The Book of 2 Timothy

The first design of this epistle seems to have been, to apprize Timothy of what had occurred during the imprisonment of the apostle, and to request him to come to Rome. But being uncertain whether he should be suffered to live to see him, Paul gives a variety of advices and encouragements, for the faithful discharge of his ministerial duties. As this was a private epistle written to St. Paul's most intimate friend, under the miseries of imprisonment, and in the near prospect of death, it shows the temper and character of the apostle, and contains convincing proofs that he sincerely believed the doctrines he preached.

Matthew Henry (1706) · public domain

INTRODUCTION

Place of Writing.--Paul, in the interval between his first and second imprisonment, after having written First Timothy from Macedonia or Corinth [Birks] (if we are to adopt the opinion that First Timothy was written after his first imprisonment), returned to Ephesus, as he intended, by way of Troas, where he left the books, &c. (mentioned in 2Ti 4:13), with Carpus. From Ephesus he went to Crete for a short visit and returned, and then wrote to Titus. Next he went by Miletus to Corinth (2Ti 4:20), and thence to Nicopolis (Tit 3:12), whence he proceeded to Rome. From his prison there he wrote the Second Epistle to Timothy, shortly before his martyrdom. It is not certain where Timothy was at this time. Some of the internal evidences favor the view of his having been then at Ephesus; thus the salutation of Priscilla and Aquila, who generally resided there (2Ti 4:19); also that of the household of Onesiphorus, who is stated in 2Ti 1:16-18 to have ministered to Paul at Ephesus, a circumstance implying his residence there. Also, the Hymenæus of 2Ti 2:17 seems to be the same as the Hymenæus at Ephesus (1Ti 1:20); and probably "Alexander the coppersmith" (2Ti 4:14) is the same as the Alexander joined with Hymenæus (1Ti 1:20), and possibly the same as the Alexander put forward by the Jews to clear themselves, not to befriend Paul, at the riot in Ephesus (Ac 19:33, 34). The difficulty is, on this supposition, how to account for 2Ti 4:12, 20: if Timothy was at Ephesus, why did he need to be told that Paul had sent Tychicus to Ephesus? or that Paul had left Trophimus, himself an Ephesian (Ac 21:29), sick at Miletus, which was only thirty miles from Ephesus? However, see on 2Ti 4:12; 2Ti 4:20. Troas lay on the road to Rome from either Ephesus or Pontus, so that 2Ti 4:13 will accord with the theory of either Ephesus or any other place in the northwest of Asia Minor, being Timothy's place of sojourn at the time. Probably, he had the general superintendence of the Pauline churches in Asia Minor, in accordance with his mission combining the office of evangelist, or itinerant missionary, with that of presiding overseer. Ephesus was probably his headquarters. Time of Writing.--(1) Paul's first imprisonment, described in Ac 28:17-31, was much milder than that in which he was when writing Second Timothy. In the former, he had liberty to lodge in his own hired house, and to receive all comers, guarded only by a single soldier; in the latter, he was so closely confined that Onesiphorus with difficulty found him; he was chained, his friends had forsaken him, and he had narrowly escaped sentence of execution from the Roman emperor. Medieval legends represent the Mamertine prison, or Tullianum, as the scene of his incarceration with Peter. But this is irreconcilable with the fact of Onesiphorus, Linus, Pudens, &c., having access to him. He was probably under military custody, as in his former imprisonment, though of a severer kind (2Ti 1:16-18; 2:9; 4:6-8, 16, 17). (2) The visit to Troas (2Ti 4:13) can hardly have been that mentioned in Ac 20:5-7, the last before his first imprisonment; for, if it were, the interval between that visit and the first imprisonment would be seven or eight years, a period most unlikely for him to have allowed to pass without sending for his cloak and parchments, when they might have been of service to him in the interim. (3) Paul's leaving Trophimus sick at Miletus (2Ti 4:20), could not have been on the occasion mentioned in Ac 20:15; for, subsequent to that, Trophimus was with Paul in Jerusalem (Ac 21:29). (4) The words (2Ti 4:20), "Erastus abode at Corinth," imply that Paul had shortly before been at Corinth, where he left Erastus. But before his first imprisonment, Paul had not been at Corinth for several years; and in the interval Timothy had been with him, so that Timothy did not need at a later period to be told about that visit (Ac 20:2, 4). For all these reasons the imprisonment, during which he wrote Second Timothy, is shown to be his second imprisonment. Moreover, He 13:23, 24, represents the writer (who was probably Paul) as in Italy, and at liberty. So Clement of Rome [First Epistle to the Corinthians, 1.5], the disciple of Paul, explicitly states, "In the east and west, Paul as a preacher instructed the whole world (that is, the Roman empire) in righteousness, and having gone to the extremity of the west, and having borne witness before the rulers (of Rome), he so was removed from the world." This plainly implies that he fulfilled his design (Ro 15:24-28) of a missionary journey into Spain. The canon of the New Testament, compiled about A.D. 170 (called Muratori's Canon), also mentions "the journey of Paul from Rome to Spain." See Routh [Sacred Fragments, vol. 4, p. 1-12]. His martyrdom is universally said to have occurred in Nero's reign [Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 2.22; Jerome, On Illustrious Men]. Five years thus seem to have elapsed between the first imprisonment, A.D. 63 (Ac 28:17-31), and his martyrdom, June A.D. 68, the last year of Nero's reign. He was probably arrested by the magistrates in Nicopolis (Tit 3:12) in Epirus, in the winter, on a double charge, first, of being one of the Christians who had conspired, it was alleged by Nero's partisans, to set fire to Rome, A.D. 64; secondly, of introducing a novel and unlawful religion. His friends all left him, except Luke: Demas from "love of this present