The Lord Will Rescue Us
2 Timothy 4:14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works.1 5 You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words. 16 At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. 17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. 18 And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen! 19 Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. 20 Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick. 21 Do your utmost to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, as well as Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brethren. 22 The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen. (NKJV)
The Apostle Paul is writing to Timothy, who is helping at the church in Ephesus. False Teaching has infiltrated the church and this letter is the second Paul has sent in an effort to remedy the situation.
Paul is writing from prison in Rome, with Luke being his amanuensis, or scribe. This letter is being written about AD late 65-early 66.
Paul closes his second, and last, letter to Timothy with a warning, and a praise. First, he warns Timothy about Alexander. Paul writes “Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm” (v. 14a).
“Alexander the coppersmith” is believed to be the same Alexander who Paul excommunicated from the church in Ephesus for false teaching. He harmed Paul by his false teaching, helping to turn the churches in Asia against Paul.
It also appears that Alexander may have been responsible for Paul’s imprisonment in Rome, which resulted in Paul’s execution. The literal Greek for verse 14a is “much to me evils showed”. The word translated “showed” is the Greek word “endeiknumi” which means “to show” or “to point out”, and was often used with the legal sense of “inform against”.
So, It appears that Alexander was Paul’s accuser. If we wanted to speculate, we could throw him in the hat as being a candidate for Paul’s “thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me” (2 Cor. 12:7).
Paul then pronounces the fate of Alexander, which is the fate of all messengers of Satan. He writes “May the Lord repay him according to his works” (v. 14b).
Next, Paul writes “You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words” (v. 15). Paul warns Timothy to be on his guard against Alexander. The word translated “greatly” is the Greek word “lian” which means “exceeding” or “chiefest”.
The conclusion is that Alexander was the chief opponent of Paul’s teachings. Paul does not want Timothy to be another casualty of this man. We know that Timothy served some time in prison, and we can speculate that it came by the hand of Alexander.
Paul continues by writing “16 At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. 17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me (vv. 16-17a). Here, Paul praises the Lord.
Verse 17a is likely a reference to Acts 23:11: “The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, ‘Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.’ ”
This was the night following his “first defense”, his defense before the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. As a result of that, Paul was sent to Caesarea and handed over to Governor Felix. This was the beginning of the process that landed him under house arrest in Rome.
Paul continues “so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear” (v. 17b). It was in Rome that Paul could fulfill Christ’s commandment to “testify in Rome”.
Paul writes “And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion” (v.17c). Surely this was a reference to Daniel (Dan. 6:22).
Paul continues to praise the Lord in verse eighteen. He writes “And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work” (v. 18a). The Lord will rescue him from every evil attack. This does not mean that he will be rescued physically.
It means that he will be rescued spiritually, preserved by the Lord from evil. He writes “and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom” (v. 18b).
Paul then concludes his praise by giving glory to the Lord (v. 18c). He writes “To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!” (v. 18c).
Paul completes this letter by sending greetings and final instructions to Timothy. He writes “Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus” (v. 19). Prisca is short for Priscilla.
These are good friends, and leaders, in the church at Ephesus. There were still a few loyal followers of Paul in Asia.
Paul continues by writing “Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick” (v. 20). Here, he is giving some updates on other disciples.
Erastus is likely the same disciple as the Treasurer of Corinth (Ro. 16:23). Trophimus was converted in Ephesus and was mentioned in Acts 20 and 21. Miletus was located near Ephesus. Perhaps, Paul was asking Timothy to check on Trophimus.
Next, Paul writes “Do your utmost to come before winter” (v. 21a). Timothy is bringing Paul’s heavy coat. Not to mention, Paul seems to be anxious to start a new letter and needs Timothy’s help along with writing materials that Timothy is bringing, as evidenced by the previous passage.
Paul continues “Eubulus greets you, as well as Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brethren” (v. 21b), Paul sends greetings from their friends and disciples in Rome.
Eubulus was a Christian man. Legend has it that Pudens, a Christian man, was later martyred by Nero. Linus was the first Bishop of Rome. And Claudia was a Christian woman. This is the only mention of these disciples in the Bible.
Paul closes the letter with a customary blessing. He writes “The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen” (v. 22).
In conclusion, in verse 17 Paul wrote “the Lord stood with me and strengthened me… And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion”. When everyone else fails us, we have Jesus. Men will let us down, but Jesus never will.
He is always standing at our side, giving us strength. He will never leave us, nor forsake us.
He delivered Paul through every circumstance. Paul was met with opposition and evil, at very turn.
He was doing the work of the Lord, and the messengers of Satan were always present to oppose him. Those who work for the Lord are always under assault.
But just as was Paul, we will be delivered from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will see us through until our work is done.
Then the Lord will rescue us, one last time, and bring us safely to His heavenly kingdom. Praise the Lord!
Art Toombs Ministries
Online Bible Commentary