall encourage each other even more as we see the day draw nearer. While no one knows the day or the hour I can promise you that today we are one day closer and tomorrow one day closer still. Be encouraged and keep your hopes on Jesus.

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