Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: “You became imitators, brothers, of the congregations of God that are in Judea in union with Christ Jesus, because you also began suffering at the hands of your own countrymen the same things as they also are suffering at the hands of the Jews. ” ​ — 1 Thessalonians 2: 14.
पण थेस्सलनीकामधील ख्रिश्‍चनांना केवळ पौल व त्याच्यासोबत कार्य करणाऱ्‍या बांधवांकडूनच नव्हे, तर परीक्षेत अढळ राहणाऱ्‍या इतर भाऊबहिणींकडून देखील उत्तेजन मिळाले होते.