The Word Made Fresh
1God and Christ Jesus are our witnesses, and will judge the living and the dead, and because of Christ’s appearance and his kingdom I strongly urge you 2to preach the message whether the situation is in your favor or not. Teach them, rebuke them if necessary, and encourage them patiently. 3The time will soon come when people will refuse sound teachings, but their ears will itch for those teachers who suit their own desires, 4and they will turn their backs on the truth and get caught up in myths. 5But you must keep a clear mind. Endure whatever suffering you may face and continue to carry out your work as an evangelist.
6As for me, I am already being poured out as an offering. The time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. 8The crown of righteousness has been reserved for me, and the Lord, who is a righteous judge, will give it to me on that day, and to all who have longed for his coming.
9Please try to come to me soon. 10Demas, who loves this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia. 11Luke is the only one left with me. Bring Mark with you when you come; I can use him in my work. 12I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13Bring my cloak with you, the one I left with Carpus at Troas. Also bring the books and especially the parchments. 14Alexander the coppersmith hurt me deeply; the Lord will repay him for what he has done, 15but be careful around him because he strongly opposed our preaching.
16At my first defense, no one came to help me. They all deserted me. But don’t hold it against them. 17The Lord stood by me and strengthened me so that the message might be fully preached to all the Gentiles. So, I was saved from the lion’s mouth. 18The Lord will protect me from every wicked attack, and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.
19Tell Prisca and Aquila hello for me, along with Onesiphorus and his family. 20Erastus has remained in Corinth. Trophimus was sick, and I left him in Miletus. 21Try to come to me before winter. Eubulus says hello, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the others.
22May the Lord’s grace be with all of you. Amen.
Commentary
1-5: Paul foresees the day when people will look for “teachers who suit their own desires,” so he urges Timothy to teach as well as he can, to be patient and never give up, to persist even when everything is going against him, to stick to it under all circumstances and to demonstrate the gospel by his own way of life. (It does seem to me that we now live in an age of “information” when people around the world can easily know all about Christianity without knowing Christ, and the present time certainly fits the description given here.)
6-8: Paul apparently believes that his life is drawing to its close. He has lived the advice he just gave Timothy. The “crown of righteousness” is not to be imagined as a physical crown but rather a way of saying that God will account him, like Abraham, to be righteous because he has kept the faith (see, for example, Romans 4:9).
9-15: A number of people are named, some of whom played a prominent role in the establishment of churches around the North Mediterranean world. Demas is sometimes named as Paul’s companion (see Colossians 4:14 and Philemon 1:24), and apparently is another with whom Paul had some sort of dispute. Crescens (not mentioned elsewhere) and Titus have also left him, but I don’t think he means that they, too, have had a falling-out with him — especially Titus. Luke, the beloved physician, seems to have been a faithful and constant companion. Paul did have a falling-out with Mark (Acts 15:37-39), but apparently that rift has been repaired. Tychicus was someone on whom Paul depended as a messenger to his churches (see Ephesians 6:21, Colossians 4:7 and Titus 3:12). There are several Alexanders, though none of them are elsewhere identified as coppersmiths. The Alexander here mentioned is likely the same as the man condemned earlier (1 Timothy 1:20) along with one Hymenaeus. The mention of books and parchments is an interesting glimpse into Paul’s personal habits.
16-18: This is a most intriguing passage. We imagine Paul is in Rome where he was to be put on trial. He indicates that some kind of hearing or trial has taken place, and for whatever reason none of his friends were there to testify on his behalf; he felt deserted, he says. On the other hand, that hearing apparently resulted in no action being taken against him, and some have seen in the remark about being saved from the lion’s mouth an indication that Paul was acquitted and allowed to go free (throwing prisoners into an arena filled with lions was apparently one of the ways in which criminals were executed in Rome and elsewhere in those days).
19-22: Another gathering of names. Paul had met Aquila and Prisca (Priscilla) in Corinth (Acts 18:2), and they had accompanied him on some of his journeys (Acts 18:18). Now they are apparently in Ephesus with Timothy. Onesiphorus was apparently a resident of Ephesus and a member of the church there (see 2 Timothy 1:16). Erastus was a helper who was paired with Timothy on at least one other occasion (Acts 19:22). Trophimus was a Gentile Christian from Ephesus (Acts 20:4, 21:29) who had accompanied Paul to Jerusalem — his presence there was reason for the riot that resulted in Paul’s arrest. Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, and Claudia are not mentioned elsewhere. Claudia is a woman’s name (Claudius is the male counterpart), indicating that leadership roles in the church were shared by both sexes. Paul put together quite a team, didn’t he?
Takeaway
Congregations grow when the world outside sees how its members love and respect one another. Disagreements should be settled quickly and graciously, with respect for one another.