CHAPTER 4
2Ti
4:1-22. SOLEMN CHARGE
TO TIMOTHY TO DO HIS DUTY ZEALOUSLY,
FOR
TIMES OF APOSTASY ARE AT HAND,
AND THE
APOSTLE IS NEAR HIS TRIUMPHANT END: REQUESTS HIM TO COME AND BRING MARK WITH HIM TO ROME,
AS
LUKE ALONE IS
WITH HIM,
THE
OTHERS HAVING GONE: ALSO HIS CLOAK AND PARCHMENTS: WARNS HIM AGAINST ALEXANDER: TELLS WHAT BEFELL HIM AT HIS FIRST DEFENSE: GREETINGS: BENEDICTION.
Verse 1. charge--Greek,
"adjure."
therefore--omitted
in the oldest manuscripts.
the
Lord Jesus Christ--The oldest manuscripts read simply,
"Christ Jesus."
shall
judge--His commission from God is mentioned, Ac
10:42; his resolution to do so, 1Pe
4:5; the execution of his commission, here.
at his appearing--The oldest manuscripts
read, "and" for "at"; then translate, "(I charge thee
before God . . . ) and by His
appearing."
and his
kingdom--to be set at His appearing, when we hope to reign
with Him. His kingdom is real now, but not visible. It shall
then be both real and visible (Lu
22:18, 30; Re 1:7; 11:15; 19:6). Now he reigns
in the midst of His enemies expecting till they shall
be overthrown (Ps
110:2; Heb 10:13). Then He shall reign with His
adversaries prostrate.
Verse 2. Preach--literally, "proclaim
as a herald." The term for the discourses in the synagogue was
daraschoth; the corresponding Greek term
(implying dialectial style, dialogue, and discussion, Ac
17:2, 18; 18:4, 19) is applied in Acts to
discourses in the Christian Church. JUSTIN MARTYR
[Apology, 2], describes the order of public worship,
"On Sunday all meet and the writings of the apostles and
prophets are read; then the president delivers a discourse;
after this all stand up and pray; then there is offered bread
and wine and water; the president likewise prays and gives
thanks, and the people solemnly assent, saying, Amen." The
bishops and presbyters had the right and duty to preach, but
they sometimes called on deacons, and even laymen, to preach.
EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History,
6.19]; in this the Church imitated the synagogue (Lu
4:17-22; Ac 13:15, 16).
be
instant--that is, urgent, earnest, in the whole work of
the ministry.
in season, out of
season--that is, at all seasons; whether they regard your
speaking as seasonable or unseasonable. "Just as the
fountains, though none may draw from them, still flow on; and
the rivers, though none drink of them, still run; so must we
do all on our part in speaking, though none give heed to us"
[CHRYSOSTOM, Homily, 30, vol. 5.,
p. 221]. I think with CHRYSOSTOM, there is
included also the idea of times whether seasonable or
unseasonable to Timothy himself; not merely when
convenient, but when inconvenient to thee, night as well as
day (Ac
20:31), in danger as well as in safety, in prison and when
doomed to death as well as when at large, not only in church,
but everywhere and on all occasions, whenever and wherever the
Lord's work requires it.
reprove--"convict," "confute."
with, &c.--Greek, "IN
(the element in which the exhortation ought to have
place) all long-suffering (2Ti
2:24, 25; 3:10) and teaching"; compare 2Ti
2:24, "apt to teach." The Greek for "doctrine" here
is didache, but in 2Ti
3:16, didascalia. "Didascalia" is what one
receives; "didache" is what is communicated [TITTMANN].
Verse 3. they--professing Christians.
sound doctrine--Greek,
"the sound (see on 1Ti
1:10) doctrine (didascalias)" or "teaching,"
namely, of the Gospel. Presently follows the concrete,
"teachers."
after their own
lusts--Instead of regarding the will of God they dislike
being interrupted in their lusts by true teachers.
heap--one on another: an indiscriminate
mass of false teachers. Variety delights itching ears. "He who
despises sound teaching, leaves sound teachers; they seek
instructors like themselves" [BENGEL]. It
is the corruption of the people in the first instance, that
creates priestcraft (Ex
32:1).
to themselves--such
as will suit their depraved tastes; populus vult decipi, et
decipiatur--"the people wish to be deceived, so let them
be deceived." "Like priest, like people" (1Ki
12:31; Ho 4:9).
itching--like to hear teachers who give them mere
pleasure (Ac
17:19-21), and do not offend by truths grating to their
ears. They, as it were, tickle with pleasure the levity of the
multitude [CICERO], who come as to a
theater to hear what will delight their ears, not to learn
[SENECA, Epistles, 10.8] what will
do them good. "Itch in the ear is as bad in any other part of
the body, and perhaps worse" [SOUTH].
