Theological Commentary: Click Here
There are
many memorable chapters in the Bible that were authored by Paul. Some of them are in Romans. A few are in Galatians. Most Christians quote one chapter in 1
Corinthians every time they do communion.
Those, however, are significant because of the great theology that they
teach. This chapter is a great chapter from
Paul for an entirely different set of reasons.
In this
chapter we hear about Paul’s defeats. He
has every reason to be warn out. He has
had injustice after injustice done to him.
He can list his accusers personally.
He’s apparently lost some clothing and books – whether they were stolen,
confiscated, burned, or something else we don’t know. Even some of his own disciples are abandoning
him.
With all of
these negative thoughts, what is it that makes this such a great chapter? Paul exhorts Timothy to keep on
teaching. Paul himself is not giving
up. Paul wants books and parchment so
that he can continue his work. He has
every reason to quit and give up. Nobody
would blame him if he did. Yet, here he
is planning to finish his race strong and encouraging Timothy to keep running
his race! After all he’s been through,
he’s advising Timothy to follow in his footsteps.
That says
something special about what Paul is doing.
He’s willing to be persecuted for the sake of the Gospel. He’s willing to endure hardship if Gentiles
come into a knowledge of God. He’s
willing to deal with the scorn of the world for the peace of the Father. In the end, it’s worth it.
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