Day 296

Jeremiah 42:1–44:23; 2 Timothy 2:1-21; Psalm 92:1–93:5; Proverbs 26:3-5

AS WE DISCUSSED yesterday, 2 Timothy is the last letter of the apostle Paul’s life. Because it is a personal letter, it contains many personal thoughts, but it also provides instructions for Timothy as a spiritual leader. These instructions were of great importance to Paul because although he hoped to see Timothy face-to-face one last time, the chances were not good. That reality gives an urgency to what Paul is saying, and we should pay attention to it.

In our reading from 2 Timothy today, Paul encouraged Timothy to endure —to actively participate in endurance. Timothy had proven a trustworthy follower of Jesus, and Paul had passed the faith on to him at the likely cost of his life. This needed to matter. Timothy was expected to endure and pass on the faith to trustworthy people who would carry it forward (2 Timothy 2:1-3).

For Paul, enduring was pretty much all there was left to do. The empire had begun to systematically persecute Christians, and Paul was a ringleader. He would likely die. With his own mortality before him, Paul could see what the entire church might be facing, and he knew that endurance would be essential.

To solidify the focus on endurance in such dangerous and trying times, Paul quoted an ancient declaration —possibly an early worship song. But we’ll have to go on a little bunny trail for this ancient saying to reveal its important context. When Paul wrote this letter, there was nothing known as the New Testament. All Timothy could have referred to would have been the Torah, Paul’s communications with Ephesus, copies of other letters to other churches —and, of course, his own personal letters from Paul. Most scholars agree that the first Gospel (Mark) was written around the time of Paul’s death —which is right around the time of this letter. Even if it were an earlier document, the New Testament as authoritative Scripture did not exist.

When Paul inserted part of a creed or a song into this letter, he was giving us a glimpse of what our brothers and sisters were declaring before any of the books of the New Testament had become a collection. It lets us see a little bit about what Christians, in a church established by Paul, felt was important before any sermon could be preached from the New Testament:

If we die with him, we will also live with him. If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.

As we will see throughout the remainder of the New Testament, Paul wasn’t the only one revealing that endurance would be a key component of our faith. Our earliest brothers and sisters felt the same. Enduring until the end is a theme that will take us through the end of the Bible. We need to get to know it, because we’ll see it a lot. As Paul hoped Timothy might understand, endurance matters.

WORSHIP:

You thrill me, LORD, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done. O LORD, what great works you do! And how deep are your thoughts.