Verse 4. The ear brooks not what is
opposed to the man's lusts.
turned--Greek, "turned aside" (1Ti
1:6). It is a righteous retribution, that when men turn
away from the truth, they should be turned to
fables (Jer
2:19).
fables-- (1Ti
1:4).
Verse 5. I am no longer here to
withstand these things; be thou a worthy successor of me, no
longer depending on me for counsel, but thine own master, and
swimming without the corks [CALVIN];
follow my steps, inherit their result, and the honor of their
end [ALFORD].
watch thou--literally, "with the wakefulness of one
sober."
in all
things--on all occasions and under all circumstances (Tit
2:7).
endure
affliction--suffer hardships [ALFORD].
evangelist--a missionary
bishop preacher, and teacher.
make
full proof of--fulfil in all its requirements, leaving
nothing undone (Ac
12:25; Ro 15:19; Col 4:17).
Verse 6. Greek, "For I am
already being offered"; literally, as a libation;
appropriate to the shedding of his blood. Every
sacrifice began with an initiatory libation on the victim's
head (compare Note, see on Php
2:17). A motive to stimulate Timothy to faithfulness--the
departure and final blessedness of Paul; it is the end that
crowns the work [BENGEL]. As the time of
his departure was indicated to Peter, so to Paul (2Pe
1:14).
my
departure--literally, "loosing anchor" (see on Php
1:23). Dissolution.
Verse 7. "I have striven the good
strife"; the Greek is not restricted to a fight,
but includes any competitive contest, for example, that
of the racecourse (1Ti
6:12 [ALFORD]; 1Co
9:24, &c.; Heb 12:1, 2).
kept the faith--the Christian faith committed to me as
a believer and an apostle (compare 2Ti
1:14; Re 2:10; 3:10).
Verse 8. a crown--rather as
Greek, "the crown." The "henceforth" marks the
decisive moment; he looks to his state in a threefold aspect:
(1) The past "I have fought"; (2) The immediate present;
"there is laid up for me." (3) The future "the Lord will give
in that day" [BENGEL].
crown--a crown, or garland, used to be bestowed
at the Greek national games on the successful competitor in
wrestling, running, &c. (compare 1Pe
5:4; Re 2:10).
of
righteousness--The reward is in recognition of
righteousness wrought in Paul by God's Spirit; the crown
is prepared for the righteous; but it is a crown which
consists in righteousness. Righteousness will be its own
reward (Re
22:11). Compare Ex
39:30. A man is justified gratuitously by the merits of
Christ through faith; and when he is so justified God accepts
his works and honors them with a reward which is not their
due, but is given of grace. "So great is God's goodness to men
that He wills that their works should be merits, though they
are merely His own gifts" [POPE CELESTINE I., Epistles, 12].
give--Greek, "shall award" in
righteous requital as "Judge" (Ac
17:31; 2Co 5:10; 2Th 1:6, 7).
in that day--not until His appearing (2Ti
1:12). The partakers of the first resurrection may receive
a crown also at the last day, and obtain in that
general assembly of all men, a new award of praise. The
favorable sentence passed on the "brethren" of the Judge, who
sit with Him on His throne, is in Mt
25:40, taken for granted as already awarded, when
that affecting those who benefited them is being passed
[BENGEL]. The former, the elect Church who
reign with Christ in the millennium, are fewer than the
latter. The righteous heavenly Judge stands in contrast
to the unrighteous earthly judges who condemned Paul.
me--individual appropriation.
Greek, "not only to me."
them that love--Greek, "have loved, and do
love"; habitual love and desire for Christ's appearing,
which presupposes faith (compare Heb
9:28). Compare the sad contrast, 2Ti
4:10, "having loved this present world."
Verse 9. (2Ti
4:21; 2Ti 1:4, 8.) Timothy is asked to come to be a
comfort to Paul, and also to be strengthened by Paul, for
carrying on the Gospel work after Paul's decease.
