The next letter of St. Paul’s that we must consider when we are looking at a chronologically accurate New Testament (NT) is his letter to the Philippians. This letter is the most consistently affectionate of all of his letters. Philippi was the capital of ancient Macedonia. According to ACTS, the community of Philippi was the first city in Europe in which Paul founded a Christ-community after leaving Asia Minor in the late 40s. His relationship with this community seems to have been very uncomplicated. The tone of the letter is not only affectionate but also filled with gratitude. This letter contains some very important and extraordinary passages. I would encourage you to pick us a NT and read it. It is only four chapters long.

The community of Philippi dates from around 50 CE, when Paul, apparently in the company of Luke, visited the city on his second missionary journey. On his third journey he again visited the city.

Philippi had a proud history. It was founded by Philip of Macedonia, father of Alexander the Great, and was the scene of the defeat of Mark Antony by Octavian in 42 BCE. After this event it became a Roman colony, and its citizens were granted the right of Roman citizenship. Their esteem for this privilege is reflected in Luke’s account of Paul’s treatment in Philippi. We have to remember that Paul was also a Roman citizen and Luke, his companion, wrote the account in Acts about his visit to Philippi.

Describing himself in this letter as a prisoner facing a possibly unfavorable outcome to his trial, Paul three times warns the Philippians against the enemies of their faith.

In the letter Paul expresses his deep affection for the Philippians and thanks them warmly for the donation they sent him. He exhorts them to be faithful to their vocation, and to maintain their present unity of belief, mentioning only one instance of disharmony. He ponders the favorable effect his imprisonment has had on the spread of the Gospel and points to the disinterested sacrifice of Christ as the transcendent formative rule for every Christian action. He proposes his own complete abnegation for the sake of Christ as the example to be followed against the false teaching of the Judaizers.

Again we see reference to Judaizers. They were converts to the Jesus movement who stressed the necessity of pagans first becoming Jews in order to follow Jesus. They, like most of the other Apostles, felt that Jesus really taught a reformed Judaism and, since most of the early Christians still followed all of the Jewish practices and even worshiped in the Synagogue each week, they felt that this was the right interpretation of what Jesus taught. As we know, Paul eventually convinces all that Jesus taught a new way of religious practice and living.