world": the others from various causes (2Ti 4:10, 11). On the first charge he seems to have been acquitted. His liberation from his first imprisonment took place in A.D. 63, the year before the great fire at Rome, which Nero made the pretext for his persecution of the Christians. Every cruelty was heaped on them; some were crucified; some were arrayed in the skins of wild beasts and hunted to death by dogs; some were wrapped in pitch-robes and set on fire by night to illuminate the circus of the Vatican and gardens of Nero, while that monster mixed among the spectators in the garb of a charioteer. But now (A.D. 67 or 68) some years had elapsed since the first excitement which followed the fire. Hence, Paul, being a Roman citizen, was treated in his trial with a greater respect for the forms of the law, and hence was acquitted (2Ti 4:17) on the first charge of having instigated the Christians to their supposed acts of incendiarism before his last departure from Rome. Alexander the coppersmith seems to have been a witness against him (2Ti 4:14). Had he been condemned on the first charge, he would probably have been burnt alive, as the preceding martyrs were, for arson. His judge was the city Præfect. Clement of Rome specifies that his trial was (not before the emperor, but) "before the rulers." No advocate ventured to plead his cause, no patron appeared for him, such as under ordinary circumstances might have aided him; for instance, one of the powerful Æmilian house, under which his family possibly enjoyed clientship (2Ti 4:16, 17), whence he may have taken his name Paul. The place of trial was, probably, one of the great basilicas in the Forum, two of which were called the Pauline Basilicas, from L. Æmilius Paulus, who had built one and restored the other. He was remanded for the second stage of his trial. He did not expect this to come on until the following "winter" (2Ti 4:21), whereas it took place about midsummer; if in Nero's reign, not later than June. In the interim Luke was his only constant companion; but one friend from Asia, Onesiphorus, had diligently sought him and visited him in prison, undeterred by the danger. Linus, too, the future bishop of Rome, Pudens, the son of a senator, and Claudia, his bride, perhaps the daughter of a British king (see on 2Ti 4:21), were among his visitors; and Tychicus, before he was sent by Paul to Ephesus (2Ti 4:12; perhaps bearing with him this Epistle). Object of the epistle.--He was anxious to see his disciple Timothy, before his death, and that Timothy should bring Mark with him (2Ti 1:4; 4:9, 11, 21). But feeling how uncertain it was whether Timothy should arrive in time, he felt it necessary, also, to give him by letter a last warning as to the heresies, the germs of which were then being scattered in the Churches. Hence he writes a series of exhortations to faithfulness, and zeal for sound doctrine, and patience amidst trials: a charge which Timothy seems to have needed, if we are to judge from the apostle's earnestness in urging him to boldness in Christ's cause, as though Paul thought he saw in him some signs of constitutional timidity (2Ti 2:2-8; 4:1-5; 1Ti 5:22, 23). Paul's Death.--Dioysius, bishop of Corinth (quoted in Eusebius [Ecclesiastical History, 2.25]) about A.D. 170, is the earliest authority for the tradition that Peter suffered martyrdom at Rome "about the same time" as Paul, after having labored for some time there. He calls Peter and Paul "the founders of the Corinthian and Roman Churches." The Roman presbyter, Caius (about A.D. 200), mentions the tradition that Peter suffered martyrdom in the Vatican. But (1) Peter's work was among the Jews (Ga 2:9), whereas Rome was a Gentile Church (Ro 1:13. Moreover, (2) the First Epistle of Peter (1Pe 1:1; 5:13) represents him as laboring in Babylon in Mesopotamia. (3) The silence concerning Peter of Paul's Epistles written in Rome, negatives the tradition of his having founded, or labored long at Rome; though it is possible he may have endured martyrdom there. His martyrdom, certainly, was not, as Jerome says, "on the same day" with that of Paul, else Paul would have mentioned Peter's being at Rome in 2Ti 4:11. The legend says that Peter, through fear, was fleeing from Rome at early dawn by the Appian Way, when he met our Lord, and falling at His feet, asked, Lord, whither goest thou? to which the Lord replied, I go again to be crucified. The disciple returned penitent and ashamed, and was martyred. The Church of Domine quo vadis, on the Appian Way, commemorates the supposed fact. Paul, according to Caius (quoted in Eusebius [Ecclesiastical History, 2.25]), suffered martyrdom on the Ostian Way. So also Jerome, who gives the date, the fourteenth year of Nero. It was common to send prisoners, whose death might attract too much notice at Rome, to some distance from the city, under a military escort, for execution; hence the soldier's sword, not the executioner's axe, was the instrument of his decapitation [Orosius, The Seven Books of History against the Pagans, 7.7]. Paul appears, from Php 1:12-30, to have had his partisans even in the palace, and certainly must have exercised such an influence as would excite sympathy in his behalf, to avoid which the execution was ordered outside the city. Compare Tacitus [Histories, 4.11]. The Basilica of St. Paul, first built by Constantine, now stands outside Rome on the road to Ostia: before the Reformation it was under the protection of the kings of England, and the emblem of the order of the Garter is still to be seen among its decorations. The traditional spot of the martyrdom is the Tre Fontane, not far from the Basilica [Conybeare and Howson]. 2Ti 1:1-18. Address: Thankful Expression of Love and Desire to See Him: Remembrance of His Faith and That of His Mother and Grandmother. Exhortation to Stir Up the Gift of God in Him, and Not Shrink from Affliction, Enforced by the Consideration of the Freeness of God's Grace in Our Gospel Calling, and by the Apostle's Example. The Defection of Many: The Steadfastness of Onesiphorus.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871) · public domain