Verse 10. Demas--once a "fellow
laborer" of Paul, along with Mark and Luke (Col
4:14; Phm 24). His motive for forsaking Paul seems to have
been love of worldly ease, safety, and comforts at home, and
disinclination to brave danger with Paul (Mt
13:20, 21, 22). CHRYSOSTOM implies
that Thessalonica was his home.
Galatia--One oldest manuscript supports the reading
"Gaul." But most oldest manuscripts, &c., "Galatia."
Titus--He must have therefore
left Crete after "setting in order" the affairs of the
churches there (Tit
1:5).
Dalmatia--part of
the Roman province of Illyricum on the coast of the Adriatic.
Paul had written to him (Tit
3:12) to come to him in the winter to Nicopolis (in
Epirus), intending in the spring to preach the Gospel in the
adjoining province of Dalmatia. Titus seems to have gone
thither to carry out the apostle's intention, the execution of
which was interrupted by his arrest. Whether he went of his
own accord, as is likely, or was sent by Paul, which the
expression "is departed" hardly accords with, cannot be
positively decided. Paul here speaks only of his personal
attendants having forsaken him; he had still friends among the
Roman Christians who visited him (2Ti
4:21), though they had been afraid to stand by him at his
trial (2Ti
4:16).
Verse 11. Take--Greek, "take
up" on thy journey (Ac
20:13, 14). John Mark was probably in, or near, Colosse,
as in the Epistle to the Colossians (Col
4:10), written two years before this, he is mentioned as
about to visit them. Timothy was now absent from Ephesus and
somewhere in the interior of Asia Minor; hence he would be
sure to fall in with Mark on his journey.
he is profitable to me for the ministry--Mark
had been under a cloud for having forsaken Paul at a critical
moment in his missionary tour with Barnabas (Ac
15:37-40; 13:5, 13). Timothy had subsequently occupied the
same post in relation to Paul as Mark once held. Hence Paul,
appropriately here, wipes out the past censure by high praise
of Mark and guards against Timothy's making self-complacent
comparisons between himself and Mark, as though he were
superior to the latter (compare Phm
24). Demas apostatizes. Mark returns to the right way, and
is no longer unprofitable, but is profitable for the Gospel
ministry (Phm
11).
Verse 12. And--Greek, "But."
Thou art to come to me, but Tychicus I have sent to
Ephesus to supply thy place (if thou so willest it) in
presiding over the Church there in thy absence (compare Tit
3:12). It is possible Tychicus was the bearer of this
Epistle, though the omission of "to thee" is rather against
this view.
Verse 13. cloak . . . I
left--probably obliged to leave it in a hurried departure
from Troas.
Carpus--a faithful
friend to have been entrusted with so precious deposits. The
mention of his "cloak," so far from being unworthy of
inspiration, is one of those graphic touches which sheds a
flood of light on the last scene of Paul's life, on the
confines of two worlds; in this wanting a cloak to cover him
from the winter cold, in that covered with the righteousness
of saints, "clothed upon with his house from heaven" [GAUSSEN]. So the inner vesture and outer garment
of Jesus, Paul's master, are suggestive of most instructive
thought (Joh
19:2).
books--He was
anxious respecting these that he might transmit them to the
faithful, so that they might have the teaching of his writings
when he should be gone.
especially
the parchments--containing perhaps some of his inspired
Epistles themselves.
Verse 14. Alexander the
coppersmith--or "smith" in general. Perhaps the same as
the Alexander (see on 1Ti
1:20) at Ephesus. Excommunicated then he subsequently was
restored, and now vented his personal malice because of his
excommunication in accusing Paul before the Roman judges,
whether of incendiarism or of introducing a new religion. See
my Introduction.
He may have been the Alexander put forward by the Jews in the
tumult at Ephesus (Ac
19:33, 34).
reward--The
oldest manuscripts read, "shall reward," or "requite
him." Personal revenge certainly did not influence the apostle
(2Ti
4:16, end).
Verse 15. our words--the arguments of
us Christians for our common faith. Believers have a common
cause.
Verse 16. At my first answer--that
is, "defense" in court, at my first public examination.
