I’m going to begin with a quiz this morning. The subject of this quiz is the University of Arizona football team. Let’s see how much you know about the team. Let’s begin with the coaching staff. How many of you can name the head coach? [Mark Stoops]. How about the offensive coordinator? [Sonny Dykes] The defensive coordinator? [Mark Stoops]. Very good. Let’s see about some of the players. Who is the quarterback? [Willie Tuitama]. The running back? [Nic Grigsby] Can you name the top receivers? [Mike Thomas, Rob Gronkowski]. Very good, but now the quiz is going to get a little harder.
Can you name the outside receivers coach? [David Nichol] How about the inside receivers coach? [Michael Smith] How many offensive linemen can you name? Who is the long snapper?
If you follow college football at all, then the first set of questions was pretty easy to answer because those players and coaches are the ones who are most visible and who we hear the most about. As fans, most of us don’t have any idea who some of those other people are, however. But if you went to Mike Stoops or Willie Tuitama and asked them just how important some of those lesser known players and coaches are to the success of the team, they would tell you that they are just as valuable as those who get their names plastered all over the sports page each week.
In a sense a church is a lot like a football team. There are those who have a more public role in the church, like the pastors and teachers and worship team. And then there are those who work behind the scenes who nobody really notices. But those people are just as important to the success of the church as those who are in more public roles.
As Paul comes to the end of his letter, he is going to write about someone who was one of those behind the scenes people, someone who most of us have probably never heard of before. And yet, Tychicus played a crucial role in the spread of the gospel and the tremendous growth of the early church. Let’s read our passage out loud together:
Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.
Ephesians 6:21, 22 (NIV)
We don’t know a whole lot about Tychicus. His name means something like “chance” or “fortuitous”, and we find his name mentioned five different times in the New Testament. Let’s take a few moments to take a look at those passages and see if we can’t get some insight into why Tychicus was so essential to Paul’s ministry.
We first meet Tychicus in Acts 20:
When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said good-by and set out for Macedonia. He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece, where he stayed three months. Because the Jews made a plot against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia. He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.
Acts 20:1-4 (NIV)
Paul was near the end of his third missionary journey. He had just left Ephesus and he planned to return to Jerusalem via Macedonia. He intended to take an offering there, which he would combine with the ones previously taken in Galatia and Achaia, and present them to the needy believers in Jerusalem. In addition to meeting the physical needs of the predominantly Jewish believers there, the offerings were also a means of uniting the predominantly Gentile churches outside of Palestine with the Jewish believers in Jerusalem. Paul was accompanied on this portion of his journey by several representatives of these Gentile churches, including Tychicus.
Tychicus’ willingness to travel with Paul to Jerusalem tells us a lot about his heart. This wasn’t just some fun road trip. Travel in the ancient world was far more difficult and dangerous than it is for us today. This would be a long arduous trip that would take Tychicus away from his family, friends and his church for quite some time. In spite of the frequent warnings that Paul received along the way about the trouble that awaited him in Jerusalem, Tychicus remained faithful to Paul.
We next encounter Tychicus in both Ephesians and Colossians. We’ve already read the Ephesians passage, so let’s look at the parallel passage from Colossians:
Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.
Colossians 4:7-9 (NIV)
Paul wrote his letters to the Ephesians and the Colossians at nearly the same time. It had been more than two years since his arrest in Jerusalem and Paul had endured trials before, Felix, Festus, and Agrippa, survived a shipwreck and was now in Rome, where he was under house arrest.
Although we can’t be sure whether Paul wrote Ephesians or Colossians first and the exact chronology of the events, here is what we can determine from the passages in both Ephesians and Colossians that refer to Tychicus.
Paul sent Tychicus to Colossae to deliver his letter to the Colossian church. He was accompanied by Onesimus, the runaway slave of Philemon, who had become a believer in Rome under the ministry of Paul. So Tychicus is likely also carrying the letter to Philemon, who was in Colossae as well. Paul also sends Tychicus to Ephesus with his letter to the church there. As we’ve discussed before, it is likely that Ephesians was a circular letter that was intended to be carried and read to a number of churches in Asia Minor in the vicinity of Ephesus.
Because of the time frames involved, it seems likely that Tychicus and Onesimus left Rome with all three letters. And the journey they embarked on was long and dangerous. They would have had to cross Italy on foot, sail across the Adriatic Sea to Greece, traverse Greece on foot and then sail across the Aegean Sea to the coast of Asia Minor. Although Ephesus was a coastal city, it was still another 100 miles inland to Colossae on foot. We don’t really know for sure whether they went to Ephesus or Colossae first, but in any case this was certainly no vacation.
But Tychicus’ journey involved a lot more than just delivering a few letters. He was also bringing some personal news about Paul to those who were concerned about how he was doing there in Rome. And Paul was also sending Tychicus to encourage the believers who may have been discouraged because of Paul’s circumstances.
Our next encounter with Tychicus occurs in Paul’s letter to Titus:
As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there.
