The Gambler - Philippians 2:25-30 Series

Philippians 2:25 But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs (lit: and your apostle and minister of my needs). 26 For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. 28 Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. 29 Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him, 30 because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.

Introduction

The Journey

The whole congregation sat in stunned silence at the news. You could hear a pin drop. On the one hand they were all glad to hear that Paul was at least still alive. After going so long without hearing anything from him, a lot of them figured he was probably dead. But I wasn’t surprised. I had a feeling he was still alive. But when they announced that he was in prison in Rome, my heart sank. That means he’s going to appear before that maniac Nero, and I can’t imagine it going to end well. My mind just filled up with images of what it must be like for him in that prison. It’s a lot different than what you think of this prison. Back in our day, they didn’t provide you with warm clothes and a bed and three meals a day. Friends and family had to provide for you. Do you suppose Paul has people in Rome who will do that? The more they talked about it, the more my heart just ached for him. And not just for Paul, but for the work. What’s going to happen in the work of the gospel now? This is just a major blow.

Well, anyway, the silence started to give way as all the rest of the folks started wondering out loud some the same things I was thinking, and there was a kind of rumble of conversation. But then it went right back to dead silence when the pastor looked straight at us and dropped the bomb on us.

“Once again you have all been incredibly generous. I know many of you are struggling even to put food on the table, and so we are blown away at how much came in in the love offering - just as you have many times in the past, every time we’ve taken an offering for Paul. This will be enough money to take care of Paul for quite some time…”

That part made everybody happy. What caused the silence was the next thing he said: “But obviously this money isn’t going to do Paul any good sitting here. Somebody needs to take it to him.” That’s the part that brought the silence back. Of course, we all knew that someone would have to take the gift – just like the other times. But those other times he was right here in Macedonia. Now he’s 800 miles away. That means walking all day every day for a month, maybe a month and a half, crossing Macedonia, sailing across the Adriatic Sea, going all the way across Italy…

It will be an arduous trip, and it would be a dangerous trip, carrying that much money. It’s not like we had a Wells Fargo truck or anything. Whoever takes that money had better bring a sword and know how to use it. But even scarier than that – what about Rome? If Nero has Paul in prison for preaching the gospel, what’s going to happen to someone who goes there to try to help Paul? If Paul is on death row, is it going to do him any good for one of us to join him on death row?

All those thoughts raced through my head in a matter of seconds, but even as I was thinking all that, I found myself on my feet – stepping forward. I realize it means I’ll have to quit my job, say goodbye to my friends and family, leave my home that I love, and it’s dangerous and scary and all that, but there just isn’t any question in my mind – I have to go. There is just no way I’m going to leave Paul sitting there in that Roman prison. I’m going. I may not be a preacher or a leader, I don’t have any special gifts or anything flashy, but I can carry a bag and I can put one foot in front of the other for a month or two and make my way to Rome.