Timothy knew nothing of this, it is plain, till Paul now
informs him. But during his former imprisonment at
Rome, Timothy was with him (Php
1:1, 7). This must have been, therefore, a second
imprisonment. He must have been set free before the
persecution in A.D. 64, when the
Christians were accused of causing the conflagration in Rome;
for, had he been a prisoner then, he certainly would not have
been spared. The tradition [EUSEBIUS,
Ecclesiastical History, 2.251] that he was finally
beheaded, accords with his not having been put to death
in the persecution, A.D. 64, when
burning to death was the mode by which the Christians
were executed, but subsequently to it. His "first" trial in
his second imprisonment seems to have been on the charge of
complicity in the conflagration; his absence from Rome may
have been the ground of his acquittal on that charge; his
final condemnation was probably on the charge of introducing a
new and unlawful religion into Rome.
stood with me--Greek, "came forward with me"
[ALFORD] as a friend and advocate.
may it not be laid to their
charge--The position of "their," in the Greek, is
emphatic. "May it not be laid to THEIR
charge," for they were intimidated; their drawing back
from me was not from bad disposition so much as from fear; it
is sure to be laid to the charge of those who intimidated
them. Still Paul, like Stephen, would doubtless have offered
the same prayer for his persecutors themselves (Ac
7:60).
Verse 17. the Lord--the more because
men deserted me.
stood with
me--stronger than "came forward with me" (Greek, 2Ti
4:16).
strengthened--Greek, "put strength in
me."
by me--"through me";
through my means. One single occasion is often of the greatest
moment.
the preaching--"the
Gospel proclamation."
might be
fully known--might be fully made (see on 2Ti
4:5).
that all the
Gentiles--present at my trial, "might hear" the Gospel
proclaimed then. Rome was the capital of the Gentile world, so
that a proclamation of the truth to the Romans was likely to
go forth to the rest of the Gentile world.
I was delivered out of the mouth of the
lion--namely, Satan, the roaring, devouring lion (Lu
22:31; 1Pe 5:8). I was prevented falling into his snare
(2Ti
2:26; Ps 22:21; 2Pe 2:9); 2Ti
4:18 agrees with this interpretation, "The Lord shall
deliver me from every evil work," namely, both
from evil and the evil one, as the Greek of the Lord's
Prayer expresses it. It was not deliverance from Nero (who was
called the lion) which he rejoiced in, for he did not
fear death (2Ti
4:6-8), but deliverance from the temptation, through fear,
to deny His Lord: so ALFORD.
Verse 18. And the Lord shall,
&c.--Hope draws its conclusions from the past to the
future [BENGEL].
will preserve me--literally, "will save" (Ps
22:21), "will bring me safe to." Jesus is the Lord and the
Deliverer (Php
3:20; 1Th 1:10): He saves from evil; He gives good things.
heavenly
kingdom--Greek, "His kingdom which is a heavenly
one."
to whom,
&c.--Greek, "to whom be the glory unto the
ages of ages." The very hope produces a doxology: how
much greater will be the doxology which the actual
enjoyment shall produce! [BENGEL].
Verse 19. Prisca and Aquila-- (Ac
18:2, 3; Ro 16:3, 4; 1Co 16:19, written from Ephesus,
where therefore Aquila and Priscilla must then have been).
household of Onesiphorus--If
he were dead at the time, the "household" would not have been
called "the household of Onesiphorus." He was probably
absent (see on 2Ti
1:16).
Verse 20. In order to depict his
desertion, he informs Timothy that Erastus, one of his usual
companions (Ac
19:22, possibly the same Erastus as in Ro
16:23, though how he could leave his official duties for
missionary journeys is not clear), stayed behind at Corinth,
his native place, or usual residence, of which city he was
"chamberlain," or city steward and treasurer (Ro
16:23); and Trophimus he left behind at Miletus sick. (On
his former history, see on Ac
20:4; Ac
21:29). This verse is irreconcilable with the imprisonment
from which he writes being the first: for he did not
pass by Corinth or Miletus on his way to Rome when about to be
imprisoned for the first time. As Miletus was near Ephesus,
there is a presumption that Timothy was not at Ephesus
when Paul wrote, or he would not need to inform Timothy of
Trophimus lying sick in his immediate neighborhood. However,
Trophimus may not have been still at Miletus at the time when
Paul wrote, though he had left him there on his way to Rome.
Prisca and Aquila were most likely to be at Ephesus (2Ti
4:19), and he desires Timothy to salute them: so
also Onesiphorus' household (2Ti
1:18). Paul had not the power of healing at will (Ac
19:12), but as the Lord allowed him.
Verse 21. before winter--when a
voyage, according to ancient usages of navigation, would be
out of the question: also, Paul would need his "cloak" against
the winter (2Ti
4:13).