Preface to the Second Epistle of Paul the Apostle to Timothy

In the preface to the first of these epistles, particular mention has been made of the parentage, country, and education of Timothy; his call to the evangelic office; and of his appointment to the presidency of the Church at Ephesus. And for every particular of this kind the reader is referred to that preface. What remains to be done in reference to the present epistle is to inquire into the time in which it was most probably written. The disagreement on this question among learned men is very great; some arguing that it was written about the year 61, others referring it to the year 66. Some asserting that it is the first, in order of time, of these two epistles; and that it was written on Paul's first imprisonment at Rome. Several of the most eminent critics are of this opinion; and they have supported their sentiments with arguments of no small weight. Hammond, Lightfoot, and Lardner, as well as several critics on the continent, contend for this earlier date. Macknight and Paley take the opposite side. Were I convinced that the weight of the argument lay with the former, I should have fixed its chronology accordingly; but the latter appearing to me to have the more direct and the most weighty evidence in their favor, I am led, from the reasons which they give, to adopt their opinion. Dr. Paley observes, that it was the uniform tradition of the primitive Church that St. Paul visited Rome twice, and twice there suffered imprisonment; and that at the conclusion of his second imprisonment he was put to death; and he thinks that the opinion concerning these two journeys of St. Paul is confirmed by many hints and allusions in this epistle, compared with what St. Paul has said in other epistles, which are allowed to have been written from Rome. I shall give his principal reasons: - "That this epistle was written while Paul was a prisoner is distinctly marked by the 8th verse of the first chapter: 'Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner.' And that it was written whilst he was prisoner at Rome is proved by the 16th and 17th verses of the same chapter: (2Tim 1:16, 2Tim 1:17) 'The Lord give mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; but when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me.' Since it appears from the former quotation that St. Paul wrote this epistle in confinement, it will hardly admit of doubt that the word chain in the latter quotation refers to that confinement - the chain by which he was then bound, the custody in which he was then kept. And if the word chain designate the author's confinement at the time of writing this epistle, the next words determine it to have been written from Rome: 'He was not ashamed of my chain, but when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently.'" Dr. Macknight thinks that Paul was now a close prisoner, very different in his circumstances from his first imprisonment, in which he was permitted to dwell alone in his own hired house, and receive all that came to him, and publicly to preach the Gospel, being guarded only by a single soldier. That he was in close confinement he argues from the circumstance that when Onesiphorus came to Rome he found that Paul was no longer that well-known public character which he had been while in his first imprisonment, but being closely confined he had some difficulty to find him out; and this appears to be fully implied in the apostle's words: Σπουδαιοτερον εζητησε με, και εὑρε. "He very diligently sought me out, and found me;" 2Tim 1:17 And, that crimes were now laid to his charge widely different from those formerly alleged against him, appears from 2Tim 2:9 : Κακοπαθω μεχρι δεσμων, ὡς κακουργος· "I suffer evil even to bonds as a malefactor;" plainly implying that he was not only abridged of all liberty, but was bound hands and feet in a close dungeon. And this was probably on the pretense that he was one of those Christians whom Nero accused with having set Rome on fire. Hence the word malefactor, κακουργος, which may mean here that the apostle was treated as the worst of criminals. That this epistle was not written during St. Paul's first imprisonment at Rome, or during the time in which the Epistles to the Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon were written, may be gathered, says Dr. Paley, with considerable evidence from a comparison of these several epistles with the present. I. "In the former epistles the author confidently looked forward to his liberation from confinement, and his speedy departure from Rome. He tells the Philippians, Phi 2:24 : 'I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly.' Philemon he bids to prepare for him a lodging; 'for I trust (says he) that through your prayers I shall be given unto you;' Plm 1:22. In the epistle before us he holds a language extremely different. 'I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day;' 2Tim 4:6-8." Those who espouse the contrary opinion suppose that these words only express the strong apprehensions and despair of life which the apostle had when he was first imprisoned; but that afterwards, finding he was treated with kindness, he altered his language, and so strongly anticipated that he predicted his enlargement. This reflects little honor upon the apostle's character; it shows him to be a person subject to alarms, and presaging the worst from every gloomy appearance. The whole of St. Paul's conduct shows him to have been the reverse of what this opinion represents him. II. "When the former epistles were written from Rome, Timothy was with St. Paul, and is joined with him in writing to the Colossians, the Philippians, and Philemon; the present epistle implies that he was absent. III. "In the former epistles Demas was with St. Paul at Rome: 'Luke the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.' In the epistle now before us: 'Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is gone to Thessalonica.' IV. "So the former epistles Mark was with St. Paul, and joins in saluting the Colossians. In