Finishing the Race
2 Timothy 4:6-22
These words which Paul writes to Timothy at the end of this epistle are probably the last words that Paul speaks to us before his execution at Rome. He wrote a letter to the Philippians at this time to address issues at the church there and to prepare them to go on after his decease. The same is true here, except Paul is preparing Timothy to continue on after his death. He reminds Timothy of their long period of shared ministry and God’s preparation of Timothy for the task ahead. This preparation had started with Timothy’s grandmother Lois and then his mother Eunice. Paul had picked up from there and had taught Timothy by word and example. He had modeled the ministry of a suffering servant following the Lord Jesus who is the paradigm of this suffering servant. Paul and Timothy had shared good times and bad together. But now Timothy would have to lead. This takes courage, so Paul directly addresses Timothy’s shyness.
Having instructed Timothy, Paul now proceeds to say goodbye to his longtime son in the faith. After telling Timothy to make full proof of the ministry entrusted to Timothy, Paul tells him that his work on earth was now done. We know that Paul had wanted to go home to Jesus for a long time. Age, beatings and long imprisonment had broken down his aging body. He had held on as long as he had because it was needful to stay. But now, Paul had done all he could to prepare Timothy and the churches he had founded to continue on without him. He could do so because it wasn’t his churches but rather Jesus’s churches who certainly would look after them. He could entrust the deposit.
Paul knows he is about to die. He had appealed to Caesar which was the last earthly court of appeal. Apart from God’s direct intervention, this was the end. But he chooses to look beyond his upcoming execution to the crown of glory which awaited him. This does not mean that Paul was beyond the fear of death. Paul was human after all. Even Jesus in his human nature cried out on the night before His crucifixion. But yet, the Book of Hebrews tells us that he looked beyond the pain and shame of the cross to the joy that awaited Him which was to sit down at the right hand of the Father in heaven. There is a lot of similarity here to the 12th chapter of that epistle. It talks about an agonizing race that is set before the believer, one which one has to lay all distractions aside to run. This race is to be run as Jesus ran his. The finish line of the believer runs through the cross. Paul here says that his has finished the agonizing contest. He had as the Greek puts it “agonized the good agony.” He already saw himself as having been poured out as a drink offering to God, something he also makes mention of in Philippians.
Paul now encourages Timothy as well as all Christian believers to join him in the race to death. It is because the race to death is the path to a glorious future which lies beyond. Jesus is coming, and we must long for this day.
At this point in the text, Paul remembers that he has left a few things out that he intended to say. Paul was writing or perhaps dictating to Luke under difficult imprisonment. They did not have word processors in that day which made editing easier. As parchment or papyrus was expensive and everything was written by hand, one just could not easily insert this back into the letter. Paul desired Timothy to come before winter. He needed his cloak to stay warm in case his execution was delayed. He still hopes to live long enough to see his beloved Timothy in person. We do not know if this was the case.
Paul was deeply hurt by the desertion of many of the people who had kept him company, perhaps out of fear. But he was especially distressed by Demas who had deserted him and returned to worldly life. He had quit the race. No one likes a quitter. Alexander the Coppersmith had also hurt him badly, although we are not sure exactly how.
There is a gem hidden in this excursus which makes it worthwhile. This involves John Mark. John Mark had utterly failed Paul on his forst missionary journey and went home. Paul was more than reluctant to take him again on the second journey. The division was so sharp between Paul and Barnabas that it caused their separation. But after many years, Mark had proved to be useful for ministry. Barnabas’ confidence in John Mark was justified, and Paul now asks John Mark to come and visit, saying that he was now useful for ministry.
We have another potential gem in that Timothy was not only to bring John Mark but also to bring the parchments. We must wonder if these parchments might have been the Gospel of Mark itself. Since Luke was with Paul, was this how Luke came to acquire the Gospel of Mark as one of the main sources of his own gospel. We cannot tell this for sure, but it is an interesting proposition to consider.
Paul goes on to say that in his suffering, Jesus had stood beside him to comfort him. We are never truly alone or deserted if we have Jesus. At times, we are forced to separate or be separated from thise we love because of the gospel. He mentions being rescued out of the paw of the lion. As far as we know, Paul was not released and was soon executed. This does not seem like deliverance in a worldly sense. Daniel emerged alive and well from the den. Paul would not. But if we realize to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, then in that sense he was delivered, even as we too shall be delivered. The lion which is often used as a symbol of the power of government ultimately has only a temporary grip upon us. We are destined by the call of God to a better Kingdom ruled by a better lion.
Paul finishes with his final benediction which is that the Lord would be with his spirit and give him grace. Timothy’s timid spirit would be buttressed by the one who is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. The courage Timothy would need to face the dangerous road ahead would be with Timothy. We know from the Epistle to the Hebrews that Timothy would be freed from prison at some point in the near future. Tradition tells us also that Timothy became a bishop and died a martyr’s death. The Lord is able to keep his people to the end.
We do not know what danger, toils and snares we might face on our race or when this race might end for us or for the world as a whole. We do know that Jesus is set to return. We have already been admonished to love his appearing. We have been told to look beyond these perils unto the kingdom. We might suffer all kinds of deprivation and loss. The Bible promises that followers of Jesus Christ shall suffer persecution. Two thousand years of history has books filled with the name of martyrs. And in some parts of the world, these numbers are being added at an alarmingly fast rate. Even in this country (U.S.), the storm clouds are starting to roll in. The race may indeed become difficult. And even if the worst of persecution passes us by for a season, we still face the everyday difficulties of life. We face failing health and the ravages of age. In these times, we need to make the best of it.
We cannot just sit back and wait on the rapture or our trip to heaven. Paul realized that the Lord was going to return, possibly in his day. This was not the case, so Paul was wise to prepare the church and Timothy for the road ahead. This we must also do. We must redeem the time as at the very least, our remaining days on earth are getting shorted all too quickly. If the Lord who promises to come as a thief comes while we are busy preparing the church to continue, all will be well. How wonderful it is to be seen to be busy at the Lord’s work in that day. He said to His servants to occupy themselves until He came back, not in beating servants and getting drunk. Rather we are to be occupied at the tasks of ministry to which the Lord has entrusted us. Paul made full proof of his ministry. He commends Timothy to do the same, to finish the race boldly as he did. And he says this to us as well.