Titus 3:12 (NIV)
Paul has now been released from his first Roman imprisonment and he writes to the pastor of the “Worst Baptist Church” in Crete. And when Paul asks Titus to come and spend the winter with him in Nicopolis, Tychicus is on the short list to become the interim pastor there in Crete.
Our final glimpse of Tychicus comes in Paul’s last letter, which was written during his second Roman imprisonment, shortly before his death:
Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.
2 Timothy 4:9-12 (NIV)
It has now been 13-15 years since Tychicus first joined Paul on that trip to Jerusalem. But even after all that time, all the hardship that he had faced, Tychicus was still faithful to Paul. He hadn’t run out on Paul like Demas or Crescens. Paul actually had to send him away. Paul had a mission to be taken care of, and he trusted Tychicus to carry it out.
When we mention the heroes of the faith, the name of Tychicus is not normally one that first comes to mind. I’m reminded of the words of Will Rogers:
We can’t all be heroes, because somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by.
If by heroes, Will Rogers means those who are considered to be heroes by the general public, then I guess he has a point. We all need those people who will encourage us. In fact, we’ll focus on that a little more in a moment. But I would suggest to you that Tychicus was indeed a hero of the faith and that all of us can be heroes, too.
When we look at the account of Tychicus we find that his contributions to the gospel and to the kingdom of God are invaluable. Even though he didn’t know it at the time, Tychicus was carrying the inspired word of God to the churches in Ephesus and Colossae and to a slave owner named Philemon. Just think - without his faithful service, I wouldn’t have been able to preach through Ephesians for nearly the last two years because we wouldn’t have that letter today. And we, along with generations of Christ-followers would have missed out on the riches in that letter.
Tychicus was indeed a hero, and all of us can follow in his footsteps.
HOW TO BE A HERO
1. Be faithful
In both Ephesians and Colossians, Paul describes Tychicus as his “faithful servant.” And the accounts we have looked at certainly bear that out. Tychicus remained faithful to Paul for at least 13 years, maybe even more. He stayed by Paul’s side even when that was not an easy thing to do. He didn’t leave Paul when he was warned about trouble to come in Jerusalem. He didn’t leave him while he was imprisoned. And he didn’t desert him even when many others did at the end of Paul’s life.
Paul also describes Tychicus as a “dear brother”. Certainly he is referring to the fact that Tychicus is a follower of Jesus, but they way he uses that phrase indicates an even deeper relationship than the one that was based on their common faith in Jesus. I can’t help but wonder if Paul wasn’t thinking of these verses from Proverbs which he would have been familiar with.
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Proverbs 17:17 (NIV)
A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Proverbs 18:24 (NIV)
Tychicus certainly was someone who loved Paul constantly and who stuck with him through adversity, someone who was even closer in many ways than Paul’s own blood relatives.
We have a lot of people in this church who are heroes because of their faithfulness. They’re the kind of people who stick with this body through thick and thin. They’re here when our finances are in good shape and they’re here when we have to tighten our belts. They’re here every Sunday even though the weather would be really nice to play golf or go on a picnic. They come and worship with all their heart every week, even when we don’t sing enough hymns or sing too many hymns for their own personal taste.
They’re the kind of people who put everything they have into preparing a lesson for the elementary age students in their class, and are prepared to teach that lesson even if nobody show up to their class. They’re the people who tell you that they will pray for you and then they do it – every single time. They’re the single moms who pour their heart and soul into raising their children even when they are totally exhausted. They’re the people who show up for work every day and put in a full day’s work for a day’s pay, even if nobody ever recognizes their effort.
Over the next four weeks Dana and I are going to be sharing with you the stories of these heroes. You’ll never read or see or hear their stories in the media. But they are heroes because they are faithful.
2. Be trustworthy
As I ponder the accounts of Tychicus, I’m also impressed with how well that he proved trustworthy with whatever Paul entrusted him with. It began by just accompanying Paul on a trip to Jerusalem. Then Paul entrusted Tychicus with the task of delivering important letters and sharing news about Paul with the churches in Ephesus and Colossae.
As a result of Tychicus being trustworthy in those matters, Paul was comfortable recommending him to go to a dysfunctional church in Crete as their pastor. And then as he neared the end of his life, he sent Tychicus off one more time for an important mission to Ephesus.
Because Tychicus proved himself to be trustworthy, Paul was able to give him more and more responsibility. Tychicus lived out the concept of trustworthiness that Jesus Himself had communicated in the parable of the talents. What is really interesting to me is that in that parable, the master had the exact same commendation for the man who had turned five talents into ten as He did for the man was given only two talents but turned them into four:
"His master replied, ’Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
Matthew 25:21 (NIV)
To Tychicus, accompanying Paul to Jerusalem may not have seemed like that big of deal, but Paul was able to discern his trustworthiness in that matter and felt comfortable giving him increasing responsibility over the years. But what is most noteworthy is that Tychicus proved he was trustworthy no matter how big or small the task might have been. He proved to be trustworthy right where he was, no matter what circumstances that God had placed him in.