the present epistle Timothy is ordered to bring him with him, 'for he is profitable to me for the ministry;' 2Tim 4:11." The circumstance of Demas being with St. Paul while he wrote the former epistles, which was certainly during his first imprisonment, and of his having forsaken him when he wrote this, is a strong proof of the posterior date of this epistle; nor can the feelings of the apostle, so contradictorily expressed in this and the preceding epistles, be ever cleared (on the supposition of their relating to the same time and circumstances) from weakness and contradiction. Lewis Capellus has suggested the following considerations, which are still more conclusive: - 1. "In 2Tim 4:20, St. Paul informs Timothy that Erastus abode at Corinth, Εραστος εμεινεν εν Κορινθῳ· the form of expression (the verb being in the first aorist) implies that Erastus had stayed behind at Corinth when St. Paul left it: but this could not be meant of any journey from Corinth which St. Paul took prior to his first imprisonment at Rome; for when Paul departed from Corinth, as related in the 20th chapter of the Acts, Timothy was with him; and this was the last time the apostle left Corinth before his coming to Rome, because he left it on his way to proceed to Jerusalem soon after his arrival, at which place he was taken into custody, and continued in that custody till he was brought to Caesar's tribunal. There could be no need, therefore, to inform Timothy that Erastus stayed behind at Corinth, upon this occasion; because, if the fact were so, it must have been known to Timothy, who was present as well as St. Paul. 2. "In the same verse our epistle also states the following article: 'Trophimus have I left at Miletus sick.' When St. Paul passed through Miletus, on his way to Jerusalem, as related Acts 20, Trophimus was not left behind, but accompanied him to that city. He was indeed the occasion of the uproar at Jerusalem, in consequence of which St. Paul was apprehended: 'For they had seen,' says the historian, 'before with him in the city, Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.' This was evidently the last time of Paul's being at Miletus before his first imprisonment; for, as has been said, after his apprehension at Jerusalem he remained in custody till he was sent to Rome. "In these two articles we have a journey referred to, which must have taken place subsequent to the conclusion of St. Luke's history; and, of course, after St. Paul's liberation from his first imprisonment. The epistle, therefore, which contains this reference, since it appears from other parts of it to have been written while St. Paul was a prisoner at Rome, proves that he had returned to that city again, and undergone there a second imprisonment. "These particulars," adds Dr. Paley, "I have produced, not merely for the support they lend to the testimony of the fathers concerning St. Paul's second imprisonment, but to remark their consistency and agreement with one another. They are all resolvable into one supposition, viz., that this epistle was not written during St. Paul's first residence at Rome, but in some future imprisonment in that city. The epistle touches upon names and circumstances connected with the date and with the history of the first imprisonment, and mentioned in letters during that imprisonment; and so touches upon them as to leave what is said of one consistent with what is said of others, and consistent also with what is said of them in different epistles." From the whole, there seems the fullest evidence, 1. That this epistle was not written during St. Paul's first imprisonment at Rome. 2. That he was at Rome when he wrote this epistle. 3. That he was there a prisoner, and in such confinement as we know, from the Acts of the Apostles, he was not in during the time of his first imprisonment there. 4. That this must have been some subsequent imprisonment. 5. That as the general consent of all Christian antiquity states that St. Paul was twice imprisoned at Rome, and that from his second imprisonment he was never liberated, but was at its conclusion martyred; therefore this epistle must have been written while St. Paul was in his second imprisonment at Rome, and but a short time before his martyrdom. And as the Christian Church has generally agreed that this apostle's martyrdom took place on the 29th of June, a.d. 66, the Second Epistle to Timothy might have been written sometime towards the end of the spring or beginning of summer of that year. It is supposed that St. Paul went from Crete to Rome, about the end of the year 65, on hearing of the persecution which Nero was then carrying on against the Christians, on pretense that they had set Rome on fire: for, as he knew that the Church must be then in great tribulation, he judged that his presence would be necessary to comfort, support, and build it up. Like a true soldier of Jesus Christ, he was ever at the post of danger; and in this case he led on the forlorn hope. Other matters relative to the state and circumstances of the apostle, and those of Timothy; and the Church at Ephesus, will be carefully brought before the reader in the course of the notes on this epistle. Paul's address to Timothy, and declaration of his affection for him, 2Tim 1:1-4. His account of the piety of Timothy's mother and grandmother, and the religious education they had given their son, 2Tim 1:5. He exhorts him to stir up the gift of God that is in him, and not to be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord, 2Tim 1:6-8. How God has saved them that believe; and how Christ has brought life and immortality to light by the Gospel, 2Tim 1:9, 2Tim 1:10. The apostle's call to preach it, and the persecutions which he had been obliged in consequence to endure, 2Tim 1:11, 2Tim 1:12. Timothy is exhorted to hold fast the form of sound words, 2Tim 1:13, 2Tim 1:14. And is informed of the apostasy of several in Asia: and particularly of Phygellus and Hermogenes, 2Tim 1:15. And of the great kindness of Onesiphorus to the apostle in his imprisonment, 2Tim 1:16-18.