Pudens . . .
Claudia--afterwards husband and wife (according to MARTIAL [Epigrams, 4.13; 11.54]), he a
Roman knight, she a Briton, surnamed Rufina. TACITUS [On Agriculture, 14], mentions
that territories in southeast Britain were given to a British
king; Cogidunus, in reward for his fidelity to Rome, A.D. 52, while Claudius was emperor. In 1772 a
marble was dug up at Chichester, mentioning Cogidunus with the
surname Claudius, added from his patron, the emperor's name;
and Pudens in connection with Cogidunus, doubtless his
father-in-law. His daughter would be Claudia, who seems to
have been sent to Rome for education, as a pledge of the
father's fidelity. Here she was under the protection of
Pomponia, wife of Aulus Plautius, conqueror of Britain.
Pomponia was accused of foreign superstitions, A.D. 57 [TACITUS,
Annals, 3.32], probably Christianity. She
probably was the instrument of converting Claudia, who took
the name Rufina from her, that being a cognomen of the
Pomponian gens (compare Ro
16:13, Rufus, a Christian). Pudens in MARTIAL and in the Chichester inscription,
appears as a pagan; but perhaps he or his friends
concealed his Christianity through fear. Tradition represents
Timothy, a son of Pudens, as taking part in converting
the Britons.
Linus--put third;
therefore not at this time yet, as he was afterwards,
bishop. His name being here inserted between Pudens and
Claudia, implies the two were not yet married. "Eubulus" is
identified by some with Aristobulus, who, with his converts,
is said to have been among the first evangelists of Britain.
Paul himself, says CLEMENT, "visited
the farthest west [perhaps Britain, certainly
Spain], and was martyred under the rulers at Rome," who
were Nero's vicegerents in his absence from the city.
Verse 22. Grace be with you--plural
in oldest manuscripts, "with YOU," that
is, thee and the members of the Ephesian and neighboring
churches.
Confute, the false teacher.
Reprove cuttingly and severely
those who will not abandon their sins.
Comfort the feeble-minded, the
diffident and the tempted.
be understood as signifying, either
the Jewish people, or the system of Judaism. It was now become
doubly dangerous to be a Christian; and those who had not
religion enough to enable them to burn, or in any other way to
expose life for it, took refuge in that religion which was
exposed to no persecution. This is a light in which the
conduct of Demas may be viewed. It could not have been the
love of secular gain which had induced Demas to abandon
St. Paul; he must have counted this cost before he became a
Christian. See below.
is by several translated
bag or portmanteau; and it is most likely that
it was something of this kind, in which he might carry his
clothes, books, and travelling necessaries. What the
books were we cannot tell, it is most likely they were
his own writings; and as to the parchments, they
were probably the Jewish Scriptures and a copy of the
Septuagint. These he must have had at hand at all
times. The books and parchments now sent for could not be for
the apostle's own use, as he was now on the eve of his
martyrdom. He had probably intended to bequeath them to the
faithful, that they might be preserved for the use of the
Church.
of
the versions, and some of the chief Greek
fathers. This makes the sentence declaratory:
The Lord WILL reward him according to his
works. This reading is most like the spirit and temper of
this heavenly man. See 
At
my first apology; this word properly signifies a
defence or vindication. To his is the meaning of
what we call the apologies of the primitive
fathers; they were vindications or defences of
Christianity. It is generally allowed that, when St. Paul had
been taken this second time by the Romans, he was examined
immediately, and required to account for his conduct; and
that, so odious was Christianity through the tyranny of Nero,
he could procure no person to plead for him. Nero, who had
himself set fire to Rome, charged it on the Christians, and
they were in consequence persecuted in the most cruel manner;
he caused them to be wrapped up in pitched clothes, and
then, chaining them to a stake, he ordered them to be set on
fire to give light in the streets after night! Tormenti
genus! To this Juvenal appears to allude. Sat. i.
v. 155.
let it not be placed to their
account! Let them not have to reckon for it with the
supreme Judge at the great day!
proverbial form of
speech for deliverance from the most imminent danger. Several
writers think Nero to be intended by the lion,
because of his rage and oppressive cruelty. But Helius
Caesarinus was at this time prefect of the city; Nero
being in Greece. He was a bloody tyrant, and Nero had given
him the power of life and death in his absence. The apostle
may mean him, if the words be not proverbial.