2 Timothy 4:16 - Meaning and Application

Here, Paul gives Timothy an account of his own situation. He says he had recently been brought before the emperor because he had appealed to Caesar, and then no one stood with him to defend him, support him, or even encourage him. All forsook him. That is striking, because Paul was such a faithful man, and there were Christians in Rome whose faith was known everywhere (Romans 1:8). But people are only human. The believers in Rome had come out to meet him before (Acts 28), but when danger came and they might have suffered with him, they all pulled away.

Paul asks that God would not hold this against them. That shows he saw it as a real fault, and one that deserved God’s anger, yet he prayed for their pardon. There is a difference between sins done boldly and sins that come from weakness. He speaks very differently about Alexander the coppersmith, who opposed him in anger: “The Lord reward him according to his works.” But about these Christians, who shrank back in fear, he says, “The Lord lay it not to their charge.”

Paul’s own troubles came not only from enemies, but also from friends who failed him at a dangerous time. Everyone forsook him. It was still their sin not to stand with the apostle, especially at his first defense, but it was a weakness, and that made it easier to excuse. Even so, God could have counted it against them, and Paul tried to stop that by his earnest prayer: “Let it not be laid to their charge.”

Yet the Lord stood by Paul and strengthened him. God gave him special wisdom and courage so he could speak well for himself. When no human friend stood by him, God made him steady and bold. Paul says this happened so that the preaching of the gospel might be fully known. In other words, God brought him through that trial so he could still proclaim the message, which was his work.

It may also mean that he preached the gospel right there at his hearing, since Paul knew how to speak for Christ before rulers as well as in the church. Then “all the Gentiles might hear” includes the emperor himself and the high officials who would never have heard Paul preach otherwise. “I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion” means he was saved from a very dangerous judge, perhaps Nero, or possibly some other ruler. Some take it as a figure of speech for being in grave danger.

Paul then says, “The Lord will deliver me from every evil work.” He is drawing hope from what God has already done: God has delivered him, God is delivering him, and he trusts God will keep delivering him. By “evil work,” he means any wrong done against him by others, or anything that might harm his faith and calling. He adds that God will preserve him for his heavenly kingdom. For that, Paul gives God the glory, rejoicing in the hope of future glory.

We should notice several things here. If the Lord stands by us, he can strengthen us in hardship and danger, and his presence is better than any human support. When the Lord keeps his servants from great danger, it is often so he can use them for greater service. Paul was rescued so that the preaching might be fully known. Past deliverances should strengthen our hope for future help. And there is a heavenly kingdom, where the Lord will keep his faithful witnesses and suffering servants. God deserves glory for all past, present, and future deliverances.

Paul then sends greetings to Aquila and Priscilla, a married Christian couple, and to the household of Onesiphorus. He also mentions that he left Trophimus sick at Miletus. This shows that although the apostles healed all kinds of sickness by miracles to confirm their message, they did not use that power in every case for their own friends, lest people think it was arranged.

He urges Timothy to come before winter. Paul longed to see him, and travel would be more difficult and dangerous in the winter. He also sends greetings from Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brethren. A heathen writer from that time mentions a Pudens and his wife Claudia, and says Claudia was a Briton, so some have thought this was the same couple, and that they were well-known Christians in Rome.

Paul closes with a prayer that the Lord Jesus Christ would be with Timothy’s spirit. We need nothing more to make us truly happy than to have the Lord Jesus with our spirits, for in him all spiritual blessings are gathered together. It is also the best prayer we can make for our friends, that Christ would be with their spirits, sanctify and save them, and at last receive them to himself. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59). Paul’s meaning is, “Lord Jesus, receive that spirit you have been with while it was joined to the body, and do not leave it now that it is apart.”

“Grace be with you. Amen.” This was Paul’s usual closing in his letters. “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” (2 Thessalonians 3:17, 18). If grace is with us here, to change us, make us holy, keep us humble, and help us keep going to the end, then glory will crown us later. The Lord is both a sun and a shield, and he will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11, 12). “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God our Savior, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”