Adam Clarke (1831) · public domain

THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO TIMOTHY

INTRODUCTION

I. TIME AND PLACE OF WRITING THE EPISTLE.

There has been much diversity of sentiment on the question when this epistle was written. That it was written at Rome, and when the apostle was imprisoned there, is the unanimous opinion of all who have written on the epistle, and indeed is apparent on the face of it. See 2Ti 1:8,16, 4:6. But whether it was written during his first imprisonment there, or during a second imprisonment, is a question on which critics even now are by no means agreed. The most respectable names may be found on each side of this question, though the common opinion has been that it was during a second imprisonment. Of this opinion are Mosheim, Michaelis, Benson, Mill, Macknight, Le Clerc, Paley, Stuart, Clarke, and Doddridge. The reasons for this may be seen at length in Hug's Introduction, pp. 761-763, Macknight, and in Paley's Horae Paulinae. Dr. Lardner, Baronius, Witsius, Lightfoot, Hammond, Hug, Hemsen, and others, maintain that it was written during the first imprisonment, and that it was sent about the same time as the epistles to the Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon. The reasons for this opinion may be found in Hug's Introduction, pp. 556-559, and in Lardner, vol. vi. pp. 38--72. It is not consistent with the design of these Notes to go at length into an examination of this question, and it is not material in order to an exposition of the epistle.

