1 Thessalonians 5:25-26

Text (1 Thessalonians 5:25-26)

25 Brethren, pray for us. 26 Salute all the brethren with a holy kiss.

Translation and Paraphrase

25.

Brethren, (please) pray (also) for us (continuously).

26.

Greet all the brothers (your fellow-Christians) with an holy kiss.

Notes (1 Thessalonians 5:25-26)

1.

How very often Paul requested the prayers of his Christian brethren: See Ephesians 6:19; Romans 15:30; Colossians 4:3; Colossians 4:18; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2; 2 Corinthians 1:8-11; Hebrews 13:18. If an inspired apostle such as Paul needed the prayers of his brethren, how much more your preacher needs your prayers.

2.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:26 Paul lays upon us the duty of knowing and greeting all of our Christian brethren. They should be very dear to us. The people we associate with on Sunday ought to mean much more to us than the people with whom we mingle during the week. It is good to see churches where the members greet and talk freely to one another.

3.

The kiss was a common greeting in the East in Bible times, and still is in places. Jesus criticized his host on one occasion by saying, Thou gavest me no kiss. Luke 7:45. This was assumed to be part of a sincere welcome into a home.

This kiss was given on the cheek, the forehead, the beard, the hands, the feet, but not (in Palestine) the lips. There is reason to believe that, as a rule, men only thus greeted men, and women. It was so enjoined in the Apostolic Constitutions (third century).

4.

The holy kiss is also mentioned in 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Peter 5:14.

5.

After checking all the references to kissing in the Bible (and they are numerous), it appears to us that people in Bible times just did NOT go around kissing everyone they met. It was something rather special. There were kisses of greeting, farewell, worship, respect, and kisses of affection between people very close (such as Ruth and Naomi), and kisses of pretended affection (Judas kissing Jesus, for example).

6.

That unrestrained kissing was not the universal custom in Bible times is indicated by the fact that King David's son, Absalom, attracted a lot of attention to himself by kissing any man who came near to him (along with giving out flattery). If kissing had been extremely common, Absalom's actions would not have attracted the notice they did. 2 Samuel 15:5-6.

7.

We read of the father kissing the prodigal son (Luke 15:20), Paul and the Ephesian elders weeping and kissing in farewell (Acts 20:37),Aaron greeting Moses with a kiss (Exodus 4:27), etc. By far the majority of cases of kissing involved those of the same sex. (This was not always the case, however, as Jacob kissed Rachel before he even introduced himself. However, she was a relative, and he knew it even before she did! Genesis 29:11.)

8.

Erotic kissing is never referred to in the Bible, except possibly in Song of Solomon 1:2, and in that place the couple were unquestionably married.

9.

In this verse Paul did not say that we had to kiss every time we met or said Good-bye. Neither was he instituting a new church custom or ordinance. Since kissing was a form of greeting common in the world of that time, he could not have meant to institute a new practice, but he is here purifying an old one, insisting that the greeting be holy. This instruction applies to all our greetings, whether they be by handshake, embrace, or occasionally a holy kiss. We see people here in America sometimes greet those who are very dear to them with an embrace or kiss. If such is the custom, let it be a holy kiss, and do not try to interpret Paul's words to mean that we ought to kiss all our brethren every time we meet them.