This last section of Chapter 4 has seven [7]
verses.
2 Timothy 4:16-22
16 At my first answer no man stood with me, but all
men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid
to their charge.
17 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.
18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil
work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly
kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
19 Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of
Onesiphorus.
20 Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I
left at Miletum sick.
21 Do thy diligence to come before winter. Eubulus
greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia,
and all the brethren.
22 The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace
be with you. Amen.
We will begin with the Barclay commentary:
LAST WORDS AND GREETINGS
2 Timothy 4:16-22
…paraphrased
At my first defense, no one was there to stand by
me, but all forsook me. May it not be reckoned
against them! But the Lord stood beside me, and he
strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation
of the gospel was fully made so that the Gentiles
might hear it. So I was rescued from the mouth of
the lion. The Lord will rescue me from every evil,
and will save me for his heavenly kingdom. Glory be
to him for ever and ever. Amen.
Greet Prisca and Aquila [AK-wih-luh],
and the family of Onesiphorus [on'uh-SIF-uh-ruhs].
Erastus [ih-RAS-tuhs]
stayed in Corinth. I left Trophimus [TROF-uh-muhs]
at Miletus. Exibulus [Ex-aw-bu-lus]
sends greetings to you, as do Pudens [POO-dinz],
Linus and Claudia, and all the brothers.
The Lord be with your spirit.
Grace be with you.
A Roman trial began with a preliminary examination
to formulate the precise charge against the
prisoner. When Paul was brought to that preliminary
examination, not one of his friends stood by him. It
was too dangerous to proclaim oneself the friend of
a man on trial for his life.
One of the curious things about this passage is the
number of reminiscences of Psalm 22. ‘Why have you
forsaken me? – all forsook me.’ ‘There is no one to
help – no one was there to stand by me.’ ‘Save me
from the mouth of the lion! – I was rescued from the
mouth of the lion.’ ‘All the ends of the earth shall
remember and turn to the Lord – that the Gentiles
might hear it.’ ‘Dominion belongs to the Lord – The
Lord will save me for his heavenly kingdom.’ It
seems certain that the words of this psalm were
running in Paul’s mind. And the lovely thing is that
this was the psalm which was in the mind of Jesus
when he hung upon his cross. As Paul faced death, he
took encouragement from the same psalm that his Lord
used in the same circumstances.
Three things brought Paul courage in that lonely
hour.
(1) Everyone had forsaken him; but the Lord
was with him. Jesus had said that he would never
leave his followers or forsake them, and that he
would be with them to the end of the world. Paul is
a witness that Jesus kept his promise. If to do the
right means to be alone, as Joan of Arc said, ‘It is
better to be alone with God.’
(2) Paul would use even a Roman court to proclaim
the message of Christ. He obeyed his own
commandment: in season and out of season, he pressed
the claims of Christ on men and women. He was so
busy thinking of the task of preaching that he
forgot the danger. Those who are immersed in the
task before them have conquered fear.
(3) He was quite certain of the ultimate rescue. He
might seem to be the victim of circumstances and a
criminal condemned by Roman justice, but Paul saw
beyond the present time and knew that his eternal
safety was assured. It is always better to be in
danger for a moment and safe for eternity than to be
safe for a moment and to jeopardize eternity.
~The Barclay Commentary
Now to the other commentaries. We will begin with
the general and move to the specific.
Start with the Matthew Henry main commentary. The
commentary covers verses 16-22. We will begin in
this commentary where it begins its discussion of
verse 19.
II. He sends salutations to Aquila [AK-wih-luh],
and Priscilla, and the household of Onesiphorus [on'uh-SIF-uh-ruhs],
2 Timothy 4:19. He mentions his leaving Trophimus [TROF-uh-muhs]
sick at Miletum (2 Timothy 4:20), by which it
appears that though the apostles healed all manner
of diseases miraculously, for the confirmation of
their doctrine, yet they did not exert that power
upon their own friends, lest it should have looked
like a collusion.
III. He hastens Timothy to come to him before winter
(2 Timothy 4:21), because he longed to see him, and
because in the winter the journey or voyage would be
more dangerous.
IV. He sends commendations to him from Eubulus,
Pudens [POO-dinz],
Linus, Claudia, and all the brethren. One of the
heathen writers at this time mentions one Pudens and
his wife Claudia, and says the Claudia was a Briton,
whence some have gathered that it was this Pudens,
and that Claudia here was his wife, and that they
were eminent Christians at Rome.