After considering the reasons of Lardner and Hug to prove that this epistle was written during Paul's first imprisonment at Rome--that is, as they suppose, during his only imprisonment there, and not long after the first epistle was written--it seems to me still that there are insuperable difficulties in such a view, and that the evidence is clear that it was during a second imprisonment. The reasons for this are briefly the following:--

(1.) In the epistles to the Philippians and to Philemon, written during his first imprisonment, Paul confidently looked forward to a release, and to a speedy departure from Rome. In this, he had no such expectation. Thus he tells the Philippians, (Php 2:24,) "I trust in the Lord, that I myself shall come shortly." See also Php 1:24. In the epistle to Philemon, Phm 1:22, he says, "But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you." In this epistle, however, the author had no such expectation. 2Ti 4:6, "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness."

(2.) In 2Ti 4:16, the apostle uses the following language: "At my first answer, no man stood with me, but all forsook me." It is true that this may refer to a hearing which he had had before Nero during the same imprisonment at Rome in which this second epistle was written; but the most natural interpretation is to suppose that he had had one hearing, and had been discharged, and that the imprisonment of which he speaks in this epistle was a second one. This seems to me to be confirmed by what he says in the next verse: "Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion." Here it appears

(a) that he had been delivered, on that occasion, from death-- "I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion," which is equivalent to saying that he was discharged;

(b) that after that discharge he was permitted to preach the gospel-- "that by me the preaching might be fully known;"

(c) that he had been permitted after that to travel and preach--" and that all the Gentiles might hear," which is just such an expression as he would use on the supposition that he had been discharged, and been permitted to go abroad and preach the gospel extensively, and is not such an expression as he could have used if he had been imprisoned but once.

(3.) The expression occurring in 2Ti 4:20, "Erastus at Corinth," implies that he had made a second journey to Rome. The word rendered 'abode' εμεινεν is such as would be used where two were travelling together, and where one of them chose to remain at a certain place. It implies that, at the time referred to, the two were together, and that one chose to go on, and the other to remain. But it is capable of very clear proof that, when Paul was sent to Rome by Festus, Acts chapters 16, 17. He did not stop at Corinth; and if Erastus had been with him then, he would have passed by that place with him on his way to Rome. Further, when Paul left Corinth, as related in Acts chapter 20, on his way to Jerusalem, Timothy was with him. This is the last time that Paul is mentioned as having been at Corinth before coming to Rome, and there could have been no need of informing Timothy of the fact that Erastus remained there, if this were so, because that fact would be known to Timothy as well as Paul. Besides, that departure from Corinth took place some five years before Paul wrote this second epistle to Timothy; and what would be the use of his reminding Timothy of this after so long an interval? It is clear, moreover, that Paul refers to some recent transaction. He is urging Timothy to use all diligence to come to him before winter; that is, as soon as possible. 2Ti 4:21. But how could it be a reason for this urgency to say that, some five years before, he had been forsaken by one fellow-labourer, and had been obliged to leave another one sick on the way?

(4.) Similar remarks may be made respecting what Paul says in the close of the same verse, 2Ti 4:20, "Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick." Paul, when sent by Festus to Rome, did not stop at Miletus; for the course which the ship took on that occasion is minutely described, (Acts 27,) and there is every certainty that there can be that it did not put in at that place. The time, then, to which Paul must refer here, unless he made a second journey to Rome after he had been once discharged, must have been several years before; certainly as far back as when he took leave of the elders of the church of Ephesus, as recorded in Acts 20. But this was about five years before; and what would have been the pertinency of informing Timothy that, some five years before, he had left a fellow-labourer sick there, as a reason why he should then hasten to Rome as soon as possible? It was evidently a recent occurrence to which the apostle refers here; and the only natural supposition is, that, not long before his arrival at Rome, he had parted with both these friends, and now needed, in consequence, especially the presence of Timothy. Of course, if this be so, Paul must have made another circuit through these countries, of which the Acts of the Apostles gives us no account, and which must have been after his first imprisonment. It is true that Hug suggests that the word rendered 'I have left' απελιπον -may be in the third person plural, and may be rendered 'they have left.' But who left him there?. We are not told; and as "nothing is suggested in the context which would supply us with a subject of the verb in the third person plural, we are led naturally to construe it of the first person singular, and, consequently, to apply it to Paul." Prof. Stuart, in Hug's Intro.

(5.) With this supposition of a second and recent journey, agrees the passage in 2Ti 4:13, "The cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments." This evidently refers to some recent affair. Can it be believed that these had been there for some five years, and that Paul had not needed them before? He was two years at Caesarea. He had abundant opportunity of sending for them. An article of wearing apparel, or books to study, or his own writings, he would be likely to need long before, and it is highly improbable that he suffered them to remain during this long period without sending for them.

