Survey of the Letters of Paul
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2 Timothy 4:21
Do thy diligence to come before winter. Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren.
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.

A HIDDEN STORY?
Note: The following is part of the commentary from the Barclay. It may not be entirely true but is very interesting. It clearly was interesting to the authors of the Barclay.  When we get to the lesson on verse 21, I will show you a number of Bible helps that support this speculation.

Finally, there come greetings sent and given. There is a greeting to Priscilla and Aquila [AK-wih-luh], that husband and wife whose home was a church, wherever it might be, and who had at some time risked their lives for Paul’s sake (Acts 18:2; Romans 16:3; 1 Corinthians 16:19). There is a greeting to the gallant Onesiphorus [on'uh-SIF-uh-ruhs], who had sought out Paul in prison in Rome (2 Timothy 1:16) and who had quite possibly paid for his loyalty with his life. There is a greeting to Erastus [ih-RAS-tuhs], whom Paul had once sent as his messenger to Macedonia (Acts 19:22) and who in all probability afterwards joined the church at Rome (Romans 16:23). There is a greeting to Trophimus [TROF-uh-muhs], a Gentile whom Paul had been accused of bringing into the Temple precincts in Jerusalem, an incident which caused Paul’s last imprisonment (Acts 20:4, 21:29). Finally, there are greetings from Eubulus [yoo-BYOO-luhs], Linus, Pudens [POO-dinz] and Claudia. In the later lists, Linus stands as the first Bishop of Rome.

A story has been woven around the names of Pudens [POO-dinz] and Claudia. The story may be impossible, or at least improbable, but it is too interesting not to quote. Martial was a famous Roman poet, a writer of epigrams, who flourished from AD 66–100. Two of his epigrams celebrate the marriage of Pudens [POO-dinz], a distinguished Roman from an aristocratic family, to a lady called Claudia. In the second of them, Claudia is called a stranger in Rome, and it is said that she came from Britain. Now, Tacitus [TAE-cit-us] tells us that in AD 52, in the reign of the Emperor Claudius, certain territories in south-east Britain were given to a British king called Cogidubnus [Cog-i-dub-nus], for his loyalty to Rome; and in 1723 a marble tablet was dug up in Chichester [Chi-ches-ter] which commemorates the building of a temple to the Roman gods by Cogidubnus [Cog-i-dub-nus], the king, and by Pudens [POO-dinz], his son. In the inscription, the full name of the king is given; and, no doubt in honour of the Roman emperor, we find that the British king had taken the name of Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus [Cog-i-dub-nus]. If that king had a daughter, her name must have been Claudia, for that is the name that she would take from her father. We can take the story further. It may be that Cogidubnus [Cog-i-dub-nus] sent his daughter Claudia to stay in Rome. That he should do so would be almost certain, for, when a foreign king entered into an alliance with Rome, as Cogidubnus [Cog-i-dub-nus] had done, some members of his family were always sent to Rome as a guarantee of keeping the agreement. If Claudia went to Rome, she would certainly have stayed in the house of a Roman called Aulus [Aul-us] Plautius [Plau-ti-us], who had been the governor in Britain from AD 43–52, and to whom Cogidubnus [Cog-i-dub-nus] had given his faithful service. The wife of Aulus [Aul-us] Plautius [Plau-ti-us] was a lady called Pomponia [POM-po-ni-a], and we learn from Tacitus [TAE-cit-us] that she had been accused before the Roman courts in AD 57 because she was ‘tainted with a foreign superstition’. That ‘foreign superstition’ may well have been Christianity. Pomponia [POM-po-ni-a] may have been a Christian, and from her Claudia, the British princess, may have learned of Jesus also.

We cannot say whether that story is true. But it would be wonderful to think that this Claudia was actually a British princess who had come to stay in Rome and become a Christian, and that Pudens [POO-dinz] was her husband.

Paul comes to the end by commending his friends to the presence and the Spirit of his Lord and theirs; and, as always, his last word is grace. ~Barclay commentary

Quoted verses:
Acts 18:2
And found a certain Jew named Aquila [AK-wih-luh], born in Pontus [PON-tuhs], lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.

Romans 16:3
Greet Priscilla and Aquila [AK-wih-luh] my helpers in Christ Jesus:

1 Corinthians 16:19
The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila [AK-wih-luh] and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.

Acts 19:22
So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus [Ti-Mow-DHIY-ahS] and Erastus [ih-RAS-tuhs]; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season.

Romans 16:23
Gaius [GI-uhs] mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus [ih-RAS-tuhs] the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, and Quartus [KWOR-tuhs] a brother.

Acts 20:4
And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater [Sop'a·ter] of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus [air'is-TAHR-kuhs] and Secundus [sih-KOON-duhs]; and Gaius [GI-uhs] of Derbe, and Timotheus [Ti-Mow-DHIY-ahS]; and of Asia, Tychicus [TIK-uh-kus] and Trophimus [TROF-uh-muhs].