We have a lot of people in this congregation who are heroes because they are trustworthy. A lot of them do things behind the scenes that you will never see. They make coffee, and prepare meals, and work in the nursery and children’s church. They help out the worship team by making sure music is ready. They move tables and chairs, set up and clean up. And because they are trustworthy in those things, they free Dana and me up to be trustworthy in teaching and preaching God’s Word.
Because of their trustworthiness, many of those people will be given more responsibility here in this body. But even if they never get that opportunity, one day, they will be given an even bigger trust in God’s eternal kingdom because they have been trustworthy with what God has given them to do right where they are right now.
3. Be involved
We live in a culture where we tend to retreat into our own little cocoons where we don’t want any one else to bother us and we don’t bother them. And perhaps the best symbol of that kind of lifestyle is the garage door.
Just think about it. We really don’t have to have any contact at all with our neighbors. We drive up to our driveway, hit the garage door opener, drive into the garage, close the garage door and go into our houses without ever having to interact with anyone else. In fact, when we were discussing this on Tuesday morning in our men’s Bible study, I made a note that a possible sermon title for this week’s message could be “Keep the Garage Door Up.”
And that lifestyle is certainly reflected in other areas of our lives as well. Instead of going out to eat in a restaurant with other people, we go through the drive-through where we talk to someone over a speaker, pick up our food at a window and drive off and eat in our car alone.
Instead of going to the movies in a theater with others, we put home theater systems in our homes. And then, we get our movies delivered by Netflix so we don’t even have to go to the video rental store where we might have to interact with other humans.
But that kind of lifestyle was totally foreign to someone like Tychicus. Even from the few pictures we get in the Bible, it is obvious that he was willing to get involved in the lives of other people. Paul certainly recognized that quality in Tychicus’ life. That’s why he sends his companion to the churches in Ephesus and Colossae, not just to deliver his letters, but to interact with the people in those churches. He is confident that Tychicus has the ability to inform the people personally about how Paul is doing and to reassure them about Paul’s ministry.
It’s also interesting that Paul sends Tychicus with Onesimus back to his master, Philemon. I think that Paul sensed that the idea of a runaway slave going back to his owner could certainly be a pretty sticky situation and he was confident that Tychicus would be able to diffuse any conflict.
In his letter to the Galatians, Paul emphasized the importance of getting involved in the lives of others and not becoming isolated:
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Galatians 6:10 (NIV)
We have people in this church who are heroes because they are willing to get involved in the lives of others. They pray earnestly for the needs of others, but then they also do what they can to meet those needs. They drive friends to a doctor’s appointment, prepare meals for those who are sick or hurting, go repair the fence at the house of a single mom, buy groceries for a family in need. They sit with a friend at the hospital while a family member is in surgery. They listen when someone needs to talk.
4. Be an encourager
In both Ephesians and Colossians, Paul writes that he is sending Tychicus so that he can encourage their hearts. No doubt the people in these churches knew of Paul’s imprisonment and they were worried and concerned about him personally. But they also had to recognize that his imprisonment also meant that they could face that same kind of persecution for their faith. But Paul is confident that Tychicus will be able to allay their concerns about him and encourage them to be bold in their faith as well.
It seems that Tychicus may very well have had the spiritual gift of encouragement. In his discussion of spiritual gifts in Romans 12, Paul lists encouragement as one of those gifts:
if it is encouraging, let him encourage…
Romans 12:8 (NIV)
We probably all know people who have the spiritual gift of encouragement. I know I’m thankful for some in this body that have that gift and use it to build up others. But even if we don’t have the spiritual gift of encouragement, all of us have the ability to encourage others within the body. That’s why there are so many commands throughout the New Testament that instruct all believers to encourage each other. Here is just one example:
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV)
We have people in this body who are heroes because they are encouragers. They notice the people who are doing some things behind the scenes and they take time to say thanks and to give those people a word of encouragement. They’re the people who don’t just believe it when someone else tells them they are “fine” but they can see that the other person is really hurting. And then they do what they can to encourage the other person, even if that is merely listening to what the other person has to say. They’re the ones who come alongside people who are really struggling in their lives and say, “I’m not sure what I can do for you, but I’m here for you.” They are the ones who ask, “How can I pray for you?” and they sit down right at that moment and pray for the other person so they won’t forget to pray or just make an empty promise. They’re the ones who make a telephone call or drop someone a note just to let them know that they’re thinking of them.
In our journey through Ephesians, one of the most significant overall themes of Paul’s letter is the idea that as followers of Jesus Christ, we need each other. God never intended for any of His children to try and make it on their own outside the body of Christ. And in order for us to do that, we all need to be heroes – not the kind we’ll read about on the front page of the newspaper or the internet or see on the evening news, but heroes like Tychicus – ordinary people who are willing to be faithful, be trustworthy, be involved and be an encourager.