(6.) In the epistles which were written during Paul's first imprisonment, certain persons are referred to as being then with him, who are in this epistle mentioned as absent. It is almost beyond a doubt that the epistles to the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and to Philemon, were written during Paul's first imprisonment at Rome. See the Introduction to those epistles. In the epistle to the Colossians, Col 1:1, Timothy is mentioned as being then with the apostle. When this was written, of course he was absent in the same epistle, Mark is mentioned as with Paul, and unites with him in the salutation to the Colossians, Col 4:10; when this epistle was written, he was absent, for Timothy is ordered to bring him with him, (2Ti 4:11.) Demas was then with him, (Col 4:4;) now he was absent for Paul says, "Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica." 2Ti 4:10. These circumstances make it quite clear that the second epistle to Timothy was not written during the imprisonment at Rome in which the epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, etc., were written, unless a change had taken place in the circumstances of the apostle, which we have no reason to suppose occurred. The probability, then, seems to be strong, that the apostle was imprisoned there a second time, and that the things referred to in this epistle occurred then.

(7.) To these circumstances should be added the fact, that many of the Fathers say that Paul was liberated from his first imprisonment, and afterwards travelled extensively in preaching the gospel. This testimony is borne by Eusebius, Chrysostom, Theodoret, and others. See Calmet's Dictionary, and Lives of the Apostles, by D. F. Bacon, New Haven, pp. 619-621. If the supposition of a second imprisonment at Rome, during which this epistle was written, is correct, then it was written probably not far from the year 65. Lardner, however, who supposes it was written during the first imprisonment, places its date in May, A.D. 61; Hug, also, in the same year.

II. THE PLACE WHERE TIMOTHY WAS WHEN THE EPISTLE WAS ADDRESSED TO HIM.

THERE can be little doubt that Timothy was at Ephesus at the time when this epistle was addressed to him. The evidence for this opinion is thus stated by Lightfoot and others.--

(1.) Paul directs Timothy to salute the household of Onesiphorus, 2Ti 4:19. But it is evident, from 2Ti 1:18, that Onesiphorus was an Ephesian, and, as the direction is to salute his 'household,' it may be argued with the more certainty that Timothy was then at Ephesus, the ordinary residence of the family of Onesiphorus.

(2.) He directs Timothy to take Troas in the way as he came to him at Rome, 2Ti 4:13, which was the way that Paul had gone to Ephesus, 2Cor 2:12, Acts 20:5, thus showing that this was the usual route of travel, and was a way which Timothy would naturally take in passing from Ephesus to Rome. It is true that this does not absolutely prove that he was at Ephesus, since, if he bad been in any other part of the western portion of Asia Minor, the direction would have been the same--but it is a slight circumstance corroborating others.

(3.) He warns him to beware of Alexander, 2Ti 4:14, who we know was an Ephesian, 1Timm 1:20, Acts 19:33.

(4.) In 2Ti 4:9, he gives direction to Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, and then adds, 2Ti 4:12, "Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus." From this it would seem that one reason why he wished him then to come was, that he had appointed one to occupy his place there, so that he could leave without injury to the cause. But it would seem also probable that Paul was not in the habit of calling away a labourer from an important station without supplying his place. Thus, in Tit 3:12, he says, "When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me." It may thence be inferred that Timothy was at Ephesus at the time when Paul wrote to him, and that he had taken care that his place should not be left vacant, by the appointment of Tychicus to fill it when he should leave.

(5.) It may be added, that the errors and vices Timothy is directed to oppose, are the same as referred to in the first epistle, and it may be hence inferred that he was at the same place.

How long Timothy had been in Ephesus is not certainly known, and is not material to be known in order to a proper understanding of the epistle. It does not appear, from the Acts, that he was with Paul during the two years in which he was in Caesarea, nor during his voyage to Rome; yet it is certain that he was in Rome when Paul wrote to the Philippians, to the Colossians, and to Philemon, because he is named in the titles to those epistles. In Heb 13:23, Paul says that Timothy was "set at liberty," or, more probably, "sent away," Heb 13:23, but to what place he had gone is not mentioned. Nothing would be more natural, however, than that he should visit Ephesus again, and it is not improbable that Paul would leave him there when he again visited Rome.

