PAUL’S PERSONAL PASTORAL APPEALS – 2 Timothy 4:9-15

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on February 4, 2015 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group; February 4, 2015 from 2 Timothy 4:9-15

Theme: Paul shares himself with Timothy by making certain personal appeals.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

Paul shows himself throughout this letter to be a careful administrator of church matters, a faithful theologian of the church’s doctrine, a sacrificial steward of the gospel, and a confident martyr for the faith. He almost seems, at times, to be bigger than life.

But verses such as we find near the end of this important “final” letter also show us that he was very human. Here, we find some of his most compassionate appeals to his young mentee Timothy. They show us the ways that true co-workers in the gospel truly need each other.

I. AN APPEAL FOR COMPANIONSHIP (vv. 9-10).

A. Paul loved Timothy. He wasn’t just a ministry colleague. He wasn’t even merely a friend. Paul looked upon him with the kind of love that a father would have toward a son. He called him “a true son in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2); and he expressed early in this letter: “I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy . . .” (1:3-4). And so, when he says in our passage, “Be diligent to come to me quickly . . .” (v. 9); it’s not just for the work that Timothy can provide. It was out of a heart of longing for the companionship of his beloved and trusted brother in Christ.

B. The reason that the need for this companionship was so deeply felt was because Paul had lost the companionship of others dear to him.

1. He said, “for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica. . .” And he must have wrote those words with a measure of pain; and Timothy must have read them with a measure of shock. Demas was, at one time, a trusted colleague in ministry who was able to join Paul in greeting others (Colossians 4:14) as a fellow-laborer (Philemon 24). It may not have been that Demas had left the faith; but it seems that he left the work—no longer willing to sacrifice for the future rewards of faithfulness. It may have been that he was afraid of the suffering that he saw Paul undergoing; or it may be that he chose to begin working instead to build up a comfortable life here-and-now. It may be that—just in our Lord’s parable of the soils—he got choked out by the thorns; and had not proven to be good soil (Mark 3:18-19).

2. Others had also left; “—Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia.” Crescens we only know here; but Titus we know quite well, from several other passages in the New Testament, to have been a trusted co-laborer in the gospel (2 Corinthians 2:13; 7:6, 13, 14; 8:6, 16), whom Paul could call “my partner and fellow worker” toward those he ministered to (2 Corinthians 8:23). Paul sometimes took Titus with him and pointed to him as an example of how even a Greek can be saved by God’s grace apart from the ceremonial law (Galatians 2:1-3). And of course, Paul wrote a whole New Testament epistle to him (see the letter to Titus).

C. Titus and Crescens may not have abandoned Paul—as Demas did. It may be that they were simply sent away to other fields of necessary work. But in any case, Paul felt alone; and he longed for the companionship of his beloved son in the faith, Timothy. Even the greatest of us needs to have the comfort of fellowship. Let’s never try to live without it!

II. AN APPEAL FOR SUPPORT AND SUPPLIES (vv. 11-13).

A. Paul was not completely alone, of course. He was able to say, “Only Luke is with me” (v. 11a). Luke—the beloved physician (Colossians 4:14)–was a great servant of God. He was the man that God used to give us a great compilation of eyewitness accounts of our Lord’s life and ministry (Luke 1:1-4), and the first great historical account of the spread of the gospel through the apostles (Acts 1:1-3). He was Paul’s ‘chronicler’. But it was only Luke that was with Paul now; and Paul needed more support.

B. He appealed to Timothy, “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry” (v. 11b). Mark, of course, was the one that had once joined Paul in his missionary journeys but had left the work (Acts 13:13). Later on, Paul wouldn’t take him in ministry with him, because he didn’t feel he could trust him (Acts 15:36-40). But it must be that Mark had grown—and so had Paul. Later on, it seems that others had doubts about Mark; and Paul came to his defense (Colossians 4:10). Now, he was so useful to Paul, that he wanted Timothy to be sure and bring him. He was useful to us too; because he gave us a Gospel account of the life of our Lord! (Here by the way, in verse 11, we have three great New Testament writers mentioned at once—Paul, Luke and Mark. Perhaps they all three sat and talked together in Paul’s prison cell. Wouldn’t you have loved to have been a fly on that wall!)

C. Paul felt that he could urge Timothy to come because he writes, “And Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus” (v. 12). Timothy was ministering in Ephesus at the time (1 Timothy 1:3); and it may even be that Tychicus brought this letter to Timothy. Tychicus, it seems, was a man that Paul could trust with his letters (Colossians 4:7-8). He seems to also be a man that he could trust with Timothy’s valuable field of ministry. Paul needed Timothy; and Tychicus was the kind of man that could make it possible for Timothy to come.

D. Paul didn’t only need man-power. He also needed materials. He wrote, “Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come—“ (v. 13a). The word for “cloak” refers to a large, thick covering that provided protection in the winter; and it may be that Paul needed that as he sat in prison. But he also needed more; “and the books, especially the parchments”. The books were for reading; but the parchments—a writing material—may have been because he had some further letters to write. Even to the very end, Paul was a true man of letters and of the word!

III. AN APPEAL FOR CAUTION (vv. 14-15).

A. One of the most compassionate aspects of this passage was Paul’s warning to Timothy about those who were hostile to the work. He writes, “Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works” (v. 14). This may not be the man mentioned in 1 Timothy 1:20 who taught false doctrine—because Alexander was a common name. It’s very possible that it is someone involved in the riot over the idol industry in Ephesus that’s described in Acts 19:23-41; although the metal worker in that passage was named Demetrius. In any case, this was someone who lived in Ephesus and was a great hindrance to the cause of the gospel and a threat to its preachers. Paul did not take vengeance against this man; but trusted the Lord to deal with him and repay him for his destructive work.

B. But Paul had a heart for Timothy and warned him, “You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words” (v. 15). There are some people who are so dangerous that it’s best not to try to go up against them—and rather to just let the Lord handle it. Paul didn’t want his young mentee to be harmed by Alexander as he himself had been—whether in terms of the work, or perhaps even physically; and so Paul, in a very fatherly way, warns Timothy to watch out for this dangerous man. Timothy was able to serve Paul—in addition to all the other ways—by also being careful for himself!