Acts 21:29
(For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus [TROF-uh-muhs] an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

Notice this from Easton's Bible Dictionary:

Easton's Bible Dictionary
A female Christian mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:21. It is a conjecture having some probability that she was a British maiden, the daughter of king Cogidunus, who was an ally of Rome, and assumed the name of the emperor, his patron, Tiberius Claudius, and that she was the wife of Pudens. ~Easton's Bible Dictionary

I found this in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia:

Claudia:

A member of the Christian congregation at Rome, who, with other members of that church, sends her greetings, through Paul, to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:21). More than this concerning her cannot be said with certainty. The Apostolical Constitutions (VII, 21) name her as the mother of Linus, mentioned subsequently by Irenaeus [i'ruh-NEE-uhs] and Eusebius [yoo-SEE-bee-uhs] as bishop of Rome. An ingenious [ingenious] theory has been proposed, upon the basis of the mention of Claudia and Pudens [POO-dinz] as husband and wife in an epigram of Martial, that they are identical with the persons of the same name here mentioned. A passage in the Agricola of Tacitus and an inscription found in Chichester [Chi-ches-ter], England, have been used in favor of the further statement that this Claudia was a daughter of a British king, Cogidubnus [Cog-i-dub-nus]. ~ISBE

I found this at a web site with the title, "Women in the Scriptures":

Even though all we really know about Claudia is her name I can't help but wonder what her story was and what she gave up in order to follow Christ. It is very likely that she had been born into wealth and privilege and that by choosing to become a Christian she forfeited this material wealth and position. It is beautiful to me to think of her giving up the treasures of this earth because she realized that Christ offered her treasures in heaven, "where neither moth and rust doth corrupt." (Matthew 6:20)

Claudia, and all the early Christian women converts, are so inspiring to me [the author of this piece] because they had the courage to live the gospel in some very difficult circumstances. Claudia was living in Rome at a time when many of the stalwart saints were falling away from the church. In 2 Timothy 4: 10-11 Paul tells Timothy that "... Demas hath forsaken me, having loved the present world and is departed unto Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me..." This was not an easy time to be a Christian, especially not in Rome, and so it is impressive that she stood firm and unmovable in her support of Paul and of the Church. I think that sometimes the greatest trial of our faith comes when what we believe is not popular and we are perceived as being "old fashioned" or "radical" to the rest of the world. It is at those times that we have to search inside ourselves and choose, like Claudia did, to stand firm in our testimony of Christ, no matter what. If we don't then it becomes easy to fall away, like the Demas that Paul wrote to Timothy about, because we " loved the present world." I love Claudia's story because it reminds me that as alluring as the wealth and philosophies of the world are they can not bring us true happiness and joy. The only one who offers true joy and happiness is Jesus Christ and obtaining it means that we must stand firm in our testimonies-- even when when it is hard or when it means we will be standing alone. ~Women in the Scriptures

Now to the other commentaries. We will begin with the general and move to the specific.

Here is the Matthew Henry which covers verses 16-22. I will give you what it has for verse 21.

He sends commendations to him from Eubulus, Pudens, 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. ~Matthew Henry Main

Now the Matthew Henry Concise which 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 assured the Kingdom and who will stand before the Lord].  May we be followers of them. ~Matthew Henry Concise

Now notice something from the Biblical Illustrator:

Eubulus and Pudens, and Ltuus, and Claudia. Eubulus is mentioned here only. It has been thought possible that Pudens may be the friend of the poet Martial, whose marriage with Claudia, a foreign lady, he celebrates in Epigram 8. lib. 4., supposing that other epigrams which are not favourable to the moral character of Pudens were written before his conversion. An inscription found at Colchester mentions a site given by one Pudens for a temple, built under the sanction of a British king, Claudius Cogidubrius; and it has been conjectured that this was the same Pudens who was a centurion in the army, and who may have married the daughter of Cogidubrius, whose name would consequently have been Claudia. The Claudia Rufina of Martial was a Briton, and may have received the name of Rufina from Pomponia, the wife of Aulus Ptantius, commander in Britain, who was connected with the Ruff family, and was accused of holding foreign superstitions. All this, however, is very uncertain. Linus is probably the same Roman Christian who became the first bishop of the Church there, according to Ignatius and Eusebius. ~The Biblical Illustrator

Because of time we will use only one specific commentary. The Adam Clarke had the best text on the verse.

Come before winter -
1. Because the apostle’s time was short and uncertain.
2. Because sailing in those seas was very dangerous in winter. Whether Timothy saw the apostle before he was martyred is not known.

Eubulus - This person is nowhere else mentioned in the New Testament.

Pudens - Of this person we have traditions and legends, but nothing certain. The Catholics make him bishop of Rome.

Linus - He also is made, by the same persons, bishop of Rome; but there is no sufficient ground for these pretensions.

Claudia - Supposed to be the wife of Pudens. Some think she was a British lady, converted by Paul; and that she was the first that brought the Gospel to Britain.

All the brethren - All the Christians, of whom there were many at Rome; though of Paul’s companions in travel, only Luke remained there. ~Adam Clarke

The primary lesson of this verse is right there in the first three words, "Do thy Diligence."  I find it interesting that this admonition to Timothy is followed by a number of people who had shown their loyalty and diligence in their relationship to Paul and their work in the church.  I want to be in a list like this someday.  Don't you?  This is the lesson of verse 21.
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