III. THE OCCASION ON WHICH THE EPISTLE WAS WRITTEN'

THE epistle was evidently written when the apostle was expecting soon to be put to death. 2Ti 4:6-8. The main object of writing it seems to have been to request Timothy to come to him as speedily as possible, 2Ti 4:9. But, in doing this, it was natural that Paul should accompany the request with such counsel as Timothy needed, and such as it was proper for Paul to give in probably the last letter that he would write to him. The particular reason why the apostle desired the presence of Timothy seems to have been, that nearly all the others on whom he might have supposed he could rely in a time of trial, had left him. Thus he says that Demas had forsaken him; Crescens had gone to Galatia; Titus to Dalmatia, and Tychicus he had himself sent to Ephesus. 2Ti 4:10-12. No one remained with him but Luke, 2Ti 4:11, and he was, therefore, desirous that Timothy and Mark should be with him. 2Ti 4:11. He did not ask their presence merely that they might sustain him in his trials, but that they might aid him in the work of the ministry, 2Ti 4:11, for it would seem that all hope of doing good in Rome was not closed.

If the view of the time when this epistle was written which has been taken in this Introduction, is correct, and if this is the last epistle which was written by the apostle Paul before his martyrdom, then it occupies a very important place in sacred canon, and is invested with great interest. It may be regarded as the dying counsels of the most eminent of the apostles to one who had just entered on the ministerial life. We should read it with the interest with which we do the last words of the great and the good Then we feel that every word which they utter has a weight which demands attention. We feel that, whatever a man might do at other times, he will not trifle then. We feel that, having little time to express his wishes, he will select topics that lie nearest his heart, and that he deems most important. There is no more interesting position in which we can be placed, than when we sit down at such a man's feet, and listen to his parting counsels. To a young minister of the gospel, therefore, this epistle is invaluable; to any and every Christian, it cannot fail to be a matter of interest to listen to the last words of the great apostle of the Gentiles, and to ponder his last written testimony in favour of that religion to the promulgation of which he had devoted his talents and his life.

THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO TIMOTHY.

CHAPTER 1

ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER

THE principal design of this chapter is to exhort Timothy to steadfastness and fidelity as a Christian and a minister; and to entreat him to adhere to the truth, and live as became a Christian, in the midst of all the temptations by which he was surrounded, and while so many were turning away from the Christian faith. Timothy was young; he was exposed, like others, to trials; he could not be unaware that not a few had apostatized; he knew that his father in Christ was in bonds, and he was liable to become disheartened, or to be led astray. In these circumstances, the apostle seems to have resolved to place before him strong reasons to induce him to devote himself steadfastly to the cause of religion, and not to allow those things which might tend to alienate him from Christianity to have any effect on his mind. After the usual salutations, therefore, 1Timm 1:1,2, he proceeds to present these considerations to the mind of Timothy:

(1.) He commences the chapter with delicate praise of his young friend--one of the most happy methods of inducing him to persevere in the course of life on which he had entered, 2Ti 1:3-5. We naturally desire to perfect that in which we already excel; we feel encouraged for future efforts in a cause in which we have already been successful. The apostle, therefore, reminds Timothy of the manner in which he had been trained; of the piety of his mother and grandmother, and assures him of his belief that their efforts to train him up in the ways of religion had not been in vain.

(2.) He urges various considerations to induce him not to turn away from that holy purpose to which he had devoted himself. The considerations which he urges are these:

(a) he had been solemnly consecrated to the work of preaching the gospel, 2Ti 1:6;

(b) God had imparted to him, as to others, a spirit of love and power, and a sound mind, 1Timm 1:7;

(c) the grace of God had called him to his great work, and he possessed that gospel by which life and immortality are brought to light, 1Timm 1:8-11;

(d) Paul urges his own example, and says that, amidst all his own trials, he had never seen occasion to be ashamed of the gospel, 2Ti 1:12-14; and

(e) he reminds Timothy that all his other friends in Asia had turned away from him, specifying two of them, and urges him, therefore, to maintain a steadfast attachment to the principles which he had professed, 2Ti 1:15.

(3.) The chapter closes with the expression of an earnest prayer that the Lord would bless the family of Onesiphorus, and with a grateful mention of his kindness to him, 2Ti 1:16-18.

Verse 1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ. Rom 1:1.

By the will of God. Called to be an apostle in accordance with the Divine will and purpose. Gal 1:1.

According to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus. In accordance with the great promise of eternal life through the Saviour; that is, he was called to be an apostle to carry out the great purpose of human salvation. Comp. Eph 3:6. God has made a promise of life to mankind through faith in the Lord Jesus, and it was with reference to this that he was called to the apostleship.

(a) "promise" Eph 3:6

Albert Barnes (1834) · public domain