Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 2 Timothy 4:19 - 4:22
(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)
This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Concluding Remarks and Greeting.
v. 19. Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.
v. 20. Erastus abode at Corinth; but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.
v. 21. Do thy diligence to come before winter. Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren.
v. 22. The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.
According to his custom Paul closes his letter with greetings. Prisca, or Priscilla, and Aquila, his hosts at Corinth and later his coworkers in Ephesus, were among his most faithful friends. Act_18:2-18. Both of them were always deeply interested in the spread of the Gospel and were leading members of the congregations, but the woman, who elsewhere also is named first (Rom_16:3; Act_18:18), seems to have been the more aggressive and energetic of the two. Women are by no means excluded from the work of the Lord; under circumstances they may do very much for the message of salvation. For the family and household of Onesiphorus Paul has a special greeting on account of the kindness which he had experienced at the hands of the head of this family, 2Ti_1:16-18.
Of a certain Erastus, who may be identical with the city treasurer of Corinth, Rom_16:23, or with the assistant mentioned Act_19:22, Paul reports that he stayed at Corinth, that there had been no reason for his leaving the city. Trophimus had been a traveling companion of the apostle for some time, Act_20:4; Act_21:29, the innocent cause of the riot at Jerusalem. He had accompanied Paul on his missionary trip at the end of the first Roman imprisonment and had been taken severely ill at Miletus in Caria, and Paul had finally been obliged to leave him there to rejoin him after his recovery. Note: Paul did not heal this young coworker of his; his power to perform miracles was not his to use as he pleased, but only as the Lord wished.
Since Timothy himself was not too robust physically, the apostle adds the urgent entreaty: Do thy best to come before winter. It was not only his pupil's state of health that caused him to write thus, however, but the fear that the first storms of winter might interrupt shipping for a matter of five months and deprive him for that much longer time of Timothy's company and comfort.
There were several Christians in Rome that sent their greetings personally: Linus, of whom tradition says that he was the first bishop of the congregation; Claudia, either his mother or his wife. But the entire congregation joined them in sending their greetings to the distant, but highly esteemed brother. The apostle's wish for his pupil is that the Lord Jesus Christ may be with his spirit, fill him with His gifts and keep him in His grace. The second blessing is that of the apostle to all the brethren in the Ephesian congregation, that the grace of the Father, as revealed through the Son, might be with them all, for with this blessing in their possession they would be safe against all dangers forever.
Summary.The apostle admonishes Timothy to faithfulness in his ministry, also with a reference to his own fight and victory; he gives him a short account of various mutual acquaintances and a report of his first hearing; he concludes with several personal remarks and a greeting.