What makes Philippians so unusual

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Goal

Many people have heard of Alexander the Great
His father, Philip II actually began the conquest
- Ruled a tiny kingdom
1. Updated his army with the latest technology (long spears)
2. Captured a nearby city, called “The Little Fountains”
3. Renamed it to Philippi, after himself (otherwise this book would have been called Paul’s epistle to...)
- Reason: gold mines
- Grow army + bribes
  “No fortress is impregnable if you can lead a donkey laden with gold up to it’s walls”
- Managed to extract a supendous amount of gold —it went before his army and “smoothed the way”
Two centuries later
- Gold mines exhausted
- City now a tiny settlement
- 42 years before Christ, an important event: Julias Caesar murdered by Brutus
- Brutus & Cassius X Antony & Octavius
  - Antony: nice retirement spot
  - began to grow with Roman ex-soldiers
11 years later
- Antony X Octavius
- Cleopatra suicide
- Octavius => Augustus Caesar
- Antony’s friends either die, or to leave Rome and go to Philippi

Remarkably personal

He wrote it because he wanted to connect with them

He missed them

Was also worrried for them

The City
- Mostly Roman citizens
- A miniature Rome with all the extremes
  - Lydia – purple

From Paul and Timothy,
bondservants of Christ Jesus,
to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi,
with the overseers and deacons.
Grace and peace to you
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

I thank my God every time I remember you.
I always pray with joy in my every prayer for all of you
because of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.
For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

For it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel all of you became partners in God’s grace together with me.
For God is my witness that I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight
so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be encouraged by hearing news about you.
I am all the more eager to send him (Epaphroditus), so that when you see him again you can rejoice and I can be free from anxiety.
Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! To write this again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.

So then, my brothers and sisters, dear friends whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand in the Lord in this way, my dear friends!
I have great joy in the Lord because now at length you have again expressed your concern for me. (Now I know you were concerned before but had no opportunity to do anything.)

I thank my God every time I remember you.
I always pray with joy in my every prayer for all of you
For it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart...
For God is my witness that I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.