V. He concludes with a prayer, that the Lord Jesus
would be with his spirit. We need no more to make us
happy than to have the Lord Jesus Christ with our
spirits; for in him all spiritual blessings are
summed up. And it is the best prayer we can put up
for our friends, that the Lord Jesus Christ may be
with their spirits, to sanctify and save them, and
at last to receive them to himself; as Stephen the
proto-martyr prayed, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,
Acts 7:59. “Lord Jesus, receive that spirit which
thou hast been with while it was united to the body;
do not now leave it in its separate state.” Grace be
with you. Amen. This was our apostle's token in
every epistle; so he wrote. The grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen, 2 Thessalonians
3:17-18. And if grace be with us here to convert and
change us, to make us holy, to keep us humble, and
to enable us to persevere to the end, glory will
crown us hereafter: for the Lord is a sun, and a
shield; the Lord will give grace and glory, and no
good thing will he withhold from those that walk
uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that
trusteth in thee, Psalm 84:11-12. Now unto the King
eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God our
Saviour, be honour and glory for ever and ever.
Amen. ~Matthew Henry Main
Quoted verses:
Acts 7:59
And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and
saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
2 Thessalonians 3:17-18
17 The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which
is the token in every epistle: so I write.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you
all. Amen.
Psalm 84:11-12
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD
will give grace and glory: no good thing will he
withhold from them that walk uprightly.
12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth
in thee.
I want to take a moment to look at two verses here,
namely, 2 Thessalonians 3:18 and Psalm 84:12.
2 Thessalonians 3:18
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Amen.
Notice the commentary:
The grace - The favor,
blessing, and influence of our Lord Jesus Christ, be
with you all - be your constant companion. May you
ever feel his presence, and enjoy his benediction [blessing]!
~Adam Clarke
Here is what the Matthew Henry Main says:
That the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ might be with them. - So this
apostle concluded his first epistle to these
Thessalonians; and it is through the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ that we may comfortably hope to
have peace with God and enjoy the presence of God,
for he has made those nigh that were afar off. It is
this grace that is all in all to make us happy. This
is what the apostle admired and magnified on all
occasions, what he delighted and trusted in; and by
this salutation or benediction [blessing],
written with his own hand, as the token of every
epistle (when the rest was
written by an amanuensis [uh-man-yoo-en-sis]--person
employed to write what another dictates.),
he took care lest the churches he wrote to should be
imposed on by counterfeit epistles, which he knew
would be of dangerous consequence.
~Matthew Henry Main
Psalm 84:12
O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in
thee.
Here is the commentary:
O Lord of hosts, blessed is
the man that trusteth in thee - For grace and
glory, and every good thing; that trusts in the Lord
at all times, and not in the creature, or in an arm
of flesh; but in the Lord of hosts and [His]
armies, in whom is everlasting strength, and is the
sun and shield of his people: happy are such that
trust in him, whether they have ability or
opportunity of going up to the house of the Lord, or
not; they are happy that have and make use thereof,
and so are they that trust in the Lord, whether they
have or not; they are safe, being as Mount Zion,
which can never be removed; and do and shall enjoy
perfect peace and solid comfort here, and eternal
happiness hereafter; see Jeremiah 17:5. The Targum
is,
"blessed is the man that trusteth in thy Word;''
in Christ, the essential Word.
~John Gill
Quoted verse:
Jeremiah 17:5
Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth
in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart
departeth from the LORD.
What does it mean, "and whose
heart departeth from the Lord"? Notice the
commentary:
And whose heart departeth from
the Lord - as men's hearts may, under the
greatest show of outward religion and righteousness;
and as they always do, when they put their trust in
such things; every act of unbelief and distrust of
the Lord, and every act of trust and confidence in
the creature, carry the heart off from God; every
such act is a departing from the living God.
~John Gill
Note: Do you see
a process that happens here? There is no middle
ground. One walks toward God in righteousness or is
carried away by the devices and thoughts of man.
Now to the Matthew Henry concise. This short
commentary covers verses 19-22.
We need no more to make us happy, than to have the
Lord Jesus Christ with our spirits; for in him all
spiritual blessings are summed up. It is the best
prayer we can offer for our friends, that the Lord
Jesus Christ may be with their spirits, to sanctify
and save them, and at last to receive them to
himself. Many who believed as Paul, are now before
the throne, giving glory to their Lord: may we be
followers of them. ~Matthew
Henry Concise
Now to the specific commentaries.
The verse is generally in two parts:
1] Salute Prisca and Aquila.
2] And the household of Onesiphorus [on'uh-SIF-uh-ruhs].
1] Salute Prisca and Aquila.
Salute Prisca and Aquila
- Prisca, or Priscilla, was the wife of Aquila,
though her name is sometimes mentioned first. In
regard to their history, see the notes at Romans
16:3. They were at Rome when Paul wrote his Epistle
to the Romans, but afterward went into Asia Minor,
which was the native place of Aquila Acts 18:2, and
where they probably died.
~Barnes Notes
Quoted verses:
Romans 16:3
Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ
Jesus:
Acts 18:2
And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in
Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife
Priscilla; (because that
Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:)
and came unto them.
Salute Prisca and Aquila
- Several MSS., versions, and fathers have Priscilla
instead of Prisca: ~Adam
Clarke
Salute Prisca and Aquila
-The same with Priscilla and Aquila: and so the [Polyglot
Bible], and some copies, read here; who
were of the same occupation with the apostle, and
with whom he wrought at Corinth, and whom he left at
Ephesus; and who seem by this salutation to have
continued there. ~John Gill
2] And the household of
Onesiphorus [on'uh-SIF-uh-ruhs].
And the household of
Onesiphorus; - see the notes on 2 Timothy
1:16 [see
Lesson]. ~Barnes Notes
We read from the Barclay commentary for chapter 1
and verse 16: "Onesiphorus
[On·e·siph'o·rus]
– we know nothing of him except that in his loyalty
to Paul he risked – and perhaps lost – his life."
Note: To me
knowing of his loyalty to Paul is all I need. This
will be chief in my mind when I meet him in the
Kingdom of God [the
Millennium].
Here is that commentary on 2 Timothy 1:16:
The Lord give mercy unto the
house of Onesiphorus - The family of
Onesiphorus [on'uh-SIF-uh-ruhs]
- for so the word house is often used. He was
himself still living 2 Timothy 1:18, but not
improbably then absent from his home; compare the
notes at 2 Timothy 4:19. He was evidently of Asia,
and is the only one who is mentioned from that
region who had showed the apostle kindness in his
trials. He is mentioned only in this Epistle, and
nothing more is known of him. The record is entirely
honorable to him, and for his family the apostle
felt a warm interest on account of the kindness
which he had showed to him in prison.
~Barnes Notes
Quoted verses:
2 Timothy 1:18 [see
Lesson]
The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of
the Lord in that day: and in how many things he
ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very
well.
And the household of
Onesiphorus - who also lived at Ephesus, and
whose kindness to the apostle, when he was at Rome,
is before mentioned. ~John
GillSalute:
So Paul is asking Timothy to offer salute to members
of the church. Here is Strong's definition of
Salute, which is the Greek word 782:
From
G1
(as a particle of union)
and a presumed form of
G4685;
to enfold in the arms, that is, (by
implication) to salute, (figuratively)
to welcome: - embrace, greet, salute, take
leave [say good-bye].
Some might ask why this verse is in the Bible.
It is very much about relationship and specifically
our relationships with each other. It is
expression of love, compassion, empathy and
sympathy.
When I was done putting this
Bible study together, I went back through it pulling
out the most moving passages; those that moved me,
personally, the most.
-- “We need no more to make us happy than to have
the Lord Jesus Christ with our spirits; for in him
all spiritual blessings are summed up.”
-- “The best prayer we can put up for our friends,
that the Lord Jesus Christ may be with their
spirits, to sanctify and save them.”
-- “blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.”
-- “The favor, blessing, and influence of our Lord
Jesus Christ, be with you all.”
-- “It is the grace of God [the
salvation process]
-- “Those who trust in the
Lord, “shall enjoy perfect peace and solid comfort
here, and eternal happiness hereafter.”
-- There is a process by which firstfruits could be
carried away from God and salvation. We pray for
all brethren in the church.
-- Loyalty to God and His Work is one of the most
profound descriptions that could be said of any
firstfruit.
-- “Salute the brethren.” To all brethren, invoke
love, compassion, empathy and sympathy.
These are the lessons